Kids with expensive basses...

[Engine207]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

people will good income (i.e. elderly with good jobs)

the elderly. As in people over 40?

[john_martin_sai]

Better to be a beginner on a very expensive bass....than a very expensive car.

[sokolasty]

Originally Posted by powmetalbassist

Kids with expensive gear at 13? Thats as bad as having your first Iphone/Ipad at age 4

I don't know anything about iPod ad four, but I know that it is better to play a better guitar than a worse one. A good guitar eases the play, a player does not need to struggle against high string action or poorly position frets which causes inaccurate tuning.

[Melik]

There's also a reverse side: expensive gear usually pushes you to practise more

[Smit_Dogg]

Where learning is concerned, Im glad i did the bulk of my learning on a bass that was tough to play with a really high action. I would say it improved my hand strength and lessened the room for error as a small mistake was more noticeable ie fret buzz/noise.

[lucam]

Take a look at this (just for 20 seconds, it doesn't deserve more than that)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-nmW9rJAA

...and then at this one, you MUST check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUmtBZrOBog
Then look at the top comment, I wrote it about a year ago. =)

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by bass12

'Most everyone' being the two other kids in school who know the difference between a bass and a baseball bat.

My first two basses could not produce a decent slap sound. When I was starting to play bass (in the mid-to-late 80s) I was hearing a lot of slap and wanted to reproduce that sound. Thanks to my basses it took me a long time to figure out that I wasn't the problem - my basses were the problem. Always get the best instrument you can.

Totally.

Why not buy something really nice if you can afford it?
Because of other people's jealousy? Let them and their little lives rot.

[Kwesi]

I WAS that kid with expensive basses... and everyone was better than me. It suuuuuuuucks but I just really like fancy basses.

[superdick2112]

Originally Posted by Smit_Dogg

Where learning is concerned, Im glad i did the bulk of my learning on a bass that was tough to play with a really high action. I would say it improved my hand strength and lessened the room for error as a small mistake was more noticeable ie fret buzz/noise.

+1

My first bass was a Sears Silvertone, given to me on Christmas of 1979. It had a medium scale, muddy tone & very high action.
I played that bass for three years, saving every penny until I could afford my first real bass, a 1982 Ibanez Musician MC-924.
Learning on that crappy Sears bass allowed me to really appreciate the workmanship, tone and playability of a well-made instrument once I could afford one, and dramatically illustrated to me the benefits of superior construction, better hardware & pickups, etc., and I don't think starting on a pro-level bass would have been nearly as beneficial to me for learning the ins & outs of bass set-ups and ergonomics.

[Darren Low]

More importantly is the character of the person, regardless of whether one owns expensive or cheap gear.

[JonKim]

So now that I'm older, married, have a decent paying job, I buy basses left and right but i still suck...

[India_Sierra]

Originally Posted by Darren Low

More importantly is the character of the person, regardless of whether one owns expensive or cheap gear.

+1

When I was 16 I bought a 1989 Kubicki Ex Factor for £600. An absolute steal as they usually trade for nearly twice that. And since then, and putting that initial bit of cash into a bass, I've always had a 'nice' bass, now halfway through my 20's.

At my most extravagant, I had three high end basses at once (A Zoot, Status Series II and an ACG). Others like Status, Alembic, Zon etc etc have come and gone, and I'm back to a Warwick Thumb now. Old reliable!


I'll admit my passion is now largely for cars more than basses and I direct my disposable income that way. I still like to have a nice bass though! I worked hard for all of them and bought them with my own money. If you can, why not? When I bought my Kubicki, my brother brought a brand new Ibanez K7. He still has that, and loves it, nearly 10 years later!

[baileyboy]

Originally Posted by Waster

One of the few other bassists at my high school just got a new bass; a Rickenbacker 4003.
This kid is thirteen, and is genuinely awful- doesn't know what notes he's playing, can't play eighth notes etc.
Now, obviously I wish I had been able to get equipment like that when I was his age, and I'm a touch jealous, but does it irk anyone else that it always seems to be the sub par musicians that can afford the nice gear? I'm not the best bassist in the world, but I've worked hard and am doing grade 8 next year on an OLP MM2. My parents would love to get me a P-bass, but can't afford it; all of my gear, bar my starter bass and my starter guitar (£100 each) I have had to work and save for. And I know better musicians in crappier positions than me.
This was really just a rant, but feel free to comment or whatever.

Connor

Hey, Connor- Your post really hit home with me... I grew up in poverty in a large family. All around me kids always had things I wanted. But they never learned the value of a dollar. Those who grow up always having things given to them develop a sense of entitlement and know little of the virtue of hard work.

As others have stated, keep practicing to become a better bass player. The upgrade in gear will come with time. Any band worth a grain of salt would much rather have a hard-working player with chops than someone with great gear that never learned basic skills.

[carpcutter]

Originally Posted by baileyboy

Hey, Connor- Your post really hit home with me... I grew up in poverty in a large family. All around me kids always had things I wanted. But they never learned the value of a dollar. Those who grow up always having things given to them develop a sense of entitlement and know little of the virtue of hard work.

As others have stated, keep practicing to become a better bass player. The upgrade in gear will come with time. Any band worth a grain of salt would much rather have a hard-working player with chops than someone with great gear that never learned basic skills.

...and those musically-inclined folks who know the virtue of hard work who wind up in working in the non-music field frequently become slightly-above-mediocre players who can still afford the gear. Keep practicing on your cheapo stick while you are young and relatively free from life's greater worries. No matter how expensive the bass is, it's not going to play itself.

[rtslinger]

I understanding your feelings but, it isn't about how much the bass costs it is about how well you play it. I know players who can make low cost basses sound amazing. Remember "It isn't the bass that brings the player to life it is the player who brings the bass to life" be that guy. RTS

[garmenteros]

Just play and don't pay mind to what other people have.

[Immigrant]

Originally Posted by lucam

Take a look at this (just for 20 seconds, it doesn't deserve more than that)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-nmW9rJAA

...and then at this one, you MUST check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUmtBZrOBog
Then look at the top comment, I wrote it about a year ago. =)

Thanks for the second link. It reaffirmed my belief that farty bass solos are boring and generally self serving, or at least only played for the musicians in the audience.

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by garmenteros

Just play and don't pay mind to what other people have.

+1

Too bad some people don't spend more time being thankful for what they have and less time being judgmental about what other people have.

[malthumb]

Originally Posted by carpcutter

...and those musically-inclined folks who know the virtue of hard work who wind up in working in the non-music field frequently become slightly-above-mediocre players who can still afford the gear......

I resemble that remark!

[Dr. Cheese]

Originally Posted by baileyboy

Hey, Connor- Your post really hit home with me... I grew up in poverty in a large family. All around me kids always had things I wanted. But they never learned the value of a dollar. Those who grow up always having things given to them develop a sense of entitlement and know little of the virtue of hard work.

As others have stated, keep practicing to become a better bass player. The upgrade in gear will come with time. Any band worth a grain of salt would much rather have a hard-working player with chops than someone with great gear that never learned basic skills.

I don't doubt the truth of your observations, but why must there be this need to see superiority in your experience and inadequacy in the situation of those who had more than you did? I am sure many well to do kids learn how to work hard and save and many who grow up poor turn into failures. Life is ultimately about the choices we make, not what our parents give us.

At the end of the day another kid has bass the OP
envies, and the OP needs to focus on something positive like practice instead of someone else's possessions.