Buying new bass/amp- HELP!

[senor-cojones]

Hey guys,

Ok first off this is my first post here- please be nice :thumb: and I must apologise if this is in the wrong part of the forum.

Well- Im a left handed bass player and Im thinking of upgrading for my 2nd bass to a 5 string. Ive looked around and although Im on a bit of a budget I can get a few left handed basses for around £250 and less. Ive now narrowed it down to 2 possible basses but I was wondering about your opinions on them.

Ive seen a 'Shine' 5 string bass : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7393337229&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT which works out at £174.99 altogether. Has anyone heard of Shine? Would anybody recommend this bass? Would you buy it if you were after a 2nd bass and were on a bit of a budget?

The 2nd bass Ive seen is: http://www.lefthandedguitars.co.uk/acatalog/index.html?http%3A//www.lefthandedguitars.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Cort_28.html&CatalogBody which would be £251. Can anybody recommend this model? Ive heard Corts are good, but not heard much about the Action 5s.

As you can see there is a bit of a price difference. I like both, but Im not sure of the quality of the Shine bass and I dont really want to part with my money until Ive heard from the more experienced bassists on here.

Also, Im bored with my practice amp and am looking for a fuller and more powerful sound so Ive been looking into amps and have discovered this little beauty : http://www.basscentre.com/product_info.php?cPath=35_47&products_id=129 I like the look of it- it seems very powerful and very aesthetic- but for the price is it all it seems? Does anybody have one? Would you recommend it?

Any help would be appreciated from you guys (and girls!). Sorry if Ive posted in the wrong area.
Thanx for reading though :)

[neatobassman]

Number one rule when buying stuff...Don't buy anything you haven't played...

So try to go out and play the thing/s you are about to buy. As for the amp, I wouldn't get that in my opinion. Ashdown has better things.

[Mr. Pickle]

the description for that amp makes me laugh

[amj]

Honestly I'd say that if you're upgrading, i'd spend a bit more. Or if you can't, save so you can. Otherwise you're gonna want to upgrade again in a little while. If you want a 5 string just for the hell of it then I guess them basses are fine but I really would hang on and get something better (sorry, I don't have many suggestions on this one but i'm sure someone else will).

[Mr. Pickle]

for the price range he has (even give or take a couple hundred) odds are he still going to want to keep upgrading. maybe it's just me, but it will take a couple grand proabably before i'll be even thinking about finishing upgrading. i have about $800 into amplification already and i just got a new 410 and am already starting to think about a 215 that i can add onto it.

[amj]

true but it's hard to say without knowing what he plays, where he plays and how often he plays.

[life of a dog]

my bass is made by shine. nice solid bass

[trumpeter]

Ashdown is quite good.

[muthafunkabass]

Those minirigs are actually not that bad. They vaguely but surely get that "big" sound 8x10's have.

[Elemetal]

How long have you been playing by the way?

[TheBassStylee]

wow, do those speakers really need separate cabs?
anyways, id save more money to get a little better stuff. youll be happier and save more in the long run. also look at used stuff

> mike

[senor-cojones]

Hey,

Ive been playing bass for over a year and am really enjoying it, but I feel I do actually need a new bass as my current bass is just like a beginners bass which I bought just to see if I could take it seriously- so I just bought one of those cheap package deals. Westfield Left Hand bass and an unbranded 15W amp.

I might just keep my current amp/borrow a friends- so thats just a possibility- but if I upped my price range, what could I look at buying? Its just a bit difficult as the selection for left handed is a bit poor to be honest- Ive checked around a fair few shops and all I can find is either cheap low grade products or highly expensive basses which are most definately out of my price range.

At the moment Im quite fascinated by bass and almost cried when I broke strings (lol) and I really love it. Im trying to really push my playing so it doesnt get like a chore- and am currently learning to play some lamb of god as well as creating my own grooves. Im in 1 main band and we are really heavy metal, but I also try to busy myself by randomly starting bands just to jam with as I feel inspired after jamming with other musicians. Ive been playing for over a year and I do love it. If im not playing at a gig/with the band/etc then Im normally jamming in my room.

I would just like the extra 5th string so I can extend my playing and make my sound slightly more unique to everyone else. So thats why I was considering it- although, I wasnt sure if it was probably just a fad which is why I was looking at the Shine bass and stuff. Ideally though I would like a shiny brand new 5 string bass :)

Does anybody have any recommendations then? Just bear in mind that Im left handed and on a bit of a budget- and also located in the UK. I mean I will quite happily save to buy better things, but what exactly is better? I guess I havent really done that much research- but yeh- i just would like your opinions.

Thanks people

[Mr. Pickle]

Hey,

Ive been playing bass for over a year and am really enjoying it, but I feel I do actually need a new bass as my current bass is just like a beginners bass which I bought just to see if I could take it seriously- so I just bought one of those cheap package deals. Westfield Left Hand bass and an unbranded 15W amp.



well, you have a beginners amp too....



as far as "if i raised my amount" or w/e, you really need to give a range of how much $ you wanna spend.

[d-basser]

amp wise. look at Laney, Ashdown (particularly Electric Blue range) and Behringer. other than that if you can get a second hand peavey or summit

[muthafunkabass]

Hey,

Ive been playing bass for over a year and am really enjoying it, but I feel I do actually need a new bass as my current bass is just like a beginners bass which I bought just to see if I could take it seriously- so I just bought one of those cheap package deals. Westfield Left Hand bass and an unbranded 15W amp.

I might just keep my current amp/borrow a friends- so thats just a possibility- but if I upped my price range, what could I look at buying? Its just a bit difficult as the selection for left handed is a bit poor to be honest- Ive checked around a fair few shops and all I can find is either cheap low grade products or highly expensive basses which are most definately out of my price range.

At the moment Im quite fascinated by bass and almost cried when I broke strings (lol) and I really love it. Im trying to really push my playing so it doesnt get like a chore- and am currently learning to play some lamb of god as well as creating my own grooves. Im in 1 main band and we are really heavy metal, but I also try to busy myself by randomly starting bands just to jam with as I feel inspired after jamming with other musicians. Ive been playing for over a year and I do love it. If im not playing at a gig/with the band/etc then Im normally jamming in my room.

I would just like the extra 5th string so I can extend my playing and make my sound slightly more unique to everyone else. So thats why I was considering it- although, I wasnt sure if it was probably just a fad which is why I was looking at the Shine bass and stuff. Ideally though I would like a shiny brand new 5 string bass :)

Does anybody have any recommendations then? Just bear in mind that Im left handed and on a bit of a budget- and also located in the UK. I mean I will quite happily save to buy better things, but what exactly is better? I guess I havent really done that much research- but yeh- i just would like your opinions.

Thanks people

I am left-handed too.:thumb:



Here is a great site, everything on this page is left-handed: http://www.adirondackguitar.com/lefty/lh_bass.htm

[senor-cojones]

Thanx for the help..

Ok... so if I said I could possibly (at max) have £600 to spend on both a bass and amplification... thats about $1000 maybe? What would I be looking at?

Sorry for all these questions, its just that Im not really sure about the hardware of it all. I saw a crate amp today at my local music shop- 100W crate- http://www.crateamps.com/html/product.cfm?pid=100 any opinions on this? Its selling for £269... I thought it looked really nice but I didnt have time to actually try it out.

Also Ive been shopping around on some of the american sites and Ive found a really nice Traben bass.http://www.wwbw.com/Traben-Tribal-Sun-5-Left-Handed-i158332.music It really appeals to me.

Ive heard that Shine guitars are quite good- apparently Kiss endorse them and their guitars are basically cheaper BC Rich's, which is quite encouraging but Im not too sure about it.

Ok- so... if you had £600/$1000 to spend on a left handed bass and an amp... what would you buy? ideally...

[kev_trb1006]

a Fender MIM bass and an Ashdown MAG 2x10....?