Gifts For New Older Bass Player
I realize this is a common topic on every hobby sub and the answer is almost always "don't do it, they know what they want, and you are just going to get a slightly wrong version," but I play, and this is for a family member who doesn't. Whatever version of anything I pick would be the one they would get anyway, I just want suggestions for stuff that made your life easier at their level, because it has been a while for me.
They are an older learner who is about a year or so in. They practice regularly, but the age makes it slightly slow; they're making some great progress though. I'm super proud of them for taking this up in their seventies. I don't want anything too confusing (hence no creative pedals at this point, which is what I would get for a 14 year old), things should be very plug and play.
What they have:
I set them up with a good bass, solid practice amp, headphones, headstock tuner, membership to some lessons/tab type stuff. Edit: also straps, nice cables, metronome.
What I'm looking for:
Trying to spend between $50 and $100 (can go a little over for a perfect option). I don't want to add anything too complicated to their gear.
What I'm really hoping for is something that made practicing more intuitive or fun for you at the beginning. I'm after quality of life stuff that you found really useful early on. I do have a couple things in mind, but I figured people would have thoughts on this. So what is that thing you would tell a bass player who is getting going "you have to get this!"
ETA: I'm concerned I'm making this person sound like an idiot. He was a craftsman his whole career. I would absolutely trust him to refinish and rewire a bass, but he just isn't tech savvy. If whatever it is has more than a couple buttons, I am going to get texts and phone calls about how to operate it. Not a problem for me, but I don't want to create more complications for them. The name of the game is ease of use.