Do you buy cause an influence plays?

I have purchased instruments based on what my favorite plays before. Mostly Geddy Lee, Ric's and his Sig Jazz. I don't currently own anything an influence plays though.

I've only had the opportunity to play a Modulus once, was a used Q5 in a GC. Great instrument, but I'm not sure it's worth the high price tag for me. Graphite neck seemed to suck low end out.

 

No. I love Chris Squire's playing, so I did try a Rick just to see what the deal was. I found out that they aren't for me. Simply not my cup of tea.

 

Same here, loved the tone, but the neck wasn't for me. Someday I will have to get a custom one made for me.

 

I'll try things if I like what they sound like in the hands of a guy who either plays similarly to me or does something (music wise) that I want to do. That said, if it doesn't work for me then I move on. I won't buy something and then force the creative juices to flow if it just isn't there.

 

I bought a MIM Fender Jazz bass when I was 18 I believe. It was the first bass I ever bought with my own money. I wanted it because of John Paul Jones. I was playing an MIM Fender P at the time and did not understand the differences between the two.

I stopped playing bass for years & years. Now I am playing a Fender P not because I was influenced by other bass players but because I feel it's the right bass for me...for now.

 

I always wanted to make something for myself. I fell that getting the bass that one of my influences played was copying them a bit much.

 

Never, don't be ridiculous (looks around room full of Hofner basses, Rickenbacker bass and 12 string, Epiphone Casino, vox amps and 60s Fender Jazz strung with flats).

 

Playing in tribute bands means having basses that are directly influenced by the players... Of course, some of my basses I own just for their damn good looks. Others for their sound. Others for their versatility. Others for...

I'm such a bass whore.

 

I couldn't care less what someone else (anyone else) plays.

 

I answered yes above because that's what I did for my first bass and amp, but I think I'm becoming a little wiser.

I've always liked bass but the bassist that made me want to play bass is John Paul Jones. I looked at his setup and decided I wanted to sound like him so I bought a Jazz bass (Squier VM Jazz) and an Acoustic amp (Acoustic B10 combo). Boy did I have much to learn, to start with JPJ's tone on the early stuff sounds more like a P bass than a J bass to me, so I was constantly frustrated with my Jazz's tone being too bright and clangy. I didn't realize I bought a bass that seems to be built for Funk. It had 500K pots (To be brighter), a maple body (heavy, bright), and came with roundwound strings(like usual but still very bright). The amp is good though. I put flats on it and did a series/parallel mod (which is usually in series) and now I have realized I should have just bought a P bass.

 

Well, I got my MIM Jazz bass because I thought, "I can afford it. And Geddy Lee plays Jazz basses and they sound cool, so they must be good." (I've owned it for a while and realized that mine actually doesn't have that awesome sound I'm looking for (don't know if it's the strings, pickups, amp, or what), so now I've learned that I need to make sure a bass has the sound that I want from it before I buy it). I also really liked the neck better than my first bass's neck, so I also bought it because the neck was awesome. If I found a bass that I thought sounded good and felt good to me, I'm sure I'd buy it even if an influence didn't play it.

 

I admit that I do, although I played one bass for over 20 years and none of my influences every played one (Guild B301). Now that I am older and can afford the basses I GASed for when I was younger, I am enjoying chasing the tones I idolized growing up. Already have the Ric, next up on my list: Steinberger L2 (or XL2) from the 80's. Then, possibly a Wal or Aria SB-1000.

 

I bought a Epi EB-0 because Jack Bruce used to play a Gibson EB-0 before he switched to EB-3, and I didn't like the new Gibson EB-3 or the Epi EB-3. EB-0 does look cool too.

 

When I bought my bass (a Squier j), my only influence was Jimmy Haslip because my dad loved the yellowjackets. There was no way I could afford the bass he's playing! Now I just buy what sounds and looks good and most importantly what I NEED. If a famous guy plays it then cool but I'm not gonna go buy a hofner just because Sir Paul had one.

 

I wouldn't buy a bass just because someone I like plays it, but if I was trying to emulate someone's sound, using the same instrument would be a good place to start. I have ceratainly tried basses (and amps and effects) because someone whose sound I like uses them. Sometimes they worked for me, sometimes not.

 

Absolutely not. My favorite bassist when I was just starting out learning to play was Cliff Burton, but I have never owned an Aria Pro nor a Ric simply because they didn't fit me.

 

+1

 

Seeing a favourite bassist play (through) a particular piece of gear is more likely to make me look into it, but I wouldn't buy it blindly without a test drive first.