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Bass buying: Cost vs Skill-driven?

#63
I've been playing bass for about 6 years now and last year I got what I consider to be my first "pro" bass. I wanted to have something that was capable of handling any show/ gig without getting negative comments because I had spent so much time working with cheap gear. I wanted that bass for me. When I got it, it made me want to practice and strive to be a musician really worthy of it. A year later, I'm a better bassist for the experience, I've recorded with it and I love the hell out of it.
 
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#66
Bass Viking said:
Yeah, you should strive to be better every time you pick up your bass regardless of brand. But at least with an expensive top quality bass you can't blame the instrument!
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With expensive ones, I think quite often you might well be able to, as price does not always equate high quality or at least not that, expected at the price.

Sometimes it is also not down to good or bad quality. From quite a few very high quality and priced instruments i have tried, I just didn't get what I would have liked to get.-it's partly a taste thing.
 
#67
twinjet said:
Do players base budgets around their own skill? Or do they buy higher-priced instruments as a way of "growing a pair" and perfecting their craft?

What are your thoughts and experiences on the matter?
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I believe that players do partly set their budget on skill and professional level. First, as your playing develops, a player will always be keeping an eye out for better playing instruments. Secondly, when a player is competitively auditioning for gigs, it helps to have the right bass for the job. Sometimes that might mean a custom Fodera. Sometimes that might mean a Fender. It's a competitive world. Cats will do whatever they can to get the gig.

As to getting a bass above your skill level as a means to motivate yourself? While I don't doubt that players do that, I wouldn't recommend it. First, the majority of club gig auditions are looking for Fender, not Fodera; and, IME, showing up with a "boutique" bass for those auditions can actually hurt your chances. Got to know your customer. Second, and this is a personal thing, I would MUCH rather show up with the beater and then let my playing do the talking than create a perception of snobbishness with a fancy instrument. First impressions matter. Once folks know you by your playing, then you can bring whatever gets the job done best.
 
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#68
Spectrum said:
I think most of us have known that guy, who likes to buy cool gear but doesn't know how to play it very well.

Most of us don't want to be that guy. When I take my Rickenbacker out in public, I pressure myself to live up to the image of this instrument. People associate Rics with some great rock bass players, and if I suck then it means I am just that guy, so it motivates me to try just a little harder to play better.

I have a couple of nice electric guitars, but I am not a very good guitarist so they mainly stay in my house. Likewise, while I enjoy going to a jazz jam every now and then, I don't go around telling people I am a jazz musician, as my skill level in that genre is not up to standards for gigging.
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This is it for me. I started off with a basic (bass-ic?) Ibanez cheapie to wet my whistle. When I decided that I did want to pursue this, I got a mexican P. (As a side note, I think I lucked out since my P bass feels better to me than any other P I have played in stores, including those fancy Americans ones. It could be mine received "the touch" while being constructed in the 90s, or maybe it is the setup I gave it when I first got it. I digress.)

I would love a Ric, but I know that I am not good enough to play a bass of that quality/stature. I would be the toddler walking around the house in his daddy's work boots, and I don't want to be something ridiculous.

If/when I get better, I will get a bass that I will be able to play better. Right now I wouldn't be able to play a Ric well, so having one would be a bit of a waste, IMO. Like a sports car that a person never goes fast in.

I would rather transcend my instrument than have my instrument be better than me.
 
#71
bucephylus said:
First, the majority of club gig auditions are looking for Fender, not Fodera; and, IME, showing up with a "boutique" bass for those auditions can actually hurt your chances. Got to know your customer. Second, and this is a personal thing, I would MUCH rather show up with the beater and then let my playing do the talking than create a perception of snobbishness with a fancy instrument. First impressions matter. Once folks know you by your playing, then you can bring whatever gets the job done best.
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And on the flip side don't you dare show up with a Squier either! There's a long thread about what happened to a guy when he did this!
 
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#73
Bass Viking said:
And on the flip side don't you dare show up with a Squier either! There's a long thread about what happened to a guy when he did this!
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You know, one of the most talented Jazz guitarists I had the privilege to gig with used a Squier Strat. No one questioned his playing.

But, it is true that first impressions matter. A Fender does communicate a more serious first impression. No way around it.
 
#75
bucephylus said:
But, it is true that first impressions matter. A Fender does communicate a more serious first impression. No way around it.
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+1

If I'm at an audition I want people to listen to my playing, not think about the instrument I'm playing. Why would you ever give a band/producer/whoever a reason not to hire you? Dazzle them with your playing then AFTER you have the gig, bring whatever instrument you want.
 
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#77
twinjet said:


In this Bobby Vega demo, a bassist in the background discusses how he feels when playing his Fodera vs a Fender bass. He feels a responsibility to be better than he was [as a bassist].

This makes me wonder. Do players base budgets around their own skill? Or do they buy higher-priced instruments as a way of "growing a pair" and perfecting their craft?

Personally, I bought (and sold) a brand new American Standard Precision bass because I felt like ten years was an appropriate time to upgrade to an instrument of significant quality. A milestone gift of sorts.

What are your thoughts and experiences on the matter?[/

Sometimes it's EGO driven which from my observation doesn't necessarily have any relationship to either musical skill or financial acumen.
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#80
I try to get the best playing and sounding gear for the lowest cost.
The basses I own do make me perform better because they are so easy to play. Why waste energy trying to fight the instrument?

I don't disagree with the guy taking on the video. If that works for him then it's all good, but I don't think about my skill. I have been a professional bass player so I know I have some skill but I also know others have a lot more. I just make sure I can play anything I'm asked and I'm in the pocket with every drummer I play with. If I worried about where my skill level puts me, in a kind of skill league table, I'd never get out of bed in the mornings.
 

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