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New bass for around a grand.or keep what I've got.


red rooster
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Hi all not been about for a while first I slashed my left thumb and cut the tendon got that fixed, then I broke my right hand got that fixed so hands are fine again time to start playing with my bass I'm a total beginner had a few lessons and just booked a years worth of lessons at college so I'm really going to try an learn lol.Ive got a 60 s classic vibe squire I use just now but I've got around a £1000 I don't mind buying another bass with so should I just stick with my squire or buy a bass for life sort of thing it's only really blues and funk I like playing if I don't buy another bass I'll just buy other rubbish lol. Thanks Stuart.

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Keep the one you have, and save the money for when you have more experience in my opinion. You may find that you have a certain sound and style you like later on, and find you can`t get the sound you are after from the bass you have just spent £1000 on. Squires aren`t bad basses to begin with.

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Aye, Timmo has the right idea. Give it time. Unless you have a specific need (e.g. much lighter instrument due to back problems, playing opportunity you need a stack for etc.) I'd just concentrate on learning.

Sorry you had injuries that kept you enjoying playing - but it's great you're back at it. A CV squire bass is probably more than adequate for the first few months/years of learning (depending on how you progress). It's your budget - do with it what you want - but keep in mind £1,000 is enough to get you a lot. You'd be better [s]of[/s] off trying a range of instruments, new & used, then reflecting on what you want. I'd also look at amplification, effects, and learning aids . . . depending on what you want to do in the future.

Feel free to release a little GAS by picking up some gadgets - e.g. effects, strings etc. as you feel the need. It's a much more economical way to treat yourself.

Edited by PlungerModerno
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Definitely don't spend that money on a bass. At the moment you're excited by getting a new bass which will make no difference to the way you play or how good you are. PLAY and PRACTICE! Enjoy playing, and hearing your progress and imagination improve instead. The better you get the more the wood and metal becomes irrelevant. At some point you'll develop your needs and wants beyond your Squier (but maybe not because they are good) and then you can go out and try a load of new and second hand basses and buy one that fits your current aesthetic.

Give it a year or so :)

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To be honest I'd spend a chunk of that money on a decent amp... Those squires are solid enough basses and with a good amp you'd have as good a sound as anyone else out there really.

A grand will get you alot of bass, especially in the second hand market, you could get pretty much anything you wanted.

As nige says above though, definitely give it a while to find out what you really want before spending all that money.... whilst this is good advice, many on BC (myself included) are easilly distracted by shiny things online and keep accidentally clicking 'add to basket'... :blink:

Edited by CamdenRob
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I started with a Yamaha BB404 bass, 7 years ago. GAS quickly set in and, thinking that an expensive bass would make me a better player, I bought and sold Fenders, G&L, Ibanez, Stingray. None made up for the lessons I didn't have. In the past year, I've sold all of the sw***y basses and now have two workhorses - an MIJ Fender P and a recently-acquired Yamaha BB1200, each worth no more than £500. I've also booked some lessons, 7 years too late.
My advice, in the light of my own experience would be pretty much in line with everybody else's here; give much more priority to the lessons than the price of the bass.

Edited by solo4652
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Thanks folks to be honest that's what I thought everyone would say , so I'll keep my squire I've a practise amp so I'm ok there also no neighbours so I can practise whenever I like .not really clued up on effects and things like that. May use the money to get more lessons probably the best idea.

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I will just echo other folks comments, in six months you could find you want a completely different style bass to the one you have now. Squier Classic Vibe's are fantastic basses, I had one for ages and loved it so I think you are fine there.

My suggestion is to invest in good quality leads, I have seen friends with £1600 guitars and the cheapest budget leads they can get in the guitar shop. I would also suggest a decent practice amp (not sure what you currently use) but there is a big difference in my experience between something like a basic Ashdown and the small EBS combos for example. Also for silent practice I suggest some decent headphones, I use mine all the time, probably more than my Aguilar rig.

There we go, some suggestions to use up your cash until you fancy a new bass.

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Ditto to lots of the above. Keep the bass you have, it'll do you just fine for a good while. For what it's worth, I have a Squire P that has earned me my living for years. All I changed from the original spec were the pick ups, wiring and scratchplate, and it plays really well and sounds awesome. Don't buy 'other rubbish' with your grand - get yourself a decent amp. And enjoy the journey ahead. Welcome to the club :)

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My most recent bass purchase is a Squire! It was the end of my "I'm-turning-40-so-I-need-to-buy-myself-a-killer-bass-oh-dear-I'm-having-a-midlife-crisis-aren't-I?" thing. I'd eyed up a nice £900 Ibanez SR1600 that played brilliantly,but just as brilliantly as my 1995 Bass Collection SB320. And it sounded the same. Anyway, I kinda had an open budget (probably topping at around £1200 so US Fenders were in there) and to cut this long story down a bit, I put my Squire up against a US jazz thinking that as nice as the Squire is, the US jazz would be superb would be my midlife crisis bass. Nur huh, that Squire felt much better in my hand. Pickups on the Fender were nicer and sweeter sounding but I got the jazz. So anyway, what I'm saying is that there's nothing to say that for you, the CV precision can't be your bass for life :)

All basses, even ones off the same production line are slightly different in very subtle ways to the point where you will just pick one up and it will be right. But you won't know this until you've played for a while so enjoy your lessons, keep your money and then see what you might need/want further down the line. It could be a nice lightweight MarkBass combo, or some home recording gear or even a nice bass.

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If you want to experience new sounds you could upgrade the Pickups in the Squire and pay for a decent setup while you're at it. My spare/home practice bass is the same as yours but I put some Wizard 64s (no longer available) in and it sounds amazing. This might give you a better idea of what a more expensive bass sounds like. As others have said practice and buy a decent amp. Save up and when you have more of an idea re. what you're looking for then go out and splurge! You're lucky to be in the position of having the money to spend. I played for 10 years before I could afford my Sandberg.

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Stick with what you've got for now. Despite what you may be led to believe reading reviews and forums is really isn't about the gear you've got at this point, it's about having an instrument that you're happy with and can learn/progress on. Better gear doesn't make you a better player, practice and experience does though.

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On the other hand, with a grand you could get a reasonable second hand jazz, some sort of sitingray copy, a fretless and a more modern active jobbie and have some change left over... Could try out all the main types of bass then move them on for little or no loss once you've decided which suits you best.

Edited by CamdenRob
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In fact I've just had a look in the classifieds and you can get all four of the following for less than £800 in total...

Sterling Sub

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/246758-fs-sterling-by-musicman-sub-ray-4-walnut-stain-l210-posted/"]http://basschat.co.u...in-l210-posted/[/url]

J&D Jazz

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/247264-jack-and-danny-jazz-bass-l7000/"]http://basschat.co.u...azz-bass-l7000/[/url]

MIM Fretless Jazz

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/246821-fender-jazz-fretlesslined-l265-nowl250-inclpostage/"]http://basschat.co.u...50-inclpostage/[/url]

Yammy 5er

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/246434-yamaha-trbx-305-black-few-weeks-old-immaculate-l250/"]http://basschat.co.u...mmaculate-l250/[/url]

Edited by CamdenRob
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