I hate it when people look down their noses at...

[Sijjvra]

Story time recently got a second bass. In fact I've got a thread up here somewhere about originally trying to decide which brand of bass to get (having played Ibby's exclusively for quite a while now).

I'm on a budget. A strict one. In fact, at the moment my husband and I are unemployed (looking for work...in Michigan. Yeah, it's been rough) and so we don't have any spare money. The money I made for this bass was from selling stuff around the house I don't need on ebay - old Boss recorder, Squier P bass I never use, practice amp I don't need, etc.

Initially I decided to go with another Ibby (SR305) and ordered it from MF...you know, THAT place. Got a defect, sent it back, getting a refund for the POS. Went around town, found a Taurus 5-string Washburn for a good price, new, felt good, sounded better than the Ibby, so I picked it up.

Took it to the repair shop here in town and the guys who usually do the repairs were out for lunch, so the owner...who is almost never there... takes the bass out of my gig bag and practically sneers at it "Oh...it's a WASHBURN... no wonder it needs work".

I felt like flipping him the bird. Yeah buddy, it needs a set up, like all new guitars that have been hanging in a store with old strings and played by people looking for a new bass for god knows how long. Yeah, it's only a 400 dollar bass, sue me...I'm broke right now. Yeah, it's not a damned 2000 dollar Fender exclusive (the guy also told me I should have gotten a Fender *facepalm* after I explained I didn't like the feel of Fender necks because my hands are really small - need a slim neck, it's just how it is) and yeah you might know more about the mechanics of a good bass vs. a mediocre bass than me...

But seriously dude, I'm paying you money to have your guys do a set up and you're going to look down your nose at me because I'm not some brand elitist that doesn't have the top of the line? Jerk.

I would have taken it somewhere else but the guys I actually deal with there on a regular basis are very cool and laid back. In fact, calling them later that day to see how things were going, the guy who actually did the set up said he'd leveled the frets for me, adjusted the action and the neck, and said it sounded -great-. Supposed to pick it up later today.

But really, anyone else ever run into this sort of elitism that makes you grit your teeth?

[Greyvagabond]

Haha, yeah, there sure are some douchebags out there. Don't let the Bastards grind you down! That's a shame to hear about the Ibby, though, I was seriously looking at those. Guess I'll have to try before I buy.

[spade2you]

The bad news is that when you go boutique, people thumb their noses, too. As a bassist, everyone thinks they can do your job and assume they know all....especially guitards. I mean, it's the easy version of guitar, right? Unless you play the gear that they expect and play the bass the way they want it, you'll get these kinds of comments.

On the bright side, I've kinda learned that if they're gonna be snobs about my rig, it won't be the only problems. In short, it's excellent weed-out criteria.

[chicago_mike]

Theres countless " Oh, its not a fender" stories out there. Welcome to narrow minded h e double hockey sticks. Yeah it sucks, but let them be the stupid ones, and dont get pulled into thinking you have to defend yourself to the closed minded among us. Orwell its not.

A good repiar/setup person will listen to you first. I bet all it would need is a neck adjustment, strings..a little tlc on the nut and a little tlc on a couple frets..F5 fader lube on the pots and just an overall care.

[Sijjvra]

I don't mind if people prefer one brand over another - I know Fender makes some decent basses, but yeah...irking when you run into those types. Especially when they're supposed to be professionals and not be pissing off their -customers-

Oh well.

[Dark Horse]

There are ignorant people everywhere, unfortunately. Think about it this way - the guys who work there have to deal with him on all the time. He probably does this to ANYONE who comes in with ANY bass that wasn't bought from his store. I love giving business to local retailers - prefer it, actually - but sometimes you run into a guy like this and it completely explains why many people just want to go with mail order. Cheaper price, less dealing with elitist attitudes.

Washburn, like many manufacturers, makes some great stuff and some not so great stuff. The Taurus basses are pretty darn nice, especially for the money.

Good equipment need not be expensive. I posted a video of a great sounding $89 bass the other day.

[RedLeg]

I would have not given him my business. As for the "cheap" gear. I have had mixed results over the years. In the early nineties, I swore by an epiphone p j knockoff, but I could never find another epi that played as well. Just recently I was in nashville at the opry mills gibson center and I tried a top of the line toby neck thru $4700 and It was a$$. The mtd kingston z I tried a few hours earlier at the nashville GC out performed it by leaps and bounds. A mtd import outplaying a hand crafted usa made toby (in the home town that the toby was made nonetheless).
Long story short, I no longer GAS for a toby

[Ed2Strings]

That sux, I know what it's like to be broke, I woulda taken my business elsewhere, in this economy, even whatever amount he would have charged you for set up may have hurt him. People need to keep there comments to themselves when dealing with the public. I love playin my SX and my wife payed less than 109 for it. Luckily I don't have to worry about that in the circle of people I hang around and the Luthier I go to is a cool and classy guy. He was even super cool when I had him set up my old a$$ Kramer.

[Knifedge]

I know I have way too many personal experiences with what you described. I always had a "cheap" brand bass (so to speak) that other "musicians" would scoff at, of course that would be so until I started to play it and they got to hear the sound I can get out of it. Mind you, there are some instruments out there that couldn't fart clearly, but a lot of those budget basses, when given a little love, can give you a pretty good sound. Brand elitists exist everywhere, mostly in music shops and stores where they think they can behave that way the most. Half the times, they don't even have instruments themselves, or even in a band for that matter, most of them are just blowing their own wind. Ignore them, Washburn puts out good stuff (I have one of their guitars, I paid less than $200 for it, and it plays really well), or just opt to take your bass elsewhere to get it set up.

[sarcastro83]

had a guitar player I played with at one time give me a hard time over the fact that I used to use an old MIM P through a beat up Big muff into an old, solid state Ampeg. I figure it did the job fine, considering half the time, he was complaining that he couldn't hear his $2000 Orange over my hunk of junk.

[Sijjvra]

Well, if there was another place around here that did repairs/set ups in a timely manner (Marshall here takes a week + and charges stupid amounts that's where I bought the bass though. I need the bass this weekend for band practice so I can't really wait a week) AND if I didn't know the guys who usually manage the store and do repairs are really cool and easy going I would have taken it elsewhere. It was just more of an annoyance than anything - one of those little things to rant on.

At least I'm not the only one who has had that experience XD it's just too bad so many people get on their high horse and forget that even they probably didn't always have the top of the line custom stuff either.

As for cheap v. expensive gear - some of my favorite basses have been pretty cheap little workhorses, and I've had friends with some of the expensive ones. One music teacher back in high school actually had a custom Rick that I played around with for a few hours. Didn't care for it. It sounded good but the sound wasn't one I was looking for and the feel wasn't too good for me. To each their own. If it sounds good and feels good, I say play away!

[two fingers]

Sorry you had to deal with that. For what it's worth, I find that most bass players aren't that way. To each his own (or HER own in your case). Hope you enjoy your bass and good luck with things up there in economy hell. Stay up!

[Sijjvra]

Originally Posted by Knifedge

Washburn puts out good stuff (I have one of their guitars, I paid less than $200 for it, and it plays really well), or just opt to take your bass elsewhere to get it set up.

Also funny you should mention that. A few weeks ago when we were there looking at amps, one of the guys who is usually there pointed out to my husband a 7-string Washburn guitar they had. Said he loved that guitar- told my husband they weren't a bad choice for a starter 7-string if he ever wanted to make the jump up from a 6-string.

Wonder what the owner would have said about hearing one of his employees advocating a Washburn

[ThunderLizard]

Sijjvra-
This is why I always do my own set-ups. Most folks who work in music stores have their favorites and aren't shy about trying to guide you toward them. Anything but a (fill in the blank) sucks. Just have confidence in your own judgement and ability to make a bass sing.

Some possible responses:
'Thanks for your unsolicited appraisal. I hope you don't plan on charging me for your advice'.
'Yeah, it's MY Wahburn. Most competent shops can work on them without any drama'.

[RedLeg]

hey sijjvra, I know a guy in lansing that would do a set up for $40 + cost of strings. I can get you his email

[dave64o]

That really sucks, especially coming from someone who is being paid BY YOU to work FOR YOU.

Luckily, the luthier I use has the exact opposite attitude. Since he builds as well as repairs, he's more than qualified to handle just about any problem that comes along and uses that to his advantage. ALL of his personal instruments are beaters people gave up on that he bought cheap and brought back to life. He drools over high-end/boutique instruments that come in to his shop just like any normal person would, but he also loves working on the low end instruments and wringing every ounce of potential out of them. I like that approach.

[Sijjvra]

I am trying to learn to do my own set ups, going to practice on my old workhorse bass.

As for the guy in Lansing I really appreciate the offer! but I'm about a 3-4 hour drive from Lansing so XD that'd be quite the haul for a set up. The guys here usually do them for around that price too. I'll just make sure that the owner isn't in the day I want my next one done out of all the times I've gone to the store...he's only been there twice so chances are he just stepped in for an hour while the other guys were on lunch. Thankfully.

I'm ok, I just wanted to rant and get it off my chest. Now I'm more looking forward to getting my bass back in a few hours so I can jam this weekend! \m/

[dougjwray]

Did the guy do a good set-up? If so, ignore the rest. Maybe it was the third bad Washburn he'd seen this month. So what.

[barbarbass]

First instrument (other than piano) I learned on was a Washburn -- of course, it was a g**tar, but it was a damn great instrument. Nice tone, easy to play, and solid as a rock. I remember dropping it in the middle of the street -- more like, body-slammed it -- and it didn't even lose tune.

[swartzfeger]

I dunno, basses across an entire budget need a lot more/lot less tweaking, regardless of price. My steinberger needed none (obviously), Ricks are pretty much set it and it's good for a year or more. My Jazz is in frequent need of tweaking, as are Foderas.