Hey, whats in that scary room? OMG BASS GUITARS!!!

I don't know if GC has everything that Musician's Friend has (GC owns MF), but I saw this http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-IJSB190-Bass-Jumpstart-Pack?sku=519677

It looks pretty good, has a lot of stuff. I also like the http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Drive-WildFire-Electric-Bass-Combo-Pack?sku=513446

Cheaper, but again sometimes GC doesn't carry the same exact product as MF.

I personally like the Epiphone EB-0 bass by itself. I don't think I'd recommend it to someone starting out, and not really for the type of stuff you're thinking about playing; it's a bit bottomy with that one pickup. Lots of guys say that type of bass is 'muddy' sounding.

I'd also say to maybe stay away from 5-strings for awhile; I think it would be best to keep with 4-strings for a time and then maybe move up if you want. It depends ultimately on the music you're playing, whether you really need that ultra low B (5th) string. Plus, if you're not used to 'hearing' bass notes in the music you're trying to learn, the low B's really down there and hard to hear what you're playing sometimes. Especially with a small amp.

The Squier is probably okay, but you don't get as much stuff in the pack, and I'd tend to say stay away from the Rogues for now. I'd probably get the Rogue Beatle at some point as a backup, but...you can do better with the full packages.

I'm leaning toward the Ibanez though. They're pretty consistant in build and I've heard they're quite popular. Maybe not that exact model, but in general.

As far as you having started on the 'wrong' instrument, don't worry about it. There's really no 'wrong' instrument. It was just the guitar that first got you into the music, and that'll pay off anyhow. What you learned will transfer pretty easily over to the bass. It's just that it's very rare that a guy will start off on bass and stick with it. I think I know of two guys who did that; they started on bass and kept on it because that's what they loved. Other than that, it's guys starting on guitar and switching over at some point.

For me, I started on uke (more the 'baby' of the bass, lol, since it's got four strings too), went to bass, then to guitar, and now I play them both about equally. To me it was worth learning them both.

The Ibanez package, I'm thinking.

One other thing: when you're trying to find an instrument that's 'yours' and you don't have any other reference because you've got no previous experience, just try to imagine you're holding the instrument in your hands and playing it. Go by how it feels, if it's comfortable, if it looks good and seems to be solid and makes you smile when you pluck it. If there's a 'connection' there the moment you pick it up. At times, that's the best gauge; just if you like holding it and can visualize yourself playing it. I mean, you gotta love what it looks like in the first place to even pick it up, no?

Good hunting; hope you come out with one you enjoy.

I started with a starter pack, and I love Ibanez, so an Ibanez Starter Pack sounds like a good way to go

I havn't been to guitar center yet, but I have made progress. Someone I know does play guitar. I was over at a friends house today, Jamming, and I noticed a weird shaped head and cab in her room. I asked her what it was for and she said "My dad's Bass". She ran upstairs without letting me say anything and got it, and she started playing it. She tought me how to play the opening to that funk song "Play that funky music" or whatever song, and it was fun, and despite my small hands, it was relativly easy. I like the spaced out strings and despite having so much difficulty fingerpicking guitar, I was walking this thing like a spider. Plus playing it gave me a bit of a feel for the instrument quality itself. It was this Washburn - http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Washburn-T24-Taurus-NeckThru-Electric-Bass?sku=515198

I must say, now that I've played one, I really want one. The first time I tried to play that washburn it clicked, felt good. I was afraid it would be awkward and I would look stupid, but it wasn't the case. She said it took her a few days to get it down right, and it took me three tries.

Now who here needs their lawn mowed?

I'll get in trouble for saying this, but you should check out SX basses sold by Rondo music. http://www.rondomusic.net
They sell basic precision and jazz bass copies for $100. I own a few, and they are very solid insturments.

http://www.rondomusic.net/spb62k.html

There is the package they have.

The only thing about that one is the Bass only has a P-style pickup, while the sound of a J-style sounds more appealing to me. Maybe one of each would do, but not just the P-style.

Now that I look through the packs, all I would use out of them would be the bass and the amp, I have everything else in those except for the gig bag.

I actually think the SX basses might work really well, I was looking at a yamaha earlier, but I like this one - http://www.rondomusic.net/spj62.html , in either finish.

Heres what I was looking at on musicians friend -
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-RBX170-Bass?sku=511081
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-SQ-MB4-4String-Bass-Guitar?sku=510644

The SX as I've heard is real good for the price, and I'm relying on an amp sale and some savings for the majority of my money. My total budget is going to be something around 200 dollars, so with the packages, I would be borrowing money from the rents, which can be ugly, or buy the amp seperate later. I think the SX might be the affordable solution. Thanks xg5a. Now though the bass amp. http://www.rondomusic.net/ibz10b.html
Would that work good for a practice amp till I get my feet wet, I can always ask for something nice for my birthday in november, and this would do me good for a while, headphone jack would be nice, I can play late into the night.

Well, what you can do(and i'm assumig that you already play guitar) is to play the bass through the guitar amp for a while, until you can afford a real bass amp. It won't sound quite as good, but it's better than nothing. Just don't turn it up too loud. That Ibanez amp only has a 6.5" speaker, which is NOT big enough, to handle the low notes of a bass. You should check out Fender's Rumble series. The small ones would make a nice practice amp. Small bass amps are tricky, though, because bass needs a lot more power and speaker size than guitar to amplify.

I didn't know that you could use a guitar amp. I have a behringer with two 12's that should work for now. Thanks, that will save me a bunch of money.

I have an earlier SX 5-string which is kinda nice. I don't play it as much as the Turser Beatle, but it comes out of the case once in a while. The newer ones look pretty awesome though. A friend has one of the PJ-somethings, and it was beautiful. I think it was a Brice model though.

I've played bass through guitar amps before, even borrowed a friend's Marshall JCM800 with a slant cab. The closed back on the cab helped with the low end and it worked pretty well. Not for 'concert' levels though.

That Ibanez is pretty cute, though as was mentioned, the driver's just 6.5". Thing is, not to say Ibanez makes great bass amps or anything or to detract from what was said, but it's possible for a bass amp with a small driver to have a pretty bassy sound. I don't quite understand it, but it has to do with not only the diameter of the speaker, but the way the enclosure is 'tuned' to the speaker so that the whole thing vibrates and you can actually hear the low notes. It's like if you took the same little Ibanez and opened the back of the cab up - usually not possible because it's sealed - all the low frequencies would drop off. It's something about the interior dimensions of the cabinet, coupled with the driver, that creates the whole sound.

I haven't tried that particular Ibanez, but that's the theory behind it. There's threads on TalkBass.com that probably deal with it more accurately because there's actual sound engineers who write there, lol.

And as far as the power rating; again, it's just a practice amp. It would probably work fine in a bedroom situation.

But the small driver, low wattage thing can also be seen in the use of say, headphones while recording. You know how they advertise that such and such headphones have a 'super low bass response'? Well, it's along those lines; it's the way the ear cups are made and how the signal is processed and sent through. Even cheapie headphones these days have a pretty good low freqency response, and those drivers are like 2 inches in diameter. So yah, it seems it's not only the size of the speaker.

Good suggestion on the Rumble series, but when I was shopping for a stage rig recently, I fell in love with the newer Fender bass combo, the little 25lb Bassman 100. I just needed a light pro/semi-pro rig that would be used mainly for stage monitoring, and the specs - and price - were pretty impressive. I've used it several times now, and even though it's only 100 watts and has a 10" driver, it sounds nice and is pretty LOUD for its size; more that sufficient for stage monitoring, but good as stand-alone too. Good price point. I would recommend it over the Bassman's that came out just previous, because of the size and weight. I don't use it for practice because most of my playing is either unplugged or through a Line6 POD for recording, using headphones, but since it's pretty good for a medium size stage in an outdoor situation, it would be more than sufficient for bedroom jams too.

So it comes down to what you can afford, while looking into the future a little bit. If you do get a Rumble, maybe get the little bigger one, in case you find yourself jamming with a band or something at a later date, or, as was mentioned, just play at low volumes with your guitar amp; another option being to get an actual bass cabinet, a 2x10, a 1x12 or a 1x15 (like a Carvin or something from avatarspeakers.com), unplug your guitar amp speakers and plug that in. You'd be using just the amp section of your amp and the bass speaker by itself, and could probably crank it up a bit.

Anyhow, good luck and have fun!

I didn't know that you could use a guitar amp. I have a behringer with two 12's that should work for now. Thanks, that will save me a bunch of money.

With caution...

If you've got a closed-back cabinet, it is less likely that you will blow out the speakers if you happen to get overly enthusiastic.

That Ibanez is pretty cute, though as was mentioned, the driver's just 6.5". Thing is, not to say Ibanez makes great bass amps or anything or to detract from what was said, but it's possible for a bass amp with a small driver to have a pretty bassy sound. I don't quite understand it, but it has to do with not only the diameter of the speaker, but the way the enclosure is 'tuned' to the speaker so that the whole thing vibrates and you can actually hear the low notes. It's like if you took the same little Ibanez and opened the back of the cab up - usually not possible because it's sealed - all the low frequencies would drop off. It's something about the interior dimensions of the cabinet, coupled with the driver, that creates the whole sound.

Another reason for this is that the amp itself is tuned differently. A big bass amp emphasizes the low frequencies, while an amp like the Ibanez emphasizes the mid-bass. It gives a very distinct sound, which actually can pass for bass pretty well. This is another reason why people like small amps so much for recording. The only problem is that this amp isn't going to cut it when you go to play with other musicians. It just won't be loud enough.

Getting a bass cabinet for your Behringer guitar amp is also very interesting. You can get a nice Behringer 1x15 cab (or something else substantial like that) for a very reasonable price. I'm sure your guitar amp would have enough power. It all depends on tone, but on the clean setting, your amp should be fine.
Oh, and as stated above, don't run your bass through your guitar amp with the volume up too much! You'll blow the speakers!

As far as the bass itself, you shold just buy a separate bass and gig bag/case from Rondo(get either a P style or a J style). Don't bother with a pack. You can use the cords/straps from your guitars, plus the accessories in those packs are junk anyway.

So let us know what you decide to do...