Need a good cheap bass....

[Shredsickgnar]

I am in an electronic band and I need a bass. Something good for dance music with some good punch. Right now I am looking at Danelectros, MIM J & P basses, and the Eastwood Classic 4 (Grestch style hollowbody). I am really trying to keep it as cheap as possible cause I am on a very tight budget.
Here is an example of the style of bass I will be playing.

www.myspace.com/algebraicsatellite

Thank you for your help,

- Nick

[billbass1]

http://www.rondomusic.net/

SX basses are great and cheap.
I own six of em myself and they are part of a collection that includes
high end basses................

[jh45gun]

I just traded an amp for a new California brand P bass. Yea it is made in china and the price is cheap fleabay has them from 90 to 120 bucks. I have played guitar for years so I know what a bad neck and frets look like and the neck and frets on this cheap bass are fine. Alder Body and the pickups sound fine. I was supprised at the tone. The music store wanted 175 bucks but then music stores normally want more then what you can get stuff on fleabay for. I traded a Fender Princeton Chorus for this bass and and a 40 dollar gig bag case for it. If you want a good Fender Precision Clone that is reasonalbe in price I would look at these. It was set up ready to play and the set up was not bad though I am going to take it back to the shop and the owner said he would tweak the action for me though I suspect he may say its good as is as it plays fine. Being a long time guitarist I am not used to the higher actions a bass has.

[Thor]

Improve on quality and go used. G&L, Guild Piolit, MIJ Fender PJ. Probably would shy away from the hollow body for that style of music (dig the tracks by the way)

Cheers,

Edward

[asdf]

I also have a friend looking for a good cheap bass. Does this seam like a good price on an SX bass:
http://www.amazon.com/SX-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-SJB-75/dp/B000QUAJG4/ref=sr_1_6/103-0073732-8207832?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1182713793&sr=1-6

Anybody been able to directly compare the G&L basses to the SX ones?

[billbass1]

I also have a friend looking for a good cheap bass. Does this seam like a good price on an SX bass:
http://www.amazon.com/SX-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-SJB-75/dp/B000QUAJG4/ref=sr_1_6/103-0073732-8207832?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1182713793&sr=1-6

Anybody been able to directly compare the G&L basses to the SX ones?

Yeah, it is a great price and great bass.
You can buy em direct right from their website I listed earlier.
Rondo also sells em on ebay.
I think there jazz bass PUPs are much better then their precession PUPs.
I own 4 of their jazz basses, 1 of their P basses, and 1 of their acoustic basses.
I am not farmiliar with G&L myself.
The SX s are right up there with basses costing 4 times or more what they sell for.

[Bassomatic]

Old Guild Pilots are a steal in most cases (especially recommend the EMG loaded P/Js).

[big mike]

Yamaha RB Basses are killer for cheap.

[Stevo57]

http://www.ravenwestguitar.com/elguit.html

They have a number of 4 through 8 string basses they are selling for 3-400 due to a legal dispute about the headstock design. Heres a thread from another forum I've been hanging at with a little more info.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=111869

[lowendgenerator]

Another vote for SX basses. I'll be striking on that ash jazz with the block inlays soon. VERY SOON!

[fretless]

You might want to look into the OLP Stingray basses. They are made in China, but made very, very well. And, they are actually liscensed by Ernie Ball, so they're at least in the ballpark of a Stingray.

They sound 80% as good as your average $1500 Stingray, but Musicians Friend, and other online retailers, or any Guitar Center sells the 4 string for around $200.

I've played bass for over 20 years, and I'm pretty picky with "lower end" gear (no snob for sure, but if its cheap and sounds like/made like crap...how much did you "save"?). So, I think I'm a fair and objective judge of what good tone is. I bought an OLP Stingray a year ago. Constantly amazed at it. Built very well. Stays in tune, quiet electronics, stable neck,nice frets/finish/hardware, very, very punchy and articulate tone. Slap tone is flat out remarkable. Worth looking in to.

Good luck finding the right bass. Luckily, we live in an era now of fantastic cheap gear.

[LearnedHand]

Yamaha RB Basses are killer for cheap.

+1. I have one and for a guitar player it is easy to play and makes some nice sounds to lay down as backing tracks.

[lowendgenerator]

You might want to look into the OLP Stingray basses. They are made in China, but made very, very well. And, they are actually liscensed by Ernie Ball, so they're at least in the ballpark of a Stingray.

They sound 80% as good as your average $1500 Stingray, but Musicians Friend, and other online retailers, or any Guitar Center sells the 4 string for around $200.

I've played bass for over 20 years, and I'm pretty picky with "lower end" gear (no snob for sure, but if its cheap and sounds like/made like crap...how much did you "save"?). So, I think I'm a fair and objective judge of what good tone is. I bought an OLP Stingray a year ago. Constantly amazed at it. Built very well. Stays in tune, quiet electronics, stable neck,nice frets/finish/hardware, very, very punchy and articulate tone. Slap tone is flat out remarkable. Worth looking in to.

Good luck finding the right bass. Luckily, we live in an era now of fantastic cheap gear.

Oooh yeah. +1 on the OLP basses. I used to gig with one. It was stolen, and I miss it. The fret ends were a litle sharp on mine, but it was very well made otherwise.

[Pearly Gator]

My bass collection is comprised of only cheapies. They are....

Fender Hwy1 Jazz $425 used.
Squier P - alder body $75 used. Add $20 for used "designed by EMG " pickup.
Peavey Fury 5 active - $200 (Used)
Squier Bronco $80 used

Also, another vote for the OLP Stingray. The neck was a little too chunky for me but I did a comparison with a genuine MM Stingray active. The OLP only lacked a little top end while recording. IMHO an audience would not hear the difference in a band situation.

PG

[lowendgenerator]

They don't get much cheaper than this! (click me (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120135679259&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=002))

[Chuck King]

Old Peavey basses are some great bargains. T-40s are emerging as classics but can still be bought relatively cheaply, and they are tonally amazingly versatile. If you like a thinner neck, J-style bass, the Foundation is a good option.

[GuitaristZ]

yamaha basses are great...in my experience

[Ishouldbeking]

+1 on the SX basses. I dropped $140 (20 was for shipping) on an SX 62-P bass and it's definitely the best bang for your buck in the world of basses. It will need new strings, and the action and intonation will need to be adjusted, but beyond that, they're solid. And if for some reason you wind up with a "dog", Kurt over at rondo is very cool about returns or sending replacement tuners, knobs, etc.

And I like the way they look better than MIM fenders, though that's just me.

[mgarrison99]

I recommend the Jay Turser JTB-4X. I've owned P-bass copies, a Steinberger X4, and an Ibanez GSR200. This is by far the most comfortable and best sounding budget bass I've owned. Active tone controls and you can see the wood grain (no plywood here). And for $260 driveout, it's hard to beat!
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u53/mgarrison99/Jay%20Turser/jayjtb4X.jpg
Check out this link, but you can Google it and find it all over the place:
http://stovermusic.com/mshop/bass-guitar/electric-bass/jay-turser-jtb-4x.html (http://stovermusic.com/mshop/bass-guitar/electric-bass/jay-turser-jtb-4x.html)

good luck!