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attn: custom bass owners

#41
If a dude walks into the pool hall with a $5000 cue full of fancy inlays, custom engraving, etc., then most everyone in the room recognizes he's probably at least a decent player and takes his game seriously enough to spend a sizeable chunk of cash on his stick. Either that, or he's a pathetic loser and a poser.

But then there's that other guy who walks into the same pool hall, grabs whatever beat-up house cue he can find on the rack against the wall and runs the table on the guy with the expensive cue.

Which one would you rather be?

I have never owned a boutique bass. Frankly, I have never been able to afford one. If I could afford one, I'd probably go for the specific features I wanted. But I'd still rather be that guy who can walk into any situation and play any wood available.

Having said that, I'm more like the poser who doesn't even have a nice cue.
 
#42
beebassdude said:
it gets a little tasking after the 3rd day, but theres so much beautiful stuff. im also a big fan of just what a bass looks like, and a P bass will never look good to me. seeing all the intricate woodwork, headstock designs, dual cuts, single cuts, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 , 10, 11 string basses all in different shapes and configurations is awesome to me. again, to each his own, some people hate that stuff and just want a jazz bass and thats it.
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I can definitely understand that. I'm pretty much the opposite - I like a "workhorse" bass, just a good, honest Fender, Music Man, T-Bird, etc.. I'm also just into 4 strings, though I've owned plenty of 5's and 6's. I could play them just fine, but it wasn't my thing. To each their own :)

I know you used the Ferrari analogy earlier. One of the first things I bought myself when I got a decent record deal was a 68 Camaro SS. I could have bought a cool sports car for the money, and even looked briefly at things like Lotus Elise's, but in the end, the sheer "workhorse" muscle car won out. :)

My P Basses, J Basses, etc = muscle car
Your Bee = Ferrari

Different things, and each has its' own appeal and its' own fans.

p and j basses get ripped off all the time, 100s of companies make their version of it. all the custom stuff is one of a kind (to a degree). i highly doubt ill ever see someone with my bass in my life. i see a jazz bass at every gig i play.
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Probably true to some degree, but even Jazz Basses can be quite different from one another too, especially when someone does a bit of tweaking and custom work. The difference may not be as great as some custom made basses, but sometimes the least obvious things are the most beautiful.

I love the desert. People ask me why, and say it's "just sand and cactus" or whatever. They fail to look close - look deeper - instead only looking at the obvious stuff. In reality, once you look deeper into something, you can find great beauty that isn't readily apparent without paying close attention.
 
#43
Thunderitter said:
Of course a badly set-up boutique bass can be crap too!
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+1, a friend of mine has a Skjold that he put heavier strings on and never got it resetup.. the action on it is horrendous but he doesn't notice because he doesn't know any different. He's got an expensive bass and no clue that it should play a ton better than it is.

As for the Ferarri/Honda comparison, I don't know if I'd go that far... but there def is a difference. Hey my wife drives a Civic and there isnt anything wrong with it, but I have to say I'd rather drive my Murano any day. It's more comfortable and drives a lot nicer, but then again it was more expensive.

If your the type of person who would never play a $3k bass because it's so expensive and your worried about damaging it then don't own one... but don't get down on those who do own one and aren't scared to play them out.
 
#45
I get what the OP is saying..

I'll almost say that owning a $3K+ boutique has more or less taken the giddly little thrill out of going to music stores for me, because I find myself extremely uninterested in anything hanging on the wall 99% of the time (Unless we're talking about Bass Emporium.. That's a whole other story!). It's easy to get spoiled when you're used to something slick.

Here's the other side of the coin, though.. I enjoy the hell out of my $99 SX PJ. Every time I take that sucker out, I get my cheapie thrill on. It's a wonderful feeling, and I grin the whole time I'm playing it!

Am I one of those guys with a boutique that never gets played? Hardly. My Roscoe is my main instrument. I play it 99% of the time. I have an amazing Lakland JO5 that sees minimal use because I just prefer the Roscoe for what it gives to the whole playing experience.

No snob factor here. In fact, I kind of enjoy that most people I come across (mainly musicians) don't know what a Roscoe is. :D
 
#46
RTL said:
I get what the OP is saying..

I'll almost say that owning a $3K+ boutique has more or less taken the giddly little thrill out of going to music stores for me, because I find myself extremely uninterested in anything hanging on the wall 99% of the time (Unless we're talking about Bass Emporium.. That's a whole other story!). It's easy to get spoiled when you're used to something slick.

Here's the other side of the coin, though.. I enjoy the hell out of my $99 SX PJ. Every time I take that sucker out, I get my cheapie thrill on. It's a wonderful feeling, and I grin the whole time I'm playing it!

Am I one of those guys with a boutique that never gets played? Hardly. My Roscoe is my main instrument. I play it 99% of the time. I have an amazing Lakland JO5 that sees minimal use because I just prefer the Roscoe for what it gives to the whole playing experience.

No snob factor here. In fact, I kind of enjoy that most people I come across (mainly musicians) don't know what a Roscoe is. :D
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Hey Ryan - I see you're at Ruta Maya on the 4th. I'll try to get out to that show, It'd be cool to see some other TB'ers. :)
 
#47
On the shop visiting part, I disagree too, I love checking out gear I haven't played, or owned, or even different variations of my stuff. Even if I know nothing in a store is gonna compare to my Roscoe, its still great fun trying them all out, seeing their differences. :cool:
 
#48
beebassdude said:
i have a 6 string queen bee and trying to go from that to something on a stand at guitar center is like going from driving a ferrari to a honda accord.
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I didn't know Ferrari and Honda are now on par! Wow, those guys at Honda must have really improved their work! Err...that's snobby, dude, sorry! Ppl drive cheaper cars because they simply can't afford a really expensive one. The same goes to musical instruments: if you can't afford it, there's nothing to do but keep dreaming about owning a custom bass and play your stock instrument in the meantime. Or you can mod it a bit and end up with a bit of custom feel to it. Some stock basses really sound good, and even in the cheap - mid price range you can find some nice surprises. Kudos to the ppl that can afford a custom bass (or even multiple), but things & prices are really different in other parts of the world, you know. In the end I prefer a bassist with a stock bass but awesome skills, rather than a fully geared guy with a crappy style. A custom bass won't make you a better bassist over night; it can help, but it's not the Holy Grail. Like I said, the bassist that can grab a normal stock bass and make it sound like no other and who can make magic with just a few notes gets my full respect, because then you can tell it's his hand & sould that are making the magic to happen, not the tool - which is the bass.
 
#49
I love how different levels of basses feel. All but one of my axes are mass produced. The other is kinda is, but not as much as a Yamaha or a Music Man. (Human BaseX oc.5)

Every bass can teach you something. I guess that's why I don't get some of you guys that have more than one of the same make and/or model, string spacing, pick-up config, woods or what have you.

To each his own, thank goodness. I doubt that all of us would be happy with anyone elses bass collection.
 
#50
I own both Boutique & Stock basses. I use whatever fits the situation. Right now I'm kind of in love with my Thunderbird Bass as it fits the style of music I'm playing. I love all my basses and do not hesitate to swap from playing one to another.

Cheers,
Jim
 
#51
All I'll add to this if someone wants to be a bass snob at me, they'd better shut up or put up. If I'm not impressed with their chops, they can kiss my (and my relatively cheap "clone" bass') butt. How much money someone has to throw around has never impressed me a bit. It's what they can do with what they have, be it expensive or not.
 
#52
Sijjvra said:
All I'll add to this if someone wants to be a bass snob at me, they'd better shut up or put up. If I'm not impressed with their chops, they can kiss my (and my relatively cheap "clone" bass') butt. How much money someone has to throw around has never impressed me a bit. It's what they can do with what they have, be it expensive or not.
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True, although it's somewhat unfortunate that sometimes people really enjoy if/when boutique players mess up. Living in a fairly rhetro city, I kinda stopped playing at music stores because the thousand yard stares I'd get were annoying. Plus, if I made a mistake it was grossly exaggerated via the rumor mill and suddenly I had no chops.

I think there are perhaps too many people who enjoy knocking someone down or justifying how they're better. Really, if someone has no chops and their bass is $5 or $5,000, is there anything to be gained by them not having any chops?
 
#55
I drive a 1991 Corolla wagon. I can afford better, I just don't see any reason to get something else. It's been paid off for over a decade, gets decent milage, and can hold all my gear. Plus it's fun to park it at work next to the Mercedes and Ferraris etc.

But I play an NYC Sadowsky through an Aggie rig all the time now because I enjoy it. The bass alone is probably worth more than the current blue book on my car.

Years ago, a friend of mine had an horribly ugly Epiphone prototype for something that never made it to production. It was painted with what looked like black indoor latex house paint. That thing played and sounded AMAZING, I preferred it to my Alembic and my USA Fender Jazz.

My point? Um... I dunno... Maybe it's this:
Nobody cares what I drive if I drive safely and courteously.
Nobody cares what I play if I play musically and tastefully.
So I do what I like.
 
#58
beebassdude said:
of course you wouldnt, because those arent special occasions. i wouldnt take my fiance out to a classy restaurant in a honda if i owned a ferrari.

and most guys that own ferraris would probably just make their wife drive the honda to the grocery store anyways! lol :D
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If they had speed bumps in the car park like my local classy restaurant does, yes, you would take the Honda! :D
 
#59
I would never criticise anyone's choices or reasons of bass guitars. To me, it is totally redundant behavior. The proof is in the pudding. I have seen players walk into a venue with a $5000 bass and play like they have no fingers, and the opposite as well where bass player has a cheap $100 junker and make that bass sing with some very impressive playing. I own a boutique bass (cirrus 5), a higher end production (Jazz 5) and half a dozen cheapies. I play all of them from time to time, playing mostly my Cirrus and my Jazz. I play all of them with the same intensity, so I pound them all when I play.

I bought the boutique bass solely for it's playability. I also bought it for the great active sound it has. I bought the Jazz for its playability, and its amazing sound. The other basses sound pretty good as well.. and I am not ashamed of any of them. They all have their purposes.
 
#60
Dark Horse said:
Hey Ryan - I see you're at Ruta Maya on the 4th. I'll try to get out to that show, It'd be cool to see some other TB'ers. :)
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It would be great to have you come out! Let me know if you're coming, so I can at least buy you a beer or something :bassist: Last time we played there, they wouldn't let us put anyone on the list, which I thought was kind of strange.

Just promise not to tell anyone how undeserving of my gear I am. Hah. :)
 

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