Bass guitar for my nephew

TeleJr24

New member
I don't know much about basses and my nephew wants to get one for school. What would be a good bass (or bass and amp starter kit) for a 9 year old? Shorter scale preferred and (by my brother-in-law's request) around $200.
 
Re: Bass guitar for my nephew

actually i think if he really wants to start on bass he should start and take the hardship of a regular 34" scale. What i think is: 30" shortscales are totally different instruments with a different use,feel and different possibilities. I don't really know of basses that are in between the 30" and 34" since i only deal with 34" and up.
Bass can be hard on finger stretches and finger strenght,especially for a 9-year-old, but with the right mindset he should be good to go.
Imo some of the Squier Basses are quite nice and should be around the given budget.
 
Re: Bass guitar for my nephew

I think you could get a nice Cort Curbow ( i think that's what it is)4 string for that, my nephew has a 5 string one and it's superb! The build, finish and sound is great... it has Barotlini actives in it too. Honestly... it's a fantastic guitar. I just missed a black one this weekend for £140... and I'm kicking myself! I'm sure you could get one in the US for $200.
 
Re: Bass guitar for my nephew

I have a cort curbow that I'm thinking about selling actually (tried to about five times on this board with no luck :P)... four string though. bought it a couple years ago used for around $300 which might be a bit steep for a beginner.

...Anyway, it's a decent bass, but setup was insane and leads me to think it's not manufactured with the utmost quality... the neck doesn't take well to heavy strings AT ALL...

On top of that, even once the neck was straightened with the truss rod (had to use regulars, it wouldn't straighten at all with the heavies I had on it I STILL needed to shim the neck up probably about half a centimeter or else the action was just ridiculous.

...it plays great now though :D Probably just going to sell it to my singer...

Anyway, as for shortscale basses... if you have to, go with a Fender Mustang (probably too expensive) or Musicmaster (still prob. too expensive but deals can be found) or Squier Bronco... The Epiphone EB0 is of sorta lackluster quality even though it looks great, and unless he likes the cream tone or something, it really doesn't sound like an ordinary bass at all, plus the pickup location precludes slapping.
 
Re: Bass guitar for my nephew

I have a cort curbow that I'm thinking about selling actually (tried to about five times on this board with no luck :P)... four string though. bought it a couple years ago used for around $300 which might be a bit steep for a beginner.

...Anyway, it's a decent bass, but setup was insane and leads me to think it's not manufactured with the utmost quality... the neck doesn't take well to heavy strings AT ALL...

On top of that, even once the neck was straightened with the truss rod (had to use regulars, it wouldn't straighten at all with the heavies I had on it I STILL needed to shim the neck up probably about half a centimeter or else the action was just ridiculous.

...it plays great now though :D Probably just going to sell it to my singer...

Strange, my nephews 5 string has a superb action.. about 4mm where the neck meets the body. I guess you get good and bad sets ups with all makes.
 
Re: Bass guitar for my nephew

Thanks for the suggestions! Any ideas on a cheap bass amp - small for school use.
 
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