LeftyBassist.com :: View topic - Worth having a cheap bass for travel?

Hey guys!

I’ve been asked to travel to Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, and possibly Haiti and South Africa,, after COVID travel restrictions lift to play bass at different churches in those areas. As lefties, you know how hard stuff is to come by. I have a MM Bongo Neptune Blue PDN that is my to the grave bass, and a Martin Acoustic Mahogany. In other words, basses that would be impossible
To replace since they are not in production. I could live with losing them since they are things. They are insured. But still, I’m nervous.

Would you guys get a travel bass in these circumstances? I prefer playing my own basses and love them. If I buy a travel bass I would lean between a squire VM modified jazz or a the budget 5-string Stingray that Sterling by MM just put out? Part of me thinks this is excessive
For basses I would never otherwise play once I’m home, it feels excessive, but I don’t know. Would love to hear other perspectives from lefties who appreciate the struggle. Thanks.

I seen an earlier post about Hofner and yes great bass but kinda fragile.

April 2019 I went on a trip, and took my Hohner B2B 5-string with me... easy to put in the overhead, but I found the right hand reach a bit challenging, and felt the strings were just too stiff. Been meaning to find a light gauge set to put on it before I decide to keep it or not...

I can imagine, without an upper horn. A real Steinberger comes with the Boomerang extension to help balance it and move the end of the neck closer.

Jeroen wrote:

I can imagine, without an upper horn. A real Steinberger comes with the Boomerang extension to help balance it and move the end of the neck closer.

I'm looking into buying a B2A myself. I wasn't looking for one, but one popped up here in the Netherlands for a fair price and I'm tempted.

Author:	velalv [ May 30th, 2020, 9:59 am ]
Post subject:	Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Hey guys! I’ve been asked to travel to Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, and possibly Haiti and South Africa,, after COVID travel restrictions lift to play bass at different churches in those areas. As lefties, you know how hard stuff is to come by. I have a MM Bongo Neptune Blue PDN that is my to the grave bass, and a Martin Acoustic Mahogany. In other words, basses that would be impossible To replace since they are not in production. I could live with losing them since they are things. They are insured. But still, I’m nervous. Would you guys get a travel bass in these circumstances? I prefer playing my own basses and love them. If I buy a travel bass I would lean between a squire VM modified jazz or a the budget 5-string Stingray that Sterling by MM just put out? Part of me thinks this is excessive For basses I would never otherwise play once I’m home, it feels excessive, but I don’t know. Would love to hear other perspectives from lefties who appreciate the struggle. Thanks.

Author:	pjmuck [ May 30th, 2020, 6:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
velalv wrote: Hey guys! I’ve been asked to travel to Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, and possibly Haiti and South Africa,, after COVID travel restrictions lift to play bass at different churches in those areas. As lefties, you know how hard stuff is to come by. I have a MM Bongo Neptune Blue PDN that is my to the grave bass, and a Martin Acoustic Mahogany. In other words, basses that would be impossible To replace since they are not in production. I could live with losing them since they are things. They are insured. But still, I’m nervous. Would you guys get a travel bass in these circumstances? I prefer playing my own basses and love them. If I buy a travel bass I would lean between a squire VM modified jazz or a the budget 5-string Stingray that Sterling by MM just put out? Part of me thinks this is excessive For basses I would never otherwise play once I’m home, it feels excessive, but I don’t know. Would love to hear other perspectives from lefties who appreciate the struggle. Thanks. What is your budget? And, with flying restrictions getting more and more annoying, would you consider a medium or short scale bass? I personally don't like the idea of having to check a bass, I'd rather bring it on board or in the overhead. (Steinys are great for traveling, BTW). I think the Squire VM stuff is excellent for the $, but if you do like the MM sound then the Sterling might work. But if I were spending that kind of $, I'd buy a Sire. Nobody gives you more bang for the buck. I think the most inexpensive model is the V3 at $369? And here's a used M3: https://www.musicgoround.com/product/ke ... SoQAvD_BwE

Author:	superheavydeathmetal [ May 30th, 2020, 7:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
For travel, I recommend any of the Hohner B series basses. I rave about them often. It will serve you well.

Author:	Jeroen [ May 31st, 2020, 2:29 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Great recommendations I think. The Hohner B-series is pretty rare left handed, but they're great indeed! And most headless basses will fit into a guitar gigbag or hardcase that would fit the overhead compartment in airliners. I carry my Status S2's in a Mono M80 guitar gigbag.

Author:	Smo [ May 31st, 2020, 11:33 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
In the past I have used my Danelectro long horn when I needed to fly. It has a 30 inch scale and it fits into a guitar gig bag. Used just to carry it into the plane. (Now I would propably just buy any decent (used) 34 inch bolt on neck bass and screw the neck off before flight, fold the gig bag to make it look like a normal size carry on. Then assembly before gig.)

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Author:	bobjones2260 [ June 1st, 2020, 6:19 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Same, I had a Dan Electro, that I actually removed all tension from the strings and took the neck off and fit in my suit case. I got the bass for $200 several years earlier so I did not worry if it got damaged ( I would play this bass if we had outdoor gigs and it was a little rainy ect). I seen an earlier post about Hofner and yes great bass but kinda fragile.

Author:	belinmad [ June 2nd, 2020, 3:51 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
i bought an Ibanez SR505L some years ago as a beater to travel with. light, decent sound, comfortable (even it's not the most stable bass, and has a tendency to dive), and fits in a guitar bag. I also have a hohner headless, but i find it a little bit heavy and a little less versatile

Author:	Jeroen [ June 2nd, 2020, 11:07 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
bobjones2260 wrote: I seen an earlier post about Hofner and yes great bass but kinda fragile. Not Höfner but Hohner Incidentally though, Höfner makes a travel bass too called the Shorty. Lefties are rare, but they exist. This is an old one, but they still make a modern version of this. Thomann sells it for around 150 euros.

Author:	bobjones2260 [ June 2nd, 2020, 1:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Sorry about that, thought something was wrong when I misread Hofner. I would agree having a Headless bass for travel is great.

Author:	jersey bluesdude [ June 3rd, 2020, 9:29 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hofner-HCT-SHB ... SwujheSwFK

Author:	superheavydeathmetal [ June 3rd, 2020, 11:55 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
The Steinberger Spirit series is about identical to the Hohners. They Hohners just have more pickup selection. I have no reason to believe they aren't just as good. Note that a string adapter is well worth the price. The biggest complaint people seem to have with them is the string spacing. It is tight. 9mm at the nut and 16 at the bridge, if memory serves. Don't hold me to that. I love it, though. It is very fast, to me.

Author:	fivebass52 [ June 5th, 2020, 2:07 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
April 2019 I went on a trip, and took my Hohner B2B 5-string with me... easy to put in the overhead, but I found the right hand reach a bit challenging, and felt the strings were just too stiff. Been meaning to find a light gauge set to put on it before I decide to keep it or not... I also went out on a trip last October 2019, and took my Ibanez ATK 5-string... went to So Carolina, Nashville, Oregon, and finally back to Oahu, Hawaii. it was in a thin, yet padded gig bag, and was either in the overhead, or I was able to put it in the Stewardess's locker... What I found though, is; a lot of the overheads on major carriers are better suited to a guitar length/gig bag, and at times my ATK was just a couple inches too long to go in the overhead. With that said, a short-scale bass would be ideal, but I prefer a 5-string, and finding a short-scale 5-string can be a challenge... Once or twice in flying, I found myself on such a small plane, that I had to hand off my bass to a baggage handler as I entered the plane ( I told them to be extra careful as I smiled at them...), and stood there at the bottom of the stairs as they handed it back. All-in-all, I've had good experiences traveling with a bass....

Author:	Jeroen [ June 5th, 2020, 3:32 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
fivebass52 wrote: April 2019 I went on a trip, and took my Hohner B2B 5-string with me... easy to put in the overhead, but I found the right hand reach a bit challenging, and felt the strings were just too stiff. Been meaning to find a light gauge set to put on it before I decide to keep it or not... I can imagine, without an upper horn. A real Steinberger comes with the Boomerang extension to help balance it and move the end of the neck closer. I'm looking into buying a B2A myself. I wasn't looking for one, but one popped up here in the Netherlands for a fair price and I'm tempted.

Author:	Jeroen [ June 7th, 2020, 10:54 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Jeroen wrote: I can imagine, without an upper horn. A real Steinberger comes with the Boomerang extension to help balance it and move the end of the neck closer. I'm looking into buying a B2A myself. I wasn't looking for one, but one popped up here in the Netherlands for a fair price and I'm tempted.[/quote] Picked it up yesterday, and it's supercool! The ergonomics are definitely weird, with the upper strap button behind the 22nd fret the upper frets are really far away and there's nothing to rest your left arm on. The playability is still excellent though, and after a thorough cleaning, setup and a polishing of the frets it's almost good as new. Not sure if it's a keeper yet, because of the aforementioned ergonomics issues, but we'll see

Author:	Jeroen [ June 8th, 2020, 6:50 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Mine is black, 4-string, no idea how old (serial number Cxxxxxx, so I recon made by Cort sometime in South-Korea), with humbuckers printed "Hohner - Select by EMG". It's missing its battery cover, but is otherwise complete and in fair shape. Clear signs of use, and some minor dents but nothing bad. I paid 225 euros for mine. Picture was before setup. Saddle alignment tells me it was probably played by a righty at some point and never properly changed back.

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Author:	fivebass52 [ June 8th, 2020, 3:14 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Jeroen wrote: Jeroen wrote: I can imagine, without an upper horn. A real Steinberger comes with the Boomerang extension to help balance it and move the end of the neck closer. I'm looking into buying a B2A myself. I wasn't looking for one, but one popped up here in the Netherlands for a fair price and I'm tempted. Picked it up yesterday, and it's supercool! The ergonomics are definitely weird, with the upper strap button behind the 22nd fret the upper frets are really far away and there's nothing to rest your left arm on. The playability is still excellent though, and after a thorough cleaning, setup and a polishing of the frets it's almost good as new. Not sure if it's a keeper yet, because of the aforementioned ergonomics issues, but we'll see [/quote] If i recall, I bought mine for $300, but had to get a new knee rest ( about $40-50), and i also bought a gig bag for it ( another $40 or so)... Mine is red, and a 5-string... what color is yours - 4-or-5 string?

Author:	penguin [ July 4th, 2020, 1:21 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Worth having a cheap bass for travel?
Although not cheap and definitely on the weird side, I've been intrigued by the Wing Bass Classic for travel. They are available lefty at no charge, use regular bass strings (although you have to cut half of it away), very small and the single cutaway design makes them much more durable than a normal long neck type bass. It's a bit heavy for its size but it will literally fit in my carry on backpack. Standard scale length is a crampy 16" but they can go up to 19" special order. A built in octaver is also available so it will sound like a normal bass for gigs.