So, my niece, who is 10, decided that she wants to try and learn to play the bass.
Fine!
As a responsible uncle, I am going to set her up with all she needs, but I may need some advice about which instrument is most suitable for a kid.
She is rather tall for her age, but still a kid fundamentally, and I read somewhere that a short-scale bass might be a good choice in this case.
Do you have any recommendations about which basses should I look at? Budget is not necessarily a concern, but of course kids may change their minds quickly, so before investing in a high quality bass, I’d like to get something decent but relatively inexpensive.
And also, would you recommend multicolored DR strings for her bass?
I don’t know if you’re accepting any new nieces or nephews, but I’m always on the lookout for new uncles that like to support bass interests…
Yes! A short scale bass would be ideal.
There are lots of cool options out there.
The only thing that mattered to me on my first bass was what it looked like. Granted, I had to buy it myself, so I was part of the process.
Depending on how picky the kid is, it may not matter how good/bad the bass is if they don’t take to the look.
If it’s just about quality and comfort, I really love the Fender Squire Mustang basses - the classic vibe 60’s ones.
There are also plenty of threads here about short scale basses to check out if you need some other ideas of brands / quality / etc:
or this one:
As for the strings:
I would say normal strings, but I don’t know why.
Know your audience, I guess. If she’s into colored strings, maybe?
When I was 10 I wanted something that looked like my favorite players.
I am Italian, Barney. I can easily access Thomann and Andertons, for example.
Thank you so much for your recommendation, seems a cool bass with a nice color.
(By the way, my profile is not technically hidden, it’s just that I didn’t write anything on it).
Thank you Gio, much appreciated. Yes, my niece loves colorful things. She saw this video of an American girl her age named Ellen who plays the bass and apparently she has a MM short scale with fluo green strings.
Alejandra of the Warning started with a Fender Pawn Shop Mustang. Here she is at 9 and you can see how it looks
Mustang is a good option, I have one, a Fender Player and it’s very good quality. You have some pickup choices with a mustang depending on the model and manufacturer. Sire U5 is another contender
Squier mini precision bass would be my first choice. If the price is not an object then the Sterling Short scale is definitely an awesome bass. Aside for the fret sprout that you may have to deal with initially the bass is good to go no upgrade needed.
DR strings are nice but rather dull. The brightness is in the tapeworm’s territory but you can still get some nice slap tone out of it. If you want it for the theme then why not. It’s hard to argue with impressionable young people as they want what they want.
I realize that this is in jest… but I want to clarify:
Having taught so many beginners - I would gently disagree with this.
A large bass is a great place to end up, but if the hands are small and the person is small, it is so so so much nicer to start on a short scale.
I’m getting a custom made TinyBoy bass 5 string. It’s going to be epic. If my daughter likes this one, I’ll get her a TinyBoy.
I love my Ubass but, the size of it feels a bit too gimmicky TinyBoy size is a few inches longer just shy of the electric guitar size. Depending on her age this might be a pretty good instrument for her. As a bonus the string company that they use, Doogal is pretty awesome as well, it sounds just like regular bass.
It’s not cheap but it’s doable. Unlike many other custom tiny bass companies that charges thousands.
I started with and still use an 18 fret Blackstar Travel Bass. A couple of months later I added a short scale Ibanez TMB 30 Talman Bass. I would really vouch for both of these as starter instruments.
Check out the G&L “Tribute” short scale bass. It’s my favorite bass of the 3 I have. I love the G&L bridges and the pickup on this bass is wicked hot and switchable. Found one on line that was a return, picked it up for $529.00. Strung it up with LaBella Deep Talking bass strings, it’s a player.
Hey Rob150, You’re an ace of an uncle! Check out EllenPlaysBass on YouTube. She’s like 11 and does some reviews of basses.
Scale length is a personal thing but does take some experience.
The Ibanez MiKro was mentioned before and I think it would be a great place to start. If I had a niece, I’d let her try mine. Yes, I have one. I needed a PJ bass and for $200 I got a bass and soft case. It is not a perfect bass but it is fun to play. I plan to put new pots in it but I do recommend it.
As to colored strings, They help at fist be soon are not needed, unless you like the look.
Cheers!
Thank you RS. In fact, my niece checked that girl out on YT, and that’s where she got inspiration to learn to play the bass, haha!
The Ibanez seems good, but I haven’t seen one in person yet. Is the fretwork on that model good in general? I want to make sure my niece doesn’t get hurt.
Hi Bob, The fret work is very good. Ibanez does a good job on quality control. I have one of their 30” scale Artcore basses and one of the Ukulele. On the lower end basses, where they save money is on components like the pots, that I will be switching out, tuners, etc.
The pots are my sticking point. The tuners, nut, bridge and pickups are fine for me, but the pots are not linear from high to low. They start slow and then rocket up at the end. I don’t like the “touchiness” of them.
I would not hesitate to give one of these to a friend or family member.
Bass on!
ps. I am 6’2” and love how fun the sub-30” scale MiKro is to play!
