Starter bass guitar?

[foosnark]

Short scale is fine.

Personally I have pretty big hands and I would not want to play a 34" or longer bass. 30" feels big to me. Call it the habit of growing up as a violinist, then noodling on mandolin and ukulele, and playing small synths.

The way I see it, I could either:
1. Play a 34" bass like God Leo Fender intended... committing to suffering through the awkwardness until I eventually feel comfortable with it, maybe.
2. Choose a smaller instrument that immediately feels good, sounds good and inspires me to play.

Given that I don't care about the mainstream and bass is not a big commitment for me (I'm a synth nerd first and always), I chose #2.


I have:

- MÜB Miezo 18, a headless, 18" scale 5-string piccolo bass (up one octave). It's exactly what I wanted, it looks and feels and sounds great and is extremely well made. It's not what I would call a beginner instrument due to the price and unusualness, and yet I've been playing bass less than a year so I suppose it is

- Hadean fretless uke bass, 22" scale. It's not cool but it is fun, cheap, works well acoustically (if you don't need a lot of volume) and sounds vaguely like an upright bass. It gets incredibly doomy and sludgy with the right effects, which is a trip.

- Ibanez Mikro (28.5" scale). A great beginner bass IMHO. I like it fine, except I was always bumping the headstock into things (I play sitting at my corner desk with my DAW and synths...)

- SX Ursa fretless 30" scale. Another cheap beginner bass, but I find it awkward. It's heavy and the neck seems chonky and 30" is too long, and I don't care for its looks either (classic Jazz bass clone style). I bought it years ago to experiment with and it has mostly gathered dust. When I decided I actually wanted to play bass I slapped new strings on it but still disliked it.

As for inharmonicity, the low B on the Miezo has a sort of subtle piano string sound to it, or like a very gentle chorus effect, which is noticeable in isolation if you go easily on drive/effects. Not like honky-tonk piano but a decent upright, where the string stiffness/length is just enough to act a little bit rodlike but not "out of tune." It sounds pretty neat, to be honest. The other strings don't really do that, and the Mikro doesn't do that at all.

[The Noodlist]

Yamaha Bass Guitars
https://www.gear4music.com/yamaha/guita ... =price,asc

[VitaminD]

I have a Yamaha RBX4A2 bass, which I bought on blowout probably some 14 years ago, that I really enjoy. It's very lightweight [for a bass] and nice balance.

None of the reviewer or retailers seem to really mention weight. But I looked at the weight, because I probably wouldn't play much if I had to lug around on my shoulder what some of these basses weigh.

Also I recommend looking into flatwound strings. They sound darker [which you might appreciate] but are much easier on the fingers. Plus they seem very durable.

[donkey tugger]

None of the reviewer or retailers seem to really mention weight. But I looked at the weight, because I probably wouldn't play much if I had to lug around on my shoulder what some of these basses weigh.

Egads yes.

I've also got an old bass I bought from a mate years ago that I never play (should give it away really..). It's nice enough (some ye olde Italian cheapo make) but it weighs soooo much it tires you out just standing there with the thing, or even holding it sitting down. Important factor!

[revvy]

I play an extra long scale, heavy bass with custom extra thick, rough wound strings. Always standing, never sitting, sometimes even running or climbing.

And I play it with my bare hands.

Because I am now a bassist. Not a lead guitarist who wants some deep notes or a piano player who doesn’t really like Modo Bass, or a ukulele player looking for something cooler. A bassist.

Pain, gain.

[Uncle E]

None of the reviewer or retailers seem to really mention weight. But I looked at the weight, because I probably wouldn't play much if I had to lug around on my shoulder what some of these basses weigh.

Weight seems to affect the tone, as well. Maybe it's just mental but you can feel a light bass resonating.

Also I recommend looking into flatwound strings. They sound darker [which you might appreciate] but are much easier on the fingers. Plus they seem very durable.

Also great for recording. No squeaks.

[thecontrolcentre]

...

[thecontrolcentre]

^ Love the shape as an old UFO fan, but imagine the neck dive is brutal..?

Yeah. You have to rest your right arm on the body.

[Vectorman]

A decade ago, there were a few Ibanez models one could find pretty cheap used that are actually quite good - ATK's, SRT800/900DX, old '80s/'90s SR800's and SR1000's, etc. I recorded at least half the tracks for the new album I'm working on with an Ibanez ATK (with a Nordstrand replacement pickup) I scored off of TalkBass for $275 circa 2010 - price is irrelevant, it's just a solid bass that records well. That was in an era where great deals were easier to come by, though...back in the days when you could still find a Spector Euro 4 in good shape for $800-ish or a Music Man Bongo for under $1K, for example. Seems like the typical asking prices for many basses have nearly doubled in the interim.

[gentleclockdivider]

My starter bass was a blue yamaha rbx 250 ,back in 1994..good times.
Todays equivalent would be the Yamaha TRBX , don't expect a precision or Jazz bass but for a starter bass it's ace !

[The Noodlist]

My starter bass was a blue yamaha rbx 250 ,back in 1994..good times.
Todays equivalent would be the Yamaha TRBX , don't expect a precision or Jazz bass but for a starter bass it's ace !

Yamaha usually have a good build and materials, from my experience.
A Squier Affinity Precision might be another to look at.

[tapper mike]

It's not soley about thing s like taste and budget. A full size bass whether a genuine Fender Jazz or Precision or any other full size bass can difficult for a beginner. Any one with small hands, no matter their age, may find a short scale bass like a Mustang or Jaguar/Jazzmaster might be a better starting point. I've played guitar for years but I find a short scale mor comfortable for me.

To play bass, all you need is to reach 2 frets.

dont tell that to that guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqhNo6FJrek

Billy Sheehan, he spent a day and did a clinic at a music store I worked at on Nashua NH in 2000 and I was a fan of his first band Talas n the 80's, stood right at his feet in probably 83 at a club called The Channel in Boston. He spent the entire day there with us and the clinic was at night and a large NH radio station was there remote, it was a fun day. Somewhere in this house I have the first Talas album with his signature I got that day (vinyl of course) and tucked in it is a receipt from that day, we had a used Apex Bass Pre-Amp (I'm pretty sure it was Apex, that was 20 years ago and I am 20 years older which is 20+20 in my mind ). It was his thing, they didnt make them anymore, we had one in a rack of used gear and he tested it and bought it (that chain was all about used gear). After the clinic a local unknown guitar player (actually the boyfriend of the chain owner's daughter who did promotions for the chain) played a few songs, one was Voodoo Chile and it was pretty good. He had that same Yamaha Bass, he talked about it at length.

That day was also cool because I met the DJ from the radio station and he took my CD...a few weeks later (April 1st 2000 to be precise ) one of my songs got played on the radio, that was a first for me and it got played more which surprised me it was actually requested I was told but likely had more to do with the dj.

So you Saw Billy Sheehan. Well I did to though it was when he was with Damn Yankees. I actually met him in my hometown of Royal Oak Michigan coming out of a music store half a mile away from where he was performing. By my estimate he was roughly 6'2" 200 lbs Not all bass players come out of the tall guys factory and armature/ease of use is a major factor on how well one can acclimate to the instrument.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzRecmgscxI

[vurt]

I play an extra long scale, heavy bass with custom extra thick, rough wound strings. Always standing, never sitting, sometimes even running or climbing.

And I play it with my bare hands.

Because I am now a bassist. Not a lead guitarist who wants some deep notes or a piano player who doesn’t really like Modo Bass, or a ukulele player looking for something cooler. A bassist.

Pain, gain.

so you'll be making cheese next?

or is alex not cool enough? more manny? hooky? bootsy?

[revvy]

I play an extra long scale, heavy bass with custom extra thick, rough wound strings. Always standing, never sitting, sometimes even running or climbing.

And I play it with my bare hands.

Because I am now a bassist. Not a lead guitarist who wants some deep notes or a piano player who doesn’t really like Modo Bass, or a ukulele player looking for something cooler. A bassist.

Pain, gain.

so you'll be making cheese next?

or is alex not cool enough? more manny? hooky? bootsy?

Part of me would (have) call(ed) Alex, Hooky and Lemmy out for using picks but that same part would have been pummelled into mush for doing so.

They’re manly enough, it’s true.

Epitome of cool for me is Bootsy meets Geezer. But I’m still in denial about live videos of Geezer playing stuff off Heaven and Hell with a pick. He must have been a bit under the weather…

[Uncle E]

I got turned down at an audition for playing pick. They assumed because I played 6-string bass that I must have had killer 3-finger picking technique. Nah, 6-strings just made it closer to a guitar.