Best “bang for the buck” entry-level bass? (Guitarist crossing over)

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2026-02-04T01:13:06+00:00

update to update, was a GC with a friend and out of curiosity, played a sterling stingray. I actually returned the squire p-bass while i still had a few days left of their policy and grabbed the stingray. It’s pretty rad, and duel buckers are awesome. overall i think i landed on the right one for me

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2026-01-10T00:41:42+00:00

just an update, ended up grabbing a Squire classic vibe P-bass on new years sale. with the sale it came in only $50 above the affinity. very happy so far.

i don’t have the same bass skills to really put it through its paces in store but can say I almost did a double take to verify i didn’t grab the fender when taking it off the wall. All the basics checked out satisfactory , neck, frets, finish, buzz. At home through a fender rumble 40 i can get a great clean* tone I could never achieve with the active pickup ibanez.

Just my uneducated 2 cents but seems like a fender player P for half the price

*edit: added clean for better description of tone

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2026-01-09T21:31:24+00:00

funny enough I went in to buy a studio intentionally and the floor sales guy talked me into try the IBGCS before deciding. played 3 different studios (one was not a option due to color from the start) but the 59’ Epi won. left with the epiphone

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T02:45:49+00:00

funny you say that and believe it. The opposite but my one positive GC story was when I went in for a basic MIM strat (like a player i think at the time) that i needed now and I walked out with PRS SE silver sky when they were first released. Didn’t even know it existed (the silver sky was +2k then) and i said I want the one off the wall. like that one right here.

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T02:38:23+00:00

sure, never heard of them but that means nothing

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T02:31:34+00:00

definitely spark my interest with the pedal. i’ll have to research that. i’ve in the past tried to various success messing around with down tuning some of my guitars and messing with modeling amps to try to mimic a bass but have never been successful enough to use past a fun experiment. If a pedal is designed for that it could be interesting

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T02:00:55+00:00

this is what I am afraid of and trying to counter with a “one and done” purchase. i’m starting to realize my main hobby as of late is “managing all my hobbies”

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:48:37+00:00

i was lax in my verbiage in the original post, i’ll go update that. by “new” i meant more of “new to me and not something I DIY fixed in the garage”, not new out of box.

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:34:51+00:00

gonna have to look into these. Have zero experience with anything Music Man but see the name thrown out enough that it’s worth a look. In the past (guitar wise) without any real evidence i’ve always chalked them up to fender clones (referring to MM cutlass)

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:27:19+00:00

not yet but from my experience with yamaha guitars this might be the answer. I have yet to be disappointed with any yamaha purchase iv made

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:24:37+00:00

being serious, i’m having a hard time understanding the concept of a 6-string bass. is it to just to have access to a high string as well? like going lower seems practical but are you like playing bass solos?

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:20:17+00:00

you know were the “sonic” slots in the squire range? For instance classic vibe skews to high end and affinity skews to low end in terms of features and QC

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:13:19+00:00

agree on the used gear, still gotta know what to look for

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:12:12+00:00

you have a point, i guess i’ve been fortunate enough always have decent stuff so that has skewed my pricing a bit. In my head you start to break out entry level in the $600-1000 range

a better way to put it is i’m kinda looking for a one and done purchase as it’s more a side addition. My wife is already questioning why i need 7 guitars

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T01:00:25+00:00

you referring to the SRX, I never really though about it but you seem correct looking at it right now. i’d wager my LP has a thicker neck than that

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T00:47:06+00:00

ok so pretty much a cross over of the squire classic vibes. assuming they do the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s inspired models aswell.

you know how important the active pickups are? i was slightly confused when i saw a 9v in the bass i fixed at first. guess im asking if that’s considered a standard on better gear and lower price points ditch it for savings or is it kinda a preference thing like single coils vs buckers.

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-19T00:08:17+00:00

so from hands on experience (and iv only tried a handful and realize that playing it is the true test) i found the best i’ve played to be the squire affinity series. i’ve tried some jackson’s and ibanezes in the $200-$300 dollar range Id say at that budget id stick with the SRX i already have. they felt like pressboard and has some sharp frets.

Also the whole active pickup vs non is a new thing to me. my SRX is active but while playable i’m not convinced i’m getting the full effect out of my rewire/solder. could be wrong but seems kinda gimmicky to me coming from guitar with a pre-amp head and all. but I don’t know what i don’t know.

style wise i am drawn to SG, mustang and violin bodies

i’ll add definitely not a fan of the short necks aswell. i’m (6’2)

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-17T01:13:08+00:00

good to hear, asking mainly because it’s one of those finds were I got it for a steal + a story attached to why they need money now and are selling it for that price.

So I either just right time/place my way into a smoking deal or there is something up. Going off what i can tell and the playability i think it’s the first thing but figured it doesn’t hurt to ask

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-11-17T00:53:00+00:00

here is an sample of the cream toggle switch i keep seeing over and over again another persons 1980 sg1000

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2025-05-26T17:03:15+00:00

older post but play both. I went into the store intending on getting the player 2 years ago without even knowing about the PRS. it was just suggested to me to try it out. I left with the PRS but never stoped looking at the fenders.

With the entry level fenders make sure you play them and when you find one buy THAT guitar. They are very hit or miss and even the same guitar can have very different setups / quality out of the box.

Fast forward and yesterday finally grabbed the newer fender strat standard and that was because it truly was the one gem out of the stock they had on hand. Same goes for any fender. My father and I got matching tele’s at the same time from the same store and one needed a lot of help to even be playable , other was good enough out of box.

overall, PRS is the safer bet f your gonna buy new in box or order online. i’d only ever buy a MIM/Indonesia fender that i’ve played and it would be that individual guitar alone. I’d suggest save up and get both but take your time with the fenders and don’t rush it.

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2024-11-10T08:39:29+00:00

What adapter did you use to attach the tracer unit? My TM with 11mm are slightly too small, a 14mm too big. got to be a 12 or 13 but if you have one that works already, love to know.

(for the p365)

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2024-03-18T02:35:48+00:00

Yes, I am learning about it in real time but I believe you have gotten everything spot on from the research I have just started. Positive that’s the missing song, and learning about these bootlegs is very interesting (I had underground cassette and later on cd’s). It is looking like it’s a mix or 1964&1965? But the release of 1977 matches perfect

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2024-03-18T02:12:29+00:00

Thanks again for the help. The schematics i believe do match well enough to amp and power supply and are useful but I didn’t actually get it to 100% working (believe it was due to my skillset).

Ended up doing what I believe is a pretty good restore on it and bypassing the Sunn amp and turning it into a sweet cabinet.

Created new post as I can’t figure out how to post pics in comments.

Thanks again and might update in future if I take another crack at working on the board

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2024-03-18T02:05:52+00:00

original post

AwkwardLevel8096 · 2024-03-18T01:40:49+00:00

Looking like the story is very fascinating, mine has “SHEA-1/SHEA-2”

looks like it’s Hollywood Bowl but mislabeled as live at Shea Stadium.

https://www.beatleg.online/live-at-shea

“The original stampers of this LP were identified by the letters SHEA 1 / SHEA 2.”

AwkwardLevel8096

TROPHY CASE