Am I a 'Brand name' snob?

[progrmr]

...I met a bassist playing a jazz bass at Kingston Mines in Chicago. His tone was delicious and he was grooving beautifully. Afterwards I asked him what he was playing - it was a VM Squier. He kind of laughed and quasi-apologized when he told me. Now, if I'd thought less of him for playing a Squier, THEN I'd be a gear snob. But the proof is in the pudding - he sounded great. No more discussion necessary.

This is one reason I don't buy expensive basses anymore...doesn't matter how expensive the bass is, I still sound like "me" and frankly that could be better

Now, if I get to be killer on bass someday - well then maybe I'll shell out some serious $$$ for a bass. Until then, I'm not spending over $500 lol!

 

[wraub]

I have 4 basses. All are 1985 or before. 2 are Ibanez, 2 are Squier. All are MIJ. I also have a newer Squier guitar, MIC 2001. All are exemplary models of quality construction, all play well, sound good, and look good doing it.
The sum total of financial cost to me is ~ $725.
I would put any of these up against any Fender branded instrument with no hesitation.

My MIJ SQ series Jazz and Precision I have actually compared to pre-CBS Fender instruments, along with other players, and all present were amazed at the quality of the Squiers.

Don't buy cheap. Buy good.

If it works as well, sounds as good, and costs less, the logo on the peghead is just words on wood.
Y'all keep passing up the good ones because the brand doesn't suit you? That's just fine with me.
Quality is King. Labels are for chumps.

IMHO. YMMV, and all that...

 

[Habilis]

I am only a brand snob (in my mid-range way) because I don't have the time not to be.

Now that I am a full-time stay-at-home dad I don't have time to try everything out at GC, or better yet, browse the mom & pop music stores, or drive 20 miles to meet up with some flake on Craigslist, and so on. I have stuck to buying Fender USA and EBMM (USA) online (Either here or on eBay) because they have a pretty decent track record. I know this is the same reason people eat at franchise restaurants when they travel as opposed to trying the cool-looking local joints, and I feel a little bad about it, but that's how it is. I look forward to the day when I have the leisure time to play around with things I see at yard sales or pawn shops, but today is not that day.

 

[Milk]

I don't give a **** what's the name on the headstock. If it sounds good and looks good, that's all I care about.

 

[Swerve]

A confusion most folks who have never been to these 'overseas' countries suffer from.

Plenty of folks making instruments in Korea (lived there 03-08) or here in China have excellent jobs. Certainly a better earning to cost of living ratio than many jobs back home. I know what my cooks made back home..what my friends made in factories. Folks here have a better gig, provided housing and meals...

Laughable how folks in the west still buy into decades old rumour and myths. Come to a manufacturing city like here in Chongqing (30 million folks) or Guandong...find me a 'child worker' find me these folks earning slave wages...just isnt like that

This. I lived in Shenzhen, China for two years. It's also home to the Foxconn factory that employees over a million people making Apple and all sorts of electronics products. I got to visit the facility as part of my job and not a single person there was a child. The majority of the workers are people in their late teens or early twenties who migrated from all over China just to obtain those jobs. The pay is far better than working on the farm back home and many of them get to send money back to their families.

I'm not saying the conditions are all that great but it's not the child slave labor that is portrayed in western media.

 

[awilkie84]

Hey, pal, the people who run China suck and so do their human rights policies. I'm acutely aware that the USA has its failings, but our hands are still cleaner than theirs. I'm a left-leaning guy, but I believe in putting your money where your mouth is and supporting the things you love. So I'll just go on buying American, even if you think it's quaint and "laughable." Besides, I like USA products a lot more than Chinese knockoffs (often downright thefts) of American products.

Americans...clean hands...ROFLMAO! A country that has single-handedly started more resource-based wars under the pretense of foreign aid than any other country in the world, and who refused to join both world wars until they were either attacked or a beneficial angle was found for them to become involved...

 

[tubatodd]

Funny how politics can kill any conversation even a spirited debate among musicians.

I think the answer to the brand snobbery is that this is just a microcosm of how people are in modern society. There are those who stand on soap boxes about this belief and that belief and feel everyone should think like they do. Of course there are usually opposing soap boxes. Then there are those who don't care what the people on soap boxes are saying because God gave them a mind and they'd rather think for themselves.

I think with each post to this topic you will find a parallel to one of those 3 personality types.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think the division between US and foreign Fenders is false because when all Fenders were made in America, Fender maintained a budget line of instruments. The were usually called student models like the Musicmaster. The Bullet series were downscale American Fenders also.

 

[96tbird]

And the current budget lines all surpass those old lines in quality and value.

 

[Seryna]

Your audience wouldn't care what guitar you're playing as long as you play good. Most of them will just describe your guitar as "that red guitar, with the black thiny on the side". 98% of your audience won't really care what you're using. But if you're not a gigging musician it will all go down on how you look at things. Expensive doesn't always say it's better.

Being a brand snob will just minimize your options. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, entirely because we all have our preference.

 

[tim68]

Your audience wouldn't care what guitar you're playing as long as you play good. Most of them will just describe your guitar as "that red guitar, with the black thiny on the side". 98% of your audience won't really care what you're using. But if you're not a gigging musician it will all go down on how you look at things. Expensive doesn't always say it's better.

All very true. Granted, American made Fenders, etc. may be normally made with "better" materials, but sometimes I think "better" is subjective. For ME, the perceived improved playing experience does not match up to the expense of a + $1200.00 J or P bass. I just sold an AM Std. P bass because It just didn't feel or sound "right" to me. Best P bass I've owned? A Squier CV Matt Freeman. I regretfully swapped it off, but I want another one. I have a CV 60's Jazz now that I absolutely love the hell out of. I used to be a total brand snob. Especially with Fender. I thought that Squiers were cheap beginners' junk, and that only an American, or to a lesser degree, MIM "genuine" Fender would suffice. Point is..play what you like, and what feels and sounds right to YOU...whether it cost $100 or $5,000. I love the Squier CV stuff not just because it's cheap (that certainly helps..but .. ) but because I just like how they feel, play and sound. True, 99.9 percent of your audience doesn't give a flying crap what name is on your headstock. I think the notion of cheaper gear breaking down all the time is overstated too. Take care of your gear, and it'll take care of you.

 

[dlmaston]

I have played tons of basses from tons of makers through the years...so, with that in mind, please read this.
About a year ago, I decided to go get a new bass. I had $1000 budget and was determined to get the best "bang for my buck" I could find. I played basses at music stores and pawn shops alike for more than a week (including 3 GC locations). After playing literally every bass on the wall, I finally found the right bass for me....it was a 2012 Squire Vintage Modified Jaguar bass. The neck/body joint is a better fit than my '96 custom shop J-bass, the custom designed SD pickups have excellent tone, the playability of the neck is superb, and the concentric notched tone controls are wonderful!
I have never been happier with a new bass in my life.....and it was under $400. Play...play...play the gear! I use to buy basses sight-unseen but never again.
Forget about the name on the headstock. Play them all.....and then buy the one that suits your needs, your hands, and your ears the best.

 

[Seryna]

All very true. Granted, American made Fenders, etc. may be normally made with "better" materials, but sometimes I think "better" is subjective. For ME, the perceived improved playing experience does not match up to the expense of a + $1200.00 J or P bass. I just sold an AM Std. P bass because It just didn't feel or sound "right" to me. Best P bass I've owned? A Squier CV Matt Freeman. I regretfully swapped it off, but I want another one. I have a CV 60's Jazz now that I absolutely love the hell out of. I used to be a total brand snob. Especially with Fender. I thought that Squiers were cheap beginners' junk, and that only an American, or to a lesser degree, MIM "genuine" Fender would suffice. Point is..play what you like, and what feels and sounds right to YOU...whether it cost $100 or $5,000. I love the Squier CV stuff not just because it's cheap (that certainly helps..but .. ) but because I just like how they feel, play and sound. True, 99.9 percent of your audience doesn't give a flying crap what name is on your headstock. I think the notion of cheaper gear breaking down all the time is overstated too. Take care of your gear, and it'll take care of you.

+1 you buy your gear to play and have fun with. Your head stock is just a head stock. Simply put, if you give Eric Clapton a cheap ass china knock off guitar, he will still sound Eric Clapton.

 

[Helaskold]

I don't think preferring brand name makes you a snob. Putting down others because their stuff ISN'T brand name makes you a snob.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I don't think preferring brand name makes you a snob. Putting down others because their stuff ISN'T brand name makes you a snob.

I agree. Respects the choices of others, especially when they have good results.

 

[joebar]

Americans...clean hands...ROFLMAO! A country that has single-handedly started more resource-based wars under the pretense of foreign aid than any other country in the world, and who refused to join both world wars until they were either attacked or a beneficial angle was found for them to become involved...

+ plenty