Convincing parents that you really do need another bass.

BassPenguin22 · #1 02-04-2011, 08:18 PM

Recently I ran into a few hundred dollars and I decided to get myself another bass (a Squire VM Jazz to go with my VM P) the only problem is my parents are attempting to troll me out.
Apparently I don't need another bass, and when I asked "would you let me spend it on a camera" they said yes. I already have almost 7 cameras including 2 $1k + ones.. I think this is stupid, its not theyre money and why is a new Voitlander more valid than a new Jazz???
BassPenguin

Diogenes · #2 02-04-2011, 08:31 PM

My dad couldn't give a crap because he's dead and my mom feels that after 30 years of being out of the house I probably have a pretty good grasp on my finances.

First off, a Voigtländer is a great camera but then a J is a great bass. Same level of tool, just a different medium of expression.

Jhengsman · #3 02-04-2011, 08:32 PM

What roles do the different cameras fill? Did you make a case when you got your third, forth of fifth camera or is it their hobby passed down to you? And now let us hear your case, what can a Jazz Bass do for you the your current bass doesn't

M0ses · #4 02-04-2011, 08:34 PM

If you've got that much cash, you can do what you want with it, I think. Is there something else you actually DO really NEED that you wouldn't be getting if you get the bass?

**colcifer** · #5 02-04-2011, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jhengsman

what can a Jazz Bass do for you the your current bass doesn't

Must we?

kesslari · #6 02-04-2011, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colcifer

Must we?

Not "we", unless you plan on going to his house to talk to his old man.
Can the OP articulate what a J would do for him that his current bass doesn't? How this expands his interest/hobby/musicality?

fdeck · #7 02-04-2011, 09:07 PM

"Here's my report card, all A's. Have you noticed how clean your car has been lately? Here are your pipe and slippers."

Steve · #8 02-04-2011, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassPenguin22

why is a new Voitlander more valid than a new Jazz???
BassPenguin

Clearly, they like your photography far more than your music.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

TC2112 · #9 02-04-2011, 09:14 PM

do you need another bass? Are you gigging and need to have a backup? Are you making money with your tools?

if the answer to the 2nd and 3rd is no, then the answer to the first is no as well. I know that living at home makes extra money seem like ....well, extra money, but there is gonna come a time when that money is no longer extra but necessity. put it in the bank, save the money from your next few gigs toward another bass if you want. Make your tools work for you instead of you working all the time to get more tools.

spend a bunch more time in the woodshed with that P bass

Joe Nerve · #10 02-04-2011, 09:30 PM

You need a brighter and richer sounding bas and need to be more up front in the mix than with your current bass (*see footnote). The P and Jazz bass are 2 different animals, and in order to be complete you must be able to cover all ground. In order to be a well rounded musician you have to be prepared for whatever the situation you're going into calls for. You need a Jazz bass. Every dependable professional musician also has a backup bass. You don't and you must. If the electronics go on your P, or it falls in the bathtub, you're screwed. You need at the very least one backup (most bassists have many), and the VMJ is the perfect and most affordable compliment to what you already have. There are certain sounds your P bass just isn't capable of. You didn't realize this when you bought it because you didn't know any better. ALSO, it will inspire different music from you as the neck is thinner and easier to play. Leo Fender meant it to be that way. Aside from that, bass players all agree that a new bass will bring new excitement and inspire new thought, and more learning. Bottom line, you really want it, it will make you incredibly happy, and if mommy loves you she should trust your judgement and want to make you happy.

And from wikipedia:

*The Jazz Bass (or J Bass) was the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic. Because of this, many bass players who want to be more "forward" in the mix (including smaller bands such as power trios) prefer the Jazz Bass. The sound of the Fender Jazz Bass has been fundamental in the development of signature sounds in certain musical genres, such as funk, disco, blues, heavy metal and jazz fusion

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Jazz_Bass

throughthefire · #11 02-04-2011, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC2112

save the money from your next few gigs toward another bass if you want. Make your tools work for you instead of you working all the time to get more tools.

+1

Treat it like a business; make those basses pay their own way. Then when you get something nice, you can *really* say "I earned it"...

Marginal Tom · #12 02-04-2011, 09:35 PM

If they let you buy another camera, the worst that could happen would be if you wound up in the porn industry. If they let you buy another bass, you could wind up playing in a band some day.

Plays_For_Dog · #13 02-04-2011, 09:41 PM

Your money. Buy the bass. They'll get over it. At least you're not spending it on drugs and hookers.

bwoodman · #14 02-04-2011, 09:48 PM

You not only have a lot of cameras, but you have a lot of money tied up in cameras. The parental units say yes to another camera? They must be photographers or that's their hobby or something? Or, it's YOUR hobby? I'd sell a couple cameras and get a REALLY nice bass!

Stumbo · #15 02-04-2011, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwoodman

You not only have a lot of cameras, but you have a lot of money tied up in cameras. The parental units say yes to another camera? They must be photographers or that's their hobby or something? Or, it's YOUR hobby? I'd sell a couple cameras and get a REALLY nice bass!

^^This.

Why would your parents let you expand one hobby and not the other?

BassPenguin22 · #16 02-05-2011, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bwoodman

You not only have a lot of cameras, but you have a lot of money tied up in cameras. The parental units say yes to another camera? They must be photographers or that's their hobby or something? Or, it's YOUR hobby? I'd sell a couple cameras and get a REALLY nice bass!

I have been into photography for quite a while now but i have also been into music all my life pretty much, However i only really recenly got into bass.
And the 7 cameras isnt as amazing as it sounds (1x D90, 1x D60 (i got it when they were still crazy expensive), 1x canon point and shoot, 1x canon film body, a nikon film body and a couple of holgas + a bunch of lenses. Most of them were from ebay and therefore not as expensive as they sound (i got my nikon film body for $10)
Basspenguin

Buslady7803 · #17 02-05-2011, 07:53 AM

If the money is yours go for it. Bass is as much of a hobby as photography, you have lots of camera gear, whats wrong with another bass?

BassPenguin22 · #18 02-05-2011, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buslady7803

If the money is yours go for it. Bass is as much of a hobby as photography, you have lots of camera gear, whats wrong with another bass?

Thats what i have been telling them, i really need another bass more as im in an active band and we gig as much as we can

electracoyote · #19 02-05-2011, 09:20 AM

Hmmm, I never considered this.

There is someone who is possibly harder to convince than a wife that you need a new bass.

BassMan4Him · #20 02-05-2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC2112

do you need another bass? Are you gigging and need to have a backup? Are you making money with your tools?

if the answer to the 2nd and 3rd is no, then the answer to the first is no as well. I know that living at home makes extra money seem like ....well, extra money, but there is gonna come a time when that money is no longer extra but necessity. put it in the bank, save the money from your next few gigs toward another bass if you want. Make your tools work for you instead of you working all the time to get more tools.

spend a bunch more time in the woodshed with that P bass

+1
I 2nd this..