Bonds,Mcquire,Sosa, Clemens and Talkbass

[USAJO]

Sorry fellas, I really do try to bite my tongue. I wonder if we can get the Senate to look into this. I have never seen a forum with so many long ball hitters. Objectivity be damned. The balls are juiced, the bat is corked and we're all swinging for the fences. Every cab and every amp made is now a home run. You will see no singles, doubles etc. They are all going, going, gone. And if you aren't lining up to buy tickets for the new home team you're missing out.
I have had the pleasure of buying some very, very nice gear but it never makes me feel the need to grab pom-poms and confetti and run thru the streets doing cartwheels.
Is there no such thing as a "soft sell"? I guess I'm the only one who reacts this way but really if someone tells me something is good and I respect their opinion I look into the gear. When they call me 15 times a day to tell me the gear is good, I begin to lose my hearing, pretty soon I don't even answer the phone.
Hey baseball seasons around the corner and I felt like an analogy.

ahhhhhh, I feel better now. It's a beautiful day for baseball, let's play two.

[MyUsernameHere]

I know exactly what you mean, and when I get a little frazzled by it I just remember how simply amazing a Fender P bass is. Perfect neck, the best--most simple pup configuration in the world, classy styling. I can honestly say after playing many harmonicas a Gibson Les Paul and Korg keyboard that the P bass is my favorite bass of the lot. If you want to get a new bass I highly recommend it.

[bongomania]

Yeah I get a bit sick of the rave reviews too, especially threads that go on and on with mutual self-congratulation. Nothing is that good. I can find usefully negative things to comment on with even my most favorite, most novel, or most expensive gear -and I've bought a lot of gear. Now, those of us with permanent grains of salt in our eyes ( ouch!) can interpret those raving all-positive reviews to have subtext like "IMO, this week, for the price, considering the nature of the design, considering the inherent limitations of live stage sound, etc. etc." ...but it sure is a pain having to assume what somebody means or doesn't mean, while potentially useful good comments are buried in a landslide of unhelpful gushing.

[greenboy]

I can understand some enthusiastic raves if gear changes have provided something the user was not formerly accustomed to before or maybe had never encountered in their own playing previously. But seeming long-term campaigns of brandnameism have left me shaking my head. And then there's the so-and-so finally invented a neo driver that sounds like whatever conventional-motored drivers while everybody else is playing weak neo stuff that sounds thin and sterile ; }

Wonder where all this marvelous R&D is coming from that somehow is supposedly never seen in any one else's bass cabs or PA stuff when the reality is that any good innovative twist ends up everywhere once the actual driver companies introduce it, available to anyone who can foot the bill for an order of 50 drivers or so... And then there were the Class D SMPS plate amps that had been around for some time but suddenly sounded so much better once awareness had expanded to acknowledge their existence ; }

Still, I'm focusing on newer technological bits that are viewed with at least some suspicion until they gradually become mainstream due to either lower costs because that's where a lot of R&D is focused in the big leagues - or because at least part of the consumer base wants less weight and gradually swings around as ongoing developments get honed to a better fit...

Ah. And even rat fur is being questioned finally, and the answer isn't invariably tolex. Who would have thought that touring SR cabs from decades ago would provide the clue ; }

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by greenboy

Who would have thought that touring SR cabs from decades ago would provide the clue ; }

You mean, that advanced laminate of paint, stickers, paint, the screw heads from long-ago-shattered corners, and more stickers?

[USAJO]

Well I'm sure no one will see it here. Umm it was amp and cab related but no pom-poms. Hmmmmmmmm go figure. Maybe I need to be a Barry Bonds endorser.

[::::BASSIST::::]

I take everything said with a large grain of salt. Sometimes i think its my percieved limitations that cant get 'perfection' out the gear... but then I realize hey, the gear isnt perfect. Ultimately, it more or less all sounds pretty good to me. Just different shades of the same colour. As long as its reliable, loud enough and light-ish I have no complaints.

[Kelly Lee]

Originally Posted by USAJO

Well I'm sure no one will see it here. Umm it was amp and cab related but no pom-poms. Hmmmmmmmm go figure. Maybe I need to be a Barry Bonds endorser.

Actually, even though you mentioned amps and cabs, your thread is generic in what it can be applied to. Basses, effects, cables, etc. all can have the same thing said and that is why it was moved to here.

[liam_g]

I know what you mean, even though I participate in the pom pom thing. Certain things are just a revelation to some, for whatever personal reasons they/we may have. And when someone is excited about something, it's pretty normal, I think, to want to chatter about it with peers who share the same interests. I mean, I can't talk about my gear or my tone goals with friends at my day job. And the times I get to get together with bassist friends in person to talk about this stuff are few and far between. That leaves Talkbass, my online friends and peers. So sometimes, I just let loose a loud 'Yeehaw' and talk about what excites me ... and I honestly hope that those who aren't interested just smile a little and shake their heads, and move on to the next thread.

Best Regards

[USAJO]

For the record I didn't name specific gear for desire of not wanting to directly single out brands and people. I was trying to avoid having the thread closed within 30 minutes. Darned if ya do and darned if ya don't.