Those who can, play; those who can't, fuss over equipment.

[AudioDwebe]

True or false?

I find this to be so damn true (for me personally). Unfortunately, I fall into the latter.

Working on moving closer to the former.

[Baird6869]

If I spent half the hours practicing that i do surfing Talkbass, I would be a friggin' bass virtuoso!

[awilkie84]

Them's fightin' words. ^_^

I play as much as I can. I'm not the greatest, but I'm constantly getting better, as is my knowledge of gear.
I fuss over my equipment, and I think that's perfectly normal. You want YOUR sound & YOUR feel. There's nothing wrong with that. Even the best players in the world have an optimal setup, and it will vary from bass to bass, amp to amp, pedal to pedal. Fussing is a good thing!

[MakoMan]

Hmm... you might be on to something here.
I can't play.. and I LOVE buying different equipment. I need to do some more thinking on this...

[Kwesi]

Not sure how serious this thread is supposed to be but it presents a pretty blatant false dichotomy.

I can play. I also like to fuss about gear. There also also plenty of members who post more than I do and could also play circles around me.

[D.A.R.K.]

Nah, both are passions with nearly endless possibilities.
They feed each other.

[Baird6869]

Now that I think about it, most guitarists are worse than bassists. How many different damned choruses and overdrives do you really need to own in a lifetime?

[Razman]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

If I spent half the hours practicing that i do surfing Talkbass, I would be a friggin' bass virtuoso!

+1000. Well, used to surf a lot, life has pushed that down to the bare minimum. Same can be said of $$ right now. Since I'm set with my bass, amp & cab for the time being and as I play primarily through my church's rigs there exists little/zero justification to window-shop the classifieds here or on CL.

Only other thing I can remotely justify "needing" is a four string bass and I know where the one I want is so it's just a matter of time and patience to find enough of those elusive GW's ($) to claim it.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by AudioDwebe

True or false?

I find this to be so damn true (for me personally). Unfortunately, I fall into the latter.

Working on moving closer to the former.

Hmm, where does that place someone like John McLaughlin, who at 70 years of age is still on the search for the perfect amplifier?

He says the search never ends!

[georgiagoodie]

I disagree.

[iiipopes]

There is a fine line between discussing equipment and blaming equipment, along the lines that only a bad craftsman blames his tools. It's alright to be very interested, even immersed in the technical aspects of equipment. I have been for over thirty-five years, and still explore seemingly subtle details of differences in equipment. I mean, I have a .033 tone cap in my bass instead of the typical .047, for example, because I like the subtle increased presence of the mids it gives. But one must never lose sight of the fact that the technical aspects of equipment are merely a means to an end - the music.

At the point the technical overrides the music, it's time to stop playing and either take time to regain perspective, or chuck it all and get a job in a musical instruments/parts/equipment factory to devote the necessary time to product development instead.

[M.R. Ogle]

Not a direct "True or False" ruling on this available. But, it sure seems to be WEIGHTED that way.

It TENDS to be truer than not, I'd guess.

[Mark Wilson]

Without one, there wouldn't be the other.

[shoot-r]

Been at this 40 + years....
NEVER gave a durn about equipment....(used the same amp and cab for 28/29 years, still using the same jazz I bought used in 1972.....)

Then I found Talk Bass.....

Gas never quits now!

[georgestrings]

Originally Posted by D.A.R.K.

Nah, both are passions with nearly endless possibilities.
They feed each other.

This - I'm an unapologetic gear whore that uses gig money to buy gear...


- georgestrings

[Phalex]

I have crappy gear, and I play the crap out of it. So does that mean that my gear is awesome and I'm the one who's crappy?

[heb9_28]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Not sure how serious this thread is supposed to be but it presents a pretty blatant false dichotomy.

I can play. I also like to fuss about gear. There also also plenty of members who post more than I do and could also play circles around me.

Agree with all of this^

I think I can play. I agree that I fuss more about gear than I "need" to, but that is going to be relative to every player.

My uncle was in Glass Harp and the Michael Stanley Band and plays with Phil Keaggy. He has owned 1 (one!) bass pretty much all his life. Granted, its a '62 stacked knob Fender Jazz that he got back in the 60's but still....

I've gone through a whole bunch of basses. For me buying/trading/playing different basses is a hobby that exists apart from my playing, and I'm ok with that.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by georgiagoodie

I disagree.

LOL!

[M.R. Ogle]

Originally Posted by heb9_28

For me buying/trading/playing different basses is a hobby that exists apart from my playing, and I'm ok with that.

Hmmmm... yeah, that. Acquiring gear is a related, but separate hobby from playing. Different end goals.

Like, Jay Leno has a teriffic collection of cars. But I'd bet he's not a world-class driver.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by Kwesi

Not sure how serious this thread is supposed to be but it presents a pretty blatant false dichotomy.

I can play. I also like to fuss about gear. There also also plenty of members who post more than I do and could also play circles around me.

This

Sometimes you haven't found it yet.
"It" keeps moving as your ear and hands get better.
&
There are hobbyists who aren't into music just like the audiophiles who use music to listen to their gear. I know one who has four CDs.