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Crappy bassists with expensive gears?

#101
WoodyG3 said:
OP, the problem with the two guys mentioned is simply that they aren't good and/or professional. Had the same guy showed up with inexpensive gear he still would have been out of tune, unable to stay with the beat, etc. The gear is irrelevant.

I'm of the feeling that most people play better and improve faster if they are playing basses that they like. That, in itself, will make most people better players. So, if a beginning bassist can afford a really nice Warwick, I'm all for it! :)
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Finally! The answer, nicely stated WoodyG3:bassist:
 
#104
I'm a guy who is at home on a Squier or a Ric and everything in-between. I have pro-am gear (yes, that is a drift reference) and I'm more than happy with it. It suits my skill level and I can play each instrument very well in different ways. Some are slappers, some are pickers, some for fingerstyle, and others a mix of those and more. I own some high end (<=1.5k) stuff and have a big gig rig that depending on bass brought can be worth up to 2.5k or so but it's all hard earned money. The tears of my teenage years and early 20s went into what I have.
 
#107
namraj said:
Considering you're picking up on poor grammar, these two sentences are appalling to read.

Rewritten for you:
"Your flawed logic and poor grasp of the English language have lead me to consider that you should think before typing. Perhaps writing everything out first, on software with a spell check function, might help in the future."
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Thank you... :rolleyes:
 
#111
I wanted to believe that this thread was a good-natured, playful, tongue-in-cheek themed thread. But I've come to find much of the comments distasteful.

I've come to expect this type of venom from arrogant audiophile/hi-fi Elitists, but seeing this type of venom from actual so-called musicians ............is surprising, to say the least.


Ultimately, it's all about the love of and passion for ..........music.

Unfortunately, not every bass player is as gifted as they would like to be. Many people love music and have a passion for the instrument, but for various individual/personal reasons they never seem to be capable of acheiving excellence in their playing ability.

(As the old saying goes)......Walk a mile in their shoes.

None of you have any idea about the lives of these individuals you're slamming and criticizing. Yet you pretend to place yourself in judgement of their choices in instruments (based on dollar value) compared to their actual playing ability. That amazes me.

Maybe that's because I grew up in a town which had a large community of musicians/artists/bands and we all supported each other's bands and each other.

We didn't tear each other down, we built each other up through verbal encouragement/support, guidence, helpful instruction and suggestions and supporting each other's bands by buying the albums and showing up for the shows. I guess I don't understand this type of negativity.
 
#112
Bought a book. Read it. Learned to do my own set ups on my gear, plus I do minor electronic work on them as well.

I think the book cost me about $19. Basic set up tools ran me about $30. In my area a basic setup at a shop, not including new strings is around $50. I have saved $$$ doing it myself. It really isn't that hard. Of course, now that the band has seen me do this, I get the fun of setting up the guitards gear as well. Lucky me.

Which brings me to my point. One of my guitards is a band teacher, always taking care of his students, horns, winds, etc., but this guy never takes care of his american strat unless forced to. It's the strangest thing. Whenever I notice something wrong with his axe, he looks at me totally surprised. I had to explain the whole intonation thing to him. He told me he assumed the guitar was intonated when he bought it new. Lately, his switch on the strat is bad. I said it needs replacing. He gives me his standard response, "Why does it need replacing, I bought this strat new?" Just for fun, I asked when did you buy the strat, he tells me 2000! Ok, I had to laugh. I said have you ever taken this thing in for any work, setup or otherwise? Answer: Why? I bought it brand new, doesn't it come from the factory ready to go?

Anyway, great guitar player, I just figured out he's cheap. Yeah, I setup his guitar for him for two reasons. One, I know he won't pay for a proper setup and two I prefer how his properly intonated strat sounds live when he solos.
 
#113
namraj said:
Hey, I play a Warwick, clearly I'm doing something wrong :P .
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Dude, my SX can outplay your Warwick!

(I don't own an SX, but I figured it was time for one of TB's tired old clichés)

Sartori said:
Not going to pass judgment on anyone else's playing or gear.
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Right there, that's good sense.

I get nicer gear than I necessarily deserve because I find it exciting to play and it makes me want to practise more.

And honestly, I think that all of us need to spend less time posting and more time practising, no matter how good we may be.

EDIT: TMart99's post sure seems bang-on to me.
 
#114
namraj said:
I'm confused at why a tuner and metronome are needed? If you've been playing long enough to be doing pro gigs surely you should be able to tune to ear? at least relative if not perfect. And if a click track is needed for a recording, all recording software (including garage band) has one built in. And live you have a band and drummer to keep in time.

Hey, I play a Warwick, clearly I'm doing something wrong :P .
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Re: the tuner, I have to disagree. Tuning by ear, onstage, during a gig will get you fired.

IMHO, IME, YMMV, BNI, SAR, etc.
 
#116
who cares about their gear really.
If you can afford a nice bass, then buy one.

The problem I have is when people who think because they own an expensive piece of gear, their skill is on par and they feel those with lesser, are, well, lesser as well.

But if you can afford a Fodera, then by all means get one.
 
#117
BrandonBass said:
firstly, I do not claim to be a great bassist and im totally fine with guys who just do root notes and hold the band together, theyre just doing their job, as simple as it is, and theyre doing it well. props to them. It just irks me sometimes when a guitarist or bassist is tryin so hard to impress you with their paul gilbert or dream theater chops but fails so badly(sloppy, offbear, horrible dynamics) you can only give them a blank stare.


Ive personally encountered 2 warwick users who were pretty bad bassists.

bassist 1. this guy hav a owns a warwick thumb 5 armed with a russian big muff. But he couldnt afford a proper set up, a tuner....and a metronome.

bassist 2. I was the sound engineer in this case, and the songwriter got hold of this bassist through a forum. First thing he said to me when he entered the room, 'Im really busy gotta go overseas for paid gigs, gotta make this quick'. I thought fine, guys a pro in high demand, lets not waste his time. He then started doing a series of really fast runs on i-dont-know-what scale.
Turns out he couldnt play a straight eighth line at 100bpm. And he couldnt afford a tuner, a proper set up and a metronome. AND he too used a warwick thumb 5 string with black beauties O_O

And yes, I am jealous.
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my standard inclination whenever i see a post like this is "keep your eyes on your own paper".

don't worry about how someone else is doing on their bass, worry about how you are doing on your bass. and if you need better gear, go without for a little while, get a 2nd job, and save your money. worked for me.
 
#118
MikeBass said:
The problem I have is when people who think because they own an expensive piece of gear, their skill is on par and they feel those with lesser, are, well, lesser as well.
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i've seen this before too, but it swings both ways. i've seen all kinds of other excuses used by guys who suck to validate why they slag folks.

"i can groove on 4 strings"

"real bass players only need a p-bass"

"paul mccartney never learned to read music"

etc.

weak egos will always find a way. :hyper:
 
#120
BrandonBass said:
and i dont deny that im being judgemental here, but if you dont lik the subject dont post on it.
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Yeah, that's not how it works. Maybe there are forums you go to where people are only allowed to post if they like the subject, but here people can post if they like it, if they don't like it, or if they don't go one way or the other on it.

edit:
but to stay on topic, I'm a beginner - only been playing for 2 years - and I love it. I switched to a 6-string bass shortly after beginning simply because I thought the 6-string looked awesome and I wanted to learn how to play THAT. So, I had the opportunity to try out a friend's Conklin and absolutely fell in love. Now that is an expensive bass. I decided to order one. It was way more than $2k, lets just say. I'm still not so great, but you're not going to see me looking down on people because my instrument is NICER...you won't see me looking down on people period. I've read the thread and I'm still not sure what the OP's point is. I love playing, I want to get better. I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford a really shiny bass.

So what? Just play and enjoy, man!
 

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