Shootout: Best Four String Bass Under $300, Part I

There is a lot of differing opinion out there on just about any piece of gear in any price bracket. We all have a slightly different idea of what a simple boost or P pickup ought to be.

A classic discussion on Talkbass was an extensive comparison of J bass pickups. Very wide variations on a seemingly simple theme. "Don't they all...jazz?"

Add budgetary constraints (read: being broke) and you'll inevitably hear from folks who tell you to just "man up and spend the money", "are you serious about tone?" and "you get what you pay for." What that doesn't account for is that many designs are simple and cheap to replicate (on purpose, it's what put Fender on the map.) So why does one $XXX instrument kick ass, and some other seemingly identical spec instrument for a similar, or even greater, price, fail to impress?

"Looks good on paper."

Then there are those who lucked out, and happened upon something that works perfectly for them, or those who really can't tell the differences. Unless you're paying attention to a particular forum's members, in a google search it's often hard to tell who has a useful opinion.

Even pros can simply be jaded. I just picked up a free 4x12 with an EV12L in it at an LA pro rehearsal hall. My tech buddy was like "no one cares, they all have gear". So they likely aren't going to be of help in the Squier/SX/GIO trenches. Who cares about clones if you're tripping over genuine articles?

Those who aren't in a comparable position, that's who. If you can't afford the real thing, you can't afford a dud.

Come to the Cheap Side

I never wanted to believe cheap instruments or off brands or "non standard" designs could be just as good or better for an individual's personal style and needs.

Mostly because a bunch of guys who have $10k or more worth of gear and/or the folks who sell Tubescreamer clones to folks desperate for their own identity, and think it can be bought, are constantly screaming down people and tryi g to tell them they can't play or are deaf.

"SRV was such a plebian...I must be better through a Tom Anderson, Green Rhino and a Victoria", not realizing other lawyers and dentists also have "blues" bands. "Can't BELIEVE he showed up at the same gig with the same Suhr. How embarassing."

Even more embarassing is when the "noob" is a touring pro, session player, or really experienced gigger who happens to also have "real gear".

Leave the booteek stuff for the cork sniffers, & descend into the value trenches with me. The only thing you'll risk are your assumptions.

And believe me, making some guy with a Les Paul and a 5150 Stack sound puny with a Melody Maker, Tech 21 box & a Peavey 212 SS "MOJOFREE" combo is waaaay more satisfying than buying your way there. "How does he sound so good with that CRAP?!"

So in my nearly decade long quest for the Cream of the Crap© in basses, I'll share my experience with you.

Beginnings

I started getting bass technique down in high school, on a really basic Washburn Bantam. Slap, no pop, picking, fingering. Typical dabbling guitarist.

Later in anticipation of bands or recording, I had experience with a couple of borrowed MIM P basses, a MIM J I quickly flipped. Late 90s era.

I bought a SR500? MIJ Soundgear, 90's, EMG P/J. Really didn't know what I had or why I should keep it, sold to make moving easier. I can't go back in time, but I was too experienced to realize what a keeper it was.

And...nothing for a few years.

Big Gig, Cheap Bass

Then, I rehearsed and played in a festival band with a cheap, weird looking lowball Yamaha that was borrowed for the occasion. It got the job done, but the overly bright pickups and really "meh" playability ignited this quest back in 2008. Despite rocking a 1500 person microfest crowd with it, I wasn't a happy camper along the way.

There wasn't any solid engineer's reason for the Yamaha to suck. Their Pacifica instruments are value leaders in many segments, or were at the time. I played other guitars with similar construction that didn't seem to fight me, & I'm a tech who set it up first day. Even unplugged...meh. Never picked up another of the same type and felt impressed either. Couldn't recommend, unless your biggest worry was "will it spontaneously collapse or combust?"

 After the festival gigs,I briefly bought an Ibanez GIO single hum mahogany SGR style bass, and wrote it up oh so long ago. Google "Ibanez bass Cream of the Crap" for it.

At the time, I was smitten, but before long I was ousted out of band and bed and had to resell it to the shop at a loss for a bus ticket home. I haven't found a right hand version in this spec to re-try, almost ordered another. Great instrument, okay looks, pickup was kinda thick and dull but meaty.

The latter memory made me pause, & it's a kinda weird, skinny bass bucker, so replacement might necessitate routing. I would end up looking farther afield.

Next year I got a Dean Edge. These are mostly similar through the range, different bridges and pickup configs on a maple/rosewood/basswood frame, some may be agathis, mine was 2 soapbars and active volume, blend, bass and treble.

I've played worse basses than these low end Deans, so don't refuse low cost or free ones. Better than that dreadful Yamaha. BUT...after sampling better fare, nothing special. DURABLE, yes, it fell out of our tour pickup onto concrete several times, never had a case, & lived a rough life. Electronics aside, still probably playable.

But...these were the worst pickups ever. Mud. Replaced the neck pickup with a GFS P pickup and transformed it. The bridge pickup occasionally was useful for an upright imitation with the treble cut, but otherwise couldn't be used to tune to low D with fresh Boomers.

Dragged this around for awhile. Had sanded and oiled the neck, added racing stripes Yenko style. Was ok. Gave it to a homeless friend of mine who didn't have an instrument at the time.

But...any of the recommendations in Part III will be better than mucking about with what I had done up until now. Save perhaps that EMG MIJ Soundgear.

Having something that *feels* good and *seems a bit special to you* goes a long way towards wanting to practice and play more, and oftentimes a gem and junk can be had for identical money.

Who wants to learn the hard way that you'd want Brand Zag when when you finally Google that Brand Zig you impulse bought off of Craigslist?

Not me.

After years of trial and error, research and experimentation, I will give to you: The Cream of the Crap of Sub-$300 basses.

To be continued in Parts II & III.