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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
#102
I have absolutely no problem getting up on stage with my Squier. If your instrument is throwing off your presentation, your presentation sucks. People should be seeing you play, that's the point. If you are wowing them with sound and forming good stage appeal then a glance at your instrument will only instil a sense of 'he can do WHAT? With THAT?'

My Squier isn't always appropriate, but where it is I would not snuff it for gallery appeal. In my mind, only people who are too self-conscious that their playing ability is not sufficient require an expensive bass to make up for it. If you absolutely require an expensive bass, then nobody needs you on stage. They just need your instrument.

I would also argue it depends on quite what you are playing. Having a gorgeous high-end is pointless if you're playing thrash metal and you'd be crazy to head-bang around the stage with a rare vintage. By the same token, if you're playing prog nobody is going to think twice if you pull out a Thumb. There's no presentational appeal there, they expect it.

It would be interesting to see what genres those who argue 'against' playing a Squier under any circumstances state they play.
 
#104
As a counter to both, I restate my original point. Thrash metal.

Besides, you can get away, and often excel, playing off-stereotype in ANY genre. Anecdotal cases do not form a counter-argument to a generalisation.
 
#106
Rushyo said:
As a counter to both, I restate my original point. Thrash metal.

Besides, you can get away, and often excel, playing off-stereotype in ANY genre. Anecdotal cases do not form a counter-argument to a generalisation.
Click to expand...

The point was that high end basses aren't just for Jazz and such, why don't thrash guys deserve really nice basses?

Nothing is pointless about playing your preferred bass.
 
#108
I saw ''Wouldn't worry me'' so i vote that. 10 second after i saw it was written '' would worry me'' ..

Damn brain...

Seriously a good bass id a good bass whatever what it is.

If you gave me a Flurescent yellow with an zebra blue brown pickguard with pink frets and a headstock that says Goidou. But that it would play like a dream and sound like heaven.

Hell I would play it.
 
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#111
I recently bought a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz bass and I have gigged it a couple of times. 0 modifications, just a good set up, a good and loud amp and it sounds really fantastic, to my ears and several persons who teld me that bass looks and sounds amazing. I also own a fantastic MIJ Precision. Im very proud of myself that I can play with a cheap bass and make it sounds pretty well, dont care what snobs think.
 
#112
I play a Fender MIM Precision. I've gigged it twice. I also gigged with a Bluerock (who?) precision bass copy. No shame. The P copy was covered in stickers, looked punk. Another bassist used it too, no problem, because his considerably more expensive Epi thunderbird stopped working on him. He found it fine. The Precision? To me, a fender precision is a fender precision - without the headstock decal, only a very keen bass player could tell the difference, and soundwise SOME of those squiers, i hear, blow some fenders out the water. And lets be honest. The crowd just doesen't care.


I'd love a vintage modified squier jazz, but i've got enough money for a Fender classic series Jazz, so there's nothing wrong with going for the fender.
 
#114
Surely the key to this whole thread is

1st. Sound/Tone

2nd. Look.

As long as it sounds sweet and looks pretty good, thats all that matters.

I personally like the P/Jazz/MM look, and am not a big fan of singlecuts and weird Ritter/Dingwall shapes. So i would never be seen dead playing one of those, which is seriously high end costs.

Hand me a SX in a colour combo that i like, if it sounds good. Then in my book it is good.

Screw all these if it isn't a (insert a high end brand) it is crap people. Just makes me want to get and even more obscure branded guitar. I can't wait for the day where I build my own.
 
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#115
DeluxeRed said:
Gear snob, or realist? Have you seen the pics of either of my high-end Fender Jazzes? You think a Squire could look like that? Feel like that? Sound like that? Turn heads and catch ears like that? Sorry, no, they can't, and you're dreaming if you think they're any where close.

Yeah, I cruise the music stores here and when I travel. I pick up Squires (if they're somewhat pretty) and, really, I can tell a world of difference. I've never seen/held a Squire that I wanted to play more than a minute or two.

And, hey, some Huyandi's look like Jag's from the back. You know the difference when you get in and hit the gas. They both have four wheels and an engine, but they're worlds apart. And no one would ever try to say the Huyandi is just as good, even though they will both take you to the store--which one do you want to pick up your date in?

I wouldn't tell a starter to NOT get one. But don't kid yourself that they're anything like a good, high-end bass.
Click to expand...


If you're date is more interested in a BMW then never marry her. She's going to end up with half of it anway, maybe all of it. And then let's say you had enough money to buy a BMW, I'd rather drive 15 Huyandi's over the next 20 yrs than the same old Beemer. Which one has the better warranty btw?
 
#117
The big difference I notice between high end "snob" basses and low end "crap" basses isn't the components; nobody in their right mind expects a $200 starter bass to be fusion powered, made with wood from Noah's Ark and have moon rock inlays. Being an engineer, the BIG difference that I notice is the QA....the consistency of quality and attention to detail in the workmanship. As a general rule, the level of QA drops in direct proportion to price, and in inverse proportion to the quantity produced. In simple terms, this means that lower-priced instruments produced in large numbers will not have the individual level of polish that more expensive and unique instruments will have.

So, when you're looking at a Fodera, or other "snob" bass that costs a mortgage payment (or two or three mortgage payments!) there is a consistently high standard in how those instruments are built. You know what you're getting, because you know that they wouldn't let a bad instrument out of the shop. You'll never see a Fodera with misaligned pickups, or sloppy fretwork; their reputation depends on it.

Lower priced, mass produced brands, however, can vary insanely in quality between supposedly identical instruments. For example, your local GC may have a wall full of visually identical MIM Fender P's, but they certainly AREN'T identical once you start looking at them and finding the flaws. This one needs a fret job, that one has a crooked bridge, and so on; even the almighty MIA's aren't immune to these inconsistencies. On the good side, this also means that you will find some truly wonderful instruments at bargain prices. The upshot is that there are both good Squiers, and bad Fenders, and you have to be more careful choosing lower-end instruments to avoid the lemons.

That's just my rambling, highly caffienated thoughts on the matter...
 
#118
maybe I am a snob. But I really know at tis point what works for me hands down.
But I've always said, give me any "Jazz Bass" type bass that's set up good, and I'll make it work.
 
#120
Does this mean I'm a bass snob??
Invalid Link Removed
Added up, about $12K in 5 basses.

Warwick Thumb NT
Sadowsky NYC 5
70's Fender Jazz
Valenti J/MM 5
Yamaha BB5000 (modded with a Sadowsky pre and Nordy pick-ups)
 

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