Looking to get a bass guitar for under $300...

B

Bomberman

Veteran X
I've been recording an EP of sorts and have been faking my bass parts using a mixture of only the low E string and an octave pedal. It technically produces bass tones, but sounds really crappy right now. I've been wanting to pick up a bass guitar for a while now, but now I sort of have justification. I played a few at the only music store within walking distance, but the only ones that felt and played somewhat decent were a couple different Ibanez basses.

That store is really overpriced, so I'm going to try and get a ride to a Guitar Center or a Music-Go-Round in the next few weeks. Are there any specific models or manufacturers that I should be on the lookout for?
 
I dont know anything about bass guitars
but I know enough about guitar center to know that you shouldn't listen to a word the salesman says when you try to buy in that price range.
I'd look for something put out by a major manufacturer (ibanez, fender, warwick, etc)
 
I refuse to listen to sales pitches. I'd like to go to a place, try it out myself with and without an amp (to listen for buzzing without and amp) and get a good feel for it. Because of this, it'll take longer for me to try each one, so I'm seeing if anyone has a specific model for me to keep an eye out for.
 
The ibanez RD series are awesome, but I'm not sure they still sell the lower priced ones. Mines an RD500 and you get no buzzing or the weird clicking that you sometimes get.
Failing that, the ibanez BTB's are good:http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/ibanez-btb-200/66774

And failing that, I've often found that at that kinda price range, brands like yamaha actually have one of the better quality-price ratios.

Have fun:)
 
Well, I went to the store and played about 10 different bass guitars within my price range, from an ultra-cheap ibanez to a used epiphone sg bass. In the end, the one that had both the best sound and feel was a hollow-body violin bass for $200. It's the oddball choice of all they had, but I really like how it plays, and I like the look of it.

It's not a bass to rock out on, but that's what my guitar is for. It produces some nice, rich mellow tones that I'm looking for. I can see that changing strings on this is going to be a pain, though. I also have to be more careful of damaging the body as well.

B0002GU336.01-AIMZUKBRH6H15._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_V1130277670_.jpg
 
Well, after a couple days of playing it, I noticed that something was rattling inside of it. It is a fully-enclosed hollow-body, so I had no way to determine just what it was. I took it back to the store, and while waiting for them to process an exchange, I looked around the bass section again. They had on display a washburn bass that I know was not there last week for the same price as my current bass. I played it for a bit and as expected, it played very smoothly and even better than my bass. I then exchanged my bass for the Washburn, and now I'm happy with my decision.

At the time, the violin bass was the best sounding in my price range. The Washburn was not there last week. I don't regret my first choice given the options I had at the time.

wxb122.jpg
is what I have now.
 
good job man.

what model is that... (it looks a little blocky.. kinda cheap lookin)

Hey, im gonna take a picture of my bass i just bought.. its a Washburn.. not sure what model.. but you'll see. (mine was $1,300)

BRB with picture...
EDIT: WOW TW went down for a whole night... now i'll upload the pictures.

BassLong.jpg

detail.jpg
 
Last edited:
SiROiS said:
good job man.

what model is that... (it looks a little blocky.. kinda cheap lookin)

Hey, im gonna take a picture of my bass i just bought.. its a Washburn.. not sure what model.. but you'll see. (mine was $1,300)

BRB with picture...
EDIT: WOW TW went down for a whole night... now i'll upload the pictures.

BassLong.jpg

detail.jpg
Click to expand...


Why would you spend 1300 on a washburn?????

For that you could something alot better. Fender Jazzman or a Rickenbacker
 
That is a Warwick. It's an awesome bass. My bass player uses one and it sounds great through practically anything. He plays it 7 nights a week.
 
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