Is your most expensive bass your best 'player'?

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by BrandonBass

No for me.

My rickenbacker 4003 pales in comparison in terms of sound and playability compared to my stingray std and classic. It does look really cool though

You paid more for your 4003 then you did for your Sting Ray Classic?
I think you got ripped. SR classics sell for around $1800 4003's are around $1500-1600

[AuntieBeeb]

Currently, yes. Joanne, my Schecter, is currently the most expensive bass I own by quite a long chalk. She's also the best set-up guitar I've ever owned. (Not sure whether she'll need a tweak when the Elixirs wear out and I slap some Rotosounds on her, mind...)

That said, Aradia, my Frankenbass project, is also playing very nicely at the moment. Not quite as perfect as the Schecter, but I think I can cut the nut a little deeper and get the action just right on the E and G. Not bad for a bass I built from bits off ebay!

[BrandonBass]

Originally Posted by hdracer

You paid more for your 4003 then you did for your Sting Ray Classic?
I think you got ripped. SR classics sell for around $1800 4003's are around $1500-1600

I bought the ray used for like 1300. The rick for around 1400 I think.

[elbeau]

Currently I think my mid range is the best playing. I keep thinking of selling my 08 American Standard P I won in a contest but know I'll never be able to replace it if I do end up missing it. I was afraid of it growing legs at a gig so I bought an 09 MIM P for $290 used as a "beater bass" with no attachment. Along the way got a Squier Mike Dirnt P that I bought for $120 because it had some Guitar center display chips. For a while the Squier was my best sounding go to bass but sold it to snatch up an Ibanez Artcore bass which sits in its case most of the time. I'm evaluating the new Samick jazz to p build I just completed to see where she falls in the stable but my go to for the time being is the MIM P.

[hgiles]

Ive only got two basses (one more than I need). I bought both used. One is a 2002 Ibanez Prestige SR 3006E and the other is a 2010 Ibanez SR 706. When I first got the together I didn't notice much difference in them, but that gap is widening as I get to know the instruments better.

Of course the Prestige plays better.

[mccartneyman]

Yes. In order of playability, with price in $ -- Lakland 55-94 ($$$$), Steinberger L2 ($$), Rickenbacker 4001c64 ($$$), Hofner Icon ($). YEs, I Paid more for the Rick than for the Steinberger. But I also have to say that I traded two basses as part of the deal for the Lakland 55-94.

[sratas]

till two months ago, the answer would have been "no". My best player was a Warwick Thumb, bought used for a steal, that still sounds awesome, by the way. But, in the meantime, I purchased a G&L JB special edition 2012, US model, very classic and speaking jazz. This bass costed me a certain dough, but it has certainly became my very first player, and one of the best jazz basses I have ever put my hands on in my life...

[M.R. Ogle]

No.
My parts basses that I've chopped and tweaked over the years to my exact liking have that distinction. I've since sold off most of my expensive basses, as they were great to own but I frankly have more fun experimenting, which I'm hesitant to screw with multi-thousand dollar basses.

My black Mexi-Mutt Jazz gets the most playtime. Switched out necks, had several different sets/types of pickups in it, experimented with the wiring for months, now it is a go-to instrument for many situations, and I can take it out anywhere without too much stress about it getting lost, damaged or stolen.

Plays like "buttah" as the ridiculous saying goes, LOL!!

[TechJunky]

For me it's a yes, but only by a slim margin. All three of my basses play extremely well. My cheapest (the LX) has a slimmer neck than the other two, which is very comfortable and very easy to play, but I actually prefer the thicker neck's a tad bit more, so the P-Nut and Stage II get placed over the LX. Then between the SSII and P-Nut, I feel more comfortable on the 5 string firstly, and secondly prefer the humbucker pickup for hand placement (I'm taking tonality out of the equation as all of them have their own sounds). I have no issues playing on the JJ configuration, but the JM just feels right, giving me more comfort and ease of playing.

[philtoler]

Overall yes but difference in performance is nothing like proportional to difference in price.

[Stephent28]

Yes, my Fodera YYS makes me smile every time I pick it up. I can't walk by the room without stopping to pick it up and play it.

[steamthief]

Yes, in terms of playability the Euro 4LX wins.

In terms of tone, depends on the day.

[lpdeluxe]

I voted "no." My AV '57 P is a very nice instrument, but I gig with my Classic '50s and occasionally my Classic '51. Each of the Classics cost me less than half what I paid for the AV.

[Fuzzbass]

It's currently true for me, but hasn't always been true in the decades I've been playing.

Edit: Sadowsky is my favorite

[Baird6869]

My 1995 Modulus Quantum 5 (non-truss rod) is one of the easiest to play basses ever made as the action is almost touching the FB and there is zero buzz.

Still love that bass, but my Spector and MTD are getting the gigs these days.

[DiabolusInMusic]

Originally Posted by BrandonBass

I bought the ray used for like 1300. The rick for around 1400 I think.

So it is actually a yes for you. I do not think we should be grading based off used prices. I got my Stingray for $400... does that make it a $400 bass? If so, it smokes everything in it's class.

Your SR costs more than your ric, hence it plays better...science.

For me it is a tough call which is best, my basses all do different things. I would probably say my Dingwall is a better player than my Carvin but that is because I can shred a 4 faster than a 6. My basses new all come in around the $1500-2000 mark.

There is however no comparison in my worst bass to the rest of my stable, it is one of if not the most mentioned bass in the worst bass you ever played thread, the Squier VM fretless jazz. It is definitely the cheapest bass in my stable. It only become a mildly decent player after hours of man time. I would consider it unplayable as a fretless right out of the box.

[awilkie84]

My least expensive bass (Spector NS-2000/5) and my mid-level bass (Spector ReBop 5DLX) both outclass my American Fender P5, and the Dingwall Afterburners I've played at the local shop.

Just goes to show that sometimes personal preference for feel goes further than prestige/price.

[whitedk57]

My EBMM Sterling is my most expensive, and it plays like butter.

[cnltb]

All my basses cost about the same.
The most recent one is the best.

[msb]

I have a number of classic and vintage instruments and yet my re-issue Dano Longhorn goes out the door the most .

It's by far the cheapest instrument I own but I just love to play the cheap little thing .