We see and cover a ton of basses here at No Treble (I know, tough life). And while the features are often as varied as they get, they also vary wildly on price.

Many basses today are topping the $5,000 mark. Some by a lot. We hear more about price from readers when the basses hit these upper ranges than about the features.

But there have been plenty released in 2012 with street prices under $500 too. So we decided to take a look back at these low cost basses — all at once.

This is not a “best bass under $500” list – we don’t like those lists much anyway. We’ll leave that up to you decide.

Of course, if you have any experience or feedback on any of these basses, we always love hearing from you. Just drop a note in the comments.

Boulder Creek JB and RB Series Electric Basses Street prices: $489 to $499

Boulder Creek launched two new lines of electric basses at the 2012 Winter NAMM show with the introduction of the JB and RD series of basses. The two models are aimed at jazz and rock styles, respectively. This new line of solid body basses is a first for Boulder Creek, who is known for their acoustic basses. read more »

Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Bass Street Price: $399 New for 2012 is the Traveler Ultra-Light Bass, an extremely lightweight and compact bass guitar. The whole instrument measures 33 3/4? in length and weighs in at a mere three pounds, 6.5 ounces. Built from a solid piece of Eastern American Hard Maple, the Ultra-Light Bass features a removable metal lap-rest and a built in thumb rest for comfort. It also has a custom piezo pickup for plugging in. read more »

Jackson X-Series Dave Ellefson Signature Basses Street prices: $400 – $500 Jackson unveiled two new Dave Ellefson signature basses at the 2012 Winter NAMM show as part of their X-Series. The Ellefson signature basses are offered in two models: the David Ellefson CB-X 4-string and the David Ellefson CB-XV 5-string. The CB-X is a four-string with dual humbucking EMG pickups with an alder Concert Bass body. The CB-XV Bass offers the same features of the CB-X, in a 5-string bass. read more »

Kala’s Five New U-Basses for 2012 Street Price: $450

Kala increased their U-Bass lineup with the addition of five new models of the 21? scale basses. The new models include Sunburst, Gloss Black, Solid Spruce Top HH (Hutch Hutchinson Model), Spalted Maple, and Exotic Mahogany. The Sunburst, Gloss Black, and Solid Spruce Top HH basses all feature solid spruce tops with mahogany back and sides. read more »

Höfner Shorty Bass Reissue Street Price: $278.00

Earlier this year, Höfner reintroduced the Shorty Bass, a model they ran in the 1980’s featuring an extremely short scale and body. The updated version bumps the scale up from 28? to 30? for easier playability, as well as utilizing better string spacing, similar to that found on their trademark Violin Bass. read more »

Squier Mikey Way Signature Mustang Bass Street Price: $299 Squier’s latest in their Artist Model Series is the Mikey Way Signature Mustang Bass, a short-scale bass made with input by the Chemical Romance bassist. The bass takes on the class Mustang features and adds some flair, with a large-flake Silver Sparkle finish with black racing stripes, with a black headstock with a silver Squier logo on the front, and Way’s signature on the back. read more »

Ibanez SGBE Acoustic Series Basses Street Price: $299 Ibanez SGBE announced a new SGBE series of acoustic bass guitars this year, available in natural and sunburst finishes. Also fit for electric sets, the basses feature under-saddle piezo pickups and Ibanez’s AEQ202T Preamp with a 2-band EQ as well as an onboard tuner. read more »

Eastwood Stormbird Bass Street Price: $469 Eastwood has issued the Stormbird, a bass with vintage-vibe and a Metallic Blue finish that conjures images of surf rock. The 34? scale bass sports a basswood body, set maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. The Stormbird is equipped with a pair of humbuckers with a three-way selector switch, and volume and tone controls for dialing in your tone. read more »

Michael Kelly Sojourn 4 Acoustic Travel Bass Street Price: $349.99 Michael Kelly unveiled the Sojourn 4 Travel Bass earlier this year. The compact acoustic bass guitar offers up a travel-friendly 24.5? scale and features a solid Englemann Spruce top. The company says the bass has a big sound for such a little bass. The Sojourn 4 comes equipped with a B-Band 22R UST (under saddle transducer) and B-Band A1.2 preamp. read more »

Epiphone Thunderbird Classic-IV PRO Basses Street Price: $499

Epiphone is unveiling a new version of a classic with the Thunderbird Classic-IV PRO. The bass is set apart from its siblings by being equipped with a pair of Gibson TB Plus Humbucking pickups featuring ceramic magnets, which the company says produce “high gain, smooth tone and high-end definition.” read more »

Höfner Ignition Series Club Bass Street Price: $399 Höfner has expanded their Ignition series with a new version of their Club Bass. First introduced in 1965, the Club Bass is is a hollow body, single-cut design, and the new Ignition model provides a cost-effective version for vintage bass lovers. read more »