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Are you a Bass Snob ?

Are you a Bass snob

  • Would never play live with a Squier

    Votes: 78 14.2%

  • Would worry me either way

    Votes: 43 7.8%

  • Wouldnt think twice if it sounded great

    Votes: 430 78.0%
  • Total voters
    551
Makatak

Makatak

Apr 13, 2002
780
382
58
New Zealand
#1
You have a Squier Jazz Bass that sounds phenominal , but its obviously not the " real thing " .
Are you self consious about having that logo on the headstock......or proud of the fact that this thing may be " one out of the box " and wouldnt think twice about recommending one to anybody ?
 
#2
All basses are unique...with that being said, I have a Cruise VMI bass that blows 90% of bass guitars out of the water. The sound is pretty amazing for being passive pickups (And old, too) and it plays like a wet dream. I dunno how I happened to stumble upon this bass, it was my first bass, cost me $130 bucks and even a guy at guitar center said that my bass was better then most of those in there. But...It's time to upgrade. Today I was looking at one of the new Ibanez SR700s...phew. I'm getting one.
It's late so I drifted off, but, don't be conscious of the brand name. Just play whatever feels good and sounds better. It's all preferences I suppose.
 
#7
Makatak said:
You have a Squier Jazz Bass that sounds phenominal , but its obviously not the " real thing " .
Are you self consious about having that logo on the headstock......or proud of the fact that this thing may be " one out of the box " and wouldnt think twice about recommending one to anybody ?
Click to expand...

I'll admit, I am vain about my Vintage Fenders, My Hofner 500/1, and I am real proud of the fact that I finally aquired a Custom Shop Jazz, and never miss an opportunity to show it off and strut my stuff. But I also get a sinfull pleasure out of dragging out my Jay Turser, $249 Beatle Bass copy and showing off just how good it can sound. I get the same pleasure out of some other "cheap" basses I have, old Teiscos, an Ovation Magnum, my Peavey Foundation etc...so, yeah, I'm a snob. Same as I'm a wine snob. But like any good wine snob. I get just as big a kick out of a $10 bottle of some small vinyard cab as I do out of a $100 bottle of Rothschild. As long as they both are good and have character.
 
#10
Gear snobbery is just plain silly. We all know that <insert name of great bassist here> would still rock the house on a Squier. I hope not to offend anyone, but I really feel that people who slap Fender decals on Squier basses have an ego problem of some kind/or "small man's complex".

I own some very nice basses, but have played sub-Squier, no-name copy basses on a gig if the no-name gives me the sound I need.
 
#11
I've gone back and forth, right now my wallet won't allow any snobbery. A major turning point for me in terms of squire (since when I started playing one as a kid) was seeing a pro play one in a Tone Tubby cabinet/speaker demo on their site, he rocked it no matter what.
 
#12
I have a friend that tours with a Squier Jazz Bass, and he's got an very, very, nice collection of vintage guitars and basses and amps. He's been all over the U.S. with it, and no one has ragged him about the tone and sound he get's with it, and the brand on the headstock issue has never come up with him on the road. He's a pro musician who uses what tools work for him, and he could care less about brand name snobbery. I also have that mentality as well.

All my basses are Fender, but I've gigged with my Squier II Strat, as a guitar player a few times, and my humble,MIM fretless Jazz Bass works great for me. I'm sure some gear snobs would sniff in disdain at some of my gear. I've never lost any sleep over it either.;)
 
#13
Squiers are so different. I played a poor-sounded basses and great-sounded basses, and they are have logo "Squier". I have a Squier Jazz Bass ('1993; Japan) and, i love how it sounds. Once, i play with another band, and, when i "wear up" my Squier, drummer said: "Oh, that's just Squier...". It's not a good feeling) But, in the and of gig, he says, that its pretty well.

27xqa34.jpg


:hmm: but, soon i'll exchange it for a new Ibanez ATK)
 
#15
FastFollow said:
Once, i play with another band, and, when i "wear up" my Squier, drummer said: "Oh, that's just Squier...". It's not a good feeling) But, in the and of gig, he says, that its pretty well.
Click to expand...
People like that are just brainwashed snobs.

I don't know why they feel they have the right to complain about someone else's gear – that's like complaining that you arrived at the gig driving "just" a Toyota, or that you are wearing "just" a Timex wristwatch. It's extremely rude.

I've gotten both positive and negative comments like these. For example, if you pull out a Rickenbacker at a gig (and I do), someone virtually always says "wow, a Rickenbacker – nice bass!" Same thing happens when I bring the vintage Jazz.

On the other hand, I've gigged with Squiers before, not because I couldn't afford "better" – I have always owned more expensive basses – but because some of the Squiers sound GREAT.

The best thing of all is when some snob shows up with a VERY expensive bass at a casual jam session, you show up with a cheapie, and they make fun of you for it – and then you BLOW THEM AWAY in terms of playing.

:bassist:

I know people with extremely expensive cameras who couldn't take a decent photograph if their lives depended on it. Sadly, there are musicians who behave exactly the same way.
 
#18
Well, I won't lie, if it sounds good. Play it. And I don't own a single
bass worth over $350. But as the devil's advocate, what we do is also A LOT about performance. A gig can be awesome if you can put on a good show, and the basis of an important show is appearances.

People will make assumptions about you when they see you, and sometimes, even if you rocked the house all night, because you have a entry level ibanez, it won't 'sound great'.

We are shallow people. Image matters 90%(maybe more?) initially, and will color our opinions.

I'm looking forward to playing that Epi Rock bass I just got, because it "looks" high end to the untrained.
 
#19
I had the same questions going through my head a while back; I have a Lakland 5501 and a Squier DAJV. I posted a thread asking for opinions as to why my cheap Indonesian Squier sounded better than my Lakie...

Because it does (to me, and the bands I work with). That's it.

I asked the same questions in my thread, already knowing how this community was going to respond - and you were all absolutely right! It doesn't matter WHAT is on the headstock, as long as you like the sound and it fits your music!

In the end, I loved the Squier so much, I bought a fretless "twin" for it and put the 5501 up for sale! :D In fact, that fretless is the closest I have ever come to the mythical "sound in my head" without effects!

Play your music and ignore the gear snobbery - if a band won't audition you because you play a Squier, then they're not the band for you!
 

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