I Bought 5 Cheap A$$ Basses (To See if They Sucked)

[spidey9]

@Blazork

he eventually said “This is what you get for buying cheap guitars.”

This is code for “This is what you get for bringing bass to someone who doesn’t have the slightest idea what he is doing.” If it were me, that shop would get no more of my business.

I have a Sterling Sub Ray 4 and the frets don’t buzz at all (I do my own setups - it’s not difficult). Probably just needs the action and/or the truss rod tweaked a bit.

Getting back to your original question, I like my Ray 4 enough that I’ve upgraded the pickup with an Aguilar and the preamp with a 3 band Tone Monster. And I may not be finished.

[Growl]

Its weird that it has buzz. I mean yeah if you look at top of the line MM it is cheap, but for us mortals ot aint that cheap. I paid mine few dayd ago 320 euros plus taxes and shipping. It arrived with low action and no buzzing or hardware issues so Im happy and I plan to keep it OEM.

Regarding that luthier, hes probably someone who doesnt know their job. Probably just tried adjusting action and truss rod. But your issue probably needs fret leveling and recrowning. If you are bold enough you can do it yourself.

[Blazork]

Yeah, I think that is pretty much exactly what he did. I think I’m gonna make a project out of this and replace the preamp with a Darkglass Tune Capsule and maybe replace the pickups and then try to see what I can do about the fret buzz while the strings are off.

[howard]

Excellent

[John_E]

Hi Blazork, welcome, glad you are here.
This video may answer your question…

Show Us Your Basses (Part 1)

I don’t, but LOBSTER does It’s funny that he says the Ray24 pick up is an ok pick up, because he smashed it in a different review. [Sterling Ray4 SUB w/ Aguilar AG4M Pickup + STOCK Preamp! EZ Ray Upgrade!- LowEndLobster Fresh Look] And this is the same bass and pick up, but with the Aguilar Pre-amp added. I don’t hear enough difference to make the pre-amp worth it, but if you want the midrange (which is better then the treble most of the time) then you may want this pre-amp, but …

[T_dub]

Great Vid @JoshFossgreen. I always wondered about the $99 or less basses. I hear good things, if you expect a $99 bass, even better then what you would expect for $99, but I have never bought or played one, so It was good to see you go thru them. Pretty much what I expected, something you can make good if you know how, but maybe not great out of the box for a beginner.
Of course if the beginner finds Bass Buzz, he can get great tips how to make it work, and even upgrade it.

@Blazork

Yeah, I think that is pretty much exactly what he did. I think I’m gonna make a project out of this and replace the preamp with a Darkglass Tune Capsule and maybe replace the pickups

That is a great pre-amp. with nice pick ups, you can get all sorts of tones out of it. Just be forewarned, that it won’t sound much like a Stingray any longer.
I actually entered the Lobster Ray24 giveaway and requested the Tone Capsule dark glass as the pre-amp, but I also have other stingrays with the stingray sound, which I love.

It is a great choice to keep the bass, it is a great choice to upgrade it, and that pre-amp is a great pre-amp, if you want a more metal sounding bass then a classic sounding Stingray bass. The result will be great if that is what you want.
If you want a more stingray sound, I would start with the pick up and put in an Aguilar, or any one of a bunch of others available, and even with the stock 2 band pre-amp, it sounds really good.
But like I said, you can’t go wrong with the DG tone capsule if you want a bunch of NON stingray tones (why I would put it in the Ray24 if I were to win it off Lobster, since I have 3 stingrays already, so don’t need another one that sounds like these I have (which I love btw).

[MC-Canadastan]

@howard

Don’t be put off by info online suggesting you need gauges, files, or other tools

It’s true you don’t. But they do help, especially when you can get a complete set off of Scamazon for $30 shipped.

[Blazork]

I love the Stingray sound, so I’ll keep the pre-amp and swap the pickup. I’ve got an old Greg Bennet Fairlane FN-1 and one of the knobs snapped off, so I might swap it out…Actually it’s got a passive pre-amp, so maybe not.

[sshoihet]

I use a ruler, a business card and a sheet of paper along with the allen key and/or screwdriver, and usually I just eyeball it and lower it until it buzzes then raise it up a bit. Measurements are just a starting point, the setup is a really personal thing. The thing that some people find surprising is how high many pro musicians like their action. .

My fretless bass actually took the most effort to set up, I think because of the way the string leaves the fret board is much less forgiving than a fret.

One of these days I’ll break down and buy some nut files

[howard]

yeah. IMO long term the nut files are worth it but the gauges have little value unless you’re setting up lots of basses for others.

The gauges will get you to spec, but spec isn’t what matters; what matters is what feels right to you.

I’m pretty much in the camp of the Guns&Guitars guy and Marcelo on this one - this is fine to do by feel in the worst case, and preferable to do by feel in the best case.

Pickup height is a really funny one because even the spec is only meaningful there for whatever specific type and gauge of strings they specced it with, and loses meaning once you change strings in the first place. When all that really matters is it sounds good and has sustain.

It’s funny because I would normally be prone to measuring things - I’ve been an engineer for decades and was an analytical chemist before that; measuring things was literally my day job. But with bass setup, the measurements are immaterial and the feel and sound are all that really matter.

[T_dub]

@JoshFossgreen, Great video. I never went the “under a hundy” route, and have always wondered about all the good reviews.
I have seen, “Yeah, this is a PC of Shit”, to “WOW, what a great bass”, but I only trust a few people 100%, and you top that list.
Nice to see the point blank, no BS, “yeah, this feels like a Hundred dollar Bass” review. Of course, in most cases, they are worth every penny, and often better then you would expect for the price, but fit, finish, hardware, you can’t expect much more from a hundred dollar bass, considering that is what a HipShot drop tuner cost, let alone a set of tuners.

One thing that would be nice to review, would be the budget basses (costing from $200 and up) that are complete crap, to let people know.
One brand that comes to mind is Fret King. I think they are over $200, close to $300 shipped (would have to verify that), and they are apparently complete crap.
This would be a “warning” type video. If you are a new bassist, do not get this, because you will have a hard time learning bass, and you may decide not to play bass, because of this bass that is not constructed well, is designed poorly, and is hard for anybody to play.

@Blazork

Actually it’s got a passive pre-amp, so maybe not.

You can turn a passive bass active with an active pre-amp.
This may take some extra routing / modification to your electronics cavity, or it may all fit nicely (assuming the 9volt battery can fit inside), which could be a DIY project if you have drills, chissles, or a fancy router.
But you can Tone Capsule that bass with some killer pick ups and it would be sick.

I love my Aguilar Pick up for the stingray sound.
EMG, Seymour Duncan, Nordstrand, Delano, and other name brands are sure to be great.
I am anxious to try a Herrick pick up and have him cast the housing in the color of my choosing.
Also, for quality at a price that is hard to resist, Kent Armstrong, hand wound and $52 on Reverb. Between 50% and 70% lower then the others I named, if money is any issue, start there, and for quality alike, start there.
If I could do my dream Ray4 upgrade, I would get Herrick MM Neo-Humbucker with orange housing and not sure about pre-amp. EMG has some good push pull, but I think its to coil tap their pick ups, the Tone Monster, budget preamp sounds awesome, so I may do the herrick with the Tone Monster (not to be confused with DG Tone Capsule). Tone Monster is the brand

[sshoihet]

My first bass I 3d printed myself a height gauge, never used it after that. If I need to check the height of something, I usually use an Allen key. The guitar manf. guidelines are mostly to produce a reasonably playable instrument while minimising the chance that someone takes it down off the store wall and has it buzz when they play it usually I don’t care if the action is a bit high as long as it’s not so high to cause intonation problems. I have a Yamaha AES guitar that goes sharp if you don’t use a very light touch! Pretty much everything about a guitar is a compromise so whatever.

[JDDaniel]

@JoshFossgreen

What do y’all think? Cheapo fan, or brand names all the way?

I don’t have any of the super cheapo basses, electing to “reward” myself (even as I was just starting my Bass journey last year) with higher priced instruments.

I did however buy a used Ibanez so I could get started on B2B Beginner Bass Lessons | BassBuzz.com while waiting for my Fender J Bass to arrive and totally agree with you @JoshFossgreen about buying a used bass. For the $100 I gave the guy for the Ibanez, he threw in a strap, a 15w amp, and a cable. The amp was/is totally crap and one of the pots is damaged on the bass, but for $100, it plays so I didn’t worry. Besides, I can let my grandkids play it with absolutely no worries about dirty little finger smudges and/or them damaging my higher quality/priced basses – although I am teaching them proper handling technique (clean hands, don’t abuse the instrument, etc. but still letting them have fun).

I am about ready to try Reverb for a bass purchase but haven’t surfed the site enough to find something I can’t live without.

Speaking of, I might try to sell my Schecter on there. I like the bass and love the looks, but I just don’t play it nearly as much as my Fenders or the acoustic Traveler bass which stays right beside my desk and I pick up multiple times a day to play riffs or scales for a few minutes in between conf calls. Anyone interested in a Schecter 4-string, with a hard-shell case, DM me. I might go ahead list it on For sale or trade

Sorry for the long post.

[John_E]

Look in the Talkbass classifieds as well.
I have had really good luck there.
Things move very quickly though.
I have not sold on their yet as its a $30 membership upgrade to do so (keeps riff raff out) and am not selling enough to need another outlet and pay.

[TL]

I was sorta hoping my starter bass - the mighty SX - would have made the cut in this video, but I guess it’s not exactly a sub-$100 bass, even though it’s still a low-budget instrument. I guess if I have to draw comparisons, it’s probably in the Harley Benton league (although the SX’s tone woods are arguably better, it’s got an alder body + maple & rosewood fingerboard), i.e. mine needed a fret dress and shielding, but it wasn’t terrible out of the box, and with these adjustments it’s been an OK bass to learn on. After all, that’s what counts so early on - one day, I’ll upgrade to something snazzier and appreciate the improvement even more. (Until then, Fender, please release a lefty Oly White P bass that doesn’t cost close to £2,000! )

[howard]

I was pretty impressed by the SX I tried. Nice bass for the price.

The one I tried was a little more expensive (their Spector LX clone) but still way less than the equivalent bass from Spector. And it was good.

[eric.kiser]

Added to the BassBuzz YouTube Video Guide in the Bass Gear Reviews section.