DH Gate

[Graham_C]

Hi folks.

 

I'm looking to buy an ultra-cheap 4-string for teaching on and found a neat Duff McKagen clone on DH Gate. My plan is to get one (a cheapy bass), make it serviceable and probably stick some kind of Hipshop rip-off tuner on it for laughs.

 

Does anyone have experience of buying from there and am I going to totally regret it?

[Russ]

2 hours ago, Graham_C said:

Hi folks.

 

I'm looking to buy an ultra-cheap 4-string for teaching on and found a neat Duff McKagen clone on DH Gate. My plan is to get one (a cheapy bass), make it serviceable and probably stick some kind of Hipshop rip-off tuner on it for laughs.

 

Does anyone have experience of buying from there and am I going to totally regret it?

From the ones I've seen, woodwork and finishing are fine, if not great. Neck and fingerboard are usually OK, although they go a little heavy with the lacquer sometimes, and there might be some sharp fret ends. Tuners, bridge, electronics - utter rubbish. 

[Graham_C]

tbh, I’d probably put some good pick ups in it like I did with my old Squier P-Bass. 

[PaulThePlug]

I'd go Squier or Harley Benton

[Doctor J]

Why not just buy something good and not upgrade anything?

[NancyJohnson]

Odd post.  Buy crap, do it up.  Just buy a serviceable Squier, Harley Benton or EastCoast.

 

And what exactly is a 'Hipshot rip-off tuner'?

[Graham_C]

Here's the rub...I'm not well off and can't afford to spend a ton of money on a bass that'll get used once in a blue moon. I want a cheap bass to teach with, because I only have 5-string basses at the moment and it's proved to be confusing for learners to follow along.

 

Half the replies have been snarky and elitist, which is sub-optimal.  If you have nothing to add to the conversation scroll on. Bit sad that you have nothing better to do with your time than trash other people's questions and ideas. 🤷‍♂️

 

Big thanks to Russ and Paul for their objective input, though.

[Bigwan]

What do you call cheap? I bought a used Westfield P bass for 20 quid locally a few years ago. Perfectly serviceable with a setup that I did myself. 

 

You'll be able to find a multitude of named used basses for under £100, all of which will be a better bet that something from DH Gate. All it takes is patience.

Edited 2 hours ago by Bigwan

[lemmywinks]

It's just another portal for the same builders on AliExpress. I wouldn't buy anything off there unless you're happy with fretboard radiusing and refretting tbh as you might get something which looks nice but hasn't been built correctly, especially if you're aiming for the cheapest bass that matches the aesthetic you want.

 

 

If you want a cheap version of his Jazz Bass Special or Signature bass then a 90s Aria Pro II (maybe with an aftermarket neck) like this might be up your street:

https://reverb.com/item/19560539-1991-aria-pro-ii-fb-bass-white

 

 

For the Aerodyne Jazz look at Gear4Music's LA Select line (they also do a P copy):

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/LA-II-Select-Bass-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Black-Burst/3L4L

[BabyBlueSound]

Cheapest solution is to take off that B from one of your fivers 🙂

 

What's you budget? Ultra cheap is a relative term if the end product is useless. Instead of ali/dh/temu, look into something like this:

 

https://www.glarry.co.uk/glarry-precision-electric-bass-guitar-p7.html?color=Black&srsltid=AfmBOoqxQ1ZhsJFF-0Aa3cFDd-_MRReoMtPyMJ6zDLMtdabzZE56v01IC10

 

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/LA-Bass-Guitar-by-Gear4music-Pink/7LN?utm_campaign=surfaces_across_google&srsltid=AfmBOopXzB5Ud0HiElX0nu8vwmVH6EvC0KKdt2ncn1guJBcxJzf3NT5h4Zk

 

Although for £110 you can already get a Harley Benton.

 

If you'd like to stay around the sub-75 quid range, I suggest checking Cash Generators and the like for a good used one, instead of the cheap end of the chinese imports. Some of these pawn shops have an ebay presence too, I bought 2 of my pedals on the cheaps from them!

[Dad3353]

There's a £45 Squier Affinity bass on Gumtree, Edinburgh at the moment. Is that inexpensive enough..?

 

Gumtree, Edinburgh : Squier bass ...

[mcnach]

Personally I'd stay away from DH Gate, purely because it's a bit of a lottery. I'd go with some of the usual cheaper suspects that are known to be generally decent: Squier, Harley Benton, Westfield, SX... 

 

[HeadlessBassist]

Agreed with several others on here, with these cheap Chinese wholesalers you never quite know what's going to arrive. (Often not what you ordered!)

 

No need to go expensive, Graham - Keep an eye on the classifieds on here - There are often bargains to be had. A lot of us recently bought the hell out of the SoloKing basses from Andertons, which they discounted to £150 from £300. They were a lot of bass for the money.

 

There are several really nice cheap instruments on the classifieds if you have a dig. For instance, I've got a nice Ibanez BTB on there for £350 (negotiable). There are often instruments available in the classifieds for under £200. If you're after seriously cheap, have a look at the Harley Benton range on Thomann.co.uk. They always offer great playability for practically no money.

 

Hope that helps