Budget basses that do a pro job?

[tarcher]

Any chance of a piccy MacDaddy.
I bought a Korean Mustang a year ago off the bay,paid £65 squids and considered it a bargain.
Mines allegedly built in the eighties in the same factory that produced some fenders.
How true that is I dont know,again nothing like a Fender mustang more like a precision with a different shaped headstock.

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='tarcher' post='409162' date='Feb 13 2009, 11:56 PM']Any chance of a piccy MacDaddy.
I bought a Korean Mustang a year ago off the bay,paid £65 squids and considered it a bargain.
Mines allegedly built in the eighties in the same factory that produced some fenders.
How true that is I dont know,again nothing like a Fender mustang more like a precision with a different shaped headstock.[/quote]
[attachment=20282:mustang2.jpg]

[tarcher]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='409200' date='Feb 14 2009, 01:24 AM'][attachment=20282:mustang2.jpg][/quote]
Yes thats the kiddie .thanks

[Jamesk86]

Ibanez GS200 - for the price its a brute!

[OutToPlayJazz]

I forgot to mention another Ibanez on this thread... BGM rated the SR300 as the best value for money bass out there...



Three band eq with style sweeper mid control as well. What more do you want for £230??

[leonshelley01]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='411739' date='Feb 17 2009, 09:54 AM']I forgot to mention another Ibanez on this thread... BGM rated the SR300 as the best value for money bass out there...

Three band eq with style sweeper mid control as well. What more do you want for £230??[/quote]

I loved the neck on mine when I got one and I am an Ibanez fan having had a GSR200 in the past and two RG guitars, but I could not get on with those "rounded" top pickups. There was not enough pickup standing proud for me to anchor my thumb on when playing fingerstyle. If you can get over that issue, they are great basses, however I traded mine in for a Squier CV 60's bass which I am more than happy with.

On another note, I am constantly impressed at how good a lot of the current "beginner" basses are, be they Squier, Ibanez, Vintage etc. compared to the stuff around when I started (huge necks, plywood bodies etc.).

[thedontcarebear]

I think the BB1500 I just got is awesome for the cost, I guess it's a budget bass but it can do a pro job

[stingrayfan]

Interesting topic. Over the last few years, I've ended up gigging two basses that are Far Eastern, in favour of "pro" basses like American P's and my Stingray. I just find them easier (and more enjoyable to play). The American basses I've had seemed to be made of lead, be really chunky and and bit unwieldy.

Mine are outside of your £200 limit but you'd easily get my Yamaha BB614 secondhand for that. Great bass, well made, great tone, nice to play and light without feeling cheap. Looks the mutts too - gotta love a matching headstock!

[Low Down Dave]

[quote name='NJE' post='395369' date='Jan 30 2009, 01:25 PM']+1 on all current squiers at the moment, really fantastic basses with a great "vibe".

I have a squier deluxe V and it is superb, build is amazing and the neck and frets are immaculate, I use it in a rock band over my Roscoe Beck and its has a great tone that really cuts through. I think its superb already but by all accounts the addition of a set of Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups make these basses sing.

Definately a pro sound and playability for me and only £150[/quote]

That is a good price on the squier deluxe V, best price I have seen is £230, I think the average is £250-260

[Low Down Dave]

I see a lot of budget basses, and although many look good on paper (spec wise) the main issue is quality control so buying un-played is less than ideal.

Dave.

[dr1]

I'd def.consider classic vibe series from Squier. (I will buy all 3 of them actually heh!)

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='leonshelley01' post='411771' date='Feb 17 2009, 10:32 AM']On another note, I am constantly impressed at how good a lot of the current "beginner" basses are, be they Squier, Ibanez, Vintage etc. compared to the stuff around when I started (huge necks, plywood bodies etc.).[/quote]

+1!

[nick]

Ibanez Blazer cost me £90, stands it's ground with any Fender!

[attachment=20478:1981_Ibanez_Blazer.jpg]

[Prosebass]

[quote name='nick' post='413103' date='Feb 18 2009, 02:41 PM']Ibanez Blazer cost me £90, stands it's ground with any Fender!

[attachment=20478:1981_Ibanez_Blazer.jpg][/quote]

I've played kennyrodg's Blazer which is identical to yours and must agree its as good as a Fender.
But I think the point is being missed here. People don't buy things on a cost / performance analysis they just buy them because they want to , simple as.
If you apply it to cars we would all be driving round in inexpensive diesels as they do the job of more expensive cars and make sense economy and price wise but when did sense come into buying basses. Its not a case of need, its a case of want.
Plus with basses from Mr Shuker and ACG you can have the instrument built to your needs as opposed to mass market goods.
Never understood why people spend so much on Fenders though apart from re-sale value and knowing what you are getting.

Edited February 18, 2009 by Prosebass

[Mr.T]

[quote name='Prosebass' post='413134' date='Feb 18 2009, 03:15 PM']If you apply it to cars we would all be driving round in inexpensive diesels as they do the job of more expensive cars and make sense economy and price wise but when did sense come into buying basses. Its not a case of need, its a case of want.[/quote]

+1

My wife is cheap to run and gets the job done
My girlfriend on the other hand......

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='nick' post='413103' date='Feb 18 2009, 02:41 PM']Ibanez Blazer cost me £90, stands it's ground with any Fender!

[attachment=20478:1981_Ibanez_Blazer.jpg][/quote]

one of these was my first bass

Nice and light, but still kicks out the bottom end.

Is it only recently the guy in Supergrass stopped using his?

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='Prosebass' post='413134' date='Feb 18 2009, 03:15 PM']but when did sense come into buying basses.[/quote]

[size=7] BIG +1 [/size]

[mrcrow]

first get a pro bassist....really pro

put a down market precision in his or her hands...suitably set up and strung...be fair that is a variable on all basses

lets see what they can do with that

i used to play clarinet and saxes and was pretty adept at it after around 30 years of playing

when i used to meet a learner...and that can be any age...they usually complained that once they were better they would buy a pro model having started on a student one

i could blow them away with my mouthpiece and reed (after checking for mechanical faults and pad settings)...my set up and strings as it were...by getting good tone and dynamics with no squeaks

its in the hands of the player...albeit there must be some downside..poor fret finish etc...but it shouldnt be a drag on your playing

so my answer is most budget basses...reasonably made and set up...can do the job

after all someone has to take that signal and put it through some electronics to do the recording etc

Edited February 18, 2009 by mrcrow

[nick]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='413198' date='Feb 18 2009, 04:05 PM']one of these was my first bass

Nice and light, but still kicks out the bottom end.

Is it only recently the guy in Supergrass stopped using his?[/quote]

Yeah, Mick Quinn now uses a Steinberger - a lighter bass, apparently due to an accident in which he seriously damaged his back in 2007.

[Ballie]

My first bass was made by "Vintage", and was a passive Musicman Stingray style design. I tried it back to back with a real stingray and the only real difference was in the physical weight of the bass. They sounded incredibly similar. To a punter's ears, it'd be indistinguishable.

Cheap active circuits or pickups are often a main downfall of a bass - take the Ibanez GWB35. Everyone who owns one replaces the p/up and circuit, then it's a truly awesome machine. Built with prettymuch the same materials used to build it's £2000 pro-level version.

I have heard basses that just don't resonate nicely because of the woods or shoddy construction and lack sustain as a result, but a brand called "Mushroom" make a P bass replica that sounds just like the real thing, only the tone capacitor is a bit too strong and makes it sound subby.

As for me, I play a Yamaha TRB 6P with Bartolini pickups. It plays very close to some custom shop basses I've tried, but still lacks that hint of magic you pay an extra £1000 for. Either way, it works fine for me, and I'm happy with the way it plays, certainly more affordable than splashing out for a custom job. It's the spec I would have ordered a bass in anyway, so it suits me!

Edited March 5, 2009 by Ballie

[josh3184]

not really budget, but in second hand terms my $$ has taken precedence over thousand pound plus instruments so its a bloody decent second/third bass or for a first foray into more quality instruments

[Clockworkwar]

Buy one of the loverly Vintage real wood models and get GAS like I have.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='391390' date='Jan 26 2009, 02:22 AM']My last few basses have all been quality mid range USA made (Carvin, Fender J, Musicman Sub, Guild B-301) but for my last gig I used a cheap Asian Mustang bass - not to be confused with the Fender Mustang. Anyway no-one commented on the change of sound, loss of tone, etc or even noticed there was a cheaper bass.

There's no doubt the quality of budget basses has increased severely since I were a lad (to be said in wistful Yorkshire accent) and the budget bass feature in BGM got me thinking, are there any budget basses (for the sake of argument no more than £200.00 as per the BGM piece) that can do a pro job?
By pro job I mean sounds good enough to do a decent job at a gig for the player, with sufficient build quality to negate any interference issues, plays well with a decent set up, and to an average member of the audience would be no different sound wise to a bass 2 or 3 times it's value.

I realise this may be entirely subjective, but we may find some common ground? Waddaya reckon?[/quote]

I reckon my peavey Milenium BXP will do the job pretty well cost me just shy of 2 hundred. I do agree with the sentiment however that it's a matter of want not need. But after all, if you have the money and you're alright on the bass why not get something nice?

I think the quality of all entry leve instruments in general not just basses has improved exponentially over the years. It's just a case of better mass production techniques and cheap labour. I must say i can't STAND stupid little kids who say "oh i can't play very fast/well because my guitar is too SLOW!" No such thing as a slow guitar, just a slow player.

Edited March 8, 2009 by EdwardHimself

[Clockworkwar]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='428491' date='Mar 8 2009, 11:55 AM']I must say i can't STAND stupid little kids who say "oh i can't play very fast/well because my guitar is too SLOW!" No such thing as a slow guitar, just a slow player.[/quote]

So true, I have a p-bass copy with the thickest neck known to man, it would be classed as a slow guitar but I have never had a problem with speed.

[thepurpleblob]

My Yamaha TRB4 cost me next to nothing, relatively, and it's a totally pro instrument. Although I hardly use it any more (anybody want one for a five string something?) I wouldn't hesitate to go anywhere and do anything with it. A little more valuable - but not much - my G&L Tribute is also amazing for the money.