what type of bass should I begin with?

What kind of music do you want to play?

I started with/have a Fender P-Bass, it doesn't have very much tone to it, but I've been able to explore jazz, rock, funk, and country to find what i like to play. It came with a small amp and didn't cost very much either.

I wanna play some slap, little jazz, some funk but mostly rock

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Originally posted by Gary423

What kind of music do you want to play?

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I started with a Fender Jazz Bass (Mexican made to save some $$ - around $400 or so through musiciansfriend.com). It's been a great bass and I still play it to this day. It was great playing with friends in high school and it did a great job in my college Jazz band days. I love playing all sorts of music and the Fender has not done me wrong. It's comfortable to play and has a great slap sound. I've always been a fan of Fender Basses cause I'm a bigger guy and they're more comfortable to me to play.

However, if you're just getting started out with bass and don't want to dish out $400 - $1,000 bucks on just a bass. Check out musiciansfriend.com They have a lot of great starter packages which will give you everything you need to play (including an amp and some instruction book stuff!).

Top Cop

I've been playing the same bass for 29 years, a Music Man Stingray which I put a graphite neck on in 1985. I studied upright for awhile with Frank Tusa (myspace.com/franktusa) and I think he gave me the best advice I've ever heard. "If your learning to play a violin, buy a Stradivarius." The point being that the better quality instrument you buy, the easier it will be to learn on and the more likely you will stick to it. My advice...spend as much money you can on your bass...you can buy a better amp and accessories as you get better.

just picked up an $80 peavey milestone and its doing the job for now, getting me use to the bass

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Originally posted by harwell

I've been playing the same bass for 29 years, a Music Man Stingray which I put a graphite neck on in 1985. I studied upright for awhile with Frank Tusa (myspace.com/franktusa) and I think he gave me the best advice I've ever heard. "If your learning to play a violin, buy a Stradivarius." The point being that the better quality instrument you buy, the easier it will be to learn on and the more likely you will stick to it. My advice...spend as much money you can on your bass...you can buy a better amp and accessories as you get better.

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Since you have 3 distinct styles listed, a 2 pickup instrument would be what I would use. I have an active American Deluxe Jazz that will do all those and more. For the meantime, tweak that Peavey so the action fits you, and have at it! (There are online manuals for most Peavey equipment)

F4

The entry level Peavey basses have generally been very nice for the price. Once you get a feel for playing and know what you like or dislike you should try to upgrade a little.

Edited by - Steve Haynie on 07/15/2010 07:10:22

If price is not a barrier, then the Fender American basses and the Warwick Corvette/Thumb basses are good slap choices with good tone and can last through professional levels. On a cheaper note, the Dean and Ibanez basses are decent for the money. The aforementioned Music Man basses are also excellent basses, but a bit more expensive as well. I do agree with the premise that you should buy the most bass that you can afford. But get all the advice you can before you buy, so all that hard earned money is not wasted !

Look at the Squire Jazz bass.

If you have a shop near you that sells Gibsons, you might want to pick a couple of them
up and give them a try. Gibsons are often under-rated, in my opinion, but there are a lot
of players who swear by them. Try an SG and, if you can find one, play an old EB3-L.

Like FriPilot said, play them at a music store. Play as many bass's as you can before you buy anything.

I really enjoy playing upright bass. Any music store that carries bass fiddles will let you try it out. You might get hooked.

You can't go wrong with a Fender Jazz Bass. You can play any style and they hold thier value for resale

I believe you should go for a bass that is within your price range. It is okay to buy inexpensive. At rondomusic.com/bassguitars4.html you can find some respectable basses to begin learning on. Buy one, take it to a music shop for setup and begin learning. When you are read to step up, you will have a nice little beater bass to keep around, or help another young player to get started.

Almost every question asked here in this forum is addressed in Bluegrass Bass -- 21st Century Edition. Enter the drawing for Barry Bales' DVD and if you win, you also win a copy of BB--21. What a deal!!