Do I Deserve a Boutique Bass?

[hotrodjohn]

Not a boutique but related:

I recently bought an EB Stingray.....I am a registered nurse

When my wife asked why I spent 2K on a bass I said "Because I work the Covid unit and I wipe old mens' butts"

She paused for a sec, walked off and said "Yeah, OK......."




i hope this response is helpful

Remember to disclose this again if and when you put that bass up for sale here

 

[funk generator]

I had a friend back in the day who always made me feel bad about buying nice basses. Do what brings you joy. You don't have to be Victor Wooten to enjoy a fodera.
I'm not an outstanding player by any stretch, I'm certainly not in a financial situation to justify having so much tied up in instruments I don't need, but looking at my bass wall brings me a ton of joy and that is worth it to me.

 

[ueezb]

c'mon, your username is baddarryl, not reasonabledarryl. buy it!

 

[Bass Viking]

“
I had an employee who liked running. She wouldn’t buy running shoes because she said that the purchase would take from someone else. Her belief negated that her purchase employed numerous people.

What an odd thought process. Unless there’s a shortage of running shoes how are you depriving someone else?

 

[Yellow Bang66]

Ok so i laid my hands on a Dingwall Combustion and was very impressed. I didn't play one, but the local dealer has an AB1 Afterburner in stock. I am very very tempted by that. I understand the difference among the Canadian basses and they seem worth it. Honestly it's actually rare that I'm in the position to afford one. I am only half joking about deserving it, but I really am a hack. I see players better that me constantly. In fact most seem to be especially among my age. My only real confidence stems from the fact that other people want me to play for them. I have never considered that kind of money for a bass, but that B string is to die for. Even the Combustion makes my Stingray 5 feel like an old clunker! Aaaaaagh!!

I Believe You should get as much as you can Afford!! if you were just starting out & like 12 yrs old, I d say get the most inexpensive bass out there, but if you're older & able to afford a nice (boutique) bass, get one! It took me a couple of years of serious shedding & learning how to set up my bases to reward myself with a "Nice" Bass, after a series of inexpensive models before I treated Myself with a "Good" Bass, It motivated me to get in the shed even more and just to pick it up A lot more. I mentioned A while ago, I have a Stiletto with an unwieldy thick neck! that actually hurt me, gave me a bursitis bump on my thumb knuckle! so i started to avoid playing! I got so fed up I Finally decided to Treat myself to "righteous" Bass that was 180° from the torture bass!! Its adream to play! I t was a Kinda a kit Build,a custom warmoth Built to my spec! Sounds great, Plays even better! Yeah it was a expensive,but it was built over time (1 year) but it was a blast t build! and is still in progress! So Great Im thinking of building another!! So I'm totally with you Get what you want ( afford)! you'll enjoy playing more,so you ll play more, thus making you a better player! do it!

 

[lermgalieu]

No, you don’t deserve it, but you want it, so buy it.

 

[db59]

Well, the way I see it is that we can either buy something we really like while we're around to enjoy it, or we never get to know what it was like to own one. I choose the first option if I can swing it. If I'm okay never knowing what it was like to own one, then it wasn't really for me.
As far as being a good enough player to deserve one, there are always going to be both those who praise you and those who are critical of you, no matter what level you achiever. I say go for it.

Editing this because it sounded too grim.

as your therapist, buy it

 

[NativeBobcat]

This is Talkbass - of course the answer is ”Yes! You deserve it! Just don’t forget to post a NBD.”

 

[Space Pickle]

DESERVE'S GOT NOTHIN' TO DO WITH IT

 

[AgostoMortal]

If you like it, get it. Life is too short. Do what you feel not what you think others would think!

 

[Bass Viking]

I believe we live in a culture of guilt. The OP asking whether he deserves a bass reinforces my belief.

 

[benthughes]

Do it. If you’ve never owned a botique bass before I think there’s value in doing so as long as you’re being financially responsible. I’ve owned many botique basses over the users including Zon, MTD, Skjold, Roscoe and I currently have none. In the end they didn’t provide anything, for me, that my current basses don’t but I wouldn’t have known that without trying them and I may still feel inexplicably limited by my cheaper instruments (my current setup is waaaaaay ahead of my capability). Don’t get me wrong, these basses I mentioned were impeccable but there are tons of basses at about $1000-$1500 that will get you 95% of the way there. I wouldn’t have believed that unless I had experienced it.

For the price of a “nice bass” I recently bought a guitar tube head, 2x12 cabinet and baritone guitar which will help my creativity more than any new bass.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Yep. I bought my first AB (my first 5 as well as being the longscale fanned)...and it arrived on a Thursday afternoon and I gigged with it on that Saturday. It wasn't the fan that took the adjustment for me, it was the additional string. That was sorted in a few days as well. They're pretty natural feeling to me.

Looking down at 12th fret and up was a little weird, but that was the only thing that stood out.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I believe we live in a culture of guilt. The OP asking whether he deserves a bass reinforces my belief.

Not sure I'd call it a culture of guilt, but I myself have a better appreciation of the plight of others than I've had in the past.

 

[Bass Viking]

Not sure I'd call it a culture of guilt, but I myself have a better appreciation of the plight of others than I've had in the past.

Bass Viking's rule to live by: "Don't ever feel guilty about the less fortunate because there's always somebody better off than you."

 

[carsbybigd]

If you can afford it , buy it . Higher quality basses will highlight your playing flaws, ( my Alembic did ) but it will force you to work on your technique .

 

[nutdog]

 

[JimmyM]

Not sure I'd call it a culture of guilt, but I myself have a better appreciation of the plight of others than I've had in the past.

As do I, but I can't help that and buying an expensive bass that I may want isn't going to change anyone's plight.

 

[JimmyM]

Looking down at 12th fret and up was a little weird, but that was the only thing that stood out.

Same here. My friend who has a dingwall told me not to look at it, and that's fine until you get to the 12th fret. And then no matter what happened, I got very very confused.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

IMHO, if you have the funds and you want it, you should get it. Life is short.