Best cheap bass you own?

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Fredda

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My is a Rockbass idolmaker 5string sunburst...Yes i admit it needed alot of work! But sustain,tone,woodwork and neckpocket is super...and now she's waiting for a brassnut,humbucker and 3way dpd switch...
 
Ibanez SRMS805. Don’t play it much now. I went to sell it yesterday and couldn’t. It was my first serious bass. It’s also very pretty. Plays well too.
 

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Fernandez Jazz bass body und Ibanez Blazer/Roadstar neck. Two of the best sounding pieces I have thrown together.
 
Nachobassman said:
Nice!
I’ve been tempted to get a cheap HB to bring to “risky” gigs…
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Then you should be aware of the following:

Top left: this 7-string (also available as 4, 5 and 6-string) was perfect out the box. High qualilty instrument. Made in Indonesia, not China. Wish it had the adjustable nut like my Warwicks but other that it's perfect.

Bottom left: fretless bass that came with rounds (wtf, right?) and the intonation was way off. Put on flats and set the intonation, now she's sweet. Very throaty sound. Flawless fit and finish. I play this one a lot.

Top right: action was a bit high out the box so I set that, now it's all good. Again, flawless fit and finish. The blocks are actual inlays, not stickers. Pups were much louder than on my Fender so I replaced them with Fender JB pups so I can switch between the two on stage without driving the sound guy insane. This bass is quite heavy.

Bottom right: 5-string PJ, also with excellent fit and finish. Set-up was good out the box. The pole piece for the B-string sticks out of the pup body so if I play too hard and the string touches it then it makes a clanking noise. Play normally and it's ok. I may change the pups altogether in the future because why not. But first I want to see if I can't press the pole piece in deeper, that would be an easier fix.

Overall they're very good basses. And very good-looking basses. And then price... hard to say no. The hardware is solid and imo better than Warwick hardware. Even if you end up modding it you still spend way less than on other brands and, like I said, they look good. Seeing more and more HB equipment at shows. Everything from basses to guitars to amps to effects, etc.

Any questions, ask away.
 
Is cheap relative to how much I paid for it or how much it's worth in the market?
 
Gnermo said:
Is cheap relative to how much I paid for it or how much it's worth in the market?
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Both.

They don't cost much. Good value for the money considering the JB and fretless are now 4 years old and nothing's wrong. They cost 160€ and 180€ respectively iirc. The finish is still good, the neck isn't warped, frets are good, the hardware is still solid... They're solid, reliable instruments for relatively little money.

They have no second hand value. As far as I'm concerned if you buy one you're stuck with it.
 
Ibanez SRMS805. Don’t play it much now. I went to sell it yesterday and couldn’t. It was my first serious bass. It’s also very pretty. Plays well too.View attachment 27857
esseff said:
Then you should be aware of the following:

Top left: this 7-string (also available as 4, 5 and 6-string) was perfect out the box. High qualilty instrument. Made in Indonesia, not China. Wish it had the adjustable nut like my Warwicks but other that it's perfect.

Bottom left: fretless bass that came with rounds (wtf, right?) and the intonation was way off. Put on flats and set the intonation, now she's sweet. Very throaty sound. Flawless fit and finish. I play this one a lot.

Top right: action was a bit high out the box so I set that, now it's all good. Again, flawless fit and finish. The blocks are actual inlays, not stickers. Pups were much louder than on my Fender so I replaced them with Fender JB pups so I can switch between the two on stage without driving the sound guy insane. This bass is quite heavy.

Bottom right: 5-string PJ, also with excellent fit and finish. Set-up was good out the box. The pole piece for the B-string sticks out of the pup body so if I play too hard and the string touches it then it makes a clanking noise. Play normally and it's ok. I may change the pups altogether in the future because why not. But first I want to see if I can't press the pole piece in deeper, that would be an easier fix.

Overall they're very good basses. And very good-looking basses. And then price... hard to say no. The hardware is solid and imo better than Warwick hardware. Even if you end up modding it you still spend way less than on other brands and, like I said, they look good. Seeing more and more HB equipment at shows. Everything from basses to guitars to amps to effects, etc.

Any questions, ask away.
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My 4 fretless all have round wounds Including 2 warwicks. They all have ebony fretboards though.
 

Ibanez TMB420B-BKF ​


449,- Euro street price is not really chesp. But you get them in „as new“ condition for less that 250,- Euro. It’s a growl bass! And it sits perfecly in the band mix. Always good audible without beeing obtrusive. My main bass for rehearsals and unsafe gigs.

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Hardy said:

Ibanez TMB420B-BKF ​


449,- Euro street price is not really chesp. But you get them in „as new“ condition for less that 250,- Euro. It’s a growl bass! And it sits perfecly in the band mix. Always good audible without beeing obtrusive. My main bass for rehearsals and unsafe gigs.

View attachment 27860
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There's something about the Talman that I don't like, something aesthetically, maybe I need to try one and change my mind.
 
The headstock and the position of the tuners is crappy. Otherwise it is a Fender copy. Doesn´t make you look better on stage. But to sound better. 😅 It is my "I don´t care" bass.On friday we play a gig which will end up in drunken riots. Glühwein and beer till the last one drops to the floor! For such events I had the Katana but the Katana had too much value in the end for such gigs. I hope @Gnermo is still happy with it! After the Katana I used a Rockbass Reverso for these jobs. Reminds me that I could use that one on friday... but actually the Ibby sounds better than the Reverso.
 
Hardy said:
The headstock and the position of the tuners is crappy. Otherwise it is a Fender copy. Doesn´t make you look better on stage. But to sound better. 😅 It is my "I don´t care" bass.On friday we play a gig which will end up in drunken riots. Glühwein and beer till the last one drops to the floor! For such events I had the Katana but the Katana had too much value in the end for such gigs. I hope @Gnermo is still happy with it! After the Katana I used a Rockbass Reverso for these jobs. Reminds me that I could use that one on friday... but actually the Ibby sounds better than the Reverso.
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Interesting… Do you think it sounds better because it is just an unpretentious P-bass, no active electronics, no fancy crap, just plain P-bass with the pups in the proper position? Or is it something else?


Edit: How I wish Warwick makes a RockBass Katana, bolt-on, classic woods and passive electronics. A mean, no frills, RnR machine for low hanger players.
 
That’s a hard question. My favourite bass varies depending on the projects i’m doing. Currently my favs are my Warwick Thumb and a fretless polaris merlin which was made for me.
 

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eyvindwa said:
I have that 7-string HB too, @esseff ! Great instrument, bought it new for like 300 EUR some years ago 😎

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Probably not new then tbh. They cost 600€ new from Thomann. But yes they are good. 7-strings are awkward though. I think the 5-string would've been a better fit for me.
 
esseff said:
Probably not new then tbh. They cost 600€ new from Thomann. But yes they are good. 7-strings are awkward though. I think the 5-string would've been a better fit for me.
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No, I did indeed buy it new, but (as you can see from the post) it was back in 2017 - time flies! 🥲 I looked it up now in my order history at Thomann, and it cost me a total of 326,98 € including shipping to Norway. Very cheap for such a decent bass!
 
eyvindwa said:
No, I did indeed buy it new, but (as you can see from the post) it was back in 2017 - time flies! 🥲 I looked it up now in my order history at Thomann, and it cost me a total of 326,98 € including shipping to Norway. Very cheap for such a decent bass!
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Then it must be the previous version. The BZ-700 II NT has only been available since September 2023. Some minor differences, not much.
 
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