I have GAS and I'm only 4 months into playing Bass!! Help?

Kickin'Fruit · #1 07-19-2006, 11:13 PM

Guys, I have spent a little over $1000 funding my hobby. Is this reasonable entry level amount?

So far I have bought:

Fender Standard Jazz Bass MIM *used* ~$380
Ashdown MAG 300R Head (rack) *new* ~$325 (including warranty extension)
Ashdown MAG 210T Cab *new* ~$260
Misc. stuff ~$100
SKB 4U Rack *used* ~$70
Ashly CG-85 Mono Compressor *used* ~$80

Grand Total: ~$1215 USD

Have I gone overboard??

I expect to buy a rack tuner and guitar stand, and I think I'm done for a long while. Oh and a new strap and PG cause the one I have now doesn't fit right, and I'll get a setup, maybe a Schaller bridge for my MIM and maybe some lessons to round it all out...

Atoz · #2 07-19-2006, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kickin'Fruit

Guys, I have spent a little over $1000 funding my hobby. Is this reasonable entry level amount?

...
Impressive list
...

Grand Total: ~$1215 USD

Have I gone overboard??

Nah... I've really only been playing since last October, and I've bought:

Washburn Taurus T-24 neck-thru - $300
Ric 4003 JG - $1100
Hard-shell Travel case - $150
Ashdown 300W 1x15 combo - $350
Bunch of new/used effects pedals - $300 (?)
3 stands - $60
5 packs of strings - $140
Misc accessories (cables, picks, etc.) - $100

Total - about $2500

Holy crap...

This is the first time I've calculated the total cost of my affliction. No wonder I feel poor...

SnakeAnthony · #3 07-19-2006, 11:57 PM

Music in general isn't a cheap hobby. But I also see no need for that much gear right off. I bought a bass and played with no amp for 2 months, then a borrowed amp for 4, before finally springing for one, only because I had joined a band, and a POS Crate wasn't cutting it. But you at least made good choices in what to buy.

Just plan on sticking with it and then it will all come through that the money you've put in was worth it. Don't spend 1,200+ and then quit after a year. Me personally, I'm hoping to make a career out of music, both as a bassist and a producer (hopfully). And I'm likely going to have to take specal classes here in highschool to get into the collage of my choice (MTSU).

Me personally, after a year or so I've dropped (thinks about it....) about 1,100 into it, adding in about 500 on a bass that I hope to buy, if the seller excepts my offer. So yeah, I've spent a lot of money on it, but in my mind its all been worth it.

Kickin'Fruit · #4 07-20-2006, 12:02 AM

Well if you knew my personality, I've never quit anything in my life and I'm not gonna start now. I am really into bass guitar, especially after I'm learning how to pick songs up by ear, that is really an awesome experience. I used my little brother's Squire P bass like 2 years ago but didn't pick it up again after the POS Fender Frontman 15b practice amp **** the bed. Also, after I got this Fender Jazz, I didn't have an amp for about 2 months also, if you see some of my other posts. But a couple days ago I finally got my speakers in the mail and I have been practicing every free hour I have after work. It also doesn't hurt that I have a really good paying summer engineering job so I am not really missing the money... just wait till I go back to college in the fall...

Iritan · #5 07-20-2006, 12:24 AM

Man, I wish I had that my first 4 months. I had a dookie rogue RB120BT for the first year and like 10 months of my bassing life, and I just now finally got a new amp, but I'm complaining, I went from smelly combo to kick-ass fullstack in only 2 years. Of course, it's taught me an important lesson, never let the equipment get before your playing. In order to get that I worked my dick off and never had any actual time to practice, and because of it I'm a lot worse than I used to be. But hey a liitle hard work and I'll be back on track.

morf · #6 07-20-2006, 04:59 AM

I've been playing about what... 9-10 months, and I've bought:

Cort Action Bass
Fender P Bass deluxe special edition MIM
Peavey Millenium 4
Peavey Cirrus 4
Alembic Persuader 1987 (traded for the peaveys)
Conklin Rocco Prestia signature 4
Behringer BX1200 (sold)
Trace Elliot GSP 7 SM 300W
Maybe 6-7 different strings set
Around 50 bucks worth of cables
Dunlop 105Q Wah pedal
Boss Metal Zone MT-2 distortion
Alesis NanoComp Compressor
Some Korg electronic tuner

Grand total is over 4000USD... And GAS only expands

Kickin'Fruit · #7 07-20-2006, 07:14 AM

I like the GAS only expands bit

Yeah trust me, my playing is my top priority, but I wanted good enough gear to get me through in the early stages. I wanted to see all that expensive gleaming _professional_ looking equipment and strive to use it all to it's full potential. C'mon how many guitarists do you see with vintage Gibson Les Pauls and they just rock out power chords. I want to go to the edge and be the best possible bassist that all the cells in my body will allow me to be. And I know that I won't even get close with cheap sub par gear. So if I get just above the crest quality wise, I'll know I'm making a great investment.

morf · #8 07-20-2006, 07:17 AM

It's just fun playing different gear

i_got_a_mohawk · #9 07-20-2006, 05:48 PM

Ive been playing for 4-5 years, and only now is the GAS dying down, SVT, 810 and ATK are keeping me more than happy right now.

However, me being the idiot i am, ive started playing guitar more, so-far ive bought an epiphone SG, ive just bought an SG copy and over the weekend i bought a peavey 5150 4x14 guitar cab :S (all the stuff has been used and bought at very nice prices tho)

tplyons · #10 07-20-2006, 07:48 PM

In the five years I've been playing, I'm sure I coulda dropped cash on a new car.

**bassman314** · #11 07-20-2006, 09:35 PM

hmmm....

I've been playing seriously for a bit over 3 years now... Look at my profile for all of my gear... The cost has got to be over $5k by now, between 4 basses, an acoustic guitar, 2 heads and cabs, 2 combos, all my effects, strings, cables, etc...

GAS is dying down... but I have a 'project' in mind.. and I'm starting to think about building a guitar rig... but that's lo priority *L*

morf · #12 07-21-2006, 05:55 AM

My GAS isnt dying down... my wallet is

BrandonBass · #13 07-21-2006, 09:01 AM

thats alot of stuff u bought....my mum would kill me if she knew i spent so much on my equipments

anyways, if i were u i would invest on a high end bass and play with a crap amp and not buy too many effects.

morf · #14 07-21-2006, 09:06 AM

Well my amp is ok... I'd like a 4x10 cab with a good head though...

And I really dig my basses. The high-end basses I played all sounded too hi-fi for me, and the vintage sounding ones cost too much. The compressor is definately here to stay, I really enjoy it for slapping. I'll eventually sell the wah, distortion is fun too for when I feel like playing Cliff Burton stuff.

All my basses won't stay though, just some time to test em out and "level up" my playing, then I'll test expensive basses out until I find "the one".

dangnewt · #15 07-21-2006, 09:17 AM

Looks reasonable to me for two reasons.

If you stick with it (which I have confidence is the most likely outcome). You have gear that will serve you well for the kind of shows that us hobbyists play (at church, friend's birthday or anniversary parties, jam sessions with buddies). You could even play out at smaller bars. Moreover, the gear will not hold you back as you develop as a player.

If you don't stick with it. You'll take a bit of a hit if you choose to sell, but less if you started with very inexpensive beginner gear.

Like anything, there are declining returns to gear. The price range you chose has a pretty high bang for the buck ratio.

Enjoy.

Alexander · #16 07-21-2006, 09:52 AM

It's all relative. $1200 could be a tremendous amount to some people for gear and less a hit for others. If you can in good conscience buy that gear and meet other financial obligations in your life, I say go for it. Sure you could have started with much less, but what the hey - I find playing through good, well set-up gear is much more enjoyable and motivating than playing through crap gear. And you have enough to jam with other musicians which is VERY important - playing along with CDs in your bedroom might be okay for a while, but not long. Playing with a real band is where it's at for a bass player (just IMHO of course)

There is risk though - you could find that playing bass isn't for you at all and have to eat most of that $1200 investment selling it off. OR you might just stick with it, but find that you have other preferences in terms of gear and start "trading up", which is where things REALLY start to get expensive...

Kickin'Fruit · #17 07-21-2006, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander

It's all relative. $1200 could be a tremendous amount to some people for gear and less a hit for others. If you can in good conscience buy that gear and meet other financial obligations in your life, I say go for it. Sure you could have started with much less, but what the hey - I find playing through good, well set-up gear is much more enjoyable and motivating than playing through crap gear. And you have enough to jam with other musicians which is VERY important - playing along with CDs in your bedroom might be okay for a while, but not long. Playing with a real band is where it's at for a bass player (just IMHO of course)

There is risk though - you could find that playing bass isn't for you at all and have to eat most of that $1200 investment selling it off. OR you might just stick with it, but find that you have other preferences in terms of gear and start "trading up", which is where things REALLY start to get expensive...

well at the moment $1200 is less than what I make in a month and I'm going to college. Also some background into how devoted I am to this: I'm at work and I can't get bass off my mind. I mean I can enough to get my work done and be as productive as I would be without it, but it's there and I can't wait to get back home to play. I'm finding myself saying more and more that there aren't enough hours in a day because I want to practice more and nail a song. I've been hitting tab sites up

well only last night anyway because I was in a rush to learn a song and just enjoy it for the little time i had before I had to get to bed. Is this a good indication that I'm dedicated and I'll end up sticking with it? Is it good habit?

Thanks again for all the positive reinforcement.

Tamochantern · #18 07-21-2006, 10:07 AM

I've been playing and buying gear for upwards of 15 years now and I figure I could've bought a house by now!! I'm not complaining though, I'd rather live in the street than part with (most of) my gear!!

Alexander · #19 07-21-2006, 10:14 AM

Glad you're stoked about it. I am as well (and so are many of the folks that hang out around here). Keep up the hard work and enjoy yourself. And enjoy that gear - learn it well.

Sounds like you know tab sites are not ideal places to learn songs from, so I recommend getting away from them ASAP before you develop a dependance on them. Getting away from leaning on tab sites was the #1 thing I've done to develop as a player - in fact, my playing has REALLY taken off since. I started out developing an understanding of scales and basic chord theory. Then started using guitar sites, looking only for chord charts for the songs I wanted to play and developing my own basslines against those chords. And I started playing music with folks where I didn't know the songs going in (jams, etc.) - you really have to develop basslines on the fly and under the gun...

Kickin'Fruit · #20 07-21-2006, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander

Then started using guitar sites, looking only for chord charts for the songs I wanted to play and developing my own basslines against those chords.

Wow that is really good advice. You can't keep a secret like that to yourself, I see pretty good potential in doing that. Thanks. I also won't be putting myself out a house though

I have a budget and I have only slightly exceeded it so far