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cheap bass=no respect

#21
Dr. Cheese said:
Squier Precision Bass Specials are nice basses, there is no need to upgrade if you don't feel the need. I wish like heck I weren't always looking at some new bass. :rolleyes:
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I have just bought one of these Indonesian-made Squiers as a spare and I am suprised at the quality - it is a really good bass that I picked up for very little cash on eBay. The rosewood for the fingerboard is thicker than on my US Deluxe Precision! In one post someone said they wouldn't be caught dead playing their Squier in public - more fool them.

It is just sad at the moment to think of the hardship in Indonesia caused by the Tsunami.
 
#22
I second the above. But have to say it goes the other way as well. People who think that other people do not " deserve" a great or expencive bass. saying stuff like " he/she is not good enough to play this bass", bull. Who cares as long as the guy or girl playing it loves it.

I had a guy hiss at me because I did not play a fender. and I did not play five strings. :eyebrow: When I told him that my bass was a 4 string Sei, he shook his head, said "hmm". turned around and walked away.

So be good to each other, all of you.

Peik
 
#23
Good playing is good playing irrespective of the axe.
Good tone and groove can be had by a good player on any decently functioning instrument.
The audience doesn't care a crap about what sort of instrument you play, unless it's another muso. Are their feet and hips moving?
Someone else's opinion is none of my concern.

FTR, I've had far more negative comments from pulling out my Alembic than any other instrument, but this is the one I enjoy playing most and feel most comfortable on. The irony of the last time this happened, was that I paid less for my secondhand S1 than the person making the comment did for their new Warwick (which got no negative comments for what it was).

On the other hand, the more I play my cheap Ashton AB1505, the more I like it.
 
#24
I agree with what everyone else is saying here. Like a few TBer's, I have both expensive and less expensive basses. I go for feel and sound. Just because a bass is cheap or doesn't have a "high-end" name doesn't mean it's not a good bass. I have seen a lot of Squire Precision Specials that are put together very well and sound great!

I recently picked up a Peavey Milestone II p-bass copy for next to nothing. It feels just as good if not better than a MIM P. And, oddly enough, it sounds just like a P! I've been jamming with these guys on some classic rock and the amp at the rehearsal space is an original 12" Portaflex. I brought the Peavey because I wanted to experience a P through a Portaflex. It sounded great! This particular night we had a guitarist sit in. He knew every song, note for note, and didn't bother to let me and the other guitarist keep up with him. He had a Hughes & Kettner combo and a PRS Custom 24. After practice, he and the other guitarist were talking gear and he's running down what he has for amps: a JCM800, a Marshall Silver Jubilee Combo, a Silver Jubilee 4x12, and "a Peavey chorus style amp, but it doesn't count because it's a Peavey." :rollno:
 
#25
WickdMOnkey said:
...we were talking about basses after a show we did with them and he goes "was that a fender you were using up there?" and I go no it was a squire and he laughs at me. I was like what the heck man?
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Another possibility: he might have liked the sound and laughed when he found out that it was a Squier - maybe laughing at himself. The one and only time I watched the Wootens, Regi (sp?) was playing a Squier.

As long as you enjoy what you play, don't worry about what some people think. In a logical world, men would ride side-saddle. Thank goodness, music is not logical.

I have a pretty good selection of basses, including an Alembic Orion, but my next bass will be in the $600 range. Go figure.
 
#27
Well I was just in Sam Ash music store here in tampa looking for a real inexpensive 6 -string under $700.00 and they had a Korean made Ap Tune 6-string(an Alembic copy,and damn good one at that) for $599.00 and I be damned if it didn't sound/felt as good as some of these high dollar "joints.I mean string spacing was nice,electronics was superb,not to mention this thing was made of Paduk/koa !.I know you get what you pay for,but it's been my experience that I've payed more for less,and less for more. :o
 
#29
Part of the reason alot of you may enjoy playing your low-dollar instrument more is that you're not so hung up on the stigma and expense in the instrument that you're willing to let go a little more and just get into playing it, vs. polishing it, or fearing you'll whack the headstock if you close your eyes and groove around the room. The issue isn't whether the instrument can take a whack and handle it, it's whether you care if it takes that whack.

At least that is how it works with me. I just cannot see spending more than 6-7 hundred dollars on a bass. IMO, it's diminishing returns beyond that, especially on a classic design like a P or J. Again, no flames welcome or warranted, just my opinion.

I think just about any decent bass can be utilized "pro-level"...as long as it holds up, feels good, sounds good, and stays in tune... it's a keeper to me.
 
#30
Excellent point. The guitarist in my band plays two $3500 PRS guitars, fine instruments, but he's always stressing about them whacked, scratched, or god knows what else at gigs. Me, I've left my high-end basses years ago, and just play used Stingray 5's. If the singer's guitar headstock whacks mine during a show, no worries. If he gets within 5 feet of the guitarist, you can see the stress overwhelm him.

And when large-breasted ladies dance on stage, he stresses they might bump one off the stand. Me, I just stare happily at them . . . :hyper:
 
#32
Another big thing to consider is that you don't have to worry about a cheap bass being stolen quite the same way as something that costs several thousand dollars. A crackhead might try pawning a $200 bass anyway, but it's less likely overall to be stolen than a high end instrument. Not feeling like you have to buy insurance to cover an expensive bass is nice.

Someone's already covered the damage worry factor.. I've never understood why anyone would buy an expensive bass to go play in your average smoky, crowded bar or lounge anyway. What the hell difference does it make? Take in a cheapie- if it gets stanky, dinged, scratched, spilled on, or knocked over- life doesn't come to an end suddenly. :D

The fit and finish quality of inexpensive basses is so much better than in decades past. And you can have more basses if you go less expensive, as long as you know how to set them up for good playability and maintain them properly. This gives a bassist a chance to own fretted and fretless, 4, 5, and 6, acoustic, different colors, and so on.

And I also agree on the snob factor. Ultimately, a boutique bass just gives you a certain look and sound. Set up a quality inexpensive bass for good playability and sound, learn and study to be the best bass musician you can be, and you are way ahead of the game of who's got the prettiest and priciest toys, i.e. "My bass is better than your bass, my bass is better than yours!" :)
 
#33
BruceWane said:
Basing respect on price of equipment = No Clue + No Class.
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Yep. I enjoy looking at high-dollar bling bling as much as the next guy, but the big picture is what you play, not what you play it on. I wish I had a dollar for every kick-butt musician I've seen who was playing low-budget gear.

It's unfortunate that so many people have no clue and no class. Musicians, in particular: THEY should know better! :scowl:
 
#34
Agree with everyone else, the brand or cost of instrument should have nothing to do with respect, it's all about the player.

Lately I find my respect towards bass players is based on less on what they play than on what they DON'T play. Go to a Guitar Center, try out some basses/amps, and whether it's a kid on a Squire or a 30 year old on a Warwick, most everybody sounds the same. Thumpity Thump Thumpitty POP thumpity SNAP! THUMP THUMP....
 
#36
The most fun I have at GCs where I'm not known is to go to the bass section, pluck a 5 or 6 off the wall, plug into the biggest amp they have, and play low B whole notes...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...
 
#37
A few years back I bought an ESP LTD 4 string...definitely not the 'best' bass on the market...a while after, I bought a much more expensive 5 string. For quite a while, I tried to force the 5 string because of expense and look, and the justify the cost. But at the important gigs, I found myself turning to the 'ol ESP, which dammit just had a sound I liked better. I felt guilty for quite a while...like I was cheating on my new upgrade wife...but now I just say "fack it" and use the ESP.
 
#40
I played through Peavey gear for decades. Think I didn't get the ol' snob brush-off?

Even when I got my Cirrus, there were people who still looked down on it becuase of the brand name.

Who would you rather listen to/watch play...Stanley Clarke on a Squire, or some shmoe who has no skills playing a $3000 boutique bass?

As many here are fond of saying..."it's all in the hands".

To some degree the quality of gear has an effect on playing...i.e.- bad setups, or basses that no matter how well set up still buzz and the strings are a mile off the neck and there is alot of buzz and noise, etc. But given a bass that is playable, the rest is in the hands.
 

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