Getting back to Bass-ics

Advantages: Good quality budget guitar
Disadvantages: none really

...I have been hankering for a Bass guitar to fiddle with as a project and when I earned a few extra quid for a private job I started to browse eBay for a likely candidate. I found a Yamaha RBX170 4 string bass on a pick up only deal in Ringwood, a place that I pass through regularly. This bass retails between £120 - £150, putting it in the higher end of the beginners' market. When I collected it, along with the 30 Watt amplifier which I got with it for a very reasonable £73, it was a bit grubby and looked as though it had been used for serving pizza. There were several torn and grubby stickers on it and I feared that I had bought a pup. I got it home and plugged it in. The first thing I noticed was the weight, for a full scale bass guitar it is very light, I can hold it out at arm's length with ease. The range of tones is...

JeffFromPoole 14.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha RBX170 Bass Guitar

Best Beginners Bass Guitar. Period.

Advantages: Great Looking, Smooth Neck, Good Sound.
Disadvantages: No Active Pickups

...I bought this electric bass about a year ago, along with a Fender Rumble amp, as my first proper instrument, and let me say this - I couldn't have been happier with it. First, lets go through some specs. My model is an older style that the one Ibanez now advertise and sell, so mine doesnt have the Phat II EQ Bass Boost control that newer models now come eqipt with. The body is Agathis, which is not a great wood for guitar bodies, but ibanez use it well to get the best out of it. All basses/guitars in this price range use it, as it is the cheapest musical wood. This wood is a relative of true mahogany and gives nearly the same tonal characterists. Warm lows with a fairly strong sustain. The neck is made out of maple, and the finish is just perfect for my tastes. It is very thinly varnished, so you don't get the stickiness...

janestone 22.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of Ibanez GSR200 Electric Bass

Funky Bass Guitar

Advantages: Better options of sound
Disadvantages: none

...This is the Fender bass that I own and swear by. It cost me £370 last month and it is to replace my battered Marlin Bass that is 11 years old. The reason i bought it is because im limited to what I can have. Im left handed so my choice in Basses is limited as they dont make all models. I wanted the slightly cheaper Precision bass but they dont make it in Left hand. I had to opt for the Jazz bass. Im glad I did as it has more flexibility in sound than the precision. It has 2 different pick ups, Selectable by a switch. It has a deep sound on the rear pick up while the front pick up has a punchy, crisp sound. Great for playing funk. Also, this guitar is becoming ever more popular with the 70's feel coming back into guitars in a big way. I bought a Metallic Purple one. Again your colours are limited by being left handed...

andycharger 12.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Fender Standard Jazz Electric Bass

Applause AE64 Acoustic Electric Guitar

Advantages: Beautiful sound, playability and look
Disadvantages: Disadvantages?!

...So I'm sat here in my room at my halls of residence playing on my acoustic electric guitar, when it hit me..."could I review this on Ciao?"...yes, I could!! Applause Guitars are the younger brother of guitar manufacturers Ovation, who have been making trustworthy guitars for over 30 years now, and here have used this experience to make a guitar that doesn't sound like a guitar that is as cheap as this, but is a high-quality product. My model number is actually the AE 28, rather than the 64, but trust me, from what I know about Ovations and what else I can work out, there are no differences here except the numbers! I brought it in November last year from a local music retailers, who I purchased my two other guitars (both electric), so trusted them fully when they recommended me this offering, and they've not let me down...

carl.mcqueen 19.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Applause AE64 Acoustic Electric Guitar

Seiko SAT100 Guitar and Bass Tuner

Advantages: Economical, Easy to use, Great for beginners, Comes with batteries! Input and output sockets.
Disadvantages: Won't tune cheap acoustics properly.

...I bought this item for £15 from a specialist guitar shop and I have to say it was well worth every penny! I have an electric guitar, one of which was terribly out of tune. It corrected the tuning perfectly and now my guitar doesn't sound in pain every time I play it. This tuner can be used on acoustic guitars, as well as electric ones, also for bass guitars, but I do not own a bass so I don't know how it performs in that area. Electric guitars can be plugged into the side of the tuner for more precise tuning. It does have a built-in microphone, so connecting it to your guitar isn't completely necessary. Due to the microphone, this allows acoustic guitars to be tuned as well. It has a very simple interface, and as a beginner to the world of guitars, I found it extremely easy to operate. It has a digital display (two AAA batteries are...

shadysladyangela 20.08.2007 (19.07.2007) · Read review
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Review of Seiko SAT100 Guitar and Bass Tuner

My luvverly cherry red Washburn bass.

Advantages: *
Disadvantages: *

...Having started playing bass with a cheapo Fender Precision copy, after a year I decided it was time to move up to a better make. It was a toss up between a classic jazz bass with all the tuning pegs lined up a la the Fender or one of the newer "Gothic" style ones like this. In true Mr Pink fashion a beer or six was consumed whilst I perused the choices avaliable, finally deciding to take a chance on this beaut and the deed was done! The purchase was made from a firm in South Bend, Indiana, USA (isn't the internet wonderful) for a total of $303, approx £165, of which the actual bass cost $202 around about £110, pretty good considering the going price for this make in the UK is around £150-£200, and it arrived in less than a week so I was very pleased. A quick run through the scales showed that it was tuned up nicely too...

pinkmatchstick 23.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Washburn XB120, Bass guitar

Semi hollow, but a whole guitar!

Advantages: Extremely versatile and gorgeous too!
Disadvantages: People with tiny hands need not apply.

...I've owned an Epiphone Dot for over a year now, so I know it intimately. Well, as intimately as a man can get with a guitar anyway! I guess I'll start with the basics for anyone who's just starting out. The Dot is a semi hollow electric guitar, This means thats it has a solid block of wood running lengthways through the body, but has hollow chambers on either side. This means it is more audible than a standard solid electric guitar unplugged, but plugged in has the added bonus it is less prone to unwanted feedback than fully hollows. It has 2 humbucker pickups, a 3 way selector switch which lets you use youre different pickups at different time, and 2 independant tone and volume controls. Humbuckers give a more earthy, full sound than single coil pick ups, and are perfect fodder for some overdrive, yet are equally at home with clean...

monkeybutler100 15.12.2007 (16.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of Epiphone The Dot Electric Guitar

An extremely versatile and reliable guitar!

Advantages: The classic bread and butter of our time - beautiful and brilliant
Disadvantages: expensive and daunting to a beginner

...There is, unsurprisingly, a reason why this guitar is so successful - it is an absolute icon of our time. For years to come, people will look at that familiar rounded outline and remember their rockstar hopes and fantasies, as well as their most epic jam sessions! I have only been playing guitar for two years and have had no professional instruction, i was delighted to find out early on that i was naturally talented at playing and advanced quite quickly. I have played guitar for several local bands and have taught a couple of my friends. I own this guitar in Alpine White and it looks sublime, the gold pickups are beautifully worn giving it a well played look and the sound is almost perfect in every way. I chose this guitar based purely on a long time obsession with the beauty of Les Pauls', i went straight here from a cheap knock...

TudsW 24.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Epiphone Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar

KORG GA-30 Guitar/Bass - Tuner, good buy.

Advantages: Very easy to use, very accurate.
Disadvantages: Quite small, loud noises can interfere with tuning with built in mic.

...This is a must for any musician on the move, or simply someone who needs to tune guitars often. The whole thing is incredibly easy to use, with three clear lights that light up according to the note. To use it, you can either use the built in microphone, and it will pick up the sounds very easily, but can be troublesome if there is too much background noise, things like a tv, even other guitars playing in the background can be fine, but there are times when it becomes difficult. The other way is to simply use your musical cable (same type you use for an amplifier) and plug it into the jack socket in the side of the tuner. It will then pick up anything you play. The small dial alternates between the right and left sides, making it very clear how far you are from hitting the right note. The red lights will turn off and the middle...

Hawiz 17.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Korg GA-30 Guitar/Bass tuner

The ultimate bass

Advantages: Great guitar
Disadvantages: Expensive

...Rickenbackers are reknowned the world over by the bassists around the globe. With its unusual shape and beautiful tone, it makes the ideal instrument for any serious musician. Its a Solid Maple bodied guitar giving it the weight you associate with quality. The Neck is long and slender for a bass, making it easy to get nimble fingers up and down quickly. The Fingerboard is made from finest rosewood giving it a beautiful dark finish. To protect the body, an unusually large pick guard adorns main part of the guitar as well as proteting under the strings. They look really nice in a Dark colour with a light coloured pick guard. It looks very retro too, being a model originally released in the 60's. The sound is famous for its ringing sustain and beatiful pitch. It really does send a chill down your spine with a set of thin strings on...

andycharger 22.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Rickenbacker 4003 Electric Bass