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Anyone else like the sound of cheaper instruments?

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danielfnj96

Guest
Jan 29, 2012
309
6
NJ, USA
#1
After a visit to guitar center today i've come to notice that i like the sound of cheaper basses. I'm not sure why but it seems like many of the more expensive ones sound too tone heavy and you start to loose a certain acoustic quality. To me after a certain point the tone of your bass is just so tone heavy it just sounds like clunky noises or a series of pings that correspond with your low end. Also many of the more flat voiced high end basses were so flat it had no character and sounded cold as ice. There are also some cheap basses that sound awful and some expensive basses that are great but it seems like in general i will go for the tone of a cheap bass. I particularly seem to like cheap Ibanez, Sterling/S.U.B, Peavey, and Schecter basses.
 
#2
I like the sound of *some* cheaper instruments. I have an Ibanez GSR-206, their bottom of the line 6 string bass, and it sounds great. I have had people in three different bands tell me they love the sound, so it isn't just me.

On the other hand I've played cheap basses that sounded terrible.
 
#6
how do you define cheap?

is it something like an SX j-bass over an MIA Fender j-bass? cause if thats the case then uh-oh, aint goin' with the cheap one

however, if its something like an EBMM stingray over a Fodera monarch ... then i tend to favor the stingray. although... i never really got to play a fodera. there's no way to try them out in my country
 
#7
My go to bass and my next favorite are both cheap, Carlo Robelli models.
They both play great, feel great and sound great.

Who cares how much they cost? I don't need to spend a lot to feel like I have a good bass.
 
#8
Actually (and I was indeed surprised about it) it turns out I prefer the tone on my $280 Squier VM P over my $1200 Jazz, and when I still had it, my $110 SX Ursa1 also sounded better to me than my Jazz. Don't get me wrong, the Jazz sounds great, it has that signature Jazz sound that everyone appears to be after, I just think it's a matter of me preferring the sound of a P type bass over a Jazz, and both of those cheapy basses nail that P-bass sound.
 
#9
Love the sound of my Danelectro Longhorn, and my Squier VM Fretless Jazz - both cheapos as far as I am concerned...
but then I also love my MIM Jazz, love(d) my MIJ Precision (recently sold) and waiting on a Yammie 1004 -which I love the sound of as well ...all different, but love them all, that's why I bought them!
(all under 1000.00 euros so many may consider them all cheapos!)

The exception in recent times was an Epi Violin - that was a mistake for me...
 
#13
In theory, it makes sense that trying basses at Guitar Center can give you a good idea of the feel and sound of a bass, but unfortunately most GC's don't give a hooey about their basses. Horrific setups on abused basses don't make for an accurate evaluation.
 
#15
One of my coolest sounding basses was bought at a flea market for $100- a 1960's Decca Tulip bass. The pickups have a really unique 'deep-meets-sproingy' character.

I've played plenty of $300 basses that sounded good & plenty of multi-thousand basses that did too! Of course the opposite is true as well! ;-)
 
#16
I don't know that "cheap" has a particular tone all its own.... some inexpensive instruments sound great. I suspect you're mostly referring to "passive bolt-on vs. active [anything]".

Regardless, nothing wrong with having a preference that way, it's mostly a case of "different", not "better/worse". For me the bigger downside to low-end instruments is a greater chance of dead spots, flaws in playability, quality, etc.
 
#18
Fuzzbass said:
I don't know that "cheap" has a particular tone all its own.... some inexpensive instruments sound great. I suspect you're mostly referring to "passive bolt-on vs. active [anything]".

Regardless, nothing wrong with having a preference that way, it's mostly a case of "different", not "better/worse". For me the bigger downside to low-end instruments is a greater chance of dead spots, flaws in playability, quality, etc.
Click to expand...

+1 in every way
 
#19
The endless "price of bass vs. tone" thing on TB cracks me up. People with $200 basses want to believe that their bass is just as good or better than someone else's $2000 bass. The guy with the $2000 bass wants to believe that he spent his money wisely and that it is better than any $200 bass out there. As with most anything in life, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Playing a dozen basses at a store is an incredibly small sample size compared to all the basses available. I can certainly believe that in one visit to GC someone would find several inexpensive basses that sounded great, and some expensive basses that weren't so wonderful. It's great that there are a lot of high quality instruments at low price points, but don't assume that because they are great that they will beat anything in a higher price range.
 
#20
Had this happen a few weeks back. Took a visit to Long&Mcquade and while i had some time on my hands while the wife was looking for piano music i went to the bass section and started trying out some basses.
Not to say the expensive ones they had all sounded bad but at least 3 times i picked up a bass played for a few and picked up the one next to it and played it for a few and then looked at the price tag on both and the cheapie felt and sounded better.
Thats why ive always just put basses together from parts on my own. I spend between 200-300$ on everything and i have a bass that sounds and feels the way i want it to.
I have the father in laws $1,000 bass and i just always have to say to him that i dont play it.
75$ Body
75$ neck
10$ nut
60$ Pickups
15$ pots
30$ bridge
25$ flats
3$ string tree
And i have a p bass that feels and sounds just as i want it to.
293$ and some of my time for labour and i have an awesome sounding bass.
 

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