Bass/Electric Guitar Recommendations Needed...

[DeltaSierra]

I've played (er, attempted to play) several different instruments in the past - accordion, guitar, bagpipes, piano, etc, and never stuck with anything long enough to get anywhere near proficient. I evidently have an ear for music (so I'm told, anyway...) and can play by ear tolerably well, although I can't read music to save my life...
Anyway, I've finally decided that I want to pick one instrument, and stick with it. Choosing what I want to go with has been hard, but at this point I'm thinking about going with electric guitar, or bass guitar.

I have a Takamine Acoustic guitar (unfortunately, I don't have access to it now, as it is like, a thousand miles away from where I am) but the acoustic guitar just isn't what I'm interested in, at least right now.

What I'm wondering is what some of the more musically inclined (and perhaps even an experienced bass/electric guitar player) would recommend for a good basic set up, for me to play with. I don't have a bunch of spare cash at the moment (nor am I likely to anytime in the near future) but I do want a good quality instrument....


Any advice is appreciated.

[Magic_Salad0892]

I've always been a fan of Ibanez.

http://www.ibanez.com/BassGuitars/SeriesIntro-GioBASS_Intro

[Spurholder]

I'm getting back into playing guitar after a more than 20 year hiatus.

Fender makes very good guitars at a very good price point. I really like the Telecaster:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TeleSTMLPB/

I've been playing a Mexican-made Strat for a year now. Nice sound, very playable, and not too expensive. Some of their American-made models are pricey, however.

[lethal dose]

What type of music are you looking to play and what's your budget?

[DeltaSierra]

What type of music are you looking to play and what's your budget?

Budget is flexible - since I don't really have any idea of what I'm talking about here, I'm hesitant to arbitrarily set a number, but, I'd say maybe $750....(?)

As far as music type... It would be easier for me to specify what I don't want to play.... Not blues, jazz, or heavy rock. Other than that, I'm fairly varied in my musical tastes...

[Sam]

How about a Squire Stratocaster. Yep, a Squire, not the Fender. It's less than $150 and sound pretty darn good. If you decide that you really like it and want the real US made Fender Strat, then you can move up. But if you decided that electric isn't for you, you're only out $150 or less.

BTW, I have an acoustic Takamine as well, really love it. It's almost 15 years old.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MP_001.jpg

[lethal dose]

Get a Mexican strat, blues junior, and boss pedal of your choice. For picks, I like Dunlop. Strings, elixir. Cables, monster.

[nineteenkilo]

I've been playing all my life. At least give us a few bands/sounds that you're going for and it will help to narrow down the field.

[jmp45]

I also have a little experience as a musician playing since the 60s. On the cheap? Second a Squire (the older ones), the mex strat's pickups are little hotter than standards. A lot of players consider a prs souless, I differ from that, you may want to give one of the Korean PRS SE models a try. Ibanez makes terrific guitars, the ones I have are one of the very few I didn't need to fret level. For an overdrive pedal on the cheap, Digitech Bad Monkey. It will work well with any amp be it high or low mids. The tone pots have quite a bit of range. Fulltone OCD is another, V3 is favored over V4, I have a current V4 and I'm quite happy with it. I mostly use a tube driver with my Marshalls.

As the other guys have asked, I'm not sure what you are shooting for so Amps you'll just have to try. I have a small vox valvetronix for practice that just sounds amazing with my prs ce24. Picked it up used for $100 at GC.

I started a thread for guitarists a while back..

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=96399

[chadbag]

In terms of Bass, people really like my Fender Precision Bass Lyte Deluxe. They have not made them in about 12 years but you can sometimes find them on eBay etc. It is a small body, natural wood bass, thinner and lighter neck.

This is not mine but one I found on the next though mine looks like this but not as worn: http://fenderbass.net/files/2010/08/-43671604691185291.jpg

I also have an older Ibanez and like that.

I don't think you could go wrong with an Ibanez bass. Does not need to be a super expensive one, but get one with both J and P style pickups. I prefer smaller and lighter bodies myself and lightweight strings. Makes for easier playing.



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[Striker]

Budget is flexible - since I don't really have any idea of what I'm talking about here, I'm hesitant to arbitrarily set a number, but, I'd say maybe $750....(?)

As far as music type... It would be easier for me to specify what I don't want to play.... Not blues, jazz, or heavy rock. Other than that, I'm fairly varied in my musical tastes...

$750.00 for just guitar or for guitar and amplifier? For guitar I would probably choose a Gibson Faded SG for about $600.00. I think Guitar Center is having a sale right now, so you might get it for less. Pretty decent guitar considering how inexpensive they are. 1000 series ESP/LTD stuff is nice. I've only owned one Ibanez, a Prestige S series, and it was ok. There are some really nice Fender Strats that were made in Mexico out there, but you do have to know what you're looking for. Whatever you decide on, I recommend you get a good professional setup job done on it.

Good amplifiers are expensive. If I didn't want to spend a lot of money on one, maybe a Peavey Classic or Fender Hot Rod or something like that.

[Split66]

I've been teaching and playing professionally for 17 years, heres some observations...... :).

If you like stratocasters I suggest a Mexican for an entry level. The squiers have really gone downhill the past few years, horrible frets, bad intonation, and shoddy wiring ( I deal with students bringing in broken squires all the time that I have to fix.)

Epiphone Les Pauls are fine, spring for the set neck standard vs the cheaper bolt on LP100 if you can.

Ibanez is a great in between option, offering you what may be the best values in an entry level electric guitar or bass. The Soundgear entry level basses are really nice for the cash, as are their RG, or AS series guitars. I private contract through a store that deals alot of Ibanez and I can safely say their CS/QC is much better than fender's foreign offerings LOL!

As for an amp, a basic solid state Line 6 will offer you a ton of sounds until you can step up to a tube amp. A loop pedal is a fantastic practice tool to think about.

Most important thing is to get to a shop and try out alot of things, even things you cant afford till something feels right.

Any technical questions, or further instruction/where the hell do I start/random playing/music theory questions PM me man, I'm more than happy to help anyone on M4C for free.

[Urabus23]

I really like my Edwards basses and guitars that I got from Japan. They're similar to the LTD line but made in Japan. The exchange rate is crap now so they're probably gonna be around a $1000.

If you want something cheaper, the Mexican made Fenders have improved a lot over the years. You can't go wrong with a Fender:p

I have some Boss and Roland processors pedals that I like to use when I can't crank up my amps.

[Striker]

I really like my Edwards basses and guitars that I got from Japan. They're similar to the LTD line but made in Japan. The exchange rate is crap now so they're probably gonna be around a $1000..

Yeah, ESP makes some nice production stuff under the Edwards name and some very nice handmade stuff under the Navigator name. Available in Japan and Europe I believe. Getting one in the states is doable. Ebay is the easiest way as they do come up for sale once in awhile. Getting one from outside the country and shipped here, can just be a PITA. Unless it was easy, I would either just buy an LTD or an ESP Custom Shop guitar. The LTD stuff is relative to the Edwards stuff, though the Edwards stuff is a little nicer. And the Navigator stuff is made in the ESP Custom Shop and extremely expensive, so you might as well just buy a custom guitar.

[theblackknight]

OP, you need to tell what kind music you will be playing. You said you wont be playing hard rock, so does that mean youll be playing standard rock and roll and metal? Those things arnt hard rock. So some names would be really helpful.

That being said, in the price point, i would say Ibanez as well. A Ibanez solid body RG or S series is going to play easier bc of the flat d shape neck with satin finish, bigger frets, and the H-s-H pickup combo is going to give you the biggest array of sounds from a solid humbucker sound to the cluckiest out-of-phase single coil sounds. These guitars are more user friendly then a les paul type and will get more sounds.

If your going to go semi-hollow body, epiphone isnt even close to ibanez as far as quality.

sent from mah gun,using my sights

[Magic_Salad0892]

Gibson makes some great basses too.