From someone who has succumbed to major G.A.S in the past, I can relate to this video @JoshFossgreen. I have just the one bass, a Squier P that my wife bought me. I’m looking to add a J and I’m done.
My favourite pieces of advice in the video are not to buy a stop gap but save up and buy the bass you really want and the ‘can I justify the price at my level’.
Only problem I have is that there’s a great guitar store about a 25 minute walk from my house…
I’m torn between a Squier Classic Vibe 70s Jazz bass at £389 (US$390) and a Fender Player Jazz bass at £725 (US$726). I’m certainly not good enough to justify the Fender but I will be.
Those were the two basses I tried and had narrowed it down to for my first ever bass. The Fender Player felt just a little bit better to me (feel, look, and tone) and I wasn’t sure if as a beginner it would be worth the difference in price. Fortunately, the Fender Player went on sale for $650 and I went with that over the Squier which was priced at $460 at the time. Either bass would be fun to play. Enjoy.
Thank you. The way I’ve tried to justify the Fender is that if it doesn’t work out, I could sell it quite easily. I very much doubt it’ll come to that though; I have one particularly expensive hobby and I’m not a flipper. Of the ‘items’ I’ve bought (nine in total), I’ve only moved the one on because I made the mistake of buying the hype. I actually made a small profit on the sale and replaced it with something I’m much happier with.
I have two bass guitars. A Yamaha TRBX304 and a Yamaha TRBX504. Both purchased during the height of Covid so online was the only way.
The 304 is a great Bass but only operates as an active Bass. When I looked at the price of adding an active/passive switch to the 304 I decided it was just not worth the cost or effort.
I decided within days to move up to the 504 with upgraded pickups, electronics, and an active/passive switch. Unfortunately due to Covid return of the 304 was not possible so I just decided to keep it as a backup.
I have never looked back and have no desire for another Bass
@pauldavidson335d also don’t overlook newish used basses. Fender sold a lot of basses during the pandemic and some of those punters will have decided bass isn’t for them.
I did think about that but I’d rather have the back up from my local store. I don’t know enough about them (apart from the obvious) to venture into the used market and might end up with a duff one that needs a shed load of money spending on it to make it right.
So… I totally didn’t watch this video and then right after watching go buy a 1978 Twin Reverb from the guitar store. Nope, not me…!
In all seriousness though, I had been eyeing this amp for a couple weeks now and trialing Silver-face re-issues at various other stores. So…I guess it wasn’t a total impulse buy…
However, later in the day the GAS man got back in my head and off I went to the local GC to check out this neon green Player strat with an ebony fretboard. I don’t even like going to GC on the weekends as it’s usually completely insane in there! Once I was there though I requested the instrument and played for a while. While it felt and sounded great, I just didn’t bond with it. So in that respect, I guess I fended off the GAS man until next time.
This reminds me that I need to post some pics of my guitar-related gear…
Totally agree! Ive only have two Basses one that I started with over 3 years ago and one over 2 both MIA Fenders. Ive looked at so Many others to the point that I can’t rationalize getting another. I don’t think I can be any happier buying another one. Married forever!
The best part of my day is when I play. Thanks Josh!
Or you could read my post properly @Barney and see that I’m not spending time looking at bass guitars. I’ve narrowed it down to two, don’t need to look at others.
DeArmond Ashbory 18" Electric Bass Guitar - PUKE RED - De Armond Ashb
“Unique silicone strings are easy on fingers, Super light and easy to hold and play, 1” fretless neck and silicone strings get a true string bass sound"
I highly recommend a cheap cheap squier p bass or jazz bass. Just make sure it has a good neck or working truss rod. There are ones you can pickup under $100 I’ve seen as low as $50.
Get to work on it. It will keep you busy for a while with cleaning, setup and upgrades. You don’t have to worry much about ruining it. It’s is one of the most valuable lesson you can learn on a bass.
You’ll learn about how to setup and adjustments as well as how different pickups sound when you upgrade. Also learn about how to change pickup and electronics. It will come in handy when you grow your stable.
These are lessons that can be learned but can’t be taught. You need to make all of the mistakes on cheap instrument before you work on anything more expensive.
You’re absolutely right I apologize. You’re only spending time looking at a Fender Jazz bass or a Squier Jazz bass to add to your collection. Completely different from normal GAS.
