Beginner's Choice

[hughcanbefound]

[quote name='Fireflye' post='208307' date='May 28 2008, 07:29 PM']I started playing bass around 18 years ago, having always been fascinated with the low-end of things. My first bass was a Marlin Sidewinder which had a neck like a banana and was very difficult to play, which was typical of most budget instruments of the time. After persevering for a couple of years I gave up in frustration.

Fast-forward to today and the quality of budget basses now is like night and day compared to back then. I picked up the bass again last year and with a budget of around £200 (probably not much more than what I paid for the Marlin in today's money), I set out to buy a bass.

I weighed up a VM Jazz against a BB414, both great basses but ended up walking off with the BB414 as it just had the edge in tone, playability and overall finish, though the VM certainly has the BB beat in looks alone. I've played a few basses since, namely MIM Jazzes and some others in the same price range as the Yamaha but I've yet to find one as good as the BB.

I've only a couple of gripes with it, the lack of a blend pot or individual volume pots for the pickups limits your options a little. Also if you like to anchor your thumb most will find the P pickup too high. This has in fact been a good thing for me as it has encouraged me to use floating thumb to the point that anchoring now feels unnatural to me.

You can't go wrong with a Yammy but as always, try before you buy and make sure you are comfortable with it.[/quote]

Thank you very much everyone. Just a couple more questions: how much does a bass cost to set up? How easy is it to change pickups? Average cost for all four strings to be replace?

-H

[bass_ferret]

Prices for set up vary from £25 to £75 depending on how much work is involved - frets stoning etc. If you are buying a new bass insist it is set up properly before you buy it, although if you are buying mail order they can go out in transit.

Changing pickups is easy or impossible depending on your ability with a soldering iron.

Strings vary from £10 to £50 for a set of 4.

[hughcanbefound]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='208674' date='May 29 2008, 10:45 AM']Prices for set up vary from £25 to £75 depending on how much work is involved - frets stoning etc. If you are buying a new bass insist it is set up properly before you buy it, although if you are buying mail order they can go out in transit.

Changing pickups is easy or impossible depending on your ability with a soldering iron.

Strings vary from £10 to £50 for a set of 4.[/quote]

Cheers, bass_ferret. I like to think of myself as quite handy with a soldering iron. I bet one of my friends or my next door neighbour could set it up for me for free .

-H

[The Burpster]

Fill in your location on your profile... !

i'm sure one of us on here will set it up for you for the cost of a pint!


When you get 'round to changing bits there are plenty of good advisors on here!

[Musky]

I've only just seen this thread...

You really like your neighbour's Precision Lyte you say. And you live near Southampton?

You need to take a look at [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-Fender-Precision-Lyte-Bass-Guitar-Vintage-Sunburst_W0QQitemZ180246584300"]this.[/url] It's a great price as it stands, and would still be a good price at anything under £250.

[BassBomber414]

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='208611' date='May 29 2008, 08:36 AM']Thank you very much everyone. Just a couple more questions: how much does a bass cost to set up? How easy is it to change pickups? Average cost for all four strings to be replace?

-H[/quote]

Should be set up pretty close when you buy it. My Yamaha came with detailed instructions and a truss rod tool. I made a very minor adjustment after a few months which took 10 seconds and a small screwdriver.Pass on the pick-ups. BB414 strings are Yamaha's own medium light stainless steel which are well regarded but hard to find in U.K. £10 a set from Thomann. Postage is £6 however many sets you buy.

[hughcanbefound]

[quote name='BassBomber414' post='208979' date='May 29 2008, 03:41 PM']Should be set up pretty close when you buy it. My Yamaha came with detailed instructions and a truss rod tool. I made a very minor adjustment after a few months which took 10 seconds and a small screwdriver.Pass on the pick-ups. BB414 strings are Yamaha's own medium light stainless steel which are well regarded but hard to find in U.K. £10 a set from Thomann. Postage is £6 however many sets you buy.[/quote]

I don't *have* to buy Yamaha's own strings though do I? I love it, my first tenor trombone was a Yamaha "pea shooter" as I call the little basic ones, and it came with so many instructions for what seemed to be fairly basic procedures for cleaning and lubricating the slide etc! At least there's one company in the world who takes worthwhile and useful (not "REGISTERED DEALER, GENUINE GENUINE GENUINE + hologram + signature of someone you've never heard of") documentation.

And thanks Musky, that was the first thing that caught my eye when I did an eBay hunt the other day... Pity my parents are scared of eBay. They have this thing about "being able to take it back". They did it with my laptop too... I guess it's fair enough but when there's a bargain such as that it seems a shame. You never know I might like the Yamaha BB614 even more than the Lyte .

Another thing, I've organised my plan of action. I'm going up to Denmark Street on June 15th to try each one out. Then I'll order my preferred one from GAK. The parents know there's a GAK shop (if a little far away) to go back to if there's any problem which none of you helpful people couldn't help me out on... Hmm...

[The Burpster]

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='208998' date='May 29 2008, 04:21 PM']I don't *have* to buy Yamaha's own strings though do I?[/quote]

Absolutely not. In fact you can enhance/ change the sound quite considerably by changing strings...

In fact from my experience the Yamaha strings were very bright and chimey.... Not at all what I wanted for the music I play!

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='208998' date='May 29 2008, 04:21 PM']Another thing, I've organised my plan of action. I'm going up to Denmark Street on June 15th to try each one out. Then I'll order my preferred one from GAK. The parents know there's a GAK shop (if a little far away) to go back to if there's any problem which none of you helpful people couldn't help me out on... Hmm...[/quote]

why don't you give the shop in Denmark Street a chance to match price with GAK??? (the real GAK price ie inclusive of P&P, what you would actually be paying) You could walk out the door with it in your hands and have the confidence that it feels and plays right rather than taking your chances with internet ordering...

cos nothing annoys me more than people trying things in a meatspace shop and then ordering it from a website-fronted warehouse based outfit.

There are precious few high street music shops as it is...

[The Burpster]

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='209063' date='May 29 2008, 05:43 PM']cos nothing annoys me more than people trying things in a meatspace shop and then ordering it from a website-fronted warehouse based outfit.[/quote]

Surely that is Hugh's choice isn't it?

Its a present from his folks. if they dont go with him and they want to buy it for him, how will that work?

[hughcanbefound]

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='209063' date='May 29 2008, 05:43 PM']why don't you give the shop in Denmark Street a chance to match price with GAK??? (the real GAK price ie inclusive of P&P, what you would actually be paying) You could walk out the door with it in your hands and have the confidence that it feels and plays right rather than taking your chances with internet ordering...

cos nothing annoys me more than people trying things in a meatspace shop and then ordering it from a website-fronted warehouse based outfit.

There are precious few high street music shops as it is...[/quote]

Of course, support real music shops all the way, it's just I can never ever be sure if they're going to price match and besides when I do go up to Denmark street I won't have parents there with credit card at the ready (birthday bass for me ). I think though that if they do price match then it's an advantage for the parents.

-H

[Musky]

If you do go to Denmark Street do yourself a favour and avoid the Bass Cellar. It the best stocked shop for basses but they're remarkably rude, especially if they think your bear the slightest resemblance to their idea of a timewaster. And quite often even if they don't.

As for the 'take it back' thing, who'd want to take it back? ^_^

Arrange to pay cash, and if it's not as described walk away. Maybe you could sweet-talk your neighbour into going along to check it over. If you wanted shot of the thing just resell on ebay offering postage - should make you a good £50 +.

[hughcanbefound]

[quote name='Musky' post='209085' date='May 29 2008, 06:27 PM']If you do go to Denmark Street do yourself a favour and avoid the Bass Cellar. It the best stocked shop for basses but they're remarkably rude, especially if they think your bear the slightest resemblance to their idea of a timewaster. And quite often even if they don't.[/quote]

Thank you Musky, that's exactly the sort of advice I'm looking for. Thanks for the heads up.

[quote name='Musky' post='209085' date='May 29 2008, 06:27 PM']As for the 'take it back' thing, who'd want to take it back?[/quote]

No that's in case anything goes wrong and my parents want to have a rampage with a person face-to-face instead of a Bangladeshi over the phone... Understandable. No I shan't take it back for any other reason!

Why necessarily buy cash from a bass/guitar shop that takes credit? Is there a good reason?

-H

Edited May 29, 2008 by hughcanbefound

[Musky]

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='209098' date='May 29 2008, 06:46 PM']No that's in case anything goes wrong and my parents want to have a rampage with a person face-to-face instead of a Bangladeshi over the phone... Understandable. No I shan't take it back for any other reason!

Why necessarily buy cash from a bass/guitar shop that takes credit? Is there a good reason?

-H[/quote]

I was thinking more of the bass on ebay rather than a shop. The problem with ebay is the scammers who'll take your cash for nothing or send you a pile of junk that's totally misdescribed. The former shouldn't be a problem as it's collection only and the guy should be happy with cash - it'll save him any paypal fees. If your neighbour can be persuaded to make the trip with you, you shouldn't have any problems with the later either. Anything wrong with the bass should make itself apparrent after a brief play of the thing. I'd stick my neck out and suggest the only thing that could possibly go wrong with a Lyte after 12 years is the sudden (and frankly unlikely) demise of the active electronics. Even with this scenario it would be easy enough to bypass the circuitry yourself and have a perfectly usable passive bass.

Basses aren't rocket science - they're pretty simple really, and any problems that affect its functionality should be readily evident.

[funkypenguin]

Hey there,

The usual warning, try before you buy. Its always nicer to try the bass you're looking to buy but if you can get one secondhand, theyre often more 'broken in' than new instruments, the result of them being played for a period of time. Yamaha basses are always a good buy and are really well built.

String wise, drop a different brand on each time its due new strings, then decide which ones you like best. you could try chrome coated, steel coated, roundwound or flat/semi-flatwound. average cost for a 4-banger is around £20-£30 a set, depending on the make and type of strings.

You mentioned something about pickup change/refit. depends what you want fitted (prices vary depending on type/make of pickups) and how much work would need doing to the bass (assuming you went to a luthier for the work doing). If the bass needed alot of work the price could easily be sky high (£250+). i wouldnt recommend it on a BB as the refit could end up costing more than the bass itself, so unless you're really set on it, i wouldnt bother

Passive electronics are IMHO every bit as good as actives and are far easier to use. some of the cheaper active circuits can sound wooden and dull, and if you put lots of boost on, you can end up with volume peaks and troughs as you move over the fretboard. passives, more or less, always give a good sound and consistent volume across the fretboard. useful when playing in a band mix

hope this helps!

[hughcanbefound]

Thanks funkypeguin, all taken in.

And thank you everyone who's replied in this thread! I've pretty much made my decision(s) and will go and try and buy in due course. I'll bump this thread later on to let you know how it goes!

Cheers,

-Hugh

[hughcanbefound]

It's me again (for those of you who showed an interest that while back)!

I'm going to Romford (NE London) this Saturday to the warehouse of DV247 to buy the [b]Yamaha BB614[/b] (in Yellow Natural Satin). The link at DV247 is [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/48909/"]here[/url][/color]. I think it's a good price and I'm traveling the three or four hours by car to get there to try it out before I buy. It had better be perfect!

Now I need to think of a practice amp. People have replied to this thread with suggestions but I have come up with a budget idea (because I don't want to make my parents shell out for a huge amount) consisting of the [b]Peavey MAX 126[/b] with the link [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.dv247.com/invt/34170/"]here[/url][/color].

Of course that choice was off the top of my head. Well not quite but still I would like some advice on the amp. It has to be a practice amp under £70 with a headphone out jack and preferably from [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.dv247.com"]DV247[/url][/color], but that's only for convenience.

Thanks so much for everyone's help so far - I can't wait till Saturday!

-Hugh

P.S. Just read through the thread again. Paul Cooke made the two suggestions about the [b]Peavey MAX[/b] pair: the [b]126[/b] and the [b]158[/b]. I saw the difference of 5W and 2" speaker. Ahh?

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='229279' date='Jun 29 2008, 09:19 PM']P.S. Just read through the thread again. Paul Cooke made the two suggestions about the [b]Peavey MAX[/b] pair: the [b]126[/b] and the [b]158[/b]. I saw the difference of 5W and 2" speaker. Ahh?[/quote]

bigger speaker, handles the bottom end better... also has more watts, so can handle sudden demands better... the 126 can sound upset when you go loud...

the 126 is fine for bedroom level practicing or in my case practicing in an upstairs flat... wearing headphones can get rather tedious as there's two leads involved and it's all to easy to accidentally pull the headphone squint or get tangled up while playing... I switch into headphone mode round about now... and then I have to sit or stand relatively still and resist the temptation to rock out...

[hughcanbefound]

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='229299' date='Jun 29 2008, 09:57 PM']bigger speaker, handles the bottom end better... also has more watts, so can handle sudden demands better... the 126 can sound upset when you go loud...

the 126 is fine for bedroom level practicing or in my case practicing in an upstairs flat... wearing headphones can get rather tedious as there's two leads involved and it's all to easy to accidentally pull the headphone squint or get tangled up while playing... I switch into headphone mode round about now... and then I have to sit or stand relatively still and resist the temptation to rock out... [/quote]

Thanks Paul, I think it'll be the 158!

But oh no wait ... what does anyone think about Effects Processors for practice? Tiny boxes that create the same effects as an amp but which plug into headphones (or speakers I suppose) is what I gather they are...

[hughcanbefound]

Right I DID IT (for those who care)!

I went to Digital Village in Romford (NE London) today to buy the Yamaha BB614 in Yellow Natural Satin and I also picked up a Marshall MB 15 Practice Amp.

They go beautifully together and the sounds I can reproduce are so varied I was so surprised. Altogether I'm very happy with both the bass and amp [i]and[/i] the service from the bods at Digital Village.

I just want to thank all of you again for all the sound advice that you've given me and I'm sure I'll start off more annoying threads in the future asking beginners' questions (not already answered of course!).

Cheers,

Hugh

[paul h]

Nice choice sir.

Fairly awful timing on my part however. Due the the delivery of my latest bass I now have a spare box. And with a weeks holiday coming, I was going to bump my 614 for sale thread back up but with a postage option! The only reason I didn't want to post before is that with the shifts I work it's really hard for me to be available for a courier.

But that's all in the past, it's time to put it behind us and move on!

Enjoy the bass, if it's anything like mine it will be a good 'un!

Paul H.

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='hughcanbefound' post='233325' date='Jul 5 2008, 08:55 PM']I went to Digital Village in Romford (NE London) today to buy the Yamaha BB614 in Yellow Natural Satin and I also picked up a Marshall MB 15 Practice Amp[/quote]
Good lad - you'll be happy with those for a long while to come.

I think the BB614s are excellent basses - great feel, build quality and sound. I like mine so much, I'm currently using it as my main gig bass. It's light and sounds great.

Enjoy yours!