Help buying a bass guitar?

Question

I want to buy my husband a bass guitar for our first anniversary. He has an acoustic and electric guitar and they are both Fenders.

He is not a beginner, but he also does not necessarily need top of the line. What brands should I look at, and what else do I need to know?

I want to spend anywhere between $100 to $300, and I will look at new and used bass guitars.

Answer 1

i suggest buying a fender precision bass it costs like $400 but it's really good and also a squier which is a cheaper version of it if you're really saving.

Answer 2

I agree with Cress mentioning the 400 dollar Fender precision, it really is a great bass.

One of the better models is this the 70s Vintage.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier-by-Fe...

also  I suggest the Thunderbird http://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone-Thu...

By the way it's good you are willing to go up to 300, I really don't suggest going below 250 for a bass that's going to be an anniversary present. An adult's males hands will tear through a cheap bass in less than a year. I've had Squier Affinities (which is about as low as you can go with fender) and they each were wrecks after 6 months.

Answer 3

Playing a bass guitar is different from playing a regular guitar for dexterity reasons. Although your husband plays guitar well, he will still need to get used to the fret spacing, string pressure, picking/fingerpicking, and other techniques. Completely different instrument.

So what im trying to say is that he still is a begginner on the bass and you're right to get him something within that price range. Don't get anything too fancy, but also try to buy something that isnt too cheap-looking. You want him to cherish that instrument, and most musicians look down upon cheaply-built instruments for reasons relating to sound, playability and just plain looks.

"Cheap" instruments can also sound disastrous when playing live, and frequently need repair and set-ups.

If your husband is a fan of fender, you can get him a new Fender Squier bass if you know for sure he strictly likes new instruments. Squier is a brand of fender thats made of 2nd grade material for most models, and for that reason most models wont cost you over $400. If you find that Squier costs $350+, dont buy it.

Standard Fender (not Squier) Basses only cost $200 over the price range you're looking at, and they generally can keep forever as instruments, and theyre much better than Squier.

In most people's opinion, Squier is for begginners/teen type people, and is very common for young adults that can't afford a keeper but still want to learn. Eventually all serious musicians that have a Squier end up buying something better.

However, standard Fender is well worth the extra $150 - $200, its more respectable as an instrument, sounds and plays better, and as your husband gets better at the bass, he will not consider replacing it, or perhaps even buying a new one. Fender is always a keeper; no matter how much it gets damaged over the years, people are still willing to keep and play their aged Fenders forever.

Something that is very unique to Fender (and Gibson) is that they keep forever, many people collect and play Fenders that were built in the 50's, 60's and 70's and the vintage/collector's  value for these instruments are well over $20,000 even though they only cost a fraction at the time of purchase. Squier does not have this vintage property because it "spoils" over time. Like i said 2nd grade material, it it will eventually become unplayable.

If your husband is not against playing used/vintage instruments, and if he really enjoys repair, you can probably find something dinged, scratched, scraped or cosmetically damaged that is still built with extra care and plays that way. You can buy a very excellent model for a really good discount just for that kind of damage.  A prestigious model thats normally worth $700 - $900 can sell for much, much less if it is cosmetically damaged. perhaps even within your price range.

Ive seen a spectacular1976 Fender guitar sell for as little as $1,200 just for the cosmetic damage, which most collectors dont mind (why they dont mind is a long story). All fender guitars that date to '76 should sell for at least $7,000. The cosmetic damage made the huge difference.

HOWEVER, if you plan to buy a used instrument, MAKE SURE ITS PLAYABLE! make sure that the damage is only cosmetic, and that nothing is wrong with the electroncs, frets, tuning keys or any other feature that affect playabilty.

Bringing a friend with you that plays bass is definitely a good way to judge if a used instrument is playable.

By the way, just because a bass is called "jazz bass" doesnt mean its strictly for jazz, its justs a lable, a name. Sometimes they even lable new guitars "vintage" because it was designed after an older model, but that doesnt mean that they are truly vintage.

Here's a list of the options I just reccomended, I'll post links in "sources":

Squier Bass (New), up to $350. Begginer's instrument, doesnt last.

Fender Bass (new), up to $500. For serious musicians, lasts forever. (Definitely best option)

Fender Bass (used), price can vary and you can get a really good deal.

Fender Bass (vintage/50's-70's) out of price range.

Happy Anniversary!

Answer 4

It sounds like Fender is the way to go but if you can only spend $300 get a squire which will come with a bass amp.

He will also need a bass amp since the bass will blow out his current guitar amp.

There are basically 2 types of Fenders; P-Bass which gives a solid thick but mellow sound and a J-Bass which gives a more defined razor sharp sound.

What kind of music does your husband play?

If he's into a solid all around back 'em up bass then get a Fender P-Bass.

If he's into Jazz, progressive rock then buy him a Fender J-bass.

If you don't want to spend $450+amp and do not want to get used then go with the squire editions. They are mostly the same components, just assembled in China. He will have to get a good set up at a shop.

Happy Anniversary!