Being embarrassed by basses you love?

[devnulljp]

“In order for you to insult me, I would first have to value your opinion.”

 

[123Nil]

How is Mark King, Not a Bass Player? VMAN from Slipknot uses a Status Bass...

I love Status basses and always have. I came up idolizing Mark King and drooled over a $2500 Series 2 that hung on the wall of Guitar Resurrection in Austin for probably three years in the late 80s before someone finally bought it.

Mark King, great though he is, isn't exactly a bass player. And the signature Status tone (very active, refined high end, not super beefy) isn't often useful in current musical situations. Plus, Status Series basses are really pointy. They just don't make sense right now.

I'd still love to have one, but it would mostly hang on the wall if I did.

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[pigsonthewing]

I've played a P bass in both. Well, it was more Death Metal than Black Metal, but still.

I'm amazed at the amount of gear snobbery people encounter here in real life. I haven't run into that since I was first starting as a teenager, and the snobbery was coming from other teenagers who didn't know anything.

Most bands I've played in have just been grateful for me being there and being a functioning adult. They care whether I can play, not what I play.

And Schecter's are great instruments. So unless someone is going to pay you to use a different brand, play whatever inspires you.

Yeah, I played a P Bass in a beatdown hardcore band for years and never encountered any problem or snobbery about it, in fact half of the bassists in the bands we gigged with were also using P or J Basses. Sounded great on our recordings as well

 

[Volker Kirstein]

...
I just want to say I really dig the graphic on the Ray. Assuming decals, or painted?

Painted. Base coat is white. It was taped off, and the red sprayed on.

 

[Altitude]

How is Mark King, Not a Bass Player? VMAN from Slipknot uses a Status Bass...

I was waiting for someone to pounce on that comment. Very much of his playing, especially in the Polydor radio years, was ornamental and supported underneath by synth bass tracks that did the heavy bottom-end lifting. In a lot of cases he could have, and occasionally did, stop playing mid-song, and the synth support kept rolling and an untrained ear may not have noticed a difference.

So, I say a little loosely that he wasn't exactly a bass player. But he has no bigger fan than I, believe me.

 

[juggahnaught]

When I was 18, I bought my first bass an Ibanez Acoustic. I loved it because I didn't need an amp to play it, had very flat action, and had a tuner built in. But from day 1, I had to defend myself from folks who argue, "acoustic bass is useless." I'm still defending myself. A couple years later, I bought a used 5-string Schecter. I really loved this bass, because it felt like I was getting so much for the price. But Schecter as a brand hasn't really held up. So many folks think of them as the old numetal sponsor or the new djent sponsor. The last time I mentioned that I had a Schecter at a guitar shop, folks laughed and joked about how it must be covered in abalone inlays.

I've thought about replacing both of these basses with more premium basses, but I won't replace them unless the replacements are better quality. It seems, however, like I'd have to pay a great deal of money to get instruments that feel better to me. The Schecter, in particular, came from the Cort factory and was finished in Schecter's shop. It's still feels quite nice in my hands, and I genuinely find it more comfortable than the higher-end Fender, G&Ls, and Gibsons I tried in shops. The instruments that tempt me are things from Wal, Modulus, Mike Lull, etc. Even still, I can't shake the competing feelings that (1) I can do better than my basses, and (2) these are my trusty companions that I shouldn't replace.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this problem. Tell me your stories, and tell me what you do/did in situations like these.

Edit: Did not read full thread.

Dude....I own two cheap Ibanez basses; the SR506 and the SR750. The 506 is my daily driver. I also own a no-name six-string bass (in my profile picture) that was one of my first bass purchases - I bought it because I loved the way it looked. My first bass was a poopy LTD B-50 that to this day, I still love playing when I visit my home state - terrible pickups, bad input jack, bad electronics, but so light, quick, smooth, great neck.

I'm sure most people on here would tell me to get a Fender Jazz, or go over to Mike Lull's shop across the lake and buy one of his Fender copies. But the truth is - I'm happy with what I have, instrument-wise, and I'm much more likely to keep them and replace things as necessary than simply buy new basses. Now, do I look around? Sure - I'm a red-blooded bassist, it's hard not to notice nice things. (Yesterday, I too was looking at Modulus basses...) But do I need something new? Nah.

Play what you love and love what you play. If people give you poopie, take it in stride and just play your instrument well. If people question your choices, "I like it" is an effective answer. I do believe that electric bass guitars are tools and that people place too much weight on trivial aspects of ownership (price, vintage, color, pickguards, psychosomatic responses to trivial P-bass mods), but it sounds like you have actually connected with your instruments. If that is the case, keep them and don't let them go.

TL;DR: You've connected with your instruments. That's your reason to keep them. That's your response to hecklers. So keep them.

 

[123Nil]

I didn't know that.. Learned something New today.. Do you know why, he did that?

I was waiting for someone to pounce on that comment. Very much of his playing, especially in the Polydor radio years, was ornamental and supported underneath by synth bass tracks that did the heavy bottom-end lifting. In a lot of cases he could have, and occasionally did, stop playing mid-song, and the synth support kept rolling and an untrained ear may not have noticed a difference.

So, I say a little loosely that he wasn't exactly a bass player. But he has no bigger fan than I, believe me.

 

[Altitude]

I didn't know that.. Learned something New today.. Do you know why, he did that?

I don't. Maybe his producers encouraged him to do it that way to confirm to some 80s production style.

In his defense, in recent years it sounds like he has his bass turned up in live mixes compared to before, and I hear less of the synth support than I used to. It's not like he can't play the parts.

 

[two fingers]

Some of you guys live in weird places. Gear snobbery, pick snobbery, etc. are things I just don't ever come across.

I play a Hammersmith bass. Nobody I know has ever heard of the company. But the kinds of questions I get are more like "Dang that thing sounds good! What's a Hammersmith?" I do all kinds of fill-in gigs. Nobody asks where my Fender is. (I usually have one in the other side of my gig bag.)

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Willie Nelson seems to do ok with his "looker"

 

[Altitude]

I don't. Maybe his producers encouraged him to do it that way to confirm to some 80s production style.

In his defense, in recent years it sounds like he has his bass turned up in live mixes compared to before, and I hear less of the synth support than I used to. It's not like he can't play the parts.

Here's a good example, and I apologize for the thread hijack. Lessons in Love from the RITF tour. The bass is definitely on, but you can clearly hear the synth underneath and the synth is handling the low end responsibility. The tone MK is using on that Jaydee is something other than you'd expect out of a bass.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

“In order for you to insult me, I would first have to value your opinion.”

Best advice on this thread I'd say.

I get plenty of gear snobbery for my short scales, they're for kids, one is a Squier so how could I gig that, the Grumpy pickguard my son painted is silly....blah, blah, blah.

Just makes no sense. If you like it, it's comfortable for you and you get the sound you want than those opinions are just noise. Ignore them.

 

[waveman]

I play my cheap gear with pride Usually no one notices the brand whether it's one of my Peavey's or my Schecter. I love that Schecter J bass, and it's my primary gig bass. I have played with guys with expensive equipment compliment the looks of my bass more than once, then I make sure they know how cheap it is.

TBH, I would love a more expensive bass, and can even afford one. But, why? I mean, if I had a nice bass, it would be a very rare that it ever left the house. I have played too many bars to take expensive equipment to a gig, much less practice/reheasal.

 

[pie_man_25]

Funny thing: I once told a guy in my hometown's music scene that I liked playing bass more than guitar. His response? "I'm sorry to hear that"

I've played on plenty of stages, and this guy was no better than a big fish in a small pond. If he played out of town he'd need a trailer for his ego.

People are going to be pricks, you just have to do you.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

My J has the no-guard look complete with fastener holes. Some people like it, but some don't and have asked about the lack of a guard. I tell them it was a deliberate choice that I don't really want to change. I have to wonder if people look at it with a degree of "ew" when we play together.
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I think it’s beautiful!

 

[Matty Koff]

All that should matter is how much you enjoy the sound of the bass, and how well you play it, and how good it sounds in the mix. If you get another bass, it should be because you wanted, and liked that new bass. Not because some guy rolled his eyes at your choice with no regard for how it sounds.

Schecter makes decent instruments.. never played one of their bass guitars but I owned several Schecter guitars at one point and loved them.

 

[Susqmike]

Sometimes I'm ashamed to play my P bass because it makes me look old.

I make my p bass look old....

 

[fauxtoe]

Use whatever works for you. Owning an acoustic bass got me a gig because they wanted an “unplugged” look and feel even though it still had to be amplified. For everything else it’s really a who cares what brand you play. If there is an aesthetic look a group is going for, you’re either going to fit it or not.

My main gig is church and no one really cares what I show up with, except that I like to keep them guessing as to which bass I’ll bring. If I really have to hammer on the B string, then the Modulus Q5 probably comes out. If I only need a 4 string, then maybe the Ric or my Modulus Flea. As long as I show up prepared and can dial in a good stage/IEM tone for the mix, then the brand or style of bass doesn’t matter too much. The preferred flavor that I see is an active 5 string of some sorts - Ibanez, Sadowsky, Yamaha, Sire, Modulus (me), and I’m usually the only one who will use an active or passive four string when I don’t need the low B.

 

[GIBrat51]

Nope; never happened. But, if the thing was an embarrassment to look at, I honestly don't think I would have bought it in the first place. And, the one time I was in a band - usually as everything but a player - I played the regular bass player's bass, anyway. It was wrong handed for me, and it was red (which I've never liked); but, given the time, place, and the circumstances? It certainly wasn't an embarrassing instrument. OTOH, my playing, and worse, my singing....

 

[nilorius]

You should move forward and faster. You!!!