The most important thing on a used or inexpensive instrument is checking that the frets aren't deeply worn and are level (put a capo on at frets 3,6,9,12 and play chromatic scales), uneven forces a choice of fret buzz or high action.
At big dealers e.g. Guitar Center, you'll see used $150 guitars that are playable, and brand new Les Paul Studios and American strats ($650 and up) that need fretwork if you want really low action(full recrown is around $150)
You also want to check trussrod works, neck is not twisted or warped, and the neck joint is sound (no big shims in a bolt-on, no separation between the pieces of a "set" neck, like a Les Paul or acoustic).
Most other defects can be fixed at reasonable cost.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/mbbn9/things_to_look_f...
The most important thing on a used or inexpensive instrument is checking that the frets aren't deeply worn and are level (put a capo on at frets 3,6,9,12 and play chromatic scales), uneven forces a choice of fret buzz or high action.
At big dealers e.g. Guitar Center, you'll see used $150 guitars that are playable, and brand new Les Paul Studios and American strats ($650 and up) that need fretwork if you want really low action(full recrown is around $150)
You also want to check trussrod works, neck is not twisted or warped, and the neck joint is sound (no big shims in a bolt-on, no separation between the pieces of a "set" neck, like a Les Paul or acoustic).
Most other defects can be fixed at reasonable cost.