unfortunately I have to choose between headphones or an amp because I don’t have enough for the both of them
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Yeah - playing bass turns out to be one of those hobbies where " I don’t have enough" seizes to have meaning.
Ask @Al1885 
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But overall would you say this gear is a good starting point
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Again, I am also a beginner, so I went through the same thought process (and many costly mistakes).
To me it looks good. I cannot judge about the bass itself, as I learn about that every day.
Personally I would get a short scale as they are easier to play (don’t have to reach to the end of the neck!). But there are many different opinions here in this forum.
If I had your price range and would not mod the bass myself, I would get a Gretsch G2220 Junior Jet. Look at the reviews. They are really great!
And even better: play it, get somebody who knows about basses into a shop and let him/her/it play it.
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Or headphones on headphone out OR connecting pc speakers to headphone out (I use a switch between my DAI and PC to I can switch audio between the two. I have monitors but this gives me another speaker profile to listen to the mix on as well.
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@Hobo
I have these headphones and they are good. Good sound and you won’t feel like your head is in a vice.
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I’m only a few weeks ahead of you, so I can’t really offer advice on each piece of gear (outside of having just gone down all these rabbit holes myself recently). I will say though that as much as possible, spending a little more up front to future proof yourself will cost you less in the long run.
One example, I cheaped out at first and bought a headphone amp thinking that would be sufficient for my needs. While I like having it and it has it’s uses, I’m now shopping for something more substantial. Waffling between a traditional amp (Fender Rumble) and a bass head (leaning towards the Warwick iGnome with USB to connect to Mac) and a separate cab. Seeing these Focusrite’s is making me second guess all of that.
I initially wanted either a BB234 or TRBX304, but got into a guitar shop to put hands on them and ended up leaving with a TRBX174EW. I know it’s lesser than the 304 but to sit down with it in my hands, it was the guitar that picked me. If you can, I’d suggest getting in somewhere and doing the same, in the end it saved me about $100 and I’m happier with what I got than what I thought I wanted.
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That looks great. You’ll have a great time.
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Man this stuff confuses me. So say I get one of those focusrites and already have headphones and an amp is that all I need to get going?
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Focusrite & head phones would be sufficient, if you don’t need to feel the bass.
Otherwise there are many options. I prefere# PA speakers ^^
What I’m missing in this discussion is software effects
I’m really thinking a Focusrite might be what I’m after. I play with headphones 99% of the time (Sennheiser studio monitors), my wife is sitting 30 ft away from me while I practice and on the occasions where I can cut loose a little, I’ve got one of the bigger Marshall bluetooth speakers with aux and RCA in. It isn’t going to shake the house but it works for as often as I’ll be using it. My issue is latency. My headphone amp has usb-c out which I’ve used and connected to Garageband, but theres enough delay between plucking a string and hearing the sound through my headphones that it isn’t workable in real time. Any clue if thats an issue with one of these boxes?
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Bluetooth will introduce latency, even with APTX LL. A USB DAC built into a head phone can introduce latency. The headphone amp is not necessary in this setup.
The Focusrite has a normal analog headphone out anyway - so no latency here if connected directly.
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Very cool, thank you. That latency thing has me trigger shy. Just to clarify though nothing is connected via bluetooth (that’s just how I connect it to my phone for music when I work out). The Fender micro amp is connected straight to my Macbook via usb-c and my headphones are connected via 1/8th jack into my laptop.
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Possibly the Fender Mustang Micro could introduce some latency in audio interface mode.
I have the Mustang Micro too, but I always connect the headphone directly to it. Maybe I’ll check tomorrow.
I do know that my Spark Mini and Spark Go have latency if used in audio interface mode, and they are “similar” to the Fender Micro…
If you have it - just test it.
Many members have a preference for Reaper as a DAW - just test it with that (free) software (and some free guitar VST effects)!
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It really is a nice little headphone amp. I got it because I like to noodle around on my 6 string a bit too. It’s actually pretty awesome for that, just a bit limited for bass. I’ll have a go this evening with Reaper to see if I get the same lag. I just need to come to a decision on which direction to go as far as combo amp / bass head / audio interface + Zoom pedal. I’m really leaning towards the Interface + Zoom.
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My pleasure. I’m glad I was able to help get things started.
And yes, you should do just fine with that setup.
Since i wont have an amp how would i tune my bass
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but how would that work if i don’t have an amp
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It just clips to the head stock and picks up the vibrations from the head stock and strings. They’re pretty neat, and even better dead simple to use.
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