FT I need a bass guitar.

[Swingman]

Yep. AAMOF, he used the only appendage left (that could reach the floor and would operate a pedal board, that is) to play the drum machine.

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 11:57:27 -0400, Silvan brought forth from the murky depths:

Ditto here. It's for me and it's for fun. I just picked up the not-so-ubiquitous Washburn Tabu, also a red beaut. $99 on *b*y sure can't be beat! I recycled an old stereo phono amp and a full-range, old, 12" console stereo speaker, then zipped to zZounds for a Danelectro E-15 headphone amp. Perfect, though not to be taken into public.

Au contraire. Female musicians have their choice of the crowd every evening, though perhaps not at age 14. (But I knew some who did back in Vista. Why weren't they like that when I was that age?)

Something I hadn't really thought about is that Steve could talk to musicians with broken basses and repair/replace the broken body/neck for a lot cheaper.

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[Steve Knight]

not much but in my first shop it was not big enough for her to do anything. now she would only be interested if a friend did it too (G)

I think i got a trade going for one. I am seeing if he will throw in a small amp and tuner.

[Reyd]

In article , [e-mail] (J T) wrote: My 0.02$CAN stay away from epiphone brand, I bought one for my first guitar(about 2 years ago, whe I was 14) It was great for the first year, but It is not as good as the Squires. and about twice the price.(250$CAN IIRC) the neck joint is coming apart, poorly designed, and the canted back head means the string tension really tries to pull it apart, the electronics were bad, treble/rhythm(which pick up you use) didn't work, neither did the treble pickup, turned out the wires were touching inside, the jack on the bottom comes loose all the time, the bridge is screwy, and the nut was too low(I had to knock it off with a chisel and glue some cardstock in to stop it buzzing on the low frets. so a nice looking les paul imitation, but not worth the 6 months of work to pay back the parents:-) also, it is a tad on the heavy side, as are all the les paul style ones, and the round neck really makes you want to wrap your hand around instead of trying for proper posture. I do quite like the squires, they are one of the most reliable brands, and a very decent starting guitar, my friend had one and he has used it hard, no signs of serious damage yet, and at 99$CAN used from a music store store was pretty good. A friend plays BC rich, they are nice if a bit more expensive, and not really worth the extra money unless you really need the fancy paint and spiky shapes. so to boil it down; squires are my reccomendation, come in all colours reliable cheap decent resale value when upgrading occurs and very good. there are nicer brands(yamaha, Ibanez, Gibson etc) but at this time go for the cheaper one. try to convince her that red is a better colour, after about a year or two I'd bet she won't want a pink one anymore

[J T]

Thu, Apr 15, 2004, 1:09am (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Reyd) put out: In article , [e-mail] (J T) wrote: My 0.02$CAN stay away from epiphone brand, I bought one for my first guitar(about 2 years ago, whe I was 14)

Whoa there. I'm not sure who you're responding to, but it isn't me, so don't know why you're referencing me. What I said in this thread, was not to get her an amp, until she started practicing at someone else's house. Noise factor, for the 10% that didn't get it. And, if you're somehow thinking I'm interested in a guitar, wrong, I've still got an unfinished banjo in my shop, that'll get worked on again - someday..

Why not make a guitar? That way you can have a custom made guitar.

JOAT I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office women who are as unqualified as some of the men who are already there.

- Maureen Reagan

[Mike Marlow]

FWIW, Epiphone has a much better reputation in guitar circles than Squire. You may have had a bad experience with one but that does not make the entire brand suspect. In the world of knock off guitars, you will find many more players, even good ones, playing Epiphone Les Paul knock offs than you will find playing Squire Strat knock offs. Wonder why that is? BTW, you'll also find a lot of players playing other brands of Les Paul knock offs which are better than Epi - look for a 70's vintage Ibanez.

Don't know why your neck joint is coming apart, but if the guitar is only 2 years old, take it back. Epiphones come with a limited lifetime warranty so if there really is something wrong with the neck or the pocket that's causing separation, Epi/Gibson will fix it. As to the headstock - that is the standard Les Paul backangle. The string tension is just fine and it does not try to pull the headstock apart. This design is 50 years old and is the single most copied and successful design in the world of guitars. It can be a bit fragile - Les Pauls are known for breaking the headstock if they get dropped, but then again, you're not supposed to drop your axe.

, the

Electronics (really - pickups and switches in a LP knock off) are a weak point on an Epi, but only compared to more expensive guitars. Be assured, the pickups in those Squires are not of the same quality as the pickups on a branded Fender Strat. That's the world of economy guitars. You don't trade off price without trading off quality. As to the wires touching - you've got a point there. Should never have passed QC - but then again, that kind of thing does happen, every day.

the jack on the bottom comes loose all the time, the

The bridge is a standard TuneOMatic bridge design. You just have to know how to tune it. It's not a difficult thing but if you're used to Strat style bridges, or trem bridges, then an LP style bride might seem "screwy".

and the nut was too low(I had to knock it off with

???? Knock it off with a chisel and then build it up with cardstock? That makes no sense. Did you try to adjust the truss rod first? Low fret buzz is a sign of a problem with neck tension. All guitars experience this with changes in temperature and humidity. My electric is a $3,000 custom built guitar and I have to tweak my truss rod twice a year as the seasons change. Changing string guages will also cause problems like this since you're really altering the relationship between the frets and the strings when you change guages. Same fix - setup the neck and setup the bridge.

so a nice looking les paul imitation, but not worth the 6

That's always the hard part.

That would be the Les Paul style... a real man's guitar... ugh!

as are all the les paul style

I'm sure it is serving him well. It all depends on what you want out of a guitar. Squires will never sound like an Epi but it all depends on what you're looking for in sound. As for reliability, they are far from the most reliable brand, but like I said, if it works, it works. As well, there are millions of Epi's out there serving just as well, being put through just as much hard work.

I'd place that Ibanez you mention above as the best economy guitar for the money. It's the best built of all of the economy-to-mid range guitars out there, has a very decent resale value, decent styling, excellent playability, excellent sound. As to color - red is cool - definately cool, but Tiger or Quilted Maple over Honduras Mohagany is soooo much cooler. There - we got it back on topic - got the wood part in there.

[mttt]

Agreed - Epi's come a long way since the 70's...

[Kiwanda]

the

than

I missed the original post here, but had to weigh in on this topic. First, if the OP is looking for a good but inexpensive bass, I wouldn't overlook the Yamahas. I'm a guitar player but have a Yamaha BB 404 bass that I really like-- bolt-on neck, alder body, natural finish. Sounds and plays well, and was only about $250 new w/gig bag. When I bought it I looked at the Squires, low-end Fenders, and most other basses in the $200-300 range and thought the Yamaha far above the rest in sound, playability, and workmanship.

On the guitar front, I tend to agree with the other posters here: Squires are really bottom-end instruments and many are almost unplayable. You're much better off with a fixed bridge in that price range, and the Epi Les Pauls are fairly decent instruments. The last band I played in-- a country/rock deal --featured twin lead guitars, one of which played an Epi every night.

While my main guitars are a "real" Les Paul standard I've had for

20 years and a Fender Nashville Tele, I've owned a lot of electrics over the years. Among the best of the cheaper ones were (again) the Yamaha Pacifica, which is a much better strat copy than any Squire you'll find. One can often find nice ESP or even 1980s Peavy guitars used in the $100-150 range. Going a bit higher (and with luck) I've seen Schecter and even G&L strats for under $300 used. Some of the Ibanez guitars in that range are pretty good too.

Of course, a real woodworker would just build one. By a neck, build a body, and install a pre-wired set up pups from Stewart- Macdonald and you'll have a better guitar then anything Squire ever dreamed of pasting their logo on.

-Derek

[Mike Marlow]

Balderdash! A real woodworker would carve his own neck straight from a piece of Honduras Mohagany (none of that maple stuff for a neck), lay a nice slab of rosewood over it and painstakingly cut each fret in. As far as the pups go, I'll let ya slide on that one even though pre-wired is not really craftsmanlike. Better than a Squire - hell you could leave the neck off and have a better guitar than the Squire.

[Reyd]

an Ibanez is my eventual goal, the price being the only problem.

Really? that I did not know, the store I bought it from didn't tell me anything about that, I took it back to them when the pickups started acting up, after their return policy was up(30days IIRC) and they asked me what I expected for 250$, needless to say I don't feel they need my buisness after that comment.

As to the headstock - that is

with the fender type, the pull is much reduced on that joint, this is not normally an issue, but with transporting the guitar around if the neck is banged it has a much better chance of coming apart.(and epiphone, perhaps with their head in certain dark places saw fit to charge 30$ for a soft case that was much too small as part of the set) and the squire is a much harder wood in the neck, again this is only based on 5 instruments(3 squires and 2 epiphones) a friend also got a similar epiphone with problems too.

my teacher adjusted the rod, and then after a few days recommended the cardstock underneath, it worked when the truss rod didn't.

I suppose, but I do prefer a bit lighter as opposed to heavier.

indeed, but I do think you might agree that pink is a rather awful colour for a guitar, besides the plastic look which most paint jobs end up with. the wood body with clear/tinted coating guitars are much nicer, again most of those have a higher price. Ibanez are certainly nice, I'd definetly place them near the top of the range, but their price reflects that. and I believe the thread was asking for best cheap bass, I don't think anything Ibanez makes falls into that category, but you can get a squire bass used for maybe

150-200$ canadian.

[Kiwanda]

"Mike Marlow" wrote in news:PfIfc.10490$ [e-mail]:

Stewart-

straight from

neck),

Sure, but that would mean buying tools that the OP likely doesn't have $$$ for. Building necks isn't that easy without tools, esp. if you want to install a truss rod. But you can get a nice Warmouth neck for $100, then bolt it on to a body made with common WW tools.

Squire.

Remember the OP wanted cheap. Of course you can do better yourself, even buying old pups off Ebay. But this guy didn't sound like he knew much about guitars or WW, so it might be better to say "assemble" a guitar instead of "build."

Think about Bo Diddly's guitars...big slabs of wood, cut square, and bolted to stock necks. They sound just fine.

-Derek

[Mike Marlow]

I'm sorry Derek - I was pulling your chain with my last comment. Yes, I realize he's cost concious, and that building a neck is a very non-trivial undertaking - that's why I posted it. It's sorta the way out, absurd rediculous thing. I keep saying I'm going to build myself a guitar based somewhat on the design of my electric and if I ever get around to actually starting it, then pretty quickly I'll have one.. someday. I am however - make no mistake about it - planning on buying a neck from Warmoth. I will likely set the neck rather than bolt it in, but that's really only a concession to my own preferences.

[Mike Marlow]

If you bought it new you should have received warranty information with it. Take a stroll out to the epi web site. You'll find the warranty info there. Oh yeah - I wouldn't be spending any more of my money in a music store that displays the attitude these guys gave you...

Both use maple necks so the wood is equally hard. The epi most likely has a rosewood fretboard overlaid on the maple, but the neck is a good maple. Most strat knockoffs just use a maple neck with maple fretboards. No increase in strength just a different feel under your fingers and a different tone. Tell your friend that if he's got neck problems with his epi to take it to a good guitar tech and have it tuned. The wood moves with weather and that's just the nature of wood. Like I said my guitar moves and I assure you it's not a cheap guitar. Because it's wood and wood has it's own way of wanting to move and its own way of responding to forced movement, you need to be careful and only adjust a neck about a quarter of an inch per day or so on the truss rod. If the neck is way out, it could take a couple of days to bring it back in an achieve the stability you need. That goes for any guitar neck.

It's always possible that a nut is cut too low, but very unlikely. I'd still look at additional truss rod adjustments - see above comments about wood movement.

Fully agreed.

[mttt]

Awww heck - thanks for that. Now I'll have the Bo Riff in my head for the rest of the morning. Might was well slap in a George Thorogood CD...

Whacka, whacka, whacka - whack whack. Whacka, whacka, whacka - whack whack.

[J T]

Fri, Apr 16, 2004, 4:36pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (mttt) does:

Whacka, whacka, whacka - whack whack. Whacka, whacka, whacka - whack whack.

Really, that's uncalled for in this newsgroup.

JOAT I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office women who are as unqualified as some of the men who are already there.

- Maureen Reagan

[B a r r y]

Let's not forget that Bo builds his effects into the guitar.

I've had the pleasure of mixing his band 5-6 times, it was always a blast!

Barry

[Reyd]

really? I wish I had found a yamaha that cheap, thats about what I payed for my epiphone, and all the yamaha's I've seen were nice but the price was about 200$ more.

there are some really great epiphones too, my keyboard teacher has one, It sounds great, easy to play no problems with it, and its only a little more expensive

I thought about that, but the routing for the insides always frightened me off.

[Steve Knight]

if this real world woodworker knew anything about them (G)

[Larry Jaques]

On Sat, 17 Apr 2004 02:00:46 GMT, Steve Knight brought forth from the murky depths:

$89 pre-cut/semi-shaped kit on Ebay. What's to KNOW? ;)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Life is full of little surprises. * Comprehensive Website Development --Pandora *

[Kiwanda]

Reyd wrote in news:Reyd-E5044B.14381216042004 @shawnews.gv.shawcable.net:

Stewart-

Stew-Mac has a nice selection of unfinished but pre-routed bodies. See

you dig through their web page, you'll find strat necks for about $100, nice bodies for $150, and pre-wired p'ups for $40 or so. By the time you buy a bridge and tuners you'd be into it for about $400 though.

If I were "building" a guitar this way, it would be a tele. The low-end Mexican Fenders run close to $400, and you can do much better building your own in that price range.

$160 Curly maple body:

$115 rosewood tele neck: $40 bridge $77 Wilkinson pickups: $50 switch/knobs/pots: $30 tuners: $25 misc (screws, etc.)

Call it $500 for a maple-bodied tele with your choice of wiring and finish. All my electics (and my bass) are natural finishes, so I'd do the same with this. While $500 is getting into the price range of a decent new guitar or-- with careful shopping and luck --a good used one, you'd likely not find anything of the quality you could build at the same price.

Unless you had a time machine of course. In 1986 I could have bought either a new Fender '59 Strat reissue, a new PRS (don't recall the model), or a near-new Les Paul Standard for $500 all w/cases. I waffled about that for a month, but ended up buying the LP. I still have it, but now wish I'd have bought them all.

-Derek

-Derek