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Crappy bassists with expensive gears?

#41
Not to hijack, but...

Has anyone else notice someone's skill level decrease as the amount of gear they owned increased? Happened to me :D

Honestly though, I need to stop fiddling with pedals and get going on some scales :hiding:
 
#44
In my experience, there is a difference between the performance sounding bad because of musician skill, and the ear-bending horror of bad intonation.

When I was in college, we played in a touring jazz band with some of the most capable musicians I'd ever played with. The pianist was particularly good. We toured with minimal gear, definitely not a grand piano.

At one hotel ballroom gig, they had setup a stage with a one of the 10+ Steinway pianos from the hotel's many ballrooms. From the 1st register to the 4th register - the piano was badly out of tune by more than a full 2 notes. It was horrible when we played. In that situation - even the piano player continued to play the piano (because that's what our hotel hosts expected of us). I remember begging them to switch the piano for another one just 2 rooms down the hall. They refused. Coincidentally, it was the breaking point of my membership in that group - but that's a whole other story.

With just poor musician skill - the instrument sound may still be pleasing, by chance. Only the other musicians in the audience will probably notice the missed beats, notes, etc.

With just poor intonation/setup - even the non-musicians in the audience will hear that "something just doesn't sound quite right" and perhaps blame a pretty good musician for a really poor sound.

If you are getting paid for a gig - you have no excuse but to at least own a tuner.

Don't rely on the piano! :rollno:
 
#45
Gonz said:
when i first read this thread, this came to mind (its not me)



But after giving it some thought i think ive got gear thats way beyond my playing ability, i dont yet play as good as i would like to play so i consider myself a crappy player with good gear :D
Click to expand...


that's ... original .. I'm going to try and emulate his technique later on, don't have 3 fretted basses though, going to have to some of it on a frettless ..
 
#46
mtomlins said:
In my experience, there is a difference between the performance sounding bad because of musician skill, and the ear-bending horror of bad intonation.

When I was in college, we played in a touring jazz band with some of the most capable musicians I'd ever played with. The pianist was particularly good. We toured with minimal gear, definitely not a grand piano.

At one hotel ballroom gig, they had setup a stage with a one of the 10+ Steinway pianos from the hotel's many ballrooms. From the 1st register to the 4th register - the piano was badly out of tune by more than a full 2 notes. It was horrible when we played. In that situation - even the piano player continued to play the piano (because that's what our hotel hosts expected of us). I remember begging them to switch the piano for another one just 2 rooms down the hall. They refused. Coincidentally, it was the breaking point of my membership in that group - but that's a whole other story.

With just poor musician skill - the instrument sound may still be pleasing, by chance. Only the other musicians in the audience will probably notice the missed beats, notes, etc.

With just poor intonation/setup - even the non-musicians in the audience will hear that "something just doesn't sound quite right" and perhaps blame a pretty good musician for a really poor sound.

If you are getting paid for a gig - you have no excuse but to at least own a tuner.

Don't rely on the piano! :rollno:
Click to expand...

In that situation it'd be better to not have a tuner and tune to the piano.
 
#52
This only bothers me when people won't even give you a chance if you walk in with your "lowly" 4 string Fender P-bass and SWR combo or look down on you because you can play a bit that fits the music perfectly but you played it on a Peavey Milestone 2, and that gear "just isn't the style we're going for."

There's a band that I've seen several times lately at local venues. All the instrumentalists play really simple backing parts. Bass player just stays on the root, no lead guitar, just rhythm, etc. This isn't to say that they're bad musicians, just not exactly putting themselves out there, you know. Yet each time I've seen them, the bass player has walked out with a different $3000-4000+ boutique bass (Fodera, Ken Smith, F-bass, etc) and a whole mess of boutique pedals (all of which go unused with the exception of a preamp stompbox). Guitarist is the same deal. I've seen him use a Matchless, a Dr. Z, and 2 different 65 amp heads.

If they were using this admittedly great gear to get awesome/unique tones, that would be one thing, but i could get any of their bass tones out of the gear I throw around at home. I asked their bass player how he can afford all his stuff, and he claimed that most of the venues they play won't let you in with "cheap production line gear." I find that hard to believe, but I have noticed a slightly sickening trend in "Indy" and Christian Praise/Worship scenes lately where the look of the band (and the look of their gear) seems to be more important that their music/sound.

Anyone else had similar experiences or is it just my imagination?
 
#55
Sounds to me like these two mentioned by the OP were in such a hurry to be rock stars that they forgot to learn the basics first. So many musicians worry about image that they forget that it takes talent to get somewhere in music. Honestly, today's pop scene makes this seem very plausible. Most artists on the Top 40 are bubble gum kids who make music with beat machines. Some have never been seen with an instrument in their hands. Let's face it, the pop scene is more about image that it is about talent.
 
#60
Who are you to determine what equipment someone should own? It's his/her money and if they can afford it, more power to them. As for whether or not they "deserve" such nice equipment, I'm sure that if your description of their skills is accurate, it wouldn't matter what they played..
 

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