Hi! New here. I got this Monterey Stage Series bass second hand a couple of months ago, been noodling around a little and now want to get serious. Online, I can’t seem to find much info at all on this particular brand- what do you guys think? Is this a good bass for a beginner? Being so new, it’s definitely hard for me to judge an instrument lol
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Never heard of it, but who cares? For what it’s worth, it looks like a Fender Precision bass clone. Just start playing it! You’re going to get (an)other bass(es) anyway 
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unlike almost everybody else here i don’t think it really matters unless it weighs a thousand pounds and kills your back or the frets slice open your fingers. as long as it works ok and you like the sound, great! it looks cool, which is pretty much the number one priority on your first bass. people will say get something that feels good, but as a beginner nothing probably feels all that natural at this point anyways.
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if you haven’t yet, i would strongly advise getting a setup done. you can learn to do it yourself, but if it’s the first time it is certainly ok to just pay someone to do it. it’s not expensive and any competent local guitar guy/store should be able to do it well.
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Which one ?
you’ve never been so close to the deadline
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This pretty toy 
There is one I could get in Portugal… but only traveling there in Christmas
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According to this site, “Monterey is a budget guitar brand distributed in Australia by CMI”:
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Traded in my Sterling Ray4 last week and treated myself to a bass I’ve dreamed of owning for a long time, Warwick Streamer Rockbass. Hoping to start B2B very soon and get rid of a lot of bad habits I’ve gotten myself into.
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Hi @Rhysr, welcome to the forums! Love the color on that bass.
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Thank you sir looking forward to the journey ahead.
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Great basses !
Welcome to the forum !
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Aside from making sure it doesn’t hurt you to play, the most important thing is does it make you want to pick it up and play? If yes, then it’s a good bass for you!
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I was thinking about that too, I might bring it in to the guitar store today and see if they’ll check it out! I might also check out their bass selection, too. I think I heard there’s a slightly scaled down down type of bass? I’m very small and it feels awkward to try and handle correctly due to my small hands and short armspan 
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I might be the foremost fan of short scales here, I’m definitely in the top 5. you don’t buy a short scale for small hands. YouTube is full of little children killing it on regular long scale basses. you buy them because they’re fun, cool, light, different from the norm, you like the sound or string feel, etc. NOT because you have small hands. because if you do, you’re going to rapidly discover it still feels huge and awkward. welcome to being a beginner!
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Noted! Thank you very much, that’s reassuring to know
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stick to it, it will all work out.
but get a setup 
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Fingers crossed I’ll be adopting my 3rd bass (and 3rd bass amp) tomorrow 
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Yep. What you’re referring to is called a “short scale” bass. To be clear, a “regular” long scale bass has a scale length of 34 inches. In contrast, a short scale bass has a scale length of only 30 inches.
Therefore, a short scale bass requires neither as much arm reach nor as much finger stretch to fret down the neck, close to the headstock.
Also, as @itsratso mentioned, a short scale also has a distinctive sound compared to a long scale: a thumpier tone because its shorter string length produces fewer overtones that are common to long scale basses. To be clear, this signature tone is a differentiating feature of a short scale, not a bug. As such, a short scale serves several playing styles, preferences and genres. One ultra-famous example of a short scale making rock history is the Hofner “Beatle Bass” McCartney played on so many classic tunes.
So, yeah, check out as many short scales in your area as you can. Their necks will all be the identical 30-inch scale length, but each brand/model will feel and play differently in your hands. They’re cool that way.
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