I know that guitars are rarely talked about on here but if anyone knows any good sites/places in AUS that I could get any deals on or that are generally considered good choices for guitars (only have Oxygen Music, checked out artist guitars and guitar world aus) but don't really know where to go for a legit good price or if there even are any. Have been checking for second hand as well on eBay and marketplace/gumtree and stuff but just wondering if there is anything new that would be worth grabbing. Just looking for a four string bass, any suggestions?
Good Deal on a Bass Guitar?
LBowenscheap on 03/03/2021 - 12:03
Comments
I'm playing all styles of music and am happy to spend anything below say a grand depending on how much it's gonna be worth it. As long as it plays I'm happy, so would be fine with $100-200 ultra budget, or (if it's really nice and a good deal) upwards of $700 etc. Currently looking at the Haze 19580MSBH on eBay,
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Haze-19580MSBH-4-String-Electric…
Or they'll get as cheap as
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Haze-4-String-Electric-Bass-Guit…
Wow that is cheap, to be honest I wouldnt buy a new bass at that price unless you've played it before and you're sure it isnt gonna sound like ass. It'll likely have cheapass pickups and electronics and in a few months time you'll have scratchy tonepots and a loose jack input.
Try and get to a shop to have a play before you buy anything, last year I was looking for a ~$500 bass and tried a few yamaha and ibanez in the shop at that price range and they're really nice.
Re this:
'It'll likely have cheapass pickups and electronics and in a few months time you'll have scratchy tonepots and a loose jack input.'
Those are true/wise words, but may I add another important consideration. A cheap 4-string electric bass guitar is not likely to have quality tuning pegs (etc.), and is thus not likely to stay in tune reliably, even under minimal 'playing stress'. If you are at all into (or aspiring towards) playing 'slap' bass (the style I personally enjoy playing the most …), then you definitely don't want to go near a cheap electric bass guitar, mainly for this reason. To a musician's ear, there is absolutely nothing worse than the sound of a band playing with one of the instruments out of tune. It's as bad (if not worse) as the drummer being out of time.
Another problem with 'cheapass basses' that I would add to the list thoughtfully compiled by t-180 is the quality/'straightness' of the neck (in all dimensions), and the resulting 'action' (meaning the height of the strings from the neck). Again, this will affect how 'in-tune' your instrument sounds when you play it, in various respects. Cheap basses tend to have 'crap necks' (and frets)/tend not to stay straight for long. After a relatively short time (perhaps even just a year or so), once your neck has warped/bent in any dimension, even when your 'open' strings are perfectly in tune your fretted notes are not.
In short, steer clear of cheap electric bass guitars (anything that costs < $250 new), unless all you aspire towards is banging out crap by yourself while wearing headphones. If you actually plan to accompany other musicians while playing your bass guitar, at least get one that stays in tune to a reasonable degree, and has a very straight neck/good uniform action.
As a couple of 'rules of thumb' I suppose:
It would be pretty reasonable to assume that if you spent ~$400 or more on a new bass guitar from a reputable dealer/shop it should have these qualities (I have no way to know for sure though without seeing it and slapping it around a bit).
If you found a second-hand bass guitar that was more than 5 years old and still had a really straight neck/good action, and you tuned it up and slapped it around a bit and it remained in tune pretty well, that would be an advisable purchase as long as the price was reasonable. Arguably, that would be a much better prospect than a new bass, because it has withstood the test of time. Instruments (particularly stringed instruments) are funny like that …
if you're buying new belfieldmusic has decent prices, i bought a guitar from their site for $100 less than it was on other sites. other than that i just check out local 2nd hand shops, cash converters can be pretty good.
I'd stay clear of any 'no' name brands - i'm a fender fan boy but yamaha do alot of cheaper basses of good quality in your price range.
Id have a look at facebook marketplace - and specifically join some guitar related groups - there is normally heaps of guitars moving hands -I don't know of any deals for them at the moment, but keep an eye out for a Sterling SUB Ray. It's the budget range for the Music Man StingRay (think Epiphone to Gibson, Squier to Fender). They're absolutely fantastic instruments, you won't find many better in the price class.
I bought mine from JB Hi-Fi maybe 5-6 or so years ago now. Seems like JB don't stock them anymore, but I remember I bought mine for ~$450. Quick internet search says they're more expensive than that now, but on sale I reckon they'd come down to around there.
Can't recommend the SUB Ray any higher. Probably my favourite instrument that I own.
I definitely agree, if I were starting again I'd get a Sterling Sub over a squier. The cheapest Sterling I've seen online is this one https://www.ivanhoemusic.com.au/product/sterling-by-music-ma… at $599 (not sure what their shipping price is).
Not sure where you are located but Bass Workshop in Hughsdale, VIC maybe?
https://bassworkshop.com.au/collections/basses
I'd recently picked up a Yamaha bass from them.
Picked up an old Onyx Bass for less than $20 yesterday. Thought I was ripping off the seller, then he says he bought it for $5 in a garage sale ten years ago… So Gumtree etc can be good if you want to wait for a deal. Artist don't seem so bad, even though they are another "lesser" brand.
I sold an electric guitar over the Internet many years ago, it was sold to me second hand previously.
The guy who bought it said something along the lines of I clearly didn't know the value of what I was selling. At the time I didn't care, was moving, just wanted to be rid of it to save space, but have thought about that ever since…
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/tag/guitar
Bass guitar there pretty damn cheap. You ultimately get what you pay for, but I thought to get one to have a play with - I have more serious guitars for other stuff/
https://www.artistguitars.com.au/buy/Artist-Vintage-Hybrid-P…
I have one of these. PJ pickup configuration with Active Preamp. Pickups are a little quiet and might be worth replacing the no-name strings for Daddario's / elixirs / whatever but for $249 it's pretty good. Plus they have a good return policy.
The lower-end Ibanez SR models are also pretty good in my experience.
Whats your budget and what style of music will you be playing? Since covid hit there hasnt been that many good deals when buying new…