Hi, guitar player hopping over.

[elferoony]

Hi, nice forum!

 

I'm a guitar player a looking to play bass as well. What should I start out with, in terms of both bass and amplifier?

 

Do you guys use tubes as well.

 

What would be the equivalent of a Fender Blues Jr. in terms of quality for amps?

 

Also, what should I start with in terms of instruments? I can spend about $200 max, so I was pondering between EB-0 and Squier Jazz Bass. Thanks!

[elferoony]

Hi, and I don't mean a practice amp. A lot of the posts here I search for talk about practice amps, but I want something good.

[DanYmaL X]

You want to spend 200.00 on a bass and an amp?

Or do you have a separate budget for the amp?

For 200.00 you can get a decent-ish starter bass on Musiciansfriend.com, or ebay. For 200.00 you can also get a Rogue bass package with a practice amp. Under 300 gets you a Squire Jazz package.

Do some searches on ebay for cheap rigs too.

For that kind of budget you're not going to get much more than a practice amp anyways.

 

Welcome to the Low Down, though. browse through the posts here and you'll find many many threads on teh very same subject with a wealth of good advice. There are a lot of good folks here willing to help out with your venture into the rhythm section...

Just a friendly tip though, it is best to use the search function here and look through the old posts before you jump in with alot of questions... you'll more than likely find all of your answers before you even ask. You can be pretty safe in assuming someone else has asked the same or a very similar question already.

 

DX

[dohhhhh6]

100 dollars will get you a practice amp (as in practice without a metal clasher doing the drum roll thing behind you.

 

300 dollars is the bare minimum (basically) for an amp that has enough power to keep up with a drummer, and possibly a little more.

 

If I were you, amp-wise, I'd go used. Guitar Center usually has a plethora of options, and a salesman (who, obviously, plays bass him/herself) will help you a truckload.

 

The basic wattage rule for bass is

 

E+D-U-F+d=ENOUGH

... transalation

2 times the wattage of the guitarist's amp

 

100 watts is basically the bare minimum wattage-wise for keeping up with a drummer. with 1 guitarist.

 

Try out the bass w/o amp to see if you like it first. Electronics can be made better (upgrade pickups), but a bass's inner tone shall always remain the same.

 

Try out everything before you buy it!

 

I advise you to spend more money on the amp than the bass. A decent sounding bass can be made to sound hot-damn with a good amp.

 

*gasps for breath*

 

Leave anything out?

 

Oh yeah, get lessons and welcome to the LDL.

[Mr. Phil]

good Philosophizing Lady

[Bassmaster]

I started out with- and still use Tradition basses and Peavey amps- with all the hook ups (which guitar cables will work for bass) it costed $500 (when I started)

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

If you have one of the music super-stores (Sam Ash, Guitar Center), and you walk in with a fist full of green, and tell the sales guy you like the starter package but they don't have it in your color, you can probably get out with an OK Squire P, a 15W practice amp, and the cords and stuff for a little over $200.

 

When I got started again earlier this year, that's the take I went (you don't have the Squire in black??? I LIKE black!)

 

Everyone has a starter package now. Squire, EMP, Ariana (Aria's answer to Fender's Squire package), Peavey, Hartke. Grab an axe, let it swing.

[g.]

Depending on whether you plan to play with high-gain guitars, I'd say some here are veering in the side of rigs that just barely cut it. You end up beating the rig and the bass to keep up if you are under-equipped.

 

I'd recommend 400 watts at least if you are playing in a style where the guitars eat a lot of sonic space.

[elferoony]

Hi! Thanks for the advice and what to avoid. It seems you guys here are good with the GC 'walking the walk' strategies. I meant $200 on the bass itself, sorry, because I had no idea how much to spend on the amp.

 

What are decent amp brands? Thank you.

 

Is the EB-0 and Squier Jazz Bass in fact decent?

[dohhhhh6]

Any form of Fender usually decent at worse. The Precision will get you heard a little better, from what I understand, than the Jazz. The Jazz (last time I checked) has a really smooth, nice, low end, while the P is most described as boomy.

 

Thesis? P will give you a solid sound, generally, in a band settings, while the J will be superb in a setting where you aren't competing to be heard i.e. in a Jazz band.

 

Don't forget Music Man pickups either though!

[Fred TBP]

$200 will get you an entry-level Ibanez/Squier/Epiphone and one of 15-watt (transistor) practice amp. Good enough to work your chops out, just make sure the neck is straight and there's no hum when you crank it up.

 

Tubes? sometimes. I prefer tube emulators, less hum. If you can fork out another $200 and are really into bass, get a multi-FX pedal or a DI/preamp (MXR or Sans Amp) to build your sound. Loud tube amps are OK, but they're twice the weight and hum like mad in a club with bad AC wiring. I can live with the tube/transistor preamp hybrid, they seem road worthy.

 

Fender Blues Jr? Ahem, fugeddaboutit. Look at Ampeg, Nemesis, SWR, Peavey, Carvin. A 200-watt transistor combo (with 2x10s or a 15) will get you through small-medium clubs without distortion, and will keep up with a single Marshall. Two Marshalls? Double it! You'll spend more (around $400-500) but you'll make it up playing gigs. My first SWR paid for itself within 6 months, and that was with a band playing small bars and roadhouses.

 

I defer to my esteemed colleagues for the rest.

[bubba upright]

As far as your "starter" bass is concerned, left-hand comfort will most definitely be a key factor. Since you're used to bangin' away on those teeny little guitar necks (and strings) you'll want to consider a neck that is ergonomical to you (at least until you're used to a bigger neck & strings. I have an '87 Ibanez roadstar that was basically the prototype for the Soundgear series. Whenever my guitarist gets the urge to play bass, he always wants to play that ol' Ibanez because the neck is very friendly to him. It's even skinnier than my late-model Jazz bass. I know that Ibanez makes a few Soundgears in your price-range. A P-Bass or the like will have a much fatter neck and likely give you problems until you're used to bass.

 

As far as the amp, you'll probably have to shop the used market to find a decent, adequately-powered combo amp. If you're going to be playing rock, you'll probably need at least 300 watts. you can probably find an old Peavey combo 300 or something on ebay.

 

Good luck in the lower register.