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

[mellowinman]

I have two FrankenFenders, (one four string and one five,) and one 60 Watt Fender Rumble amp.

For the most part, I'm satisfied. I don't own a single pedal, modulator, doo dad or gee-gaw.

I don't talk about theory; I don't talk about technique, and I'm easily one of the most moderately OK bassists on here, falling somewhere around the word "bassist," and not far above "lucky noodler."

There are all kinds of monkeys in the forest, and if they had any sense, they'd live in the jungle.

[AudioDwebe]

Really dig some of your tunes! Good stuff.

I especially liked the one that sounded like a mellow rock anthem you posted a video clip of a while back.

Keep up the tunes.

Cheers.

[Kryptos]

Originally Posted by 4001

Nothing wrong with deflating a few egos once in awhile.

Very thoughtful of you.

[1SHOT1HIT]

This is a common saying among numerous activities in life. Just slightly altered, but surely nothing new. There is always going to be the exception, but in my experience its, in many cases proven to be more true than not.

In the gun word the saying goes;

Amateurs talk hardware, Professionals talk software.

Or

Amateurs talk equipment, Professionals talk mindset & logistics.


Point being is that there are a ton of people that know how to talk a good game, & could probably talk other players in full circles with their in-depth knowledge of gear. But hand them a bass, & they couldn't play half as good as your average beginner.

Again nothing new, goes hand in hand with the old question;
You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?

As said above this DOES NOT mean every guy that knows his gear, sucks actually playing his bass.

Nor does it mean that every guy that can play his bass really good doesn't know much about all the gear he uses, & other gear on the market.

I'd guess TB has a good deal of both types, but it wouldn't surprise me much to find a huge amount of guys here that have less talent than my 4 year old. No offense!

[One Drop]

I've found that those that fuss over equipment fuss over equipment, and those that can play, can play.

Honestly I wouldn't go farther than that, not trying to be cute.

Personally I never fuss or think about my equipment when I'm practicing, on stage, or not playing, either. The only time I really think about it is when I'm on here, another bass site, or in a shop that sells gear, which is fairly rare.

I also don't argue very much in real life, but I do a lot here. I guess like a lot of people posting on forums for me is a real life activity that doesn't necessarily reflect other aspects of my life off-line.

[jmclearnon]

...Sorry but how can you learn new concepts and understand what other people are playing tonally without talking/learning theory....?

I can't conceive this

[bassdude51]

Originally Posted by Tanner5382

I'm guessing you've never heard of John Entwistle.

John was a guy who COULD PLAY! Understatment for sure. But, he was very, very, very fussy about his sound and equipment!

Some of us on Talk Bass are bass enthusiast or bass hobbists. This is true. Perhaps we wish that we were active professional bass players but we just can't because of our age or day jobs or families. Still, we love bass and everything bass.

Since we can't be active musicians, we become bass equipment freaks. It's our outlet for our love of bass.

Yeah, we become fussy about bass, sound and equipment. It's a hobby. Ain't nothing wrong with it!

[agreatheight]

I can play 95% of the things I want to, and the remaining 5% doesn't hinder me in anyway, so I consider myself firmly in the "can play" category. I play live regularly and record often. I still think about gear, though. Not as much as some people on the boards, lol, but quite a bit. Nothing to worry about - it keeps me interested in all aspects of playing!

[jmclearnon]

If a musician makes his living from playing music, it makes sense that they research and fuss over their equipment as they are utilities for their work.

Especially if you are a stand-in musician and have to use someone elses gear, if you have a general idea of how it works/sounds like your sweet to not worry about something breaking or compressing all of the upper mids because its different than your own.

This argument is pretty much pointless, if you are good, you will buy decent equipment but can deal with worse stuff and still make it sound great.

If you are not great, generally a lot of people will think the equipment will make them sound better......

another thing some people don't fuss over equipment because it fulfills what they want it to achieve, i'm currently fussing because i am about to spend money buying an amp. Fussing a lot means i'm not just jumping in and wasting my cash, i'm in for the long investment...

[dideah]

Im not amazing i have only been playing for 5 years and im still using that same squire. I complain all the time, i would shout my mouth if i had an american deluxe p bass ( january ) #winning

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by jmclearnon

...Sorry but how can you learn new concepts and understand what other people are playing tonally without talking/learning theory....?

I can't conceive this

Trial and error. Mostly error.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by jmclearnon

If a musician makes his living from playing music, it makes sense that they research and fuss over their equipment as they are utilities for their work.

Especially if you are a stand-in musician and have to use someone elses gear, if you have a general idea of how it works/sounds like your sweet to not worry about something breaking or compressing all of the upper mids because its different than your own.

This argument is pretty much pointless, if you are good, you will buy decent equipment but can deal with worse stuff and still make it sound great.

If you are not great, generally a lot of people will think the equipment will make them sound better......

another thing some people don't fuss over equipment because it fulfills what they want it to achieve, i'm currently fussing because i am about to spend money buying an amp. Fussing a lot means i'm not just jumping in and wasting my cash, i'm in for the long investment...

As one who posts a LOT, and is a total gear fanatic (not so much buying a ton of stuff, but really interested in 'what sounds like what' and helping other players, etc.), I find there is absolutely ZERO correlation between 'interest in gear' and 'talent of the player'.

I do find a moderate negative correlation between the COST of gear used and the 'quality of the player', since most full time professional musicians can't afford the super bling stuff (IMO and IME). So, lots of part time doctors, lawyers, business guys who 'used to play in bands and now have enough money for the Fodera they always wanted'. Nothing wrong with that! I guess I've kind of become that at this point, since I no longer play full time for a living.

I was always a big fan of guys on Talkbass posting up clips every once in a while so that their posts/reviews could be put in some sort of context (skill level, and more importantly, style of playing and tone goal). Pure IMO there!

As has been said a zillion times on this site (using my own words).... 'a good player makes the worst gear sound great, a 'bad' player makes the best gear sound like dog'.

[fullcircle]

I've seen great players do great things with cheap gear but I've yet to see the opposite.

That said, good quality gear can be inspiring. But as an obsession it can be like any other addiction and a waste of time and resources.

[garmenteros]

It all depends. I've seen guys who've been playing way more years than me who sound terrible because they don't spend money on equipment or learn the nuances about them. I've seen guys who can't make it through a ramones tune with 3k basses. That said I own plenty of gear, constantly read about whats new and have reached the playing level I only dreamed of when I first started playing.

[jmclearnon]

I wasn't saying that pro's buy the best stuff all the time, most of them don't have to spend loads of money on stuff anyways because they are endorsed.

^^^ is totally true, this is why i have only started to buy decent equipment because in my head i have not been able to justify buying better stuff.

This argument holds across all musical fields, i play cello to high standard and don't research loads but there are pro's who have tried everything and its VERY obvious in the classical side of things that the instrument and gear is only a small % of the sound coming out of the instrument.

I can get a good sound out of a £100 cello, but there are things that are not possible on it, it will be the same with every instrument, so quality of equipment is important but should not be the main focus.

[chadds]

There's a balance. Nothing worse than a great upright player with stellar acoustic tone who buys what the store sells without research and has poor electric tone.

[nukes_da_bass]

Those who can play and have no money are doomed to play on whatever crap equipment they can actually afford

Those who can play and actually do have money, can play on whatever good equipment they can actually afford.

In my opinion, people who can't play are actually an entirely different topic.

[Mulebagger]

Originally Posted by jmclearnon

...Sorry but how can you learn new concepts and understand what other people are playing tonally without talking/learning theory....?

I can't conceive this

I listen and use my ears. Generally ask questions when I don't know something. Not meant to be a snide remark.

I'd agree that knowledge is power and learning is paramount to growth, but I'm pretty much illiterate in theory and manage to do pretty well.

[Mulebagger]

Originally Posted by KJung

As one who posts a LOT, and is a total gear fanatic (not so much buying a ton of stuff, but really interested in 'what sounds like what' and helping other players, etc.), I find there is absolutely ZERO correlation between 'interest in gear' and 'talent of the player'.

I do find a moderate negative correlation between the COST of gear used and the 'quality of the player', since most full time professional musicians can't afford the super bling stuff (IMO and IME). So, lots of part time doctors, lawyers, business guys who 'used to play in bands and now have enough money for the Fodera they always wanted'. Nothing wrong with that! I guess I've kind of become that at this point, since I no longer play full time for a living.

I was always a big fan of guys on Talkbass posting up clips every once in a while so that their posts/reviews could be put in some sort of context (skill level, and more importantly, style of playing and tone goal). Pure IMO there!

As has been said a zillion times on this site (using my own words).... 'a good player makes the worst gear sound great, a 'bad' player makes the best gear sound like dog'.

+1!

[lomo]

Originally Posted by soulman969

I'd say it's far more related to the amount of money you have at your disposal to explore with than whether your a "player" or just a hobbyist.

Ding. We may have a winner