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cheap bass=no respect

#61
Aragorn35016 said:
You opened for Monte Montgomery? Thats awesome!! I dont know who dave is but I LOVE the stuff Chris Maresh played with him. Chris is a huge influence for me!!! :D
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Dave has been playing with Monte for a year or so now. They just released the first album with Dave on it a few months ago. Yeah Chris is a awsome. He is an influence of mine too not only because of his work with Monte but Eric Johnson too. I got to meet Chris several years ago too. He was a real nice guy to talk too also.
 
#62
Funny story. This guy I used to work with was in a toy store with his son, when he heard some wicked guitar playing. He followed the sound, and it was Chris Issacson playing this toy guitar. He asked him was he shopping for a kid, and Chris said, "Oh hell naw, I record with these! You can't beat the tone!" Repeat this tale the next time you're being gear snobbed!
 
#63
High end basses are cool no doubt. I play a Brice Ash Jazz 5. It plays as good or better than the last Fender American made I had, with no dead spots. If I see someone holding it down with an inexpensive bass I like it even more! I saw this 3 piece group once playing county/rock. The guitarist was using a Lotus Strat copy with an old Crate (in the crate) amp. The bassist was using what looked like an old Kent/Tiesco type guitar that had been converted to a 4 sting bass (the headstock had been retro-fitted with elephant ear tuners.) I don't know how, but it worked. In the context of the gig, and what they were playing, they rocked.
 
#65
in the early '90's when i first started touring with name group's my main bass was a guild pilot 5 string that i got at a pawn shop for $145, it had emg's and a detuner on the b string.on that circit many of the guy's had ken smith,warwick's ect and i got funny look's until i pluged in and started playing.although my mail axe's are custom's now i still have and use the guild today in fact i played it on a session yesterday!
 
#66
bikeplate said:
Hi!

Who cares. Play the heck out of it. To each his own. If you have pride in your playing and craft, you may eventually step up for something a bit more quality. Bottomline, if it sounds and plays good, it sounds and plays good. LOL

Rob
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+1

A friend of mine plays one of those weird looking Steinberger Spirit 5-strings. When I first met him he came to play with us one night. I was the drummer at the time. I noticed that bass and thought, hmmmm? Where is his yellow jump suit and red plastic pot-shaped hat? In a sense, I thought what a goof...(nice thing to think about someone you don't even know yet huh?, and this guy was showing up to play with our church worhip team. Yeah I have some issues, I'm working on them)

Well he rocked and is by far the best bassist I have ever had the opportunity to play with. He taught me a lot about music theory and a few things about life in general. Including keeping me on the right path in my Christian walk.

I still think Steinbergers are ugly though.

So now I don't care if you show up with a Squire or a Nordstrand. It's all in the way you play.

Lesson Learned.
 
#67
Some people are silly!
Personnaly, I first look and hear the guy playing, then I got my idea of him, not judging, having an idea! I never look the gear as a factor of playing level, because as for instruments, you can see many people driving a Ferrari or an Audi RS6 while they are really bad drivers! (a scratch on one of those cars is a shame!)

So don't care about that silly guy! You certainly play better than him because you take care of your feelings and not your gears....
Having high price gears is not easy beause it needs money, all the people can't allow them to do it....Just have fun!!!! This is why the music is there!

Vince
 
#68
I have seen excellent muscians with crappy basses in other countries. I remember this dude in El Salvador once in a hotel bar. I drove from San Diego to Costa Rica once (surf trip).

I also have seen excellent bassist in the carribean resorts with cheapo basses.

Essex are socially acceptable.

Personally, I think it is cool if you can smoke a cool groove on a cheapo bass.
 
#69
Let me drop my .02 cents

I went to a gig at a tent festival and played my Cort Josh Paul Signature. From far away the bass looks just like an Elrick. After playing the bass the player for another group asked me to play on my bass. His Yamaha did not give him the sound he wanted. After playing he commented "that is a nice Elrick you got. I love the tone". When I told him it was a Cort, his mouth dropped and he couldn't say a word.

In this day and age the quality of so called cheaper basses has improved by leaps and bounds. I also went to Sam Ash and tried one of those Tune basses and was so impressed that I took the thing home on the spot. I have owned and played on a lot of different basses from high end to low end. I got mine for 545.00 and I believe it was money well spent. I also own a SX SJB62. I have always gotten compliments on my tone and players want to know what I am playing on. At times I get the look or the snub because I am not playing a high end or so called "name" bass. This can also be applied to what you are playing through.

It is not what you are playing on but how you play, what you play, and when you play. Some guys have high end stuff and can barely keep time. You can't hold a groove if you ain't got no pocket. :eyebrow: :eyebrow:
 
#70
I gig with cheap SX basses all the time. I give them a proper setup, and sometimes mod the electronics but I don't tell anyone. I've had guys come up to me and ask me how much they liked the tone, what kind of bass is that,etc. I respond that it's just some cheap bass that was made in China. I had a couple of guys think I was pulling their leg until I showed then the "Made in China" sticker. I guess the "custom handmade" on the headstock actually fools some people :D

I agree with some of the older guys who talk about how bad the cheapos were back then. Back in the 80s, $200 got you plywood and shotty craftsmanship. Today $150 gets you a gig worthy solid wood instrument.
[Old man voice on] You kids don't know how good you have it, when I was a young 'un...... [/Old man voice off]
 
#74
jive1 said:
I agree with some of the older guys who talk about how bad the cheapos were back then. Back in the 80s, $200 got you plywood and shotty craftsmanship. Today $150 gets you a gig worthy solid wood instrument.
[Old man voice on] You kids don't know how good you have it, when I was a young 'un...... [/Old man voice off]
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You got plywood? Pressboard, go ahead, let it get damp! :p
 
#75
The way I see it, if you have paid your dues on crappy instruments, and have played for years and years and years, AND you can appreciate fine craftmanship, then you absolutely deserve that alembic or fodera.......

But if you are like me, you can only afford the lower priced models....and heck, I am so used to them now, that I would feel funny with a 4000K bass around my neck, and even funnier after I put my first 2000 dollar ding in it!

Personally, I think you ought to go back to that smart guy, and FEED him your cheapy bass..maybe it will look better when it comes out his hatch with a tung oil brown finish!!!
 
#78
Dr. Cheese said:
I have never judged another player negatively because of his or her choice of gear. In fact, some of the most impressive players I have ever seen used inexpensive basses. My problem was always that I somehow felt that I needed another bass even if the one I had was just fine. The result is that I have been through dozens of basses, often feeling that the bass I just got rid of was really the one I should have kept. Judging by what some of you guys post, I don't think that I'm alone in this mindset. Looking back, I wish that I had just said, "this bass gives me my sound, and I'm sticking with it." Afterall, many of the most distinctive bassists like Marcus Miller and Jaco ppicked their instruments and kept playing them even when they could have had numerous endorsements for other instruments, or designed one to their liking. To make a long story short, I admire players who know their sound and stick to what works for them instead of bending like a weed in the wind every time a new style comes out.
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That's because most people with equipment issues rarely see that the problem is usually not gear related;)

Of course that keeps a lot of people in business. Heck, if not for them I wouldn't own half the stuff I do.



I take any bass I own anywhere I play. That's why I bought them. If someone is really that worried about a bass, maybe they should buy a glass case to go along with it.



People who listen with their eyes typically aren't very bright. It's obvously not a smart thing to do.
 
#79
Brad Johnson said:
People who listen with their eyes typically aren't very bright. It's obvously not a smart thing to do.
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What about some of you guys who grew up in the 60s and 70s? Didn't some of you guys "see the music" in the lava lamp while Zappa was playing on the record player at the electric kool-aid party? Wasn't it cool back then :D

Back to the regularly scheduled thread.
 
#80
jive1 said:
What about some of you guys who grew up in the 60s and 70s? Didn't some of you guys "see the music" in the lava lamp while Zappa was playing on the record player at the electric kool-aid party? Wasn't it cool back then :D

Back to the regularly scheduled thread.
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And you think those folks were particularly bright?

:D

They were high. Being mesmerized by a wad of wax in a colored water filled beer bottle... let's just say that's not typically Mensa material.


On topic... at our local GTG, there was a wide array of gear there. I didn't notice any dissing, people checked everything out and liked what they liked.
 

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