Any bass players?

Hi, I am looking at getting a bass to play (my dad plays the guitar- we wanna play together). I looked at some on Amazon and found one I like. So here is my question: Is it a good bass? Here is the link:


Amazon.com: Austin Bazaar Electric Bass Pack with 15 Watt Amp - Black: Musical Instruments


I'm totally new and have no bass experience at all- so it's no big deal if it isn't perfect. Just looking to launch myself w/ the bass.

Thanks ahead!

I'm an amateur hobbyist bass player myself, and I'm guessing that for your purposes that should be fine...you don't need a 4-digit instrument (then again, basses pretty much all sound the same to me, so as long as they don't break in half, anything is good to me!) for someone looking for something that "isn't perfect." For a similar price you can also get an inexpensive Fender Squier package as well...

Looks pretty good. The bass is a copy of a Fender Precision so you can't really go wrong with that and most of these copy's are pretty well made these days. 15Watt amp should be OK for a jamming but obviously bigger gigs require bigger amps! You get everything with it and it's about £100 in the UK which is what I would expect to pay for a starter set.
I'd go for it - Looks like a nice starting kit and it'll probably last a while to.

Now I'm thinking of a different one: Amazon.com: SX BG1K 3TS Bass Guitar Package w/Bass Amp, Instructional DVD, Carry Bag and Strap: Musical Instruments



Thoughts?

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they've got some nice starter package deals with full size basses. i'm looking to pick one up myself in a couple months or so.

The only comment I have on the starter basses is the pickup system. They have the split style pickup (not a bad thing), however I recommend getting one with two pickups.

I own an Oscar Schmidt by Washburn. It has a single coil and a split to give it a good range of sound, rather than a limited one if you get just 1 pickup.

I've played bass for over 5 years now and still have the bass I started out on. I've played in small gigs with my little 50 watt amp, to large concerts (in the context of my small town ;P) of 500 people, and it's been used for studio recording as well.

Another good thing about my bass is that it is passive, no need for a battery-sucking-monster. The price for it was somewhere around $300 at my local music store (which never gave any deals), so I imagine it might be found online for a much better price. However, seeing as it's a little older, you might need to do a few searches. Overall though, Oscar Schmidt pumps out good quality basses (guitars too) for an affordable price.

Good luck!

I've been playing bass for 12 years, and in my experience, unless you're playing a few times a week or just doodling around, cheap basses are the worst you can get.

Get something a bit better. The new Suiqer "Vintage/Classic Vibe" series basses can be had for under $300 and sound REALLY nice. They also play and feel great too.

If you just want to jam with your dad and don't really care about how your tone sounds, then either of those will be fine.

If you are serious about playing, I'd suggest getting something of mid-high, or high quality off the bat. I've put a lot of money/effort into getting a defined tone, and I can tell you that it was worth every penny.

Split-coil, also know as "p-bass style" pickups give a great sound. They have lots of growl and vibe to them, great for playing with a pick if you choose to. Jazz-style pickups aren't split like the p-style, but also sound great and usually come in pairs. These pickups are often more mellow and have less bottom-end (bass) than a split-coil will have. My P-Bass special has one of each. A bass like this can allow you to open your tonal pallet and explore what kind of tone sounds best to you. I personally never use the jazz-style pickup, because it's too thin sounding, and because it's in the bridge position.

In regards to active/passive, it really comes down to the sound you're looking for. I wouldn't recommend active if you're just messing around. They aren't "battery-sucking monsters." My old Peavey Rudy Sarzo bass had an active preamp and I changed the battery maybe once or twice a year during heavy gigging. This also depends on the pickups/electronics used inside.

The best thing to do is go to a Guitar Center, or a local music shop and try some stuff out. You could even play 7 copies of the SAME model bass/guitar and it could sound completely different. Play a lot of different models and different brands of basses and get what sounds good to YOUR ears. If you like the way it sounds, then there's no need to worry about what any one else says.

Good luck!