I was just at Hollywood guitar center, I spent about an hour playing some of there "high end basses" I Have only been playing seriously for about 4 years so I don't know if my ears are not trained or what but for the life of me I could not tell the difference between a 1200 dollar bass and a 3500 dollar bass. I don't want to throw all the names out that I played but it was around 20 different models. I once heard that some wine company's triple the price of their wine so that consumers will assume that their brand is a higher quality even though it is no better than the stuff for half the price. Any way I think this may be happening with bass manufacturers, this is just my opinion, like I said I have only been playing a short time so maybe my ears are not trained enough to hear this two thousand dollar difference. Please let me know if I am just an idiot.
I think you should go over to the Double Bass forum and ask Ed Fuqua for an opinion on that. Still, never mind, you could always get a job as a vacuum cleaner.
When you buy a 3500,- bass you pay for the better woods and for better Craftwork. The "feel" of the bass is usually far greater on the high end ones, than the cheaper, because everything is done properly. I myself have sometimes difficulties finding the differences in sound when comparing "high end" basse with mortal ones. (I'v played bass for about 14 years now) It all comes down to personal taste, so your ears doesn't suck. Mik Tit
Well, some of the more expensive basses do have more of a custom feel to them. Unfortunately, that doesn't always translate in tone. In fact, I've played basses that cost around $1,000 that sound way better than some costing $3,000. I'm sure Brad Johnson can attest to the fact that he's found several basses (just look at pictures of his collection) that cost in the hundreds that sound as good or better than those in the thousands!
Part of the reason for the lack of distinction among the various price levels could be the amplification you heard them through. Even if I tried out a bass through a good amp or two, I've always had to tweak the amp considerably, sometimes not knowing how some controls affect others. On top of that, I never get around to adjusting controls on the back side, like the crossover. Then there is the hidden cost of how well the maker backs up the instrument should anything go wrong. For instance, are the authorized dealers supposed to give you a loaner while it's in the shop? Plus, using the wine analogy, you don't appreciate the difference until you've had the opportunity to get accustomed to the higher priced grape. And, yes, some of it is just like jeans.......label hype.
My experience with that particular GC is that it is almost always chaotic. Theres always a lot of background noise/sound going on, from the in-store piped-in music to funksters b*tch-slapping away on a bass to guitarist shredding like there's no tomorrow. I find these distractions make it hard to hear what I'm trying to listen for when evaluating an instrument. That might have been what you experienced. In contrast, when I was trying out cabs at L.A. Bass Exchnage, I also tried out a couple of high-end basses. The room was somewhat sound proofed, relatively quiet once the glass door was shut. The sonic qualities of the basses I tried were more distingishable, same with the cabs.
There are good $3500 basses and bad $3500 basses. Well, not bad maybe, but I can certainly think of some people charging $3500 that should be charging $1200 except they don't know how to turn a profit selling basses for $1200. Not all bass manufacturing companies are equally efficient or skilled at business. Keep in mind also that the scale of operations is drastically different between manufacturers.
This is the reason you don't need an Alembic run through an EBS to play clubs.....you nailed it, ubersam.
I have nothing else to add...I just wanted to let you know that "Do my ears suck" is the funniest topic I have ever seen on tb (besides "what is a double bass") Cheers!!
