New bassists, young and old alike, ask this question all the time: What gear should I buy? I generally answer them with a level of detail that makes their eyes glaze over. Is it fear? Boredom? It’s difficult to tell sometimes. To spare you the pain of experiencing this yourself, I felt that writing an article was the most humane approach. And, just in case you’re too lazy to read, let’s just cut to the chase. The secret of choosing good equipment is… eyes closed, ears open. If you want the detailed version, you’ll just have to keep reading. Thank you, and good night.
Still reading? Good. Let’s start with the budget.
Step 1: Determine the total amount of money you’re willing to spend and promise yourself not to exceed it. If you have $500 for a bass and an amp, split up the money between those two things. Try to stay close to 50/50 or 60/40 unless you want to get the smallest practice amp possible, just to see if you’ll be good enough to warrant buying a big one later. Warning: Try not to go cheap on the bass. A $99 bass will sound like crap through your $401 killer amp.
Step 2: Here’s where you get to close your eyes. Don’t be fooled into buying an expensive, big name instrument. Having a top of the line Modulus like Flea plays won’t make you sound like Flea. It’ll just make you broke. There’s no need to spend a fortune until you know you want to get really serious and start performing at clubs. For a first instrument, I would recommend something that’s of good quality, but inexpensive. Squier basses (made by Fender) and Epiphone (made by Gibson) are a good buy, as are the lower priced Yamaha RBX models, like the RBX 260. Any quality used bass under $300 is also worth looking into. When I say quality I mean… how does it feel in your hands? Does it feel solid and not cheap? Is it comfortably contoured to your body? When you hang it on a strap and stand up, does it balance? If the neck and headstock are heavy, you’ll tire quickly trying to keep it raised while you play.
Eyes still closed? Don’t be fooled by fancy paint jobs and flash. Concentrate on solid, comfortable feeling instruments. Pick up a dozen different basses in your price range. Can’t play yet? So what. Run your fingers over the strings… hold it on your lap. If it feels solid, get it. If it feels like it’s made of particle board with a plastic candy-coated top, don’t get it. Don’t buy an instrument at the first store you visit. Don’t buy any instrument on your first day of bass hunting. You owe it to yourself to be sure you’ve seen every good bass in town and tried them all. At each store you visit, make some notes about the models you like, and the cost. On another day you can go back and re-try all the ones you liked.
So… you’ve narrowed the stores’ inventories down to one or two models you like. If you have the time (and you should make the time), try out several identical instruments through an amplifier (see Step 3, below). Seriously. I’ve been playing a lot of gear to review and I’ve noticed significant feel and tone differences in many basses of the same brand and model. They may all be created at the same factory, but they are not all created equally. The most striking example I found was a Fender Standard Jazz Bass (made in Mexico) that blew away all the other Mexi-Jazz basses and several of the USA-made Fenders I tried for comparison. Not being a luthier, or even casually familiar with the process of winding pickups, it’s difficult for me to explain how pickups of the same design can sound so different. In any case, this “cheap” Jazz bass had high output, low noise and killer funk tone. I almost bought it on the spot. Then, I reminded myself I had to eat, and that as sweet as this bass was, it wasn’t necessary for my survival. Take my advice though… an extra 15 minutes spent on trying those 3 “identical” Yamaha RBX’s may find you a diamond in the rough.
Hey! Quit looking at that Modulus! The “cheap” instrument you’re buying today can be upgraded to be good enough to play on a stage, or even record with, for an extra hundred bucks! An inexpensive but good quality bass with after-market replacement pickups can sound and play as well as an expensive bass for a fraction of the cost. Why pay for a $1000 bass with expensive Bartolini pickups (or Seymour Duncan, or DiMarzio)? If and when you become Bass-god, you can buy the same pickups for $50-$150, install them in your bass, and throw your old ones away. For another $50, you can have your instrument professionally “set up”, so that the action and intonation of the neck is perfect — easy to play, perfectly in tune, no fret buzzes — just like an instrument that costs twice as much. Trust me on this. Ready to look at amplifiers now? Open your eyes while we walk over.
Step 3: Great! You’ve got your favourite [insert choice here] bass. How much money do you have left? Hopefully enough for a combo amp. Combo amps are so-called, because they combine the amplifier “head” and a speaker “cabinet” into one unit. For those looking for an amazing little practice amp, I highly recommend the Peavey MicroBass. It’s fine for your bedroom, apartment, or even jamming with your friend and his acoustic guitar. Other small, inexpensive combo amps ($300 or less) are made by Crate, Fender, Trace Elliot, Danelectro, Vox, Squier, and SWR. Some of these manufacturers (most notably SWR) also make huge, expensive amps. In any case, find all the combo amps there are in your city at your price range and try them all. Turn them up to the volume you’d normally practice at, and pound on that big E top string (unless you can play something other than E).
From this point, don’t worry about the brand anymore. Let your ear tell you which sounds the best for you. Unless you know what you’re doing, don’t play with the knobs too much. It’s easy to make a good amp sound bad if you dial all the tone down. Get a salesman to help you if you need assistance, but beware of commissioned salespeople trying to up-sell you on an expensive model, or push a brand that you don’t like.
What? You blew all your money on the bass? Didn’t you read Step 1? Headphone amps are a bargain solution, but you’ll just be practising alone until you can afford something better. However, if you just want to play for your own amusement, maybe these are the perfect choice. If you’re lucky enough to have a bit extra to spend on an amp, get the loudest one you can afford. Here’s where it can be confusing. Usually, the more watts of power an amp is capable of (e.g. 50 watts RMS), the louder it sounds. In reality, some better quality amps of lesser wattage can sound louder than lesser quality amps of higher wattage. Again, it all boils down to listening instead of looking. Your own ears will tell you what sounds best.
Happy hunting.
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