Where to shop for basses?

[G-funk45]

Hi, I am new around these parts so apologise if this question has come up in the past.

I am a drummer and looking to get heavily involved in some bass playing over the next few months at least and perhaps longer. My first question is where is a good place to go and look at and try lots of basses? I am based in Maidenhead so London and the M4 corridor shouldnt be a problem to travel to and I dont even mind travelling further afield in search of the right place. I am after shops with a healthy supply of basses in all shapes and sizes so I can gauge them all. I dont have a preference of style or budget yet as I am keeping my options open.



Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Edited August 10, 2010 by G-funk45

[Cat Burrito]

You'll find a fair selection at Tin Pan Alley in London (a street full of music shops) BUT I wouldn't buy from them - too expensive and rude service. Dawsons in Reading has a reasonable selection - it depends how many you want to try. If you are new to bass I'd always advise playing what you buy as opposed to buying online.

[CHRISDABASS]

while in london surely The Gallery is worth a visit

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/[/url]

[yorick]

If you can get up to Warwick, there's Bass Direct... mmmmmmmmm

[Bikenbass]

[quote name='yorick' post='921236' date='Aug 11 2010, 07:54 AM']If you can get up to Warwick, there's Bass Direct... mmmmmmmmm[/quote]

Completely agree. Mark at Bass Direct will give you advise you can trust, thoroughly decent fellow to spend time and money with.

[mart]

[quote name='MSL' post='921331' date='Aug 11 2010, 10:12 AM']Completely agree. Mark at Bass Direct will give you advise you can trust, thoroughly decent fellow to spend time and money with.[/quote]

+1 to that.

[BigRedX]

If you just want a bass guitar, then your closest large musical instrument store will be fine as a starting point.

Go in a play as many basses as you can (all of them if they'll let you) and find out what you like and what you don't.

However if you're looking for something a bit different then you should look at the following establishments:

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/"]The Bass Gallery[/url]

[url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/"]Bass Direct[/url]

[url="http://www.bassmerchant.com/"]The bass Merchant[/url]

and perhaps:

[url="http://www.mansons.co.uk/"]Mansons[/url]

[url="http://www.promenademusic.co.uk/"]Promenade Music[/url]

Of those I would recommend The Gallery, not only because the shop and the service is excellent , but also because if by some chance they don't have anything that you really like then there's still plenty of things to do in London so your trip won't be completely wasted.

[Lfalex v1.1]

As previously stated;

The Gallery
Bass Direct
The Bass Merchant

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='921169' date='Aug 11 2010, 12:35 AM']You'll find a fair selection at Tin Pan Alley in London (a street full of music shops) BUT I wouldn't buy from them - too expensive and rude service. Dawsons in Reading has a reasonable selection - it depends how many you want to try. If you are new to bass I'd always advise playing what you buy as opposed to buying online.[/quote]

Do you mean denmark street? If so i wouldnt buy from bass cellar but i would have no issues with buying or trying stuff out in wunjos. The guys in there are brilliant and their gear isnt too expensive.

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='921221' date='Aug 11 2010, 06:21 AM']while in london surely The Gallery is worth a visit

[url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/"]http://www.thebassgallery.com/[/url]

[/quote]

+1, best customer service iv ever had and my favourite shop in the world

[Gust0o]

Basschat?

For buying, admittedly - trying will need to be somewhere else, but you might find some local members willing to help you out.

I do love this place

[socrates]

well I'm a newbie and just bought a second hand bass off a fellow basschatter and i must say it was one of my best gear buying experiences ever . . . there is a real community of trust here and so people are honest and fair with each other which you don't really feel with ebay or the shops . . .

I work near to Denmark street and often take a stroll down there in my lunch hour, but I must say I agree with the comments above - most of the shops have surly staff who are more interested in each other than customers. I went looking for a five string the other month in the Bass Cellar and even after trying to strike up a serious conversation with the member of staff about what would suit me I received only monosyllabic grunts in return and got the distinct impression that he felt I was a time waster and was just left on my own in the corner of the shop . . .

The exception is Wunjo - they keep a good stock of stuff, including lots of nice oddball things (Ukes, slide guitars, jazzboxes), plus I agree the prices seem OK and the staff are much much personable . . .

you would think that in the days of internet shopping the shops would try that much harder . . . I wander if the staff at Bass cellar are browsing Basschat whilst ignoring their potential customers . . .!!

[molan]

Sounds like you need to pop round my place for tea given that I'm flogging loads of basses at the moment - I'm about 15 mins from Maidenhead, lol.

Actually you might want to try Dawsons in Reading. I think they only hold main brand stuff like Fender, Warwick, Ibanez, Yamaha etc but not a bad place to start

[Gust0o]

Molan is a really cool guy to buy from, too - not that there was any doubt!

[G-funk45]

Cheers for all the advice people, it has been appreciated.

I will be checking out the few that have been suggested by a few members and report back. Thanks again.

[AndyTravis]

If you happen upon the Dawsons Reading shop, speak to Jason (one of the greatest blues guitarists ever) and Luke, both lovely chaps.

But they carry loads of addmitedly 'standard' gear, but promise you'll try the Farida FJB-6 a top, cheapish bass.

Trav

[daz]

Dawsons have Stores in Altrincham, Bangor, Basingstoke, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, Reading, Stockport & Warrington.

[url="http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/About_Dawsons.html"]Dawsons[/url]
I have no affiliation with them other than buying from them in the Spring.

Edited August 13, 2010 by daz

[Hamsalad]

As far as I've seen, you're not going to get a better price then the Guitar Amp and Keyboard center in Brighton.

[url="http://www.gak.co.uk"]www.gak.co.uk[/url]

I got my lovely USA Jazz from there, and I don't think I ever walked past there without going in to gawp at the Fender section.