Home Forums Guitar Discussion Bass Guitar beginners question =)

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  • #24143
    junkano
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    Hey i play the acoustic atm for a couple months, and I decided to play tha bass.

    I have no experience playing one, and I planned to buy the F-404 FM one.

    I think it’s okay to buy it, because I think its useless to buy a cheap one first then the expensive one. Because the ending will be the same so I dont waste money to first buy a cheap one. And I eventually will get better/good at the f404 one.

    someone said ” i dont recommend it, its like driving a ferrari after having your driver license after 1 or 2 days”

    but it doesnt make sense to me

    What do you people think about this?:( tell me if I should do it or not, and why not?

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    • #68104
      Tim
      Participant

      The car comparison doesn’t really stand up, you may struggle to control a Ferrari, but a good bass will always be nicer to play, therefore, you’ll enjoy it more, get better sounds out of it and be more likely to keep at it.

      I would, if it was me, buy second-hand, you tend to get a better bass for your money and if you give it up you don’t really lose any money reselling it (unless you’ve really trashed it!). I bought my main bass for £200 seven years ago, gigged it all over the country and its still going strong.

      And welcome to the board!

      Tim.

    • #68131
      1bassleft
      Participant

      Is the F404 bass you’re referring to the ESP-made bass? It’s not to my taste but that’s always the eye of the beholder.

      I don’t see any danger in buying a quite expensive instrument as your first bass, provided you’re quite sure you will make a go of it. Unlike guitars, which can lose a lot of resale value if they’re not Fender/Gibson, quality basses tend to fetch good 2nd-hand money with a number of brands. I certainly think that the dull, Precision copies littering the market are not the most exciting basses to play.

      HST, budget-line basses, just like guitars, are unbelievably better to play on than the cheapies of 20 years ago or more. I still have my first lefty and it’s got a nasty plywood body, cheap electrics and a dodgy neck that’s got an action like an egg slicer. Thanks to CNC routers, it’s possible to get alder or ash-bodied thru-necks with passable active electronics for quite surprisingly low money. They’re often not too bad to play, and a pickup upgrade could keep them useful as you progress.

      Either way, there’s an argument in favour. I think I’d set a limit on the money somewhere though. There is a law of diminishing returns (a $200 bass may be twice as good as a $100 bass, but a $2000 bass may be only marginally better than a $1000 bass).

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