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If there is a Best Buy store near you on this list, check it out in person;
http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/en_US/images/abn/2013/mi/pr/MI_Clear_031513.pdf
I have just been reading that they are closing their instrument sections down and bargains are to be had. Don’t have them my side of the pond, and I read they have clueless salespeople but that’s not an issue if you know which way is up. One bassist in PA said there was a Squier Mike Dirnt with a gouge in the back for $65 😯 . Heck yes at that price. Also might be a cheap combo going.
I didn’t keep an eye, as I returned abroad and came home to standard w/e AOL ‘service’ of tabs refusing to update – even though signal strength is good. Mon-Thur only with AOL.
Anyhoo, $316 seems on the low side for a good, 70s Japanese acoustic. Perhaps the sales technique was counter-productive.
I’ve also been checking into Xaviere – a new name for me but I’m up to speed with GFS stuff and they also look very viable. I prefer the look of their maple-boarded P basses to the lone rosewood J but I’m starting to think that one of these vs the new Affinities might be the battleground. As said above, I don’t think resale value is a major issue. Could be the Xavieres have better pups out of the box but the Affinity, once the production rolls out, will be much easier to try before buying.
Update: I gather the latest Affinity Jazz for 2013 has the same sort of improvements (pickguard, logo, tuners) and the Lake Placid Blue looks quite nice. Affinities have started to become a consideration – that will probably knock down the value of 2nd hand older Affinities once the latest spread around.
Scott, just to add to the confusion, this is an Affinity Squier that I could actually recommend at least trying:
It’s very, very new, has an RRP of $180 but has yet to turn up in GC and the like. I’ve mentioned that I like the PJ pup configuration as a versatile set for an only bass and, whereas Affinities have been low rent, this has some features that might apply across the range of Affinities in future.
1) Solid alder body. I’d be surprised if it’s American alder and would be unsurprised if it turned out to be agathis (sometimes called Eastern or Asian Alder). Either way, I pretty much guarantee that you wouldn’t tell the difference in tone from a bodywood on electric bass. Squier VMs and CVs use basswood (as does my new Maestro), which is less ding-resistant than alder/agathis and this bass comes in a solid colour so grain looks aren’t an issue. 3-ply pickguard, now, too.
2) “Two colour Squier logo” means that cheap-looking black “Squier” on the headstock is replaced with a more pleasing gold + black job.
3) Best news of all is that the hideous-looking and badly performing enclosed tuners of the Affinity have been replaced by proper, open cog clovers. I have never found any problem with Squiers trad-style tuners and, even if I did, at least they’d be an easy replacement compared with the nastier closed ones.Apart from the PJ, I like the P body (more compact than the J) but mated to the thinner (1.5″ nut) Jazz neck. I’m not always a fan of rosewood fingerboards, particularly the cheaper Indian rosewood with those pinholes and no nice grain, but it’s a minor issue. If my GC or MF had one to try, and it felt good, I’d seriously consider it because – if the pups are only so-so – upgrading would be stupid easy.
If you got bored of learning all the complexities of being a good bass player and settled for just being a guitarist (or, conversely, realized bass was finally an instrument worth devoting more of your life and wallet to) 😉 , you’d probably get $100+ on resale or trade up so it’s not a huge hit to try as an experiment.
Oh Scott, I didn’t specifically comment on that SUB you pictured. Things can get confusing, so bear with me. Back awhile, Ernie Ball brought out USA-made SUBs as more affordable Stingrays which are well regarded although the paint job (especially running up the back of the neck) is not everybody’s taste. The Musicman Sterling (named after EB’s son, who now runs the company) is a high spec/cost bass. Recently, there have been semi-affordable Sterling by Musicman basses made in Indonesia (as are recent Squiers) and the cheapest is SUB Sterling. Confused? So am I.
One to consider is the OLP (Officially Licenced Product) Stingrays that EB had done. They can be had used for used-Squier money and I think they make good Stingrays on the cheap. Repeating myself, but putting in a Warman pup and active EQ makes them even closer to a good, cheap Stingray. However, I think a PJ or straight J bass is a more conventional bass sound for you.
Keep posting up links to anything that catches your eye; either right here or via PM if you’d like an op before trigger-pulling.
Hi, welcome and sorry for the delay as I’m in the middle of a vacation. There’s a “who are we?” thread if you want to find out about some of us here and you’re very welcome to add your own info to it.
If you’ll pardon a bass player following up Alexander’s excellent advice, a little thing to think about with the Boss ME20.
I had a Boss bass unit (BE6 or something) and used it for a lot of gigs. The simplicity of just stepping on what I wanted; OD, flange etc, was very useful for gigs and the plastic was pretty robust. The OD was a touch fizzy and lost me much bottom end (something I’ve read about the ME20) but, otherwise, a likeable unit.
Then I got all fancy and paid out for a Peavey Max 100 (horrible, avoid) and, worse still, gave away the Boss to a kid who lost it. All that patch 36 for this, patch 57 for that was fun when casually playing alone (why I bought it) but just too much arsing about when playing live. The ME20, from a quick read, allows for simple step on/off and also some (probably enough for real gigs) combination patches. There’s no modeling, but I have good amps so I appreciate others would be more bothered than I was about the lack of some simulations.
If the Boss is well within a tight budget (and you really need the opportunity to try or return before committing), I’d certainly consider it for gigging, but there’s a risk of early boredom if you’re mostly looking to liven up a basic amp during room practice.
Replacing a nut and filing it decently can be one of the trickier aspects of a routine setup or, put another way, quite easy to foul up and ruin the action or introduce fret buzz.
Getting the old nut off may turn into a pig. Filing the slots to the correct gauge and depth requires tools. There is a welding tool that can provide the correct gauges cheaply. Warman sell one:
and a similar thang is on ebayUS:
but, as Warman say, they’re not guitar pro files and only good for plastic nuts. No use for bassists, unfortunately 🙁 . Normally, I’d say “give it a go, good to learn, buy some plastic nuts and the welder’s tool” but you’re talking about a Graphtech on a PRS. I say “take the Graphtech + PRS to a luthier/tech who won’t actually charge you very much, has the proper – £60+ – files and won’t hash it up and ruin your action.”
EDIT: As for whether it’s worth doing. I’m usually fine with a boggo plastic nut but I’m cheap and better players on Talkbass hate them and fit bone, graphite, brass, YMMV anything but plastic. I do have the graphite/PTFE bridge saddles on my piezo-equipped Jazz and they are jolly nice. I would imagine, if you dive that whammy a bit, that they’ll save you on string snaps. After all that, though, I’d be surprised if a $2000 PRS has some POS nut in the 1st place ❓
Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on holiday. There is an auction for one right now, ending soon so it’ll be a good guide for the worth of yours.
I’m afraid the seller (a ‘shop’) has gone for the “several shots of diiirty giirl with extensive cleavage holding guitar on bed” sales approach and the – frankly scary – offer that punters can request more pics of “anything in particular” . 😯 But, if you can manage to avert your gaze from the lewd pics, a completed ebay auction is always a good indication of how much you might get.
I bet there are now a few people clicking on this link, despite having no interest in the price of a Ventura 😆
EDIT: Oh crikey, I’ve just realized that all pics have the “hover with mouse to zoom and enlarge” facility. 😯 😯
Hi, sorry to be quiet but I’ve been in Malaga and have briefly returned before heading back again later today. Scott, that Maestro MM5-style bass I mentioned is on the 1st page of this thread (big pic, sorry). I’m really pleased with it at <$140 and would recommend it to you but for (1) The Stingray kind of thing is not everyone's 1st and only bass and (2) there are little quality issues to address. Nothing major; fret leveling mainly but a Squier, for example, is usually more sorted out of the box. I'm going to make it great, though, and Jimmy mentions the Warman pup. This Maestro has a decent but not Stingray-sounding pup and passive electronics. I was going to use the bass as a mule for my genuine Ernie Ball triple coil MM5 pup and a Duncan preamp. The best compliment I can pay the Warman, £15, pickup is that my long-intentioned project (I’ve had the EB pup over 10 years) is instead simply going to have the Warman MM5, an EMG BTC preamp and series/parallel switching. That’s what I did for my son’s OLP (another great used buy, Scott, if a Stingray style appealed) and the sound is simply fantastic. I’ve A/B/C’d the Warman Stingray stylee against the Wilkinson, Maestro, OLP and even the much pricier Seymour Duncan ceramic and it comes tops. It would take the likes of a Nordstrand on, IMO. Anyhoo, back to your search. Yes, I like the idea of a Squier VM Jazz (I really like the 70s style with the block markers) and I think you’re right to pass on the Affinities which are a bit too low rent for someone of your capabilities. If a Squier Japan passed my radar, whether MIJ, CIJ, 80s, 90s, Silver Series or whatever I would jump on that in preference. The Japanese Squiers are beautifully done and only 80s ones with JV, SQ or E serial numbers attract interest. 90s ones, even clearly described, don’t attract the interest, especially in the US. Even here in Britain I had to pass on this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Squier-Precision-Vintage-P-Bass-Guitar-1990-91-Made-In-Japan-MIJ-Upgraded-/230939467731?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=gFb1YCKbhbFzWForplxnsJVNyuI%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
because my son now has too many basses for his semi-interest. All clearly listed is 1990/1, MIJ (better than CIJ) and an SD 1/4lb pup, yet no-one put in a bid @ £125 and the seller pulled.
Which reminds me, Scott. Keep a very close eye on any VM or suchlike with a starting price of around $100. All of my bargains have been because of a start that’s still cheap but high enough to put people off sticking it in their watch list.
e.g., VM P (Telebass) £100 start, I got for £102, a later £1 auction finished at £175.
Squier Mike Dirnt with 30W Ibanez amp + Fender strap + lead, £100 start, I got for £121, later auction of the bass alone crossed £150.Love those starter prices that make everyone forget to put it in a watch list and you’re only up against one other bid. Of course, a regular scan of Craig’s List is always worthwhile.
Difficult, just from text, but it reads to me like the “no FX” is what you’re hearing and the “on” is broken up somewhere in the chain. Could be very simple (something unsoldered) or a burnt-out or a dud. I’m on holiday imminently, but a photo of the internals would help.
As for a compressor, I can only speak for bass. I bought an Ibanez BP10 yonks ago because my bass at the time had a really uneven response across the strings. Not such a necessary now that even cheap instruments have bearable pups, but it does have other uses. The “attack” knob can make the most hamfisted plec sound like fingerpads of cotton wool, but it’s easier just to vary technique (on a bass – guitar is perhaps trickier). The sustain knob can’t be replaced by technique; that thing used to keep a note going through a cig break if required. I haven’t used it in literally decades but, if the idea appeals, that’s what it does.
That auction ended @ $77. That sort of thang, at that sort of price, is just Goldilocks. A sale or auction local to you should get your attention, IMO.
BTW, my Maestro arrived on Friday. Not perfect but, at $136, the basis for a seriously decent axe.
Not much added info other than “great sounding bass” 🙄 . I expect it to be an Affinity, made in Indonesia to fairly frugal standards but it has the P+J pups and D’Addario strings that have done a few laps but they look like flatwounds which, IMO, sound better with age.
Useful to gauge price and I’d even consider throwing a ca $65 bid at it; a perfectly decent start in bass for that sort of money.
