Can you guve me a few examples of any basses that will do EVERYTHING that EVERY bass player wants or needs?
People are different and they have all got different needs. You will not find one bass that covers all bases, regardless of price.
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Can you guve me a few examples of any basses that will do EVERYTHING that EVERY bass player wants or needs?
People are different and they have all got different needs. You will not find one bass that covers all bases, regardless of price.
Its all good. I used to feel I had to spend allot of money on a bass to be happy. Since I love Fenders they had to be MIA and then vintage ones at that. Many times others would say around here their Squier or SX was just as good and I threw money away for a bass that they could duplicate for a hundred bucks or so...I saw red
Then I got a little education from others and a few guitar dealers I am friends with. When I saw the first SQ my dealer had I was floored. It was not cheap for a Squier but I had to have it. I since went on a quest to find more and other basses that I feel are as good as my past MIA vintage Fenders. I have done it IMO and it saves me money .... I lose nothing in return.
So why do I defend it? For the pure S&G of it all. Is that not why allot of us spend time here on TB? Its cool, I have no issues with him or what he plays you or anyone plays..I used to to be truthful but the debate is interesting on a boring night.
I'm cool, too - we both had our say, and nothing says we have to agree on it... I'm not big on filling out profiles, but here's a couple of recent pics, in case you're interested:
- georgestrings
I just saw Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Sting do a show for about 40,000 people yesterday....this guy was GP's bass player and look-ie what he is playing...a Squier! Upside down and backwards to boot...I guess they can do the job!...and it sounded as good as both Sting's 54 P and his MIA P that he played.....
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I have never owned an 'expensive' bass. I recently sold all my expensive guitars (one retailed at $3000US, not that I paid that), figuring that a cheap guitar wouldn't be a noticeable difference for me.
Having switched from guitar to bass, I now play a Cort C4 that cost me $100. It sounds great, stays in tune and feels like it can be relied upon. I'm not a professional musician by any means, but I still use this bass in practice sessions (and at home). I'm much happier with something that I don't have to worry about being stolen or scratched, or played by someone else.
It has taken a few years but I have been able to successfully rationalise that I don't need expensive instruments.. and as a result my wallet and conscience thank me regularly.
Not to get all philosophical.. but when you get over the novelty and consumer desire part of buying something expensive or new or branded, the decision-making process becomes much more rational. When that "mystique" is removed I find little discernible difference between a cheap and expensive instrument in quality and tone that justifies the price that some of these expensive instruments demand.
Having switched from guitar to bass, I now play a Cort C4 that cost me $100. It sounds great, stays in tune and feels like it can be relied upon. I'm not a professional musician by any means, but I still use this bass in practice sessions (and at home). I'm much happier with something that I don't have to worry about being stolen or scratched, or played by someone else.
It has taken a few years but I have been able to successfully rationalise that I don't need expensive instruments.. and as a result my wallet and conscience thank me regularly.
Not to get all philosophical.. but when you get over the novelty and consumer desire part of buying something expensive or new or branded, the decision-making process becomes much more rational. When that "mystique" is removed I find little discernible difference between a cheap and expensive instrument in quality and tone that justifies the price that some of these expensive instruments demand.
That is pragmatism for you! 
But to counterpoint myself, being a "cheap is good" follower, I think sometimes you have to go expensive if you want something extrordinary. Compare that with race cars, with violins, with computers etc. The question for us pragmatic cheapskates really is: "Do I need what you are paying for in those products, or is that paying for something I don't need?"
For most, having a Formula 1 race car, a Stradivari violin or a water cooled, massive parallell processing supercomputer is way over the top. Most people wouldn't even be able to start a Formula 1 race car.
Does this compare to basses? To a degree, but at the same time, a bass guitar is not a very complicated thing. It isn't difficult to build well in a mass production environment. I guess sometimes you need the accuracy of a pleked fret board or that exotic wood to get your feel and tone. But all in all you get very far these days even in cheap instruments. And when you factor personal preferences into it, some may actually prefer the cheap ones, the same way some prefer the reliability of a Toyota before the rarely utilized power of a Lamborghini Aventador. And when travelling with your family on rocky roads, the Toyota may actually perform better...
But to counterpoint myself, being a "cheap is good" follower, I think sometimes you have to go expensive if you want something extrordinary. Compare that with race cars, with violins, with computers etc. The question for us pragmatic cheapskates really is: "Do I need what you are paying for in those products, or is that paying for something I don't need?"
For most, having a Formula 1 race car, a Stradivari violin or a water cooled, massive parallell processing supercomputer is way over the top. Most people wouldn't even be able to start a Formula 1 race car.
Does this compare to basses? To a degree, but at the same time, a bass guitar is not a very complicated thing. It isn't difficult to build well in a mass production environment. I guess sometimes you need the accuracy of a pleked fret board or that exotic wood to get your feel and tone. But all in all you get very far these days even in cheap instruments. And when you factor personal preferences into it, some may actually prefer the cheap ones, the same way some prefer the reliability of a Toyota before the rarely utilized power of a Lamborghini Aventador. And when travelling with your family on rocky roads, the Toyota may actually perform better...
The Longhorn basses, Danelectro and Jerry Jones are probably my favorite that I have played or owned. Also a fan of Epi Thunderbirds. Had plenty of Fenders, Rics and Gibsons over the years, but they are all gone. The Danelectro is my favorite now, and a toss up between the Tbird and a U-bass as second.
My two Squiers, a VM P and J can do anything their Fender counterparts can do and do it just as well. They will both work for any situation a "real" Fender would work for, professional or otherwise.
I wonder if all the iconic players--take your pic--had the same gear concerns we do or if they just ran with what they had. I understand Jimi & jaco often pawned their guitars.
Yes. It's the artist not the instrument however I don't discount or discredit a fine slab. I suppose if I had the cheese I'd be into vintage gear.
Ahh cool there are some other pics of national players using Squiers etc. It is not a surprise the quality in them has really improved making them a very solid bass.
Like I have said I can play just about anything. I have tried active basses, five stringers all kinds but just need a good basic product. I like the Fender feel,look and tone the best. Squier's works for me and I like the older ones that were well made and getting hard to find although the newer CV brands are awesome to.
I found a few (Squiers) at a cheap price or traded to get them, most are great a couple good, one is so-so. Not once has anyone of them let me down. I have never had anyone question my Squiers in fact I get more compliments on the Squiers then I ever did my MIA 70's tele or P basses. I also enjoy modding and repairing basses and guitars as much as playing them. Its fun for me and to work on my Squiers if needed that also makes it a win.
I try to find the middle ground on many items in my life. I don't go cheap and have found it saves me money and often they out perform a higher end Item.
I will never buy a custom made bass...I just have no need for one. I also do not feel I need a CS, RI or MIA Fender..had a few of them and just did not feel the worth of them v.s. a more budget bass or a bass that just cost's me less.
Others can do what they want but is anyone really playing a cheap instrument? If it performs, holds up and does the job for less its just another way maybe a smarter way to get the job done. Cheap is only in ones mind or maybe in another's
I like cheap basses and would consider nearly every one of the basses I own "cheap" compared to the price that I could have paid for them. I have a couple of Alembics I picked up pretty cheap as well as some Spectors and Warwicks and Pedullas. My take on the term "cheap" extends beyond buying sub $500 basses to also include basses for which I only paid a fraction of the real value. Sure I have a number of Squier basses and even a Dano but I purchased the majority of those at less than market value in some cases new and in most cases used.
On a bang for the buck scale my $50 Squier Bronco does everything it needs to and cost me about half of what a set of strings cost for some of my basses. However compare that to one of my basses that I purchased used a few years ago and was just valued many thousands of dollars higher than what I paid for it.
So I guess I could focus on just buying cheap gear or I could continue to buy gear cheaply - I'll stick to the latter.
On a bang for the buck scale my $50 Squier Bronco does everything it needs to and cost me about half of what a set of strings cost for some of my basses. However compare that to one of my basses that I purchased used a few years ago and was just valued many thousands of dollars higher than what I paid for it.
So I guess I could focus on just buying cheap gear or I could continue to buy gear cheaply - I'll stick to the latter.
So what you're saying is - any $500 Fender Jazz bass from a major retailer's online catalog will "do everything every player wants or needs"?? Really??
For the record, "playable" ≠ "everything every player wants or needs"
You'll have to ask that question of someone who is making that claim. I never said such a thing, and I can't imagine what gave you the impression I did.
You asked that question about sub-$500 basses. To me that implicitly stated that you'd find such basses in the price range above $500, unless you were actually just trying to discredit sub-$500 basses by asking something impossible from them.
You need to read the whole thread. I was discussing this claim -
As you can see, richntiff is saying in no uncertain terms that a new bass with a street price of $300-$500 can do everything everyone wants or needs.
Yep, and I stand by that statement - or at least, let me re-qualify it by correcting , what I believe, to be your misunderstanding:
A good bass in the $300-$500 range - when compared to a similarly 'appointed' boutique (in other words, is it a 4 string, 5 string, active EQ, passive, et) - will do everything that 99.999% of players want or need.
There - that reads better. My point is 99.999% of players are not as good as their instrument. I know I'm not!
Better? Or are you still confused and irritated?
A good bass in the $300-$500 range - when compared to a similarly 'appointed' boutique (in other words, is it a 4 string, 5 string, active EQ, passive, et) - will do everything that 99.999% of players want or need.
There - that reads better. My point is 99.999% of players are not as good as their instrument. I know I'm not!
Better? Or are you still confused and irritated?
Not better. Your original point needed no clarification. I'm neither confused nor irritated. I made it crystal clear from the start that I knew what you were saying. If I was irritated, I'd use the frowny thing over there ->
I don't think you know what you're talking about. Don't take that as me being "irritated". It's just my analysis of what you're saying. I see you as a guy who hasn't had much experience, and up to this point in your life, hasn't had a lot of money. In a few years, when you get a better job and can afford to spread your wings a little, you'll understand why people will spend over $3,000 on a Lakland or Sadowsky Jazz bass over a $350 Squier made in China. You've got a lot of living to do, and I envy you that. In a few years, bump this thread and tell me I was right.
I don't really desire to get in the middle of this slap fest but your statement is actually fairly close to correct. If you said "will do everything 99.999% of what players need" I think you'd be 100% correct. Unfortunately that little " want " word doesn't take into account players who want a more expensive bass because of looks or marketing or hype or some other perceived attribute.
I can assure you I've been around for a very long time and have plenty of money, to the point where spending $3000 on a Sadowsky would be peanuts compared to what I've spent on other basses (go price an Alembic Dragon Wing sometime). And with all that means to buy whatever I want I still regularly try out and buy Squier basses for the exact reason you noted, they meet 99.999% of my needs.
If it plays great, looks great, sounds great, is finished great and can be had at a great price it's probably a great bass regardless of what it says on the headstock.
