I think back to my first electric guitar in the 90’s and my friends reaction when they tried it. They were amazed how easy it was to play. I hadn’t given it much thought until I tried theirs and thought “oh dear” or something to that effect.
Now I hadn’t bought an expensive guitar - think it was probably about the equivalent of US$500 in today’s money, but the neck on that thing was buttery smooth and, not that I knew it at the time, the action was really good.
My takeaway from this is whilst getting a higher cost instrument is awesome, just make sure it feels nice. Even as a newby, just hold it and have a go at fretting a note or two.
Just wish that 19 year old me had continued playing instead of keeping the guitar in the cupboard for so many years.
Also, if you are trying out your new bass, don’t be afraid to ask one of the people in the shop to play your “short list”. I did this with my first bass and it helped me pick the Squire Jazz over the Squire P bass.
Don’t think going “cheap” means going low quality either. Both my Charvel Eliminator and Ibanez RD707 were sub $300.00 buys and they are great basses. Pictured RD707
In non-covid times, the best advice I would have is to buy used. I got my TRBX604 for about $320 in pristine condition, I just bought a Pacifica 112 in very good shape for about $150, and I have resold plenty of gear for a profit after buying it used and upgrading later.
The used market for instruments is by far the best way to go, it just takes patience. Unfortunately right now it’s also carrying an element of health risk as well, but in normal times, I always feel like I failed if I have to buy new
Much better to let someone else’s broken rockstar dreams take that initial gear depreciation hit.
Hey PamPurrs, A little more about this old gma; I played drums in a 3 piece combo for a while then became too busy with married life and let those times go. I don’t expect to play in public and that’s not my goal. Just learning something new to keep active. I went skydiving at age 72 and loved it! I have a wonderful daughter who supports me by listening to me try a new lesson and an equally wonderful grandson who is serving with the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, NC. “77 and enjoying life.”
Hey Hoopscoach, I have to say, scales are a challenge. I am not too patient and quit practicing them too quickly. I also have trouble spreading my fingers to reach the notes others seem to do with ease. But a challenge is what I was looking for when I started this, so I will keep on keeping on. Thanks for asking.
Welcome to the show! I’m in the same boat about wanting nice things right off the bat lol.
Take this for what it’s worth… An awful lot of people recommend the Fender Rumble 100 as a good beginner bass amp. And it is. I had one myself.
The thing is, you mentioned those iconic 60s & 70s rock bassists… I promise you that you will never sound like that on a Class D solid state amp. I don’t mean your playing ability, that’s up to you. I mean your sound, your tone. Class D fundamentally sounds different than Class A, or even Class A/B, tube amps.
A/B is a power efficiency thing “improvement” over A, and is a dirty/clean thing. A is dirtier than A/B, and less power efficient. Even a hybrid, with tubes in the pre- and solid state power, will sound better than all Class D.
Do yourself a favor and check out a Marshall 15W DSL15C. They’re OOP, but you can find a used one for ~400-$500. Yes it’s a guitar amp. That really doesn’t mean anything. And yes it’s only 15W. That also doesn’t mean anything. You’re not playing open air concerts, you don’t need 500W+. You don’t even need 100W (or people wouldn’t recommend the 40W Fender Rumble 40).
You’re playing in your living room. You could make do with 5W, as long as you don’t dime it. 15W will be plenty. And in a year when you go gig, they’re just going to mic you through the PA anyway.
Hey Michael here!
I’m 73 and started maybe 4 years ago. Bought a fender professional jazz bass and I love it! I also bought (later) an JMJ road worn short scale bass which is easier, in my opinion, to practice with. However I will take out the 34" scale when I feel comfortable. Bassbuzz is the best learning bass site I have found! Geddy Lee bass is awesome, MIM is just fine!
I’m an ancient 73. Been playing guitar since my early teens, but only took up bass seriously about three years ago (when the band I was in needed a bassist more than they needed a guitarist!), and I used Josh’s course to kickstart me in that direction. (I particularly loved the “theory” sections, because they often explained to me things that I’d kinda “known” for years as a guitarist, but never really appreciated why.) Like many on this forum, I have terminal G.A.S. (18 instruments, but who’s counting? - Only my wife!) My basses consist of an Ibanez GSR256B 6-string, a Cort C5 5-stringer (my favourite, even though it’s not my most expensive), an Artist VHYB5 5-stringer (my “practice” unit), and a couple of Kala U-Basses (which are 4-stringers). These days, thanks to Josh’s excellent tuition, I play mostly bass in my band, but manage to squeeze in some guitar / baritone guitar / mando / uke to change things up. (Oh, and my most recent acquisition to horrify my better half was a Line 6 Variax Standard guitar, but that’s another story.) For bass amps, I have a “few” (no, honestly!), but my on-stage unit is a Bugera BXD12, a very underrated amp IMO. (Allegedly 1,000W, but that’s just advertising puffery, and it’s probably in the 150W-200W class.) … Anyway, I echo the sentiments of so many others here - RULE #1: Irrespective of what you get first up, you’ll soon be buying something better. RULE #2: If you simply can’t find anything better, then you’ll just buy something different. RULE #3: Unless you desperately need to sell your current bass to raise $$$, you will of course retain it, even when you buy another - after all, you never know when you might need it, even if it just hangs on your wall forever … In fact, my wife now has her own RULE: If you buy one, you MUST get rid of one of the others. Of course, what she doesn’t appreciate is that said rule can be interpreted as “Buy a Fender Precision, sell that cheap classical guitar you picked up at the second-hand store”. Works for me - still got 18 instruments, but the collection is getting progressively better!
Welcome!
There is nothing wrong with starting with nice gear if you have the means. However, sometime the “nice” gear is not necessarily comfortable for you or gives you what you want, since as a newbie you simply don’t know what you want yet.
My only advice to starting at a later age would be to take it slow and don’t practice too much. I started with a bang and ran through the course because I was so excited and ended up with a wrist injury that took months to get better…
Wow! Tried to read your post to my wife and she was like, what? I kind of relieved she didn’t understand. Thanks for the rules! I’ll get to work making my collection larger and better! I actually started with a Squier Jaguar, sold that to buy the Fender. Now I realize it wasn’t the bass at all. So your rules are right on!
Thanks! Glad to be here! This course is helping me alot. I spent year wondering what to do first and was pretty much thinking that I would get it at some point, I was wrong. I needed the kick in the butt and the structure!
I’m not very stingy with likes. As long as I don’t disagree with what you say, it’s on topic and you don’t have a disrespectful tone I will most likely give you a like when I read the post. I don’t want to encourage spamming but I do want to encourage participation.
Actually even if I disagree as long as it’s still a respectful tone
On topic:
This! Exactly this!
I am annoyed at my 27 year old friend who likes to sing and wants to improve but has it stuck in his head that he should have learned it as a child and that it’s somehow “too late” now.
Regarding the pricy equipment everything was already said, I think.
Go for it, if you have the budget
The premise of “I won’t buy something else later” is unrealistic
You can still sell it if you change your mind
If it helps you with your motivation that’s also a good thing
My equipment is a Rumble 100 and a ESP-LTD 204SM
I saved some money and I don’t feel that I lost quality by buying used equipment.
All so true