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cheap bass=no respect

#201
Seems pretty dumb and insecure to diss someone because of a cheapie instrument...especially if they can play. Wonder if your mate would slag Marc Ribot for his dumpster diver guitars -- crappy old Sears Silvertones and Harmony rockets (which now cost a bomb, because of Marc Ribot and Tome Waits!). I've seen plenty of people who can't play at all with $5000 hand-crafted one of a kind or vintage instruments, and others who excel on MIC plywood crap.
 
#202
I believe price is immaterial criteria for a great sounding bass. If the bass is structurely sound and resonates well with the mix of material it is assembled with then it all becomes a matter of set up. A top quality set up in additional to a set up to match the players preferences will become the great player bass. The tone at that point will be subjective.

The audience and all musicans less bass players will have no concept if you are banging away on a $300 bass or a $3000 bass.

Usually a player with inexpensive bass is put down by someone before they play and usually after the performance the under estimation becomes their embarressment.
 
#203
I love these threads, old or not! I have 18 basses that total just under $4000. Ebay, etc, has made it easy and fun to find great old guitars for cheap. A $200 bass in the '80s sucked. Now it's amazing the quality you can find. I never was a fan of boutiques. They are made well and some sound great. But just gimme an old P or J style bass with decent components and I can get the tone that I want. I love experimenting with beaters and tweaking them. My faves are still the old Ibanez Blazers and Roadstars.
 
#204
Anybody who tries judging me as a bassist according to the monetary value of my basses is obviously an idiot and not worth worrying about whether he/she respects me or not.

I've seen owners of cheesy basses with serious skills really rip it up and owners of expensive 6 string boutique basses who play as though they had just begun learning. Who cares what they play or what their skill level? But I have to admit that the ones I tend to be judgmental of are the bassists who seem to put their time and effort into their appearance and repertoire of poses instead of learning how to play.
 
#205
i agree with the above. i saw a guy playing last night with a KSD 5'er (I guess that qualifies as a "cheapie"?) and he was a good player and his rig sounded great. i'm not a fan of ultra boutique basses, they just don't do anything for me. in fact, i played an MTD Kingston Artist recently and really liked it. I'm seriously considering buying one. :hmm:
 
#207
Greevus said:
I love these threads, old or not! I have 18 basses that total just under $4000. Ebay, etc, has made it easy and fun to find great old guitars for cheap. A $200 bass in the '80s sucked. Now it's amazing the quality you can find. I never was a fan of boutiques. They are made well and some sound great. But just gimme an old P or J style bass with decent components and I can get the tone that I want. I love experimenting with beaters and tweaking them. My faves are still the old Ibanez Blazers and Roadstars.
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:eek:
 
#209
Greevus said:
I love these threads, old or not! I have 18 basses that total just under $4000. Ebay, etc, has made it easy and fun to find great old guitars for cheap. A $200 bass in the '80s sucked. Now it's amazing the quality you can find. I never was a fan of boutiques. They are made well and some sound great. But just gimme an old P or J style bass with decent components and I can get the tone that I want. I love experimenting with beaters and tweaking them. My faves are still the old Ibanez Blazers and Roadstars.
Click to expand...

I also have the same attitude about old 80's basses and have 16 of them. No Ibenez's, but quite a load of Charvels and Kramers.. I always remember the saying " one mans garbage is another man's treasure :), and I'd jump into a dumpster right now IF I saw something I liked.

I have never been rejected from a band, criticized by some doofus who's drunk or anything else about "why are you playing that POS when you could have one of these" statements EVER because as soon as I start playing them nobody cares what it is..it's the tone that counts.....
 
#212
Ha! What a joke! I think you'll find, over time, that most people who can ACTUALLY play, won't care about what kind of bass they use, or you use...ever...ever...

It's the hacks that are all caught up in gear snobbery MOST of the time (yes, I own 6 basses, I feel a little snobbish myself sometimes).

Of course, there are people who can tear it up on the bass that suits them best: whether it is a $12,000 custom Fodera, or a 1966 Jazz bass with neck binding and lollipop tuners. That could be the bass they deserve and worked their whole life to EARN, but 99% of the time, the guy with the fattest wallet in the music store isn't the guy whose going to back it up when it comes time to play.
 
#214
did a show a while back where the guy before us was playing a Roscoe 3005. He totally blew. He sure looked good sucking though...I also found it kinda funny that he was plugging his $3000 bass into a $200 ampeg combo (that sounded like a turd).
 
#215
i think that guy is just a d bag, theres nothing wrong with playing on a cheap bass some people think because they have some money they are better. if its a cheap bass and it plays like butter who cares at the end of the day it comes down to what u like to play on. i would tell that guy to stick his rickenbacker up his fanny and get over himself.
 

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