Boutique Basses are Better: Get Over It!

[Dr. Cheese]

...So, if 60's fenders were hand made with hand selected woods, does that qualify them as boutique ;P?

No. A great factory bass is a great bass just like a great boutique, but a factory is not a small boutique operation.

BTW, boutique does not equal great. I have owned boutique basses that weren't very good. I know I would take a $350 Peavey or Ibanez over a bad Roscoe I once owned (although Keith Roscoe did fix the busted trussrod free of charge.)

 

[KeithPas]

IMO it is hard to argue against the OP's original point but different people like different things. I would own a boutique bass if I could afford one but I am very happy with the relatively inexpensive mid priced basses I usually play.

 

[t0t0m]

To me playing a boutique basses is a pride that you can't get while playing a mass produced bass, especially when your playing skills are also top notch. (I love my boutique basses)

But at the other side, nobody can justify if boutique bass sounds better compare to mass produced bass.
Why? Because for sound; it's the fingers and playing skills which matter the most. A friend of mine is playing a cort bass and that dang thing just sound good, because he have the fingers and the skills.

 

[Marlat]

I just want all of us to happy with what we have and spend time enjoying music rather than worrying about what we can buy or what someone else has bought.

Wise words Dr. Cheese, wise words.

 

[Emmaporkchop]

There's a guy who shows up at GC around here with his custom made bass, doesn't sound any better than anything else you could pull off the wall there. But he's happy.
I've had some great basses, but I've ended up with a MIM p bass as my main one.
On the other hand I am always jealous of people with Wals, Zons, and Pedulla's.
I'm just much more interested on the music being played on the instrument rather than who or where it was made.

 

[markjazzbassist]

no way. i'll take a vintage fender over a boutique copy any day. they're not better, you're just paying too much for them so you justify that they are. they're not.

 

[cnltb]

Every once in a while someone posts about gear snobs or wonders if boutique basses are really worth the money. Some, like myself, have wondered if they are really that much better than factory basses.

The bottom line is most boutique basses are better made than most factory basses. That does not mean that the boutique bass will give a particular player the sound that he or she is after, and it does not mean that a given boutique will be comfortable or look appealing to any given player. What quality means is that compared to a similar factory bass, the boutique will have better fit and finish, will likely take a better set up, will probably be quieter, and will have better components like tuners, pots, etc.

The fact that the boutique is better than the factory bass does not mean that the factory bass is bad or that it wouldn't be a great tool for a music career or hobby. Just look at all the pros who can afford boutiques who use factory basses!

I know I'm not saying anything new. I just think that we need to face facts and move on. Most importantly, we need to play good music regardless of the price of our gear.

Better made does not always mean sound better or feel better though.

 

[stonedmotus]

most professional bassists i admired or learned from did not use a boutique bass. steve harris: fender precision, cliff burton: aria pro II, ian hill: fender jazz, geddy lee: fender jazz, jaco: fender jazz, chris squier: ric, sting: fender precision, etc...

 

[spade2you]

most professional bassists i admired or learned from did not use a boutique bass. steve harris: fender precision, cliff burton: aria pro II, ian hill: fender jazz, geddy lee: fender jazz, jaco: fender jazz, chris squier: ric, sting: fender precision, etc...

Yes, Steve Harris, Ian Hill, Geddy, and Jaco never used custom basses over the years.

 

[Rickett Customs]

most professional bassists i admired or learned from did not use a boutique bass. steve harris: fender precision, cliff burton: aria pro II, ian hill: fender jazz, geddy lee: fender jazz, jaco: fender jazz, chris squier: ric, sting: fender precision, etc...

Well sorta

Steve has been a fender man, Burton played Aria, but also Rics and alembics. Ian Did play the jazz, but also Spector and Lakland. Geddy played Wals too. Jaco did own some other basses too (I can't quite remember the bass, but it was Abe______). Sting's mainstay was fender, but Spector as well, adorned him in the 80's.

 

[LightGroove]

Ah...the old Ferrari vs. Honda debate..

For those that can and care to own a Ferrari buy one....for those that dont or care to dont. Are they good on gas or really worth the $$$ probably not.... Then you have the Honda owners...good product..mass produced that gets the job done....but a Ferrari owner wouldnt be caught dead in one.

All in what you want friends....Better is beyond debateable....

I waffle daily with this concept...I LOVE my Roscoe but often wonder if it does leaps beyond a mass produced model... Then I meet the builders and get the CS thats beyond imaginable and it makes it all worth it.

 

[stonedmotus]

Yes, Steve Harris, Ian Hill, Geddy, and Jaco never used custom basses over the years.

not the majority of the time, no

 

[stonedmotus]

Well sorta

Steve has been a fender man, Burton played Aria, but also Rics and alembics. Ian Did play the jazz, but also Spector and Lakland. Geddy played Wals too. Jaco did own some other basses too (I can't quite remember the bass, but it was Abe______). Sting's mainstay was fender, but Spector as well, adorned him in the 80's.

every bassist has played numerous basses over the years. their mainstays were not boutique basses, that's all.

 

[spade2you]

not the majority of the time, no

See Mr. Rickett's post and I'll add that Steve had used some customs during the 80's as well. Unicorn, I think.

Besides, doesn't matter what any of them use. You and I are not them and never will be.

 

[jakelly]

Every once in a while someone posts about gear snobs or wonders if boutique basses are really worth the money. Some, like myself, have wondered if they are really that much better than factory basses.

The bottom line is most boutique basses are better made than most factory basses. That does not mean that the boutique bass will give a particular player the sound that he or she is after, and it does not mean that a given boutique will be comfortable or look appealing to any given player. What quality means is that compared to a similar factory bass, the boutique will have better fit and finish, will likely take a better set up, will probably be quieter, and will have better components like tuners, pots, etc.

The fact that the boutique is better than the factory bass does not mean that the factory bass is bad or that it wouldn't be a great tool for a music career or hobby. Just look at all the pros who can afford boutiques who use factory basses!

I know I'm not saying anything new. I just think that we need to face facts and move on. Most importantly, we need to play good music regardless of the price of our gear.

Personally, I think "boutique" is far more important in acoustic guitars. That's where spending an extra thousand or two pays off, IMO (repeat, IMO). Face it, electric guitars are basically slabs of wood. Even cheap ones can be GREAT with a bit of care in construction. And no, an electric guitar need not be built to the thousandth of an inch and have a hand-rubbed finish to perform. I have a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz that my former band loved the tone of, even over the USA Fenders I own (I realize the USA Fenders are not "boutique" but....).

 

[stonedmotus]

See Mr. Rickett's post and I'll add that Steve had used some customs during the 80's as well. Unicorn, I think.

Besides, doesn't matter what any of them use. You and I are not them and never will be.

never said i wanted to be them (?) just said they were bassists i admired/learned from.

 

[Rickett Customs]

See Mr. Rickett's post and I'll add that Steve had used some customs during the 80's as well. Unicorn, I think.

Besides, doesn't matter what any of them use. You and I are not them and never will be.

Spade, can you recall the "scroll bass" that he did in one of his videos? I can't remember the name for some reason..... Abe Rivera? or Something like that.....


1:54 into the vid

 

[spade2you]

Spade, can you recall the "scroll bass" that he did in one of his videos? I can't remember the name for some reason..... Abe Rivera? or Something like that.....


1:54 into the vid

That's what I recalled as well.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Spade, can you recall the "scroll bass" that he did in one of his videos? I can't remember the name for some reason..... Abe Rivera? or Something like that.....


1:54 into the vid

Yep, it's an Abe Rivera.

Here's the thing about "better"... it's overwhelmingly personal and if you think you can decide "better" for anyone other than you, there's a Carly Simon song that fits perfectly.

 

[Madcity Fats]

Here's my take:

If you sound like ass, I don't care what kind of bass you're playing. Likewise, if your playing blows me away, I don't care what kind of bass you're playing.

On the other hand, the lousy player who's sporting a $5000+ instrument clearly has his priorities out of whack, whereas the stellar player who's rocking an SX or whatever never fails to impress.

Charlie Parker once played a show with a crappy plastic saxophone because his was in hock (heroin's a helluva drug). Still sounded like Bird. Doesn't work in reverse.