Gary Bloomfield Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Looking at buying a left handed bass to learn on . Delema do i buy cheap bundle Or buy something more substantial as imay need to upgrade as i progress Max buget for bass practice amp and any other bits and bobs required is £500 All help and advice welcome Regards Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Welcome Gary 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Welcome to BassChat Go for used, if you buy sensibly then you will be able to use your bass for a year or two and then if you want sell it and get all your money back. With the amp you will get something that will sound better and encourage you to stick with playing, cheap practice amps are often unrewarding to listen to. £500 is a good budget. the good news is that there are a lot of really excellent budget instruments around, it is almost hard to go wrong and if you spent half of that on it you could get a really usable gigging bass. A lot of us are moving on from old heavy amps and speakers to more modern lightweight gear so again there are bargains out there. I've picked up some real bargains off FB marketplace recently but it is worth buying from the ads here if you see what you want. There is kind of an honour system here and you can also check people's history as sellers so it isn't as unreliable as Evilbay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 check Gumtree for your area... Squier P... Ibanez SR300... Yamaha RBX... £180/£200... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franticsmurf Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 As above on the 2nd hand advice. I'd go for something that is nice to play, which will make it more likely that you will practice. A bass that you can take into your first band (if that's your goal) would be good. Scour the for sale threads here for bass amps and cabs (getting separates means you can upgrade one at a time). If you're going down the combo route, something that will hold its own in rehearsals would be a good first step. As for specifics, there as many opinions on what's best as there are choices of gear. 😃 The best things is to collect a load of suggestions and then do some research based on you, your goal (band/hobby/recording). I have a nice Cort Jazz bass which I bought new in my local music shop for £249 last year as a stop gap to gig with while I waited for another bass to arrive. I practice at home through a 2nd hand Vox VX50B which is a rather nice and small 50w amp for which I paid £100 2nd hand from the same shop. It has a headphone socket and an Aux In socket (so you can feed in a signal from your phone/mp3 player to practice along to). Add a decent lead and strap and you still have more that £100 of your budget left to spend on stuff. Good luck and remember to keep us up to date with progress. 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Another vote for buying used - you can pick up some serious bargains if you scout the market place here, Gumtree, Preloved and eBay. IIRC there's a used G&L lefties on Gumtree for a good price. Probably a better first bass than most of us started on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveXFR Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 I'd also recommend used. It has the advantage that you can sell it on when you're done and probably not lose anything. Squier Jazz/Precision bass or Ibanez SR300 would be my choice with an old Peavey or Ashdown amp. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, Gary Bloomfield said: Looking at buying a left handed bass to learn on... May I add the usual comment... Have you tried to play a right-handed bass at all..? Being left-handed does not automatically oblige one to use a 'lefty' instrument. Many Lefties get on perfectly well playing 'righty' instruments (guitar, bass, accordion, piano...). Half of our family are 'lefty' (Our father was a 'hard' lefty...); I have a lefty brother that took to my righty guitars, and was much better than I was, much faster. It's not the case for everyone, I know, but if you're starting from zero, it's worth at least trying a righty bass first. Just my tuppence-worth. Edited October 15, 2022 by Dad3353 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammybee Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 39 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: May I add the usual comment... Have you tried to play a right-handed bass at all..? Being left-handed does not automatically oblige one to use a 'lefty' instrument. Many Lefties get on perfectly well playing 'righty' instruments (guitar, bass, accordion, piano...). Half of our family are 'lefty' Our father was a 'hard' lefty...); I have a lefty brother that took to my righty guitars, and was much better than I was, much faster. It's not the case for everyone, I know, but if you're starting from zero, it's worth at least trying a righty bass first. Just my tuppence-worth. This is really sensible advice, if you can use a righty - you'll have a lot more choice of both new and used instruments to pick (and at much keener prices) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) First of all, you don't wanna buy the dud someone is trying to get rid of, whether they're a shop or a private person, so if you can, then get someone to accompany you. Maybe someone from BC would be willing to, but you'd have to tell about your whereabouts. If you can't get help, then I'd say that amongst many other basses for example a Yamaha TRB, RBX or TRBX should be a safe bet. Squier are a lovely brand, but in their cheapest ranges, one can find not-that-good ones. I'd prefer a cheap Ibanez over those, but a Yamaha over the Ibanez (in the cheapest ranges, that is). As practice combos go, I've had experience with a cheap Beta Aivin outperforming a more expensive Roland. IMHO, @Dad3353's advice is good too. I'm a lefty myself, and I can't even play a lefty bass. Yes, in that aspect, a lefty bass is just as awful as a righty bass. 😀 Good luck! Edited October 15, 2022 by BassTractor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bloomfield Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 3 hours ago, Dad3353 said: May I add the usual comment... Have you tried to play a right-handed bass at all..? Being left-handed does not automatically oblige one to use a 'lefty' instrument. Many Lefties get on perfectly well playing 'righty' instruments (guitar, bass, accordion, piano...). Half of our family are 'lefty' (Our father was a 'hard' lefty...); I have a lefty brother that took to my righty guitars, and was much better than I was, much faster. It's not the case for everyone, I know, but if you're starting from zero, it's worth at least trying a righty bass first. Just my tuppence-worth. Yeah feela proper wierd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 welcome, i don't have much to add except that there is a dedicated sub forum for left handed bass sales on here, and if you're within collection distance there is a bargain Ibanez SR300 for sale in Winchester (no connection to the seller myself) Here My advice would be to get a decent secondhand bass (like the Ibanez) and a small practice combo for a total outlay of half your budget, then get some lessons and some practice, then the rest of the money is there if you find yourself in a band and need an amp suitable for gigging. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 1 hour ago, Gary Bloomfield said: Yeah feela proper wierd I'm a natural lefty but made the choice very early on to play righty. It was weird for a month or so, then became absolutely normal. I'm VERY glad I did learn righty as the instruments available on the second hand market for lefties is about 5% of that of the right hand market. Maybe give it a go for a while? If not, then there is a left hand section on Basschat market place, have a look there and see what takes your fancy! Buying second hand is definitely the wise choice, if you end up not liking the bass you can sell it on and break even! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyR Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 If you buy a second hand bass, you should btw, spend £40 having it set up. Any local guitar/bass shop will be able to do this in house or recommend a local tech. Have it set up to be easy to play and your initial learning will not be unnecessarily impeded. Welcome and good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Bloomfield Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 3 hours ago, GuyR said: If you buy a second hand bass, you should btw, spend £40 having it set up. Any local guitar/bass shop will be able to do this in house or recommend a local tech. Have it set up to be easy to play and your initial learning will not be unnecessarily impeded. Welcome and good luck!! Thanks. That was my idea too being a novice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Venal Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 An option worth considering is a Boss Katana 110 while you're learning. Might be harder to find used as they're quite new, but if you think you will want to play with effects at all, including drive, the advantage of the katana is it can model a pretty much unlimited range of amps, cabs and effects, which could be super useful while you're finding your sound, and figuring out what you like. If you did have to go new, would leave about 200 for a second hand squier classic vibe or similarly priced quality entry level bass. Definitely more of a practice/learning tool this one though, as I doubt it could handle a loud drummer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 Ideally find someone to help you set up your 'new' bass. Every used bass I ever got was poorly intonated just for starters. Seems the larger number of bassists are fully incompetent in his area so choose a helper wisely. There's an old Trace Elliot combo in the classifieds for £150 that would cover a lot of gigging. Used gear all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveXFR Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 7 hours ago, Vin Venal said: An option worth considering is a Boss Katana 110 while you're learning. Might be harder to find used as they're quite new, but if you think you will want to play with effects at all, including drive, the advantage of the katana is it can model a pretty much unlimited range of amps, cabs and effects, which could be super useful while you're finding your sound, and figuring out what you like. I bought one for my daughter and regretted it. The amp models kind of sound a bit roughly vaguely maybe a little like the real thing but a bit ropey. The effects are on or off with no real adjustment and you can't stack them or adjust tgem and running effects pedals in front of it just sounds like fried buttholes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dclaassen Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 I’m another lefty that plays a right-handed bass. Since I started that way, it’s always felt normal. I would also recommend…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vin Venal Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 3 hours ago, SteveXFR said: I bought one for my daughter and regretted it. The amp models kind of sound a bit roughly vaguely maybe a little like the real thing but a bit ropey. The effects are on or off with no real adjustment and you can't stack them or adjust tgem and running effects pedals in front of it just sounds like fried buttholes. Ah that's a pity. The guitar version of the katana seems to have a good rep, wonder why they can't get the bass version right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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