Advice on best bass for new player

Hi, I've been playing guitar for a few years but I'd like to try my hand at bass. I know very little about bass guitars except that some players have a preference for scale length. I play mostly blues and classic rock and would like advice on which vintage Guilds to look out for.

Thanks

hey stevo,
get a used guild pilot 602. around 300 $ on the bay, available with 2 jazzbass pickups or one jazzbass and one precision pickup. great playability, easy neck, 34" scale. full color body are poplar, burst or natural are maple.
a real professional bass as a best bargain for the money.

pilots are really nice, but if you can afford it, I would recommend a starfire
there's a nice '67 model on ebay right now

Oh boy, here we go again!

You need to read these threads before we discuss it all again.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8061&hilit=pilot

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9557&p=99777&hilit=pilot#p99777

The Guilds of Grot said:

Oh boy, here we go again!

You need to read these threads before we discuss it all again.

http://letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtop ... ilit=pilot

http://letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtop ... lot#p99777

Click to expand...

+1

But the short answer is that if it has to have Guild on the headstock, the Pilot seems to be the most reasonable choice, especially in terms of cost and availability.

A lot of folks who switch between bass and guitar or have small hands like the neck profile and the short scale of the Starfire. Here's our very own Jahn playing a Starfire bass much like a guitar, IMO.

Thanks for the great advice and links to old threads. I think I will be on the lookout for a Pilot as I don't want to be spending too much.

Happy New Year!

Steve

Scale length could make a big difference - especially for a guitar player. Most long scale basses are 34" (some 35" and a few 36"); short scale are generally 30". One of my favorite basses is an acoustic/electric - my guild B4 - which is 32". I would try at least one 30" and one 34" at a music store to see how the scale affects your playing. My Pilot (and I believe all Pilots) is 34".

Squawk said:

my guild B4 - which is 32".

Click to expand...

Are you sure?

If I measure from the bridge side of the nut to the 12th fret, it is 15.25 inches which says my B4 is a 30.5 scale which is the number I see quoted most often for "short scale" Guilds. Indeed, I bought it based upon the information that the scale length was the same for the B4, Starfire and JS. I can see ways to possibly measure it at 31" but 32" seems like a bit of a stretch.

Where am I making my mistake?

For the first time, I just checked my B4 - it's 30.8" measured from the bridge side of the nut to the 12th fret. When I researched this bass, I saw a spec sheet that cited 32" - don't remember where I saw that, but I guess it stuck in my head that the B4 is 32" - so I stand corrected.

What kind of strings do you use on your B4?

Squawk said:

For the first time, I just checked my B4 - it's 30.8" measured from the bridge side of the nut to the 12th fret. When I researched this bass, I saw a spec sheet that cited 32" - don't remember where I saw that, but I guess it stuck in my head that the B4 is 32" - so I stand corrected.

What kind of strings do you use on your B4?

Click to expand...

Squawk.....where in the world have you been my long lost four armed friend?

West

Squawk said:

For the first time, I just checked my B4 - it's 30.8" measured from the bridge side of the nut to the 12th fret. When I researched this bass, I saw a spec sheet that cited 32" - don't remember where I saw that, but I guess it stuck in my head that the B4 is 32" - so I stand corrected.

What kind of strings do you use on your B4?

Click to expand...

No problem. Having owned a "short scale" bass for over 35 years I keep running into the fact that "short scale" does not mean the same thing to everyone who makes strings. There are also people who used to advertise string length as if it were scale length. Since the result of not paying attention and putting too long strings on was both unsatisfactory and expensive (i.e. several hours of lawn mowing or snow blowing) in the days of my youth, I tend to be excessively careful.

I must confess that I don't know what strings are on my B4. I bought it used and the strings are what they are. They are phosphor bronze so my guess is that they are the originals. When I'm playing by myself, I really don't care about the sound as long as I can hear pitch. When I'm accompanying the D-25 the question is who can hear me rather than what do I sound like. (I've been told the B4 projects forward pretty well but I have trouble hearing myself so...) Amplified the B4 sounds like an acoustic guitar but the sound is way to bright for me so I either cut way back with the Fishman or grab the Starfire.

I started playing bass in 1967 and always used flat wounds. When I bought my fretless, I put tapewounds on it - so I decided to try a set on the B4 as I didn't like the bright scratchy sound. I think it's great - acoustic or amplified. Musician's Friend sells the Fenders for $20 - cheapest I've seen for tapewounds. Check the link below and read the user reviews.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-9120-Nylon-Tapewound-Bass-Strings?sku=101218