What to expect from a bass guitar with broken headstock?
February 8, 2023 8:02 AM Subscribe
I'm on a lengthy work assignment and am considering getting a used bass guitar to see if I can learn a few favorite bass lines while away from home. I've never played bass before, so this is an exercise of whimsy and curiosity; no big investment here. I saw this bass available not too far away. The price is right, but am wondering if the cracked headstock means the thing will constantly go out of tune. Assume unamplified, sitting on the couch playing. What can I expect?
Yeah it’ll probably go out of tune often. But cheap guitars are famous for going out of tune, so you’ll have to tune a new one regularly too. If you don’t mind tuning it every time you play it’ll probably be fine.
posted by kevinbelt at 8:19 AM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 8:19 AM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Eh, I would not risk buying a bass with a cracked headstock, at any price point.
If that's your budget, consider a Glarry. Get a headphone amp if you just want to play on the couch.
posted by gnutron at 8:43 AM on February 8, 2023 [8 favorites]
If that's your budget, consider a Glarry. Get a headphone amp if you just want to play on the couch.
posted by gnutron at 8:43 AM on February 8, 2023 [8 favorites]
According to Youtube you can fix that headstock with Titebond and a couple of cheap clamps from Harbor Freight. If it's a sweet bass worth $500 new, I would go for it. Note: I am not known for my sound judgement.
posted by craniac at 8:54 AM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by craniac at 8:54 AM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
As an alternative: buy this U-bass from the same store for the same price! It will sound 1000% better unamped and everything you learn will be transferrable to traditional electric bass if you want to go that route in the future.
See also some recent threads here about U-basses, they are very fun and popular!
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:17 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
See also some recent threads here about U-basses, they are very fun and popular!
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:17 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm a big believer in pawn shops for an initial trial instrument. You can likely try several in one place that are all priced inexpensively, taking your time to feel out each one, inspecting them to make sure you like their condition/style/playability. They're cheaper than the used stuff sold at music stores, and it's more efficient than visiting one FB Marketplace/Craigslist/whatever listing at a time.
Also, people at the pawn shop don't give a rat's ass if you buy or not, so it's less pressure than trying it out for fifteen seconds on front of some nervous person who you made an appointment to see who is actively trying to get you to buy their crap so they can be done with it.
This is not how you get a sturdy, terrific value, instrument-you-can-use-for-several-years kind of thing. You ask your musician friends for recs like that, or research online. This is how you get something inexpensive and fun to dink around on to see if you like it.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:26 AM on February 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
Also, people at the pawn shop don't give a rat's ass if you buy or not, so it's less pressure than trying it out for fifteen seconds on front of some nervous person who you made an appointment to see who is actively trying to get you to buy their crap so they can be done with it.
This is not how you get a sturdy, terrific value, instrument-you-can-use-for-several-years kind of thing. You ask your musician friends for recs like that, or research online. This is how you get something inexpensive and fun to dink around on to see if you like it.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:26 AM on February 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
According to Youtube you can fix that headstock with Titebond and a couple of cheap clamps from Harbor Freight.
Eh...? Not according to Ted Woodford's channel. Unless you reeeeeeeally know what you're doing.
posted by slkinsey at 9:51 AM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Eh...? Not according to Ted Woodford's channel. Unless you reeeeeeeally know what you're doing.
posted by slkinsey at 9:51 AM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
drummer here, I know nothing about basses, but I gotta say it is shocking how good those U-Basses sound. They look kind of like a toy but they got some thump to em, even unamplified.
posted by Sauce Trough at 10:25 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Sauce Trough at 10:25 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
If this were a great deal and were an easy fix it probably would have sold already. The fact that it is still there means it’s probably not a great buy. I would stick to something working, especially since this is probably going to be a lot more difficult to return than a new product that is not broken.
posted by Slinga at 10:32 AM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Slinga at 10:32 AM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
According to Youtube you can fix that headstock with Titebond and a couple of cheap clamps from Harbor Freight.
Eh...? Not according to Ted Woodford's channel. Unless you reeeeeeeally know what you're doing.
I fixed a similar break on an electric guitar when I was a teenager. Long before I had any idea what I was doing. If the break is clean and you can get at the innards you just put some Tight bond on it and clamp it shut. If done right the glue joint will be as strong as the wood itself.
It only works if it's a clean break and there are no splinters missing. Basically you want to be able to dry fit it back together in a way that you can hardly see the crack. If you can do that, you should be able to glue it well enough.
But again, the OP just wants to grab this one because it's cheap and convenient so they have something to do while they're on a work assignment. My guess is they don't want to put in much effort to fix it, nor are they concerned too much with resale.
posted by bondcliff at 10:39 AM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Eh...? Not according to Ted Woodford's channel. Unless you reeeeeeeally know what you're doing.
I fixed a similar break on an electric guitar when I was a teenager. Long before I had any idea what I was doing. If the break is clean and you can get at the innards you just put some Tight bond on it and clamp it shut. If done right the glue joint will be as strong as the wood itself.
It only works if it's a clean break and there are no splinters missing. Basically you want to be able to dry fit it back together in a way that you can hardly see the crack. If you can do that, you should be able to glue it well enough.
But again, the OP just wants to grab this one because it's cheap and convenient so they have something to do while they're on a work assignment. My guess is they don't want to put in much effort to fix it, nor are they concerned too much with resale.
posted by bondcliff at 10:39 AM on February 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole. Bass strings put a lot of tension on the neck, there's a darn good chance that headstock could go explodey soon.
For only a few dollars more at that location there's a Yamaha or an Ibanez, which are both far newer and from more reputable brands than that Sekova.
And while I don't know the city well enough to give specific recommendations, Columbus is a nice big city with lots of music stores, you've got some options for finding a cheap bass.
Pawn shops are VERY Your Mileage May Vary, and depends heavily on the practices of the owner. Even in the pre-internet days they were likely to try to sell some no-name junky copy guitar for nearly the price of the new name-brand guitar, and these days everyone has the internet. They know what stuff sells for. Most pawn shop stuff I've seen in my area is at best about the same price as the going market price for used, and plenty of them are on the high side, clearly hoping they can pull in someone who will just assume that "pawn shop = low price." I wouldn't step foot in a pawn shop without being prepared to do my research.
Reverb.com is the current online marketplace for used gear, and a great way to check current prices and get specs on instruments.
Somewhat surprisingly, the used section of the "big chain" stores like Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and Music-Go-Round can be a good place to get a deal. These chains are actively trying to turn over their stock regularly, so if they took a used instrument in on trade they'll want to move it back out the door ASAP, and if that means selling it cheap they'll do it.
posted by soundguy99 at 11:20 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
For only a few dollars more at that location there's a Yamaha or an Ibanez, which are both far newer and from more reputable brands than that Sekova.
And while I don't know the city well enough to give specific recommendations, Columbus is a nice big city with lots of music stores, you've got some options for finding a cheap bass.
Pawn shops are VERY Your Mileage May Vary, and depends heavily on the practices of the owner. Even in the pre-internet days they were likely to try to sell some no-name junky copy guitar for nearly the price of the new name-brand guitar, and these days everyone has the internet. They know what stuff sells for. Most pawn shop stuff I've seen in my area is at best about the same price as the going market price for used, and plenty of them are on the high side, clearly hoping they can pull in someone who will just assume that "pawn shop = low price." I wouldn't step foot in a pawn shop without being prepared to do my research.
Reverb.com is the current online marketplace for used gear, and a great way to check current prices and get specs on instruments.
Somewhat surprisingly, the used section of the "big chain" stores like Guitar Center, Sam Ash, and Music-Go-Round can be a good place to get a deal. These chains are actively trying to turn over their stock regularly, so if they took a used instrument in on trade they'll want to move it back out the door ASAP, and if that means selling it cheap they'll do it.
posted by soundguy99 at 11:20 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
A huge part of learning electric bass is muting. Unamplified, you won't be able to hear the problem, so you won't learn the proper technique. Do get a headphone amp. Also it is much more fun to learn on a decent instrument instead of a broken instrument.
posted by Arctic Circle at 11:39 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Arctic Circle at 11:39 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think you can learn muting well enough on an unamped acoustic U-bass, but that's the only bass I own and I'm very much a novice. At least, I can tell when I'm not muting properly.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:57 PM on February 8, 2023
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:57 PM on February 8, 2023
I owned a Gibson EB-0 (of which the bass under question is a copy) with a very similar cracked headstock. It was repaired in such a way that the dot over the letter "i" in the name "Gibson" was misplaced, resulting in a logo that read "Gulison". However, it played just fine, and stayed in tune
posted by ergomatic at 6:55 PM on February 14, 2023
posted by ergomatic at 6:55 PM on February 14, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can buy a new* bass on-line for that price (one example) so I'm not sure why you would risk buying this.
Ok, upon re-reading I see this is a matter of a bass that is close by that you can just go grab. I would go down to the music store and play it for a bit and see how well it stays in tune. It might surprise you. Even if you don't play bass, just grab a tuner and tune it up (or ask an employee to do that for you), pluck the strings hard for a few minutes and then check the tuning again. Also see if you can wiggle the headstock to see how badly it's cracked.
*A $150 bass isn't going to be much of an instrument but for unamplified on your couch it'll play better than one with a cracked headstock.
posted by bondcliff at 8:16 AM on February 8, 2023 [5 favorites]