Michiel Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Hi everybody, MOstly hang out at the keyboard corner, but this time a need some advice from basguitar connaisseurs ;-) What are the most indestructable bassguitars that money can buy :-) Really, after buying several basses and elec guitars for school, I'm fed up with them not working. It's not that the students don't care. It's mostly the contacts (internal electronics) that have to be fixed time after time. One more thing, I live in the Netherlands and my budget for one (bass) guitar is about 250 - 300 euro. Thanks a lot!! Michiel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 For students I would recomend Fender SQUIER P bass. If you buy all the same models, parts are interchanable, even necks. I think that would save you some money over time. The Squier is as tough as they get, electronics are simple, they are plentiful and cheep. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 The electronics..which in a normal electric bass are just wires...are probably breaking at the jack. Normal maintenance will prevent this from happening. The jack where the cable connects works its way loose. Then it starts turning. Then the thin wires that connect the jack to the pickup break. If you regularly check to see that the nut holding the jack in is tightened, the problem will go away. Don't overtighten it either, because that will cause the jack to turn. A loose jack can happen on a cheap bass and on an expensive bass. On a bass which many people use, no one is paying attention since "it's not mine" and maintenance is not done. At the school where I taught, I regularly tightened all screws and nuts on the school bass and guitars. No one else seemed to care or notice. One of my high school students brought in a broken bass from his school and I rewired it with slightly thicker wire. As Rocky says, the Squire bass is fine for your purposes....but you can't just leave it in the band room and never look at it again. You can't do that with any school band instrument. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Jeremy is on point with this one. The upright basses in my high school orchestra were practically brand new when I first got there (I entered high school the year after the school opened) but by the end of my sophomore year they were beginning to fall into disrepair. I started coming in early or staying late every once in a while (or eating lunch in the orchestra room (I know...not a good idea)) and spending some time with each instrument. I had learned to do simple instrument maintenance from one of my private teachers so I basically just cleaned them up, adjusted/repositioned the bridges if/when needed, made sure the strings were wound properly and a few other minor things and the students noticed right away. Of course, after that first time nobody remembered or cared that routine maintenance was being done on their instruments. I even talked our conductor into buy all the basses new strings before my senior year (I talked her into an especially nice set for my best friend and me). You'll be amazed how regular maintenance will extend the life and quality of instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddiePlaysBass Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Welkom op het forum Michiel Maybe you should tell us which brands you've been using so far? Do you want a new bass, or a second-hand one? "I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michiel Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Aah, this is great. Thanks guys, for your fast replies. Jeremy, you sure have a good point. I try to watch that the basses are used properly but I do not really do maintenance on them. And yes, they always break at hte jack input. Eddie, thanks for the welcome. I believe I use a very cheap Ibanez. The second I dont' know. I'm only looking for new instruments. Any suggestions for normal electric guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdepelteau Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Tighten the jack nut, and the knob nuts as well. In a high school setting, I would do this once a week. Or each time you pick up a guitar, check all the nuts and knobs for tightness. Have a small adjustable wrench in your desk, and an electric screwdriver, to get inside quickly. Also a welding iron such as instant heat, to reconnect the broken wires in five minutes. That's all you need for most repairs. ;^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanD Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 You could have a class on how to care for you instrument !!!!!! and save your students and the school a lot of money. If you need to, bring in a guitar technitian (guitar repairman) to show them how to do this. Soldering is easy once someone shows you how to do it. Although high schoolers and hot soldering irons might not be a good idea, at least showing them not to sit with the cord resting on the chair, or showing them how to tighten the nuts would help a lot. At the beggening of class have everyone check it to make sure their instrument is not only in tune, but also maintained. Good luck, Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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