If I was a rich man I would have expensive basses as I would also travel first class and stay in top hotels and have nice cars, alas I am one of life`s strugglers so have to try and get the best product and value for my money 
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Are higher priced basses really worth it?
- Thread starter oldprussians
- Start date
I just bought a Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub. It cost me about $1100. I replaced the pickup and needed to get a bad wiring job that it came brand new with. The pickup I replaced the $120 Hanson Neo-Punch pickup with cost me $70 new. My other main bass, a Classic 50's MIM Precision bass cost significantly less even after I replaced it's electronics with CTS pots, a Switchcraft jack, NOS capacitor and Lindy Fralin stock wind pickups. The playability, fit and finish of the cheaper Fender was equal and in a few cases better than the more expensive Lakland. The Fodera my friend owns is greatly underwhelming and so is every Ric I've ever played and they are both very expensive brands. It's all very subjective and the door swings both ways. Ultimately it's worth is determined by you. After buying my Lakland, I'll think long and hard about plunking down $1000 on a bass no matter what the reviews say.
im simple. ford capri, fender bassman, squier jazz, councel house
there is a buyer for any bass at any price. some people are just better at justifying it
there is a buyer for any bass at any price. some people are just better at justifying it
Not in my case. What ever I have paid for my basses was returned to me several times over from the money I made playing those basses. If you you buy basses and don't gig for pay thats one thing. But It's not "my" thing.
It all depends on what you want and what you can afford. Nobody NEEDS an expensive bass but if you want it and can afford it you will probably get it.
It is safe to say that IN GENERAL basses do get better the more you spend TO AN EXTENT.
My opinion is basses start getting pretty good around $1500. They start to get REALLY good around $2500. I can't see spending more than $3500 on a bass (unless its a collectors item that will increase in value). I can't see where a $5000-$7000 dollar instrument is really any better than a $2500-$3500 Sadowsky, Lull, Lakeland, etc.
Just my opinion
It is safe to say that IN GENERAL basses do get better the more you spend TO AN EXTENT.
My opinion is basses start getting pretty good around $1500. They start to get REALLY good around $2500. I can't see spending more than $3500 on a bass (unless its a collectors item that will increase in value). I can't see where a $5000-$7000 dollar instrument is really any better than a $2500-$3500 Sadowsky, Lull, Lakeland, etc.
Just my opinion
People have already covered it...play whatever makes you happy and no you dont Need an expensive bass but the bells and whistles can make playing more enjoyable.
Look at pedro valdez Crushing it with this Squire:
It is clear that you would never have to have more than this pretty inexpensive bass but that inexpensive bass isnt all there is to offer.
OIn the flip side, i is amazing what quality you can get for under 1,000$. About 3 months ago I got a great US G&L L2000 for 600$......It is pure joy to play but in the end, the only people who will notice the difference between my G&L and the Squire that Valdez is playing is nobody besides me. (They will only notice that I am not near the player that he is ....though I sure am trying) IN fact if you put us up side to side and said play 99.9% of the public would certainly think he was playing the better bass since he can make it sound that much more interesting....I digress.......
Whatver ever makes you happy, play it...(and try an l2000...they are choice!)
Look at pedro valdez Crushing it with this Squire:
It is clear that you would never have to have more than this pretty inexpensive bass but that inexpensive bass isnt all there is to offer.
OIn the flip side, i is amazing what quality you can get for under 1,000$. About 3 months ago I got a great US G&L L2000 for 600$......It is pure joy to play but in the end, the only people who will notice the difference between my G&L and the Squire that Valdez is playing is nobody besides me. (They will only notice that I am not near the player that he is ....though I sure am trying) IN fact if you put us up side to side and said play 99.9% of the public would certainly think he was playing the better bass since he can make it sound that much more interesting....I digress.......
Whatver ever makes you happy, play it...(and try an l2000...they are choice!)
An earlier post mentioned Japanese built instruments in the same breath as "those far east builders". I don't think that really fits. Japanese workers earn about the same as American and European counterparts. They also have to a great extent assimilated American pop musical culture. There are plenty of Japanese kids that play bass in rock, punk, pop etc bands. Plenty of middle age dudes that will pay a fortune for "the guitar".
Sadowsky metro line is CIJ and damn if they arent just as good as NYC Sadowsky. I can't tell the difference!
The Korean, Chinese and Indonesian instruments are made with a much cheaper work force. I would also posit that these cultures don't have the Japanese cultural fascination with Rock-n-roll. So they kind of dont get the idiom of bass guitar. It's like running a brewery with people that dont drink beer. They can possibly put out a decent product, but the chance of them coming up with the real superlative item are slim.
Can you rock the ___ out of a cheap bass? Hell yes. Can you rock a little harder on a more expensive bass. I like to think so. I also like being able to choose a color beside white, black or natural. Most of those cheapies only come in one or two colors, due to them being mass produced.
Ps About that skyline with the bad electronics, I have noticed a few Skylines with some bad finish blems or ratty carving left unsanded. Stuff I would gladly overlook in a $500-600 bass, but for what a new Skyline costs, uh no. I can get a brand new EBMM for a few hundred more and they dont have the blems and crackles.
Sadowsky metro line is CIJ and damn if they arent just as good as NYC Sadowsky. I can't tell the difference!
The Korean, Chinese and Indonesian instruments are made with a much cheaper work force. I would also posit that these cultures don't have the Japanese cultural fascination with Rock-n-roll. So they kind of dont get the idiom of bass guitar. It's like running a brewery with people that dont drink beer. They can possibly put out a decent product, but the chance of them coming up with the real superlative item are slim.
Can you rock the ___ out of a cheap bass? Hell yes. Can you rock a little harder on a more expensive bass. I like to think so. I also like being able to choose a color beside white, black or natural. Most of those cheapies only come in one or two colors, due to them being mass produced.
Ps About that skyline with the bad electronics, I have noticed a few Skylines with some bad finish blems or ratty carving left unsanded. Stuff I would gladly overlook in a $500-600 bass, but for what a new Skyline costs, uh no. I can get a brand new EBMM for a few hundred more and they dont have the blems and crackles.
I *finally* got a decent bass (Lakland 55-94, same as below) and I gotta say, it makes a HUGE difference, but only to me. No one, and I mean no one, even band mates, notice a difference.
Maybe if you're recording, buy a nice bass, but for live: buy an SX and trash it at the end of every show. THAT people will notice. The tone, no, not once, ever.
No one, and I mean no one, even band mates, notice a difference. Maybe if you're recording, buy a nice bass, but for live: buy an SX and trash it at the end of every show. THAT people will notice. The tone, no, not once, ever.
a better question: Does a high-priced bass make you a better player?
For the answer, review the playing careers of some of your favorite bassists. To a great degree, they got where they were by playing off-the-shelf basses, quite often purchased on the cheap. Later, after their great playing (on those inexpensive basses) led to fame and fortune, they sprung for the high-end stuff. They didn't need those pricey basses to get there.
Edit: That said, heck yeah, if I could afford to buy those high-end basses, then you bet I would.
For the answer, review the playing careers of some of your favorite bassists. To a great degree, they got where they were by playing off-the-shelf basses, quite often purchased on the cheap. Later, after their great playing (on those inexpensive basses) led to fame and fortune, they sprung for the high-end stuff. They didn't need those pricey basses to get there.
Edit: That said, heck yeah, if I could afford to buy those high-end basses, then you bet I would.
I *finally* got a decent bass (Lakland 55-94, same as below) and I gotta say, it makes a HUGE difference, but only to me.
Maybe if you're recording, buy a nice bass, but for live: buy an SX and trash it at the end of every show. THAT people will notice. The tone, no, not once, ever.
and that one indeed is a beauty; a 55-94 is on my dream list. Maybe when the kids go off to college. Oh, wait.
I've blown through a lot of high end basses over the past 10 years or so and always find myself going back to a Jackson JPB9 that I got when I was 16. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the Ernie Ball, Euro Spector, Alembic, Zon, Roscoe, Yancey, Watson, Cirrus, BB3000 and a handful of Fenders/Ibbys, but I always go back to "my" bass. I think it sounds like me and that works for me! If I remember correctly, I paid just under 1K for that bass and it has most definitely returned the favor. Plenty of the other ones either played a little easier or had a little better tone in one way or another, but none had that balance of playability and tone where I could take one bass to a gig and play it all night long. Granted, my bass may not work for everyone, but that's the point; it's all about you.
Rock what you like how you like. Zons and Roscoes DO have really nice necks IMO!
Rock what you like how you like. Zons and Roscoes DO have really nice necks IMO!
to me you get what you pay for but only to a certain price point, everything after that is bells and whistles. The hardest part is combining all the criteria you want/require and making the right purchase. Bottom line.....if everyone played through the same amp, same bass....etc we would all still sound different from each other
It's worth it only if it suits your needs in any playing enviorment and you can afford it. I 've gone through a few big buck basses and I ended up selling or returning them all . Some sounded good for recording but sucked live and visa versa or they only sounded good flat or in one mode. If you love it , BUY IT !.......If your on the fence,walk away.
It is the same question applied to anything. Food, clothes, your living arrangement, mode of transport, etc.
You can get by wearing a burlap sack, eating tasteless food, living in a cave and walking everywhere.
If you taste, feel, hear, see or smell a difference in whatever. Then is the delta between that and what you have now important enough to you to spend to get it? Answer YES? it's worth it. If not then No it is not worth it.
You can get by wearing a burlap sack, eating tasteless food, living in a cave and walking everywhere.
If you taste, feel, hear, see or smell a difference in whatever. Then is the delta between that and what you have now important enough to you to spend to get it? Answer YES? it's worth it. If not then No it is not worth it.
