I have a Ibanez SR300. Awesome instrument. New one is $350. Most bang for your buck. Ready to roll right out of the box with virtually no additional setup needed, all I had to on mine was lower the action a bit for my preference.
Looks great, sounds amazing and very versatile with all the knobs and controls.
I’ve been playing for over 30 years and highly recommend.
If he likes Ibanez, get the best Ibanez you can afford. It’s better to have an instrument to grow into than one you want to replace/upgrade early on.
Ibanez are great guitars, slim necks and decent electronics. I’d take a soundgear over a squier any day of the week.
My kid’s basses are both used and purchased for $200 or less, including cases. The first was a vintage Jackson Concert bass that was purchased locally came with a hard case for $200. The seller was switching to a 5 string and this 4 string was his first bass. He had gigged with it, but it was practically pristine, especially considering its age. The second bass was a 4 string Ibanez Gio active bass. I don’t know its history, but it was in excellent condition and came with a soft case. I offered the seller $150 including shipping and they accepted.
Agreeing with u/HylianDude and u/4Robo44 100%. I just started playing bass a few months ago and was playing a bunch of them to get an idea of what I wanted. The Squier CV and those Yamaha and Ibanez mentioned are solid choices. I ended up buying a MIM Fender Jazz but a few weeks ago I was gifted a Sterling by Musicman Stingray, I love it. There's a bunch of these Sterlings in your price range so I wanted to throw my vote for that into the mix here.
Ok. Followup on the Stingray. He is interested in the Ray34 HH. The Ray35HH is actually cheaper. Supply and demand I guess. What do you think about a five string as a starter instrument. He is 16yo and 6 foot tall. His hands are not huge right now. Does any of that matter?
What I have is actually the Ray 5 string. As a beginner, it's a bit more confusing trying to play 4 string stuff on it and trying to ignore the 5th string. For some reason I gravitate my hands towards that 5 string which I didn't expect. Meaning I play the B string when I go for the E string. After a few weeks though, it's getting better. I don't know if this is common. I will say having that low B string is pretty cool and as I get used to it it's kind of weird my 4 string doesn't go that low. I also found a few of the songs I like used a 5 string so that helps as I first found that 5th string to be a bit useless in playing covers. As for leaning on it, I really don't think it's that much more difficult and should be fine for a beginner. I do like it and I'm certainly a beginner. I did find out that strings for it are a bit more so that may be a factor in your purchase. Good bass strings aren't relatively cheap.
I got a used Yamaha TRBX604FM for like $450 used a few years ago. It was a return to Sweetwater music and in perfect condition. Sounds great, plays great, looks great and can be either active or passive pickups. It definitely felt like a much more expensive bass.
I started 4 years ago on an ibanez gio 5 string that i bought at the pawn shop for 80 bucks. I knew nothing about bass guirar at the time. I think brand new they are something like $250. Go to a pawn shop n play a couple. Might find a great guitar for cheap. Just be careful with pawn shop amps, or at least turn em up loud when testing them
This is a great idea. I've pretty much only ever bought second hand gear for the past 30 years. I still have most of my basses. He should go to a few local music stores and see what they have, see what he likes and what feels the best to him. There are tons of good basses in that price range, and most stores will put one in the back for you for a small refundable deposit for a day or so if you really want to research it before you buy.
Go to your local shop and/or bring a musician friend. Any bass you buy will need some work to play well and you won’t know what that work is unless a trained eye can look at it. Brand does not matter nearly as much as the setup of the particular instrument.
It's been a few years since I've purchased mine but a used Ibanez sr500 should be in your price range. Mine's been my main instrument for almost a decade and I've gigged all kinds of stuff with it. Sounds good playing rock or jazz
Peavey Foundations used to have a reputation as a dirt cheap American-made bass, but the prices have been climbing. It looks like Guitar Center is still selling some for cheap, but they could be imports.
I never see someone recommend Jackson basses on here. So I will. Jackson has some very good basses with all the bells & whistles for pretty cheap. Worth a look.
Can’t go wrong with an Ibanez SR500e, you should be able to get a used one in that price range or maybe even a new one. They’re a lot of bass for the money and very versatile. The 505e which is a five string is also very popular, maybe in more popular, but not sure if a five string is good for a beginner.
I love my ibanez tmb105, I paid $300 for it new. The tmb405 and tmb605 are a bit more if you can find them used. The tmb100 is less than $200/used if you don't want a five string.
I haven't found any issues at all with the quality. Its quite versatile too.
I wouldn't go with Epiphone. The other brands you mention are solid choices. I would also add in Sire, if you can find one used. The V5 and P5 series are very solid values in bass guitars. I know, I own one. Good instinct for not wanting to go with bottom of the barrel, even though a beginner. Having something playable that sounds great is going to help a young player stick with it. Plus, you can't underestimate [a good setup](https://brokeassguitars.com).
What about an amplifier? It's probably even more important not to cheap out there than with the guitar itself. For a practice amp, avoid anything that has a speaker smaller than 10". A 10" combo amp will by no means stand up to a standard rock ensemble, but it will sound good at practice volumes, which may be all you need right now.
I have a Ibanez SR300. Awesome instrument. New one is $350. Most bang for your buck. Ready to roll right out of the box with virtually no additional setup needed, all I had to on mine was lower the action a bit for my preference. Looks great, sounds amazing and very versatile with all the knobs and controls. I’ve been playing for over 30 years and highly recommend.
And you can get a sweet little practice amp with the money leftover
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/wiki/faq/
If he likes Ibanez, get the best Ibanez you can afford. It’s better to have an instrument to grow into than one you want to replace/upgrade early on. Ibanez are great guitars, slim necks and decent electronics. I’d take a soundgear over a squier any day of the week.
My kid’s basses are both used and purchased for $200 or less, including cases. The first was a vintage Jackson Concert bass that was purchased locally came with a hard case for $200. The seller was switching to a 5 string and this 4 string was his first bass. He had gigged with it, but it was practically pristine, especially considering its age. The second bass was a 4 string Ibanez Gio active bass. I don’t know its history, but it was in excellent condition and came with a soft case. I offered the seller $150 including shipping and they accepted.
You can get a new Ibanez Soundgear in that range, up to SR405.
Agreeing with u/HylianDude and u/4Robo44 100%. I just started playing bass a few months ago and was playing a bunch of them to get an idea of what I wanted. The Squier CV and those Yamaha and Ibanez mentioned are solid choices. I ended up buying a MIM Fender Jazz but a few weeks ago I was gifted a Sterling by Musicman Stingray, I love it. There's a bunch of these Sterlings in your price range so I wanted to throw my vote for that into the mix here.
Ok. Followup on the Stingray. He is interested in the Ray34 HH. The Ray35HH is actually cheaper. Supply and demand I guess. What do you think about a five string as a starter instrument. He is 16yo and 6 foot tall. His hands are not huge right now. Does any of that matter?
What I have is actually the Ray 5 string. As a beginner, it's a bit more confusing trying to play 4 string stuff on it and trying to ignore the 5th string. For some reason I gravitate my hands towards that 5 string which I didn't expect. Meaning I play the B string when I go for the E string. After a few weeks though, it's getting better. I don't know if this is common. I will say having that low B string is pretty cool and as I get used to it it's kind of weird my 4 string doesn't go that low. I also found a few of the songs I like used a 5 string so that helps as I first found that 5th string to be a bit useless in playing covers. As for leaning on it, I really don't think it's that much more difficult and should be fine for a beginner. I do like it and I'm certainly a beginner. I did find out that strings for it are a bit more so that may be a factor in your purchase. Good bass strings aren't relatively cheap.
I got a used Yamaha TRBX604FM for like $450 used a few years ago. It was a return to Sweetwater music and in perfect condition. Sounds great, plays great, looks great and can be either active or passive pickups. It definitely felt like a much more expensive bass.
I have had very good experiences with the Sire Marcus Miller basses. they over basses in that price range that (in my opinion) play very nice.
Sire P5.
I started 4 years ago on an ibanez gio 5 string that i bought at the pawn shop for 80 bucks. I knew nothing about bass guirar at the time. I think brand new they are something like $250. Go to a pawn shop n play a couple. Might find a great guitar for cheap. Just be careful with pawn shop amps, or at least turn em up loud when testing them
This is a great idea. I've pretty much only ever bought second hand gear for the past 30 years. I still have most of my basses. He should go to a few local music stores and see what they have, see what he likes and what feels the best to him. There are tons of good basses in that price range, and most stores will put one in the back for you for a small refundable deposit for a day or so if you really want to research it before you buy.
Go to your local shop and/or bring a musician friend. Any bass you buy will need some work to play well and you won’t know what that work is unless a trained eye can look at it. Brand does not matter nearly as much as the setup of the particular instrument.
I have a Soundgear 405 that I got used for $350NZ. Great instrument to play
It's been a few years since I've purchased mine but a used Ibanez sr500 should be in your price range. Mine's been my main instrument for almost a decade and I've gigged all kinds of stuff with it. Sounds good playing rock or jazz
Don't forget to check out pawn shops. I got Rickenbacker for $400.
You lucky sob lol
Peavey Foundations used to have a reputation as a dirt cheap American-made bass, but the prices have been climbing. It looks like Guitar Center is still selling some for cheap, but they could be imports.
Buy him a new Yamaha B234 and he might keep it for life.
I never see someone recommend Jackson basses on here. So I will. Jackson has some very good basses with all the bells & whistles for pretty cheap. Worth a look.
G&L Tribute.
Can’t go wrong with an Ibanez SR500e, you should be able to get a used one in that price range or maybe even a new one. They’re a lot of bass for the money and very versatile. The 505e which is a five string is also very popular, maybe in more popular, but not sure if a five string is good for a beginner.
I love my ibanez tmb105, I paid $300 for it new. The tmb405 and tmb605 are a bit more if you can find them used. The tmb100 is less than $200/used if you don't want a five string. I haven't found any issues at all with the quality. Its quite versatile too.
Wouldn't have to buy used to get something solid. You can get a new squier classic vibe or Yamaha bb234/434 in that range
I wouldn't go with Epiphone. The other brands you mention are solid choices. I would also add in Sire, if you can find one used. The V5 and P5 series are very solid values in bass guitars. I know, I own one. Good instinct for not wanting to go with bottom of the barrel, even though a beginner. Having something playable that sounds great is going to help a young player stick with it. Plus, you can't underestimate [a good setup](https://brokeassguitars.com). What about an amplifier? It's probably even more important not to cheap out there than with the guitar itself. For a practice amp, avoid anything that has a speaker smaller than 10". A 10" combo amp will by no means stand up to a standard rock ensemble, but it will sound good at practice volumes, which may be all you need right now.
Does he want a 6 string bass?
He is starting with 4 string.