What qualities denote a good bass guitar?
What is it that good bass guitars have that the not-so-good ones don't have? What specifications or materials tell you that a bass is better than another? What is it that makes a Gibson better than a First Act?
I plan on buying a bass guitar sometime this summer, so how do I know what to look for?
My price limit will probably be $500.
I plan on playing in my school's jazz band, maybe a church band, and hopefully starting a rock band, too. So I'll probably being playing everything: bossa nova, swing, Christian, alternative, metal, etc.
I'm kind of looking at an Epiphone SG, but I'm not sure if it would look suitable on all stages. It'd work at a rock gig, but what about in jazz band or at church? What do you guys think?
Every single thing. Mainly the pickups and the neck. If you tell me your price range i'll suggest some stuff… normally a good choice would be squier or epiphone if you're on a tight budget because they're made by the same people as Fender and Gibson. You could always go into a shop and see which one you like, normally the more you pay the better you get but try and stick to the brands you've heard of or others recommend… personally i wouldn't get an ibanez unless you're planning on doing metal, don't get a jim deacon because they're horrible, yamaha make some very good basses quite cheap too. Its a matter of preference really, and how much you're willing to spend. Hope this helps
Every single thing. Mainly the pickups and the neck. If you tell me your price range i'll suggest some stuff… normally a good choice would be squier or epiphone if you're on a tight budget because they're made by the same people as Fender and Gibson. You could always go into a shop and see which one you like, normally the more you pay the better you get but try and stick to the brands you've heard of or others recommend… personally i wouldn't get an ibanez unless you're planning on doing metal, don't get a jim deacon because they're horrible, yamaha make some very good basses quite cheap too. Its a matter of preference really, and how much you're willing to spend. Hope this helps
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well, everything…
wood assortment and quality of treatment, quality of hardware, pickups, and in the end, playability and sound quality
but you can't tell that bass guitar is good from specs on paper, so others players experiences and your own impression is only thing that can really tell is some product good or not
EDIT: in that case I would go searching for something used, on talkbass forum there are lot of great basses for great prices, look for some yamaha TRB1004/1005 or even some cheaper Lakland or Music Man
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