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Attributes people complain about but...

#22
NKUSigEp said:
How many people actually use more than 2 different types of tones? I know there are a few out there but seriously, almost everyone finds that sweet spot and sticks with it.
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If I only used 2 tones....I wouldn't have spent so much on stuff.

Perhaps one day we should split Talk Bass and have Hate Bass.

Most TB debates turn into "I don't need _________ therefore ______ is pointless. Only n00bs need _________. I'm so freaking awesome."
 
#26
Well, I'll admit I am not freaking awesome. ;)

Meanwhile, back on topic, I always laugh when I read comments from people who don't want a bass that "looks like a fancy coffee table top." What's wrong with that? Maybe I'm pretty easy to please, but I like my flamed koa top and natural ash basses just as much as my orange and surf green basses. I like fancy woods. I like nice colors. I like modern. I like "vintage."

Again, though, maybe I'm too easy to please. :D
 
#27
Build something idiotproof and they'll just make a better idiot.

In these times of information accessability and over the top commercialism it's easy to find stuff to complain about. Your bass can always sound better, your amp could always be better, you need these cables for true audiophile quality sound.

Before I got into these forums I could have sat at home with a MIM jazz bass and thought I sounded like God. I could likely reproduce or at least get close to most any sound I heard on the radio without spending $5000.

I think, for the most part, if something doesn't work it disappears.

Ugly headstocks. Why, if everything else appeals to you, would this be an issue?
 
#28
Signature basses. I think they're completely fine. Some people can't wait to complain about 'em and spout off. I don't get it. My approach is that I buy it if I like it, and it has a good sound. Examples: I own the Sting Reissue bass, and at one point you couldn't buy a new 51 reissue-type single-coil P-bass unless it was that model. I wanted a back to basics kind of bass (and it didn't hurt that I like Sting). So I bought it.

If I liked the Jazz style body but wanted one P pickup, I'd buy that Mark Hoppus Signature Bass (or whatever it is). Ditto with the Roscoe Beck Signature bass, which I understand is a great bass. I don't know much about Roscoe Beck, but it's a nice looking fiver, in nice color schemes, and I've heard it's a great bass. So I while it's nice to know about Roscoe Beck, it has about zero impact on me buying the instrument.
 
#31
I love it how people (like my guitard former-friend) bashed on squire and fender, going into explicit detail about how he hated this and that, and always telling me to buy Ibanez, because of blah blah blah. Once I quit guitar he shut up a little, but he always whined about my Strat, until one day I said "Well, it works for me...". he shut up after that (I also think it was the chewing out i gave him over some insignificant amount of money)
 
#32
ganga said:
I don't know if I'm alone on this, but if my bass sounds good I feel more inspired when playing and it gets easier for me to feel and get in the music.

This is why I changed my Fender stock PU's and preamp. I really felt like I was missing something when I was playing with any of my bands.

Basically my tone is important to me. I just go directly in my amp, so all I can really change is settings on my bass and settings on my amp. If I'm the only one who notices it then isn't that the most important bit?
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It's fine if your tone is important to you, and it's fine to spend a little extra money getting a tone you like, but damn...the money some people spend on either searching for that one elusive "holy grail tone" in their heads or spend as much or more trying to get every single variation of every single tone known to man, it's rediculous!

The audience doesn't care if your bass sounds more like a pre-EB ray or a post EB ray, and they don't care if your bass has 60's J spacing or 70's J spacing. It's this little stuff that we obsess over, but it will never be recognized by anyone but us.

And there's nothing wrong with getting a tone you like. But if you're looking for a good example of every tone ever recorded, man, you need to be looking for something else. It's when the quest for tone interrupts or halts the musical process that I feel it becomes a crippling thing, and people just need to start playing what they've got and quit daydreaming about how much better life would be with this or that. That's all I'm saying. Just don't let it cripple you musically.
 
#33
My versatile bass lets me play one bass in different bands. Classic Rock Covers, Americana Originals and Contemporary Worship all use different tones on my one bass.

So it can be useful to some of us. If I didn't have it, oh well, but since I do, it fits even better with my musical venues.
 
#36
superfunk47 said:
It's fine if your tone is important to you, and it's fine to spend a little extra money getting a tone you like, but damn...the money some people spend on either searching for that one elusive "holy grail tone" in their heads or spend as much or more trying to get every single variation of every single tone known to man, it's rediculous!

The audience doesn't care if your bass sounds more like a pre-EB ray or a post EB ray, and they don't care if your bass has 60's J spacing or 70's J spacing. It's this little stuff that we obsess over, but it will never be recognized by anyone but us.

And there's nothing wrong with getting a tone you like. But if you're looking for a good example of every tone ever recorded, man, you need to be looking for something else. It's when the quest for tone interrupts or halts the musical process that I feel it becomes a crippling thing, and people just need to start playing what they've got and quit daydreaming about how much better life would be with this or that. That's all I'm saying. Just don't let it cripple you musically.
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+1.

I'd love a wal, or a bongo, but the fact that I have a rockbass does not prevent me musically. It's awful when GAS can just make you not want to play. I remember I stopped playing certain songs on my old bass because I knew I'd be getting my rockbass and that they'd sound so much better on it, but I feel really silly about it now. I think that musical crippling should be overcome by the fact that a bass whose sound you do not like > No bass at all. :) :bassist:
 
#37
NKUSigEp said:
And my favorite is when someone complains about how versatile something is. How many people actually use more than 2 different types of tones? I know there are a few out there but seriously, almost everyone finds that sweet spot and sticks with it.
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On the other end of the spectrum, you also have those people who complain about basses being too versatile. They're my favorite.
 
#39
Thunderscreech said:
I love it how people (like my guitard former-friend) bashed on squire and fender, going into explicit detail about how he hated this and that, and always telling me to buy Ibanez, because of blah blah blah. Once I quit guitar he shut up a little, but he always whined about my Strat, until one day I said "Well, it works for me...". he shut up after that (I also think it was the chewing out i gave him over some insignificant amount of money)
Click to expand...

Good enough for Eric Clapton and David Gilmour, but not good enough for him? Wow, he must be REALLY good.
 

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