First Electric Bass Guitar For Sale (2024 Update)

The Mikro bass plays, looks and sounds great. The extra-short scale length does not compromise the traditional bass tone it produces. I have played 6-string guitar for over 40 years, including many professional gigs and teaching. I own over a dozen topnotch guitars. But this is my first bass, and I chose Mikro on the recommendation of a trustworthy friend. I have been doing my own repair work on guitars for decades, and can say the Mikro bass is impressively well made, and arrived decently set up with new, good strings. Fret work, neck, nut, tuning machines, bridge, fingerboard, finish, electronics are all virtually flawless; and the tobacco sunburst color I chose looks really nice, with a "vintage" vibe. I replaced the stock chrome dome knobs (which are nice ones) with Gibson-style knobs so I can see numbers for volume and tone settings. I really like the tone of the Mikro, especially the "Precision" style pickup–the one closer to the neck, from which it's easy to get a classic P-bass tone in conjunction with the tone control, which also works great. Ibanez chose a great capacitor value for the tone knob. The bridge position ("Jazz" style) pickup is just OK–usable, and not bad, but nothing remarkable, and it's especially lackluster when used solo, without any of the P-style pickup dialed in. That is the only part of this bass, other than the knobs, I would consider upgrading in the near future (maybe also the potentiometers, but even those feel smooth and responsive out of the box). The satin-finish neck feels great, and is a breeze to play, even for someone like me, who is coming to the bass from years on guitar. The tuning stability of the Mikro is remarkably great. So the latest versions of the Mikro basses are a phenomenal bargain! I would not hesitate to recommend a Mikro to anyone considering moving from guitar to bass, or to someone with smaller hands. From what my bassist friends tell me, the Mikro is great for any bassist PERIOD.NYC Slide Guitarist trying bass

Overall: I've been playing for years, mostly Fenders, Tobias and a heavily modified Decca short scale from the 60s. This is my first Ibanez bass and I am blown away! I chose the brown burst finish, and took a chance on the "blemished" version. Been looking at it all day and I can't find any imperfection anywhere. Definitely wanted short scale, light weight and a fast neck, this one has all 3 and then some. Set up out of the box was close, very close, with only a slight fret buzz on the E string. A very small adjustment at the saddle took care of it. The stock pickups sound good, the tone knob has useful range, everything sounds quite good through everything I've played it through so far (Fender, Orange, antique Earth head, etc.). Overall, I couldn't be happier!Bryan

An utterly great bass overall. It's perfect for someone with a low budget, or someone who's new to learning bass. Also good for children or people with small hands since it's a short-scale. This was my first bass and I still play it a lot. Not only is it cheap, but it has a really good tone, a nice feel to it, and a beautiful orange finish (if that is the finish you chose). The only bad thing I have to say about this is that it got some fret buzz to it but in all honesty, it's not that bad. I love Ibanez basses, I own several and this one is absolutly great.Logan

This fretless bass is a great value! This bass is about 1/3 the price of the next cheapest fretless. The sound is very good with a wide range of tonal possibilities. Exactly what I was hoping for. The flat wound strings have amazing treble, similar to round wounds. I was able to lower the action quite a bit by adjusting the bridge with the provided Allen wrench. On the downside, while the A, D, and G strings were flawless, the E string was dead. It was totally mismatched to the sound of the other strings; thumpy without any treble. I guessed that the outer wrapping around the core had unwound at the factory and was not tight. Removing the E from the tuning peg and twisting it to tighten the wrap around the core improved the sound dramatically. Endemic to this model is a design flaw (I tried 3 of these basses previous) wherein the two tone controls are wired in series rather than in parallel. Either tone control can control the tone of either the bridge or neck pick-up, so that it is impossible to control the tone of the two pickups independent of the other. Consequently, you can roll off the treble fully with one tone control and then roll it off again with the other for an insanely deep bass sound. You can easily re-wire this unforgivable defect in a few minutes, if you own a soldering iron. You can Google this slip-up and get a correct wiring diagram online. I may leave it for now, as I am getting into the tonal possibilities of the "extended bassy" sound. Finally, the fret board is unmarked. Being a visual player, I found it helpful to pencil in fret lines. The side markers provided on the neck are not so helpful, as they are in the traditional fretted positions, one half fret back from the place where you need to finger. These drawbacks are not a deal breaker in my opinion. The bass is a blast to play and the tone is completely different than my fretted basses. GET THIS BASS! I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT!Lenny

To be honest, I bought this bass mostly because of a great discount offered by Musician's Friend. I didn't want to spend a lot on the bass since I only wanted to experiment with fretless playing. However, this bass was a pleasant surprise. It looks great, plays great and has provided me with a bass sound I always wanted but could never get with my fretted basses. I was concerned that I would play out of tune without the frets, but it was easy to get used to finding the correct notes. The pickups are excellent! I've recorded several tunes with it now and honestly love the results. I'm impressed by Rogue basses, which many of my bass-playing friends shrug off as being "cheap" and not a brand name. They don't know what they are missing! I intend to buy a fretted version ASAP. It is lighter than my Fender Jazz basses and the smaller neck is easier to play. In conclusion, I'll never be a bass 'snob' again. Rogue products are an excellent bargain and not just for "beginner" bass players.lcad1953

I am mainly a guitarist but have always had an interest in a fretless bass. It sounds surprisingly good. To get intonation right I had to replace the bridge adjustment screws with longer 3X50 mm screws. Without that fix it is unplayable. Another fix would be to move the bridge plate 1/2" towards neck.Tom

The Squier Bronco Bass delivers exactly what I expected. It's a 30" scale bass with a body shaped like the Fender Mustang bass; it has a single pickup (I believe it's a strat pickup), is fairly light weight (mine weighs in a 7 pounds 10 ounces), and it's a fun little axe. It's also the lowest-priced bass by an actual musical instrument company. How do they keep the price down? One way is that this is the only bass I've owned that has no fingerboard. It doesn't affect anything, but the front of the neck IS the fingerboard. The hardware is okay quality. But here's the thing – it sounds decent, feels great, plays well. There's going to be a little luck of the draw in a lower priced instrument, but my tuners stay in tune, intonation was on, everything is good. There was a little too much neck relief, but that was easy to adjust. If you're realistic about your expectations, the Squier Bronco Bass is an awesome value, looks good, and it gets you playing. It's not going to sound like a Stingray or a Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, but it doesn't sound bad, either – I would do a show with one without worrying about it. I have other basses, but wanted to add an inexpensive short scale to my stable, and this bass was exactly what I wanted. I may upgrade the pickup later – I may not. For now, it falls between my 34" scale and 28.6" scale basses, and it's fun to play. I'm very happy with it.Pcake

I ended up using this bass for songs where long scale can be a bit difficult. My main bass is an imported '54 P Bass copy, Alder body and maple neck/fingerboard. It had to go into a local shop for some major nut repair, and I needed something to play around with. Off the rack, it was a pretty great bass for the price. The neck is very well crafted, no sharp fret edges like some imported instruments. It's an agathis body, so the tone can be kind of bland, but compared to older Squier Broncos, it seems that all of the bridge and neck contact one piece of wood on the multi-piece construction, so sustain isn't too bad. The bad: The tuners are pretty sorry and are an oddball size, which makes replacement with good tuners very difficult. My E and A tuners rattle some, but all four do hold tune pretty well for cheap tuners. Also, the stock pickup is a six-pole ceramic Strat pickup, so it can sound…odd when bending strings. The other bad is the bridge: although it intonates pretty well, two saddles can make proper intonation difficult to achieve along with proper radius. Also, the bridge mounting pattern is almost impossible to replace with another bridge–four hole lock-down and quick-release style bridges DO work, but the bridge is mounted a little too far forward, and intonation is almost always sharp on the upper end of the fingerboard. Gotoh 201's are also very difficult to adapt to fit. But for its price point, some of these cons are easily fixed. I have a Mojotone Alnico V lipstick Strat pickup in mine with CTS 500K pots. It sounds excellent–it fools some of my buddies about how cheap it is. This bass could probably also benefit from a bar retainer near the nut. It went from an around the house beater to a mainstay for certain songs.Isher

my dad, a professional and extremely experienced bass guitarist, bought me this for christmas last year, and i love it. this is the first bass i've ever picked up and it's easy to play, is well built, has a nice feel to it, etc. i highly recommend it for beginners. i play it in my school band class and it fits in very well with the rest of the instruments. however it can fall out of tune easily and the pickup isn't the best, but ultimately it's the most perfect beginner bassout there, especially for the low price, it's high qualityace

This is a nice bass. I'm an Ibanez fan, and have had a top-of-the-line SoungGear bass for many years, but wanted a nice simple bass – no active electronics/batteries. I also own Fender and Yamaha basses, and this one holds its own nicely. Nice neck (not quite as thin as some of the SoungGears, but not bad), nice feel, and nice tone from the single pickup. Great for small gigs, jamming etc. Play it through a decent amp & speakers and you'll get decent and varied sounds simply be adjusting the tone control. Nice!Hawkeye Fan

I found myself away from home due to a family emergency with no idea how long it would be before returning. Since I had left in a hurry I didn't take any instrument and three weeks later I wished I had. So began my search for an inexpensive full size bass to practice on when I found free time. I ultimately chose the Ibanez GSR100EX for several reasons. This bass is a no frills offering having a single passive pickup and nothing more than a volume knob and a tone knob. The pickup is surprisingly beefy. It has that "fast" Ibanez neck and true to their advertising, it came setup with the same quality that you would see on more expensive models. Every screw was tight. Neck was perfectly straight. No dead spots and the frets were well dressed and crowned. The finish (I got the black model) was perfect. No cracks or hazing. Even the action and pickup height was just the way I like it. It's quite lightweight too. Maybe I just got lucky but other than some minor intonation adjustments it was ready to go right out of the box. I would play this bass anywhere and not be lacking. It's not just a beginner's bass by any means although a beginner couldn't find a better value IMHO. It may not have the tonal palette or lack the features of basses that cost many hundreds more, but it does deliver the basics and does it well. When I get back home I intend to convert it to a BEAD bass. DON'T let the price cause you concern. It really is a great deal.IamBuzzy

In highschool I played bass a lot and on the side I learned to play the guitar. BUt once I got into college I started to play guitar way more, to the point my Carvin 6 six string custom bass sat in its case for about 6 months because I had no chance to play it. Three years later, I started playing bass again but unfortunately I don't have any gear. BUt I have a couple of friends that have basses they let me borrow when ever I need to (one is this bass the other is the cheapest rogue they make). Now Its been a while since I played my old gear, which was a carvin 6 string and a nicer hartke amp with the alum 4x10s, but I still remember great tone, good tone, and blah tone. Anyways back to this bass, the tone is pretty flat fingerstyle. There just isn't alot of life in this bass, nor the rogue for that matter but the rogue is a hundred dollars less. The neck wasn't too bad pretty thin, action okay. This one didn't buzz much but the rogue had its places. ALl in all the basses sounded identicaland minus the fret buzzing on the rogue played the same. So my advice if you are starting out go to a music store find a rogue that has a decent neck with no buzz and save the extra hundred and put it towards your next bass. This bass is't worth the extra money even though it is cheap. This bass has no growl or spark in its tone just like a cheap rogue doesn't have any of that.Roger-bdKv7

Very lightweight, no strain on my back. Has that perfect Ibanez action I've come to prefer over other makes. Pickups work in tandem, not separately, so that took some getting used to. Color is hot and sexy.John

The Ibanez GSR 200 is one of the best "bang for your buck" basses on the market. They are made with excellent quality, lightweight wood, agathis, maple, rosewood. The onboard P/J pickups and electronics sound good. They play good out of the box but they play excellently if set up by a guitar tech. These were choice basses for many of the bass players supporting MWR tours. Musicians would take Ibanez GRS 200 basses on tour and raffle them off to service members on the last gig.matt4717

I bought the jewel blue one and named it "Jewel". No, not like the singer. I thought it was totally beyond all expectations. I played it for a couple of years before I lost it when my marriage fizzled. Now I want another one. I'm no novice. I've been playing guitar for over 35 years, and Jewel was my third bass. I liked her better than a Fender Jazz. I want another one. To nitpick, I didn't like the square corners on the top of the neck (past all the frets), so I took the neck off and rounded them. Problem solved. I also didn't like that the threads stripped out on the E string bridge piece when I tried to back it up far enough to get the intonation right. But I think the real problem is solved with an Earvana nut. Anyway, if you can't afford to buy the bass everyone is telling you to buy – or even if you can – buy this one. If you don't sound good on it, you don't need a Fender or a Rick, you need lessons.Gravity Zen

Should you be in the market for a decent, inexpensive bass, you really should consider this model. Having just arrived home from jamming with six friends, three of whom (including myself) are gigging pros, I felt obligated to congratulate Yamaha Corp for creating such a marvelous bass for the price. I brought my favorite jamming bass–a Squier VM 70's jazz bass–to the jam yet ended up playing this TRBX for four hours. (The guy who owns the studio remarked that he just bought it (used), and he wanted me to try it out.) I'll admit that the controls for the pots are cheap plastic, but everything else about the bass was top notch. It's a passive bass, but the EQ is very responsive with a wide range of voicings from its P/J style pups. Beautifully finished neck, a fretboard with a generous slab of rosewood–it sure looked and felt like rosewood, despite what it's being called in the GC write-up–a really smooth fret-edge finish, solid body wood, but not too heavy. Tuners worked great, and the sunburst stain under the urethane finish was masterfully done. The studio owner bought the bass with flatwound strings, but the pups made them sound clear, with a nice degree of sustain. This TRBX will serve a bassist well as a back-up, but I wouldn't be surprised if some would use it as a main axe (maybe after ditching the plastic knobs for better-quality ones). btw, I had it input to a Tech-21 bass Sansamp (which I use all the time), and into a GK MB210-ii. Even with the Sansamp bypassed, it performed quite well. In summary: Nice surprise!BassesRBetter

After building myself an in home studio, I quickly realized the only thing i was missing was a bass. Swung over to a local store (sorry MF, i was in a rush!) and checked out their large selection. Being that i'm a drummer, I was looking for apparent quality as I didn't much know the specifics or traits that i should be mindful of. The price tag, finish, weight and balance of this thing caught my eye. I toyed around with it for a moment and purchased it about 15 minutes later. I would be lying if i said this was the most played piece in my studio – BUT whenever i do pick it up i am always impressed. Plugging it directly in to a preamp and hitting record with this thing is a dream. You can go from a very washy sound to some solid attack with the knobs. Contrary to one of the previous comments, it does have a volume knob. As i have developed my skills in the studio and on a guitar/bass I have never felt beyond or limited by this guitar. Exceptional piece, I can say with confidence that if bass was my main instrument, i would love to have this guitar as a backup. But for someone like me?…..perfect.Chris

I'm a guitar player who bought this to use for recording (and because I think bass is a cool instrument!). This is very playable, sounds great with my Spark Amp and through my Scarlett 2i2. Though this is low priced, it does not in any way feel like a compromise. I highly recommend it.SHANNON

Received one from MF and put it through my usual testing: Results were mixed in that the bass itself looks good, seems pretty well made and plays really nicely. Frets were in good shape and seated well. Intonation/ set up were good. The neck is wider than most other basses, but not uncomfortably so. The light weight of the bass is a real plus for me. On the negative side, I did notice some 60 cycle hum from the pickup that got very noticeable once it was plugged into my stage amp. The extremely loud hum was even more annoying when the bass was run through a chorus effect. Not good! But, when I gave it the "gig test", the sound (other than the annoying hum) was very good. Well balanced across the strings and more than enough edge to cut through the drums, guitars, monitors etc. and sat well in the overall mix. Depending on your eq settings, this bass can get deep lows and smooth highs that compliment a slap sound without sounding "clacky". But I had to cut the volume knob to zero after every song because of the loud hum…. So, I sent it back for a replacement and … uh oh…. yep, same problem with the next one. I will try figuring a way to ground the pickup or changing out the pickup to alleviate the problem because otherwise the bass is quite good as is. I would recommend this bass but with reservations because of the pickup problem.Heard the bass

I received this bass guitar as a gift from my family this past Christmas. I am absolutely in love with this guitar. I own many bass guitars, from two Fender Jazzies, to a Squire Jaguar, also two acoustical basses, and a 1976 Rickenbacker 4001. This is just a beautiful playing, and sounding, bass guitar, as well having stunning looks. I am going to keep this bass for the long term. One of the Jazz's is for sale at this very moment… If you want something that has a unique look, and is easy to play and get many different sounds from, this could be your ticket. For the price,are you kidding? Recommended!Ed Conley, Bass Guitarist

Sound: I was impressed by the sounds I could get from this little beast. I'm a pretty heavy handed finger style player (I've always had a heavy attack), but I could hear the differences every time I alternated pickups, adjusted the EQ, and flipped the "Power Tap" switch. This thing offers a lot of sound for very little money! Features: As stated, the thin fast neck of this bass is amazing. I have smaller than average sized hands, so the slimmer design is really comfortable for me. The PowerSpan dual coil pickups are really decent sounding for what they are. The "Power Tap" switch is what sold me on it. After some knob twiddling, trial and error, I found a really nice warm, but heavy sound that I enjoy. Also, the ease of access to the battery compartment is a nice feature as well – no screwdriver needed! Ease of Use: Ease of use is great! Plug it in and play 😉 Seriously though, my stepfather is a guitarist by nature, and even he's remarked at how nice it plays and how nicely the knobs freely turn to dial in the sound you are looking for. Quality: I was impressed by the overall quality of this instrument for the price. I own and play "higher end" basses (Warwick's, Ibanez SR Premium's, etc.), and the quality of this is bass is almost as nice as my SR Premium at a fraction of the cost. Of course it had a few things that needed some tweaking out of the box, but overall I am very pleased with the product. You could spend a lot more and get a lot less (I have anyways…). I guess there's a reason I keep coming back to Ibanez basses. Value: The Ibanez SR300E is considered by most to be a beginner bass. I get that. Yet, for the price, you will be hard pressed to find something with better quality and features. If you are new to bass, or need a backup for your regular player, I would highly recommend the SR300E. I see it becoming my regular player because of it's features and sound. And hey… If something were to ever happen to it at a gig in one of those "seedy" venues, I could easily replace it and not be too upset about the price. Manufacturer Support: I've never had to deal with Ibanez directly, but I have dealt with zZounds a few times and their customer service is wonderful! Friendly, knowledgeable, and courteous. Those are the things that make me a repeat offender to this site! The Wow Factor: This bass is a lot of bang for the buck! I love the look of the black hardware on the weathered black finish. When my girlfriend gave me the "Oh no. Did you buy another bass?" look – even she had to admit the weathered black finish was sexy looking. Ha! Overall: I originally bought an Ibanez SR300E Iron Pewter as a gift for a member of my family who took an interest in playing the bass. When it arrived I took it out of the box to tune it and give the action a little tweaking. Of course, being a bass player myself, I had to give it a try to see how well it played. I was in shock and awe by how well it played and sounded. The neck was extremely comfortable; very thin and fast! It felt like this thing could play itself. After playing it for a few days, (and a few times since), I was so amazed by it that I had to come back to order one for myself (Weathered black – that black hardware on black bass just looks so good).Jason

I'm a 40+ year working bass player. Previously I had owned an Ibanez BtB and loved it, then traded it for a Warwick, which was cool, and definitely fashionable too. Ended up having several shoulder surgeries and a major spinal surgery in my neck, (I set off metal detectors now), also gathered a pile of some rather large medical bills in the process, so the Warwick had to go to pay the bills, so I decided to retire in order to heal up for awhile. Lately, sitting at home doing nothing and waiting for the pandemic to end. I decided it was time to get another bass, and decided to start playing again. Since I had worked at a local music store for years as a guitar tech I was familiar with the Ibanez SR Series, so when I found this here I knew this had to be the "one" because of the price and me being familiar with the SR Series, (we were an Ibanez dealer). I love the color, the feel of the thin neck and the active electronics. With the 3 way tap switch, volume/tone/pickup splitter knobs you can get an amazing number of sounds out of this instrument, from floor shaking lows to twinkling clear highs. The color was nice, the neck felt good and the price was definitely right. It also arrived with a decent set up, not great, but better than many others I have seen, so as a retired guitar tech I lowered the strings a bit, tweaked the truss rod, worked on the intonation and it was ready set go! If only my callouses would come back that easy everything would be golden.I would definitely recommend this as a great beginner instrument, and also as capable of being a suitable gigging instrument.Sonny

I am Loving my new Ibanez SR300E Bass. As a female Rock bassist, I needed to find a lightweight, slim bass that still packed a punch, and this baby does all that I've asked of her. Lovely deep tone, well balanced and responsive, the active electronics are on point, the lead stays put, and as for the colour… WOW! My husband, the drummer, is also really impressed at how well she locks in with the groove. Excellent delivery times from PMT, ordered on line and it arrived within 3 days. Very happy.Sammy T.

souhaitant jouer sur une 5 cordes, et ne voulant pas y mettre trop cher, choix tres convenable,bonne restitution de l'attaque et son plus que correcte…. eme en concert, elle passe tres bienmannu

I have one of these Basses. I upgraded the Pickups and it now sounds Awesome. Well built and nice to play. I have 2 Fender and Three Epiphone Basses. This little Stagg now sounds as good as any. Do the same and you won`t be disappointed….hadge

I was totally amazed at the solid structure and the sound of this bass for such a low price. It's fairly light for a 6-string, too. It looks as good as it sounds, and I know I'll be enjoying this baby for a long time to come.lionboy15

As I am NOT actually a BASSIST but a DRUMMER, trying bass 4 the 1st time, I would like to have a set of INSTRUCTIONS, 2 HELP find the functionality of certain features, knobs, etc. Like the Active function, having the NECK pickup work ALONE, & BOTH pickups TOGETHER; & ALL of the NOBS!!!!! Instead of me having to GUESS what EACH DOES EACH TIME I start PLAYING!edgra_8294