There are two basses that I looked at when I was in the market for one that I thought were good and easy to play:
And
But I also thought about
On the basis that it was dirt cheap but got decent reviews and they sold a lot of them.
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John this is the advice I was referring to and made an immediate difference to fretting.
Thx KM ! 
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I tried out a few entry level basses at my local guitar shop on Saturday. I also did some online shopping. On one hand Iām thinking a Squier Bronco short bass + Fender Rumble 15 amp would get me going and last a while. I can get the amp from the Fender website on special @ Ā£105 atm, Ā£10 off and pay in 3 x Ā£35 instalments if I want! I find the Squier Ā£30 off, making it Ā£149, in a store near my son. So, Ā£254 total for the products I tried in store so I know what Iāll be getting.
I have pondered over the Ibanez TMB mentioned by @DarrellW. Iāve listened to reviews of JP basses, which the Ibanez is and I very much like the variety of tones available with this PU config. Iāve found them on Reverb for just over Ā£200, so my outlay would increase to a total a few quid over Ā£300. As a total novice bassist would I use the extra capability?
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A Blackstar Fly Bass amp would be decent for around Ā£70 for what you want it for; frees up a bit more for the Bass!
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Agree with the Blackstar Fly, although you wonāt get the same bass thump from the Blackstar as you would from a Fender Rumble.
If I was in the UK I would offer to sell my Blackstar Fly bass amp, as I really donāt need it any more. Unfortunately, itās a bit tricky from where I am.
Cheers,
Keith
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I honestly donāt know.
Thereās an argument that, as a novice bass player, you havenāt yet developed a preference for the sort of tone you want, and so having something more versatile gives the ability to try out a range of options. It gives you the opportunity, for instance, to understand the difference between P and J pickups.
On the other hand, there is the danger of option paralysis and confusion.
I think itās a personality thing as to whether to embrace lots of options or whether you find them a burden.
Ultimately, even with lots of options, I suspect you will settle into using one or two configurations you like with your amp while you focus on learning.
Cheers,
Keith
Right, hereās a less expensive but just as good option, same pickup configuration but different body.
Do I think you would use it? Of course you would; if you have that degree of flexibility it can fit in with the genre of music that you like most without leaving you wanting a different bass. I think that when youāre learning having flexibility helps a lot; originally I went down the route of āgetting something I thought would be okā and ending up with loosing money hand over fist! I am more selective nowadays and itās definitely well worth being more careful what you buy.
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@DarrellW Thanks for the pointer to the Ibanez GSRM20B-WNF. Iād researched all the short scale basses on their site and it didnāt come up. I even asked Thomman what ones they had and they didnāt mention it.
Prior to mention of the HBās in this thread Iād stopped looking on the Thomman site because of the unknown taxes/duties/commissions, that had to be factored in. Iāll check with them If the U.K. prices quoted already include this.
Andertons will have them next week, if you got the Amp and Bass of them you should get free P&P, I think you could also spread the cost.
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I noticed that the GSRM20B is a shorter, short scale bass. If weāre saying 762mm(30") is a short scale. This circled me back to the TMB30-BK, priced at Ā£193 at Thomann, who have resolved the issue of U.K. customers having to work out the added import costs themselves and now list items with the price you pay. HUGE thanks to them for doing this. I know some EU companies arenāt bothering. Perhaps Thomannās customer base in the U.K. is too big not to make the effort, or perhaps theyāre smarter then those in the U.K. who set the rules. I digress, Iāve found a shop in Northwood, London. Stompbox, who have the TMB30-BK at Ā£199 and Iāll be able to try before I buy.
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After dropping my car off for a service this morning I walked past a pawn shop, on my way into St Albans. In the window was a Drive CD300B amp and Iām wondering if itās worth a look. Canāt find any reviews on it online. Only that itās 30W with a 10" speaker. Shop was closed at the time.
Check that it works and offer them Ā£25, then start haggling. From what I just found on google its functional but thatās about it. No great tone but it should have a 3 band EQ. So could be ok to get you going. Regards power it should have a headphone socket, so for a cheap practice amp it could be a starting point. Probably not helpful but who knows.
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I would need them to demonstrate that it works, preferably with a Bass, if not with the lower strings of an electric guitar detuned to C tuning. Itās probably going to give you an idea.
When you go to look at the Bass get them to show it to you using one or more of the amps suggested to you; thatās the best idea really, I canāt find anything positive on the pawn shop amp!
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Finally bought an Ibanez TMB 30 Short Scale Bass. Best price I eventually found was via this link; Ibanez Tmb30 Talman Bass Gtr Black | Musicroom.com. Delivered Wednesday afternoon. Using it with with a Blackstar Fly amp that @Majik kindly offered to me for practice. Itās just the job. Nice and compact and I can concentrate on trying to pick up some basics. Got to say itās b****y different! Going to take some time to get used to it. Picking up on something @TheMadman_tobyjenner mentioned Iāve got a Stu Hamm Truefire course to help me get started. Taking it slowly. Of course itās added a layer of complexity to my song listening. Iāve started to listen to stuff focusing on the bass part. Something Iāve never done actively before, although passively some things were noticed.
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That must make it a Happy NBD John !! Congrats.
I would agree with you about the difference, certainly the gap between strings and fret size takes some getting used to. Taking it slow is the name of the game but Iāve not played anything much this month with the family here. So next week, ease into normal playing and then a couple of days bass basics added to the schedule.
On the Stu Hamm front, I bought Bass Basics, Learn Bass 1 & 2, Essential Blues Bass and Walking Bass, having checked them out first on the Truefire site. Should be enough to get me going.
Have fun and enjoy.
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Damnit! I fancy getting another bass now!
Cheers,
Keith
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Hi John,
Happy NBGDā¦ 
,
Wish you a lot of fun and music making withā¦and listening extra to the bass notes will also help you pick out guitar chords and more 
Greetings,Rogier
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Iām interested in those as well.
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