I have a niece who wants a Bass guitar for her birthday. My sister is okay with it, because she is sure this will only last a few months at the most (but hey who knows.)

So I am not certain what to get her. I am not trying to pay more than what is necessary for what has a high probability of becoming a wall hanger or a door stop.

I don't know much about what's good or not on the low end market. I still want the bass guitar to be somewhat playable and not make her quit by gifting an instrument that is torture to play.

I did do some searching around and it seems the HB JP 450P isn't complete trash to play, but being in the States I wouldn't even know where to try one. It's either that a Yamaha TR or a Sterling Ray4. I am leaning toward the Yamaha or Sterling as they are known quantities for me, but figured I would make use of the internets and take some suggestions.

If anyone has any suggestions let me know, anything under or around $500 USD +/- is in consideration.

Thanks.

 

What about a Fender "Jazz" Bass Squier.... could also be another model. There´re pretty good imo.

 

Depending on how big she is she may benefit from a short scale. Squier make a few, all within your budget:
https://www.thomann.de/gb/squier_short_scale_basses.html

 

Do you know what bands she likes or listens to often? That could heavily influence whether she continues playing, for example, if her favorite band's bassist plays a certain model/shape.
Personally, I've found big motivation from playing the same model, playing the same songs.
As FrankPig mentioned, shorter scale basses might be a good consideration, short and light is good for the back.
If she is a Beatles fan that would bring the Höfner 500/1 (Ignition series) into the spotlight for example.
But like I said, it depends on what she likes band-wise and visually.

 

I can recommend this one Dean Edge 09 5-String Black
Cheap, solid build, good action without buzz, easy handling, available in the US.
Sounds like this:

EDIT: 4 string sissy version.

 

Last edited: Apr 30, 2023

Buy something decent. A bad bass will put her off playing and a good one will not lose much value and may even increase in value in the long term. I don't play base but I have plenty of electric, acoustic and classical guitars, most bought off ebay many in mint condition. Everyone of them is now worth more then I paid for them. The best thing is to let her try them out with a clear budget in mind. Also active or passive pickups. Both Ibanez and Cort make decent but budget friendly bases, though both of these are unlikely to increase in value in the short term.

 

I would recommend a Short scale Bass like the Cort Action Jr..
https://www.gear4music.com/us/en/Guitar-and-Bass/Cort-Action-Junior-Bass-Walnut/348G
https://www.bananamusic.it/cort-action-junior-opbc.html

Very Lightweight and easy to play, sounds good, looks great


PS: Alternatively..
https://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_gsrm20_mpl.htm
https://www.thomann.de/gb/hoefner_ignition_se.htm

 

A simple bass is probably alright but more importantly
also get her something like this (and show her this or similar)

Yousician

 

Precision deluxe, the fret is smaller and will fit her hand, Mexico

 

I would recommend a short-scale Squier bass, like a Jaguar.

 

She's 5'10" and 15 years old, so she isn't short, she's also athletic but I can understand how short scale bass could be beneficial.

I think she listens to whatever bobble head pop chick is currently on the charts.

From what I am seeing the Harley Benton is a no go or nobody has tried one.

As far as the standard stuff goes I've tried most of it, maybe I have a dated opinion of Squires I'll try one out this weekend. I am not so sure about the Ibanez's the think neck wide fretboard can be hard for beginner.

The Yamaha and the Sterling were what I came up with that I tried and thought these are not complete trash and were 32" scale length. I also personally liked an ESP LTD 204 or something similar but it was a 34" and even I as a regular guitar player found the string tension a bit high.I also tried a Jackson and a China Rickenbacker shortscale but didn't find the tone convincing even-though neither of them was bad to play.

I'll give the Dean, the Squire lineup and a Cort if I can find one to plauy a try might have to go to GC because I don't know who else who around N. VA carries Dean gear.

I don't think resale value matter much here because if she stops playing it, I am not going to get it back. What planet do you guys live on where girls give you stuff back lol.

 

Last edited: Apr 29, 2023

Either Squire or Ibanez. Ibanez are affordable (especially used), generally play pretty well, they sound good and look cool.

 

She might hit me if I did that. She a little too old for stuff like that.

She's getting lessons courtesy of that her mom is paying for, the issue is weather or not she'll want to keep doing this 6 months down the road,

 

Yes if I was going to buy her a $1800 bass, that would be a good one.

 

At that price point, get a used Ibanez SR500. Very easy to play, a ton of tonal options, and they look and feel fantastic. As others have pointed out, the fastest way for the instrument to gather dust is when it's not a good instrument.

 

FENDER MUSTANG ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Short scale makes it a breeze to play & the Mustang necks are kinda in the Goldie Locks zone. No too thick & not too thin. Which would allow her to migrate to other basses once she has a foundation of technique. Drop some custom pups in that baby if you fancy as well.

If handling a full size bass isn't an issue. Than I'll always refer to the original Fender P-Bass.

 

Last edited: Apr 29, 2023

I had a similar thing for my niece a few years back. I bought a short scale Fender Squier Jaguar Short Scale bass and she totally embraced it and it helped her stick with it due to ease of playing before she eventually progressed onto a full size bass.

https://guitarspace.org/electric-guitars/squier-jaguar-short-scale-bass-guitar-review/

 

In this case the benefit of Short scale is more about the Weight..
(although length is also a positive factor)

Cheapo vintage basses are way too heavy for a teenage girl,
heck even I find them impractical being 6'2"..

Otoh, I was greatly surprised the first time I held that Cort,
makes it more accesible for everyone.. easy sale for any beginner girl

 

Completely disagree with this suggestion of a 5 string for a beginner. Wider neck, therefore much harder to play, plus if she's learning from YT tutorials etc very little will correspond unless she's following tutorials specifically for 5 strings.