Gear Upgrade Advice for Noob

Gear
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Hi y’all. Total bass noob here. I just picked up the Bass Buzz course a couple weeks ago and am currently chugging my way through module five and really enjoying it so far.

When I say that I’m a “noob,” I don’t just mean to the bass, but also music in general which is why I’m starting this thread asking for guidance. Other than passively enjoying music from the radio, I had no knowledge or understanding of it on an intellectual level and through this course am beginning to change that. To get started on my journey I bought a Fender Rumble 40 and a Yamaha trbx304 and have been slowly but surely learning how they work.

So, the guidance I need is “where do I upgrade my sound from here,” aside from the obvious learn to actually play the instrument? I gather that it’s better to get a higher quality amp before upgrading to a higher quality bass guitar, so where do I go from the Rumble 40? Does getting a 100/500 watt amp yield a better sound, or is it a case of just providing more oomph to be heard from larger spaces/settings?

*My medium long term goal is to play with a bar band at small indoor venues like pubs and cafes, and possibly summer outdoor festivals that come through our little town during 4th of July and the Walnut Festival, basically just a flatbed trailer in the small town square where people visit vendors and stand around eating hotdogs.

*My long long term goal is to gain a mastery of the instrument, even if it isn’t particular useful in a band setting, just for personal satisfaction.

If I’m careful with my money, I can afford to upgrade one significant piece of equipment per year, so the advice I’m looking for is: what amp to go for next, when do I consider upgrading to a nicer instrument and what price ceiling should I be considering for getting the best sound out of said instrument?

These questions are based on almost total ignorance: aside from a couple reviews, I have no idea how good the trbx304 is in the sense of “how far can I go with it before I run into it’s limitations?” I won’t lie, now that I’m actually playing every day, I’m really feeling the pull of nicer model bass guitars and it’s hard to resist haha.

Any advice/guidance appreciated.

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Short answer: a looong way. Some pros like our @JoshFossgreen play Squier basses. The Yamaha TRBX304 will go toe to toe with a Squier. You might want to save up for a higher end second bass to buy when you reach a milestone, like finishing the Beginner to Badass course. And your Rumble 40 will take you a long way, too. You did just fine with your original purchases. What now? Go play!

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Alright, perfect! Aside from getting a better strap and snap locks and maybe a quality head set, I’ll just save my money and practice. It really is an amazing course and Josh should be commended; if you can teach someone like me to actually play this instrument at ANY level you have to have some serious teaching chops.

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I’m a relative noob, too. I don’t know much about the Yam bass, but I’ve heard good things about it. As for the amp, you won’t need to upgrade that for a while.

As @TheMaartian said, save your money and buy a second bass in due course.

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As above, your current kit is fine. The reality is that as you get better and get deeper into bass, you will want to buy stuff… it has a name, GAS, gear acquisition syndrome :joy:

I’m an advocate of buying second hand. I must have bought 15 + basses over the past 2.5 years, and sold a whole bunch of them as I look for “the one”. The great thing about buying second hand is that you can sell the bass for pretty much what you bought it for.

As you have a bass and an amp, I’d consider the following:

  1. decent headphones, if you haven’t got some already. Great for silent practice
  2. a recording interface. Recording yourself is a must, you hear your mistakes and hear what you need to focus on. Oh, and recording covers is great fun!
  3. a multi-effects pedal. I stared a thread on multi-effects pedals yesterday. They are cool - lots of sounds to play with!! A great, cheap example is the Zoom B1four. Oh, some MFX pedals also act as a recording interface, negating the need for #2, sadly not the B1four though
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Practice :grinning_face:

Oh and also don’t forget about practice

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Schaller S-Locks. They come in chrome, black, nickel, gold and ruthenium (whatever the heck that is). There are a few other finishes, but they didn’t show up when I searched Thomann. One set will run you 25 € (chrome) to 30 € (black) to 35 € (gold).

Schaller S-Locks home page

Schaller S-Locks from Thomann

The Thomann link is to the French site I use. You can pick the country and language you want at the top-right of the page.

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Nice and great goal you have there. I hope you get there sooner than you planned.

If you are not playing with others now then stick with your Rumble 40, I would suggest that you get a decent bluetooth speaker for your music source and play the bass from the Rumble, it’s always better to separate the two unless you are using the headphones to practice.

Keep it simple for now and try not to get into the realm of Pedals just yet.

When you are ready as well as financially, look into Boss Katana 110 or 210, it’s a solid choice and if you plan to gig with it, it’s future proof. You can add bluetooth dongle so you can interact with it using your phone or iPad. You can add foot switch(es) and utilize the world class built in effect with a tap.

Your Yamaha TRBX is plenty good from here till the end, I would not sell it when you upgrade, it’s your first bass and it’s a great one. There’s no need to buy back or buy it again because you will.:joy:

Speaking of how good this is Abraham Laboriel playing the 5 string version of your TRBX in the studio and it just sounds so awesome. If it’s good for him it’s good for anyone. He probably played of half the songs you listened to.

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Seriously if you want to buy something, then
the Zoom B1 four is impossible to beat for value.

Lots of us, including me, started with the Zoom.

For $100 you get

Tuner
Multi effects unit with different amps / cabs / pedals
Plus a built in drum machine.

You need to practice with a drum machine because your timing sucks :grinning_face:

There’s nothing that comes close as far as value for money for beginners.

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For its price point the TRBX304 is actually a good quality instrument - the quality isn’t the reason it’s entry level, it’s just a nice, solid basic bass. It actually has some features (like the 5-piece neck) that you usually don’t see until higher end instruments.

The biggest reasons to upgrade it are the pickups and electronics if they aren’t your thing. For example, a 3-band EQ is generally a nicer option than its 2-band + blade switch. It also has very strong ceramic humbuckers which I actually like a lot but may be a bit too “modern” sounding for some. Some people also prefer a fully passive bass.

If you like it, the TRBX504 and 604 are actually good upgrade options for the future. They have better pickups and preamp, plus a 3-band EQ, active/passive switch, and are lighter.

I’ve owned both a 304 and 604. Both were great basses.

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I appreciate all the advice, everyone. Awesome community support, and I’m really glad I get to be a part of it!

One particular item I’ve been kind of eyeballing, is the Beat Buddy Mini. Do any of you folks have experience with that?

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Yes

I have both. The Zoom includes a drum machine fyi

The beat buddy sounds better.

If you use the search function you’ll find a lot of your questions gave already been answered again and again and again and again

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Out of everything other than the bass and amp, this is my most used piece of gear. I like having a dedicated thing sitting next to me where I can press a button and practice to a tempo that sounds great. The adjust knob has detents that click, my favorite way to change settings like tempo. I don’t have to stare at it and try to set the knob ever so gently.

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Second the Schallers! I have em and like em.

If you’re going to be doing any drop tunings I highly recommend a chromatic tuner pedal. Doing drop C with a headstock tuner was… frustrating. I also really love having a 10 band equalizer since the Rumble 25 I use is a bit limited on tone control.

To echo @howard if you like the sound of your bass no need to mess with the guts. That said if you do get into modding there’s a lot of fun that can be had with customizing it.

But have fun with it! And good luck with your goals! :slightly_smiling_face:

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I was just on the Schaller english website, they look fantastic. There are three size options, S/M/L, how do I tell which one I need for my trbx304?

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I put Mediums on my Yamaha’s. They are a little larger than standard so I opened the holes just a touch to suit. It can be done by hand with the right drill bit, no need to use a drill and way safer.

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I just screwed them in (mediums) without drilling- no issues at all on nine instruments so far

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I’ve actually always used the rubber gaskets from Grolsch flip top beer bottles as a strap locks on my guitars, and you can buy rubber washers that are made for the purpose, but Schaller S-Locks are going to be more secure than that.

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As mentioned above…medium. Thomann only carries the M size, so S and L are for more specialized cases. If you watch the video on the Schaller S-Lock web page, at the very end, he mentions that you can by just the screw-in part from their web shop. For peeps like me and @Al1885 who own way more basses than straps, you buy enough full sets to match your number of straps, and then buy just the screw-in part for the remainder.

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interesting thread as i also have these thoughts, thank you OP.

just been looking into both the Zoom B1 Four and the BB Mini and not sure theyre actually what id need. i have a rumble 100 which i can put a bit of overdrive on, so not sure im ready to explore lots of different effects yet.

i guess what would help me most, and im not sure it exists, is something that can replicate ‘a band’ in my living room. so guitar doing chord progressions of my choosing with drums alongside so i could practice creating my own lines to the music.

i guess there may be some youtube videos that might do this, but is there anything i could buy instead of drum machines/effects pedals?

thanks

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