• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Does a great BASS make a great BASS player

#82
Merchandise is a distraction—from any and every angle you look at it. No one—absolutely no one—is going to be convinced that you’re a great player solely because you trot out a hot instrument. But merchandisers understand how to turn that misconception into money. It’s good business: turning the customer into the product.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Drzejzi
#83
A bass doesn’t make you a great player. Years of playing / practicing makes you a great player and there are good odds that you’ve traded up a few times to the point that you have a great bass, or two or twenty. It’s TB after all. Heh. So great players tend to have great basses, but a beginner with the same bass isn’t going to sound great when they play it. You can buy a great bass, but you have to put in the work to be the player.
 
#89
Controversial statement time:
People (most people) hear with their eyes. Great stage presence, killer gear or bottom shelf, crummy chops but can groove can still = good bass player. There are examples galore in the music world. Fight me haha.
That being said, if you're the latter, I don't see one getting much street cred.
 
#90
A great player will make a cheap bass sound decent.
A great player will make an expensive bass sound decent.
A not so great player will make a cheap bass sound bad.
A not so great player will make an expensive bass sound bad.

Buying a bass which is expensive bass or a bass you always wanted will inspire you to be better and practice more tough...
 
#92
Relayer71 said:
Practice will make you a great (or better) bass player.

In some cases, it's practice + innate talent. I can practice all day and will not be as good as certain bass players I really admire. But I can always improve (within my natural limits).

What a great bass can do is improve your playing indirectly by inspiring you to pick it up more often.

It doesn't have to be expensive to be great, but since you mentioned it, an expensive (or boutique) bass can be a work of art that can also make you just want to pick it up every chance you get.

(It can also give you the mindset of, "damn, I paid a lot for this thing, I should be playing it every minute of the day to get my money's worth!" :laugh:).
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup:
 
#93
WI Short Scaler said:
As @Relayer71 already said, a great bass will inspire you to play more. And therefore you'll get better.

My parts-basses are a hard pass for many folks who want more expensive ones. But they're great to me so I feel inspired to play them.

Now how great I ever become? I'll never be a household name but I know I'm better now than I was 5 years ago.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbsup:
I love my parts basses too :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: WI Short Scaler
#94
You'll hear from zero to 100% with that kind of subject. That's why i don't believe in world conspiracy.

For it's No and it depends.

A great bass is not a matter of price, or woods or pickups but construction and playability.
A great Pbass (i encountered one) will be great because of a unique tone, still it has one tone and will be bad for me.

A bad bass can be pricy! I encountered more then i could believe (a 91' Stingray with a dead E string for example).
A bad bass is no matter what you do with it, the playability is not good or quircky, or it has something in the tone that is not enjoyable.
Or heaven of a weight (a french boutique 6 strings bass so heavy... i could not stand with it, for example)

So like said many times, i played bass worth two snob coffee which was really great! I played basses worth my car and did not enjoyed them.

A matter of taste? yes, maybe, maybe not.
 
#96
So...
I'm sure this is gonna be a lot like the posts I place in every weekly thread like this but...
I'm a very good BASS player and I really do better on a quality BASS.
Crappy BASSES have bowed necks, ragged fret ends, poor intonation.
Although I can make MUSIC on a crappy BASS, I much prefer a good neck, tight neck pocket, quality electronics, tuners that don't slip.
What great BASS player plays a Montgomery Ward plywood special from 1967?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rev_Slinky
#98
MiracleFEATHRS said:
I've known too many intermediate Bass players that bought a really expensive great Bass .
and many great BASS players that bought a decent Bass for a few hundred dollars that played and sounds like a expensive one.
A great BASS will not make a great BASS player
A great BASS player can make a just okay BASS play and sound like a great BASS.

agree ?
Disagree ?
Click to expand...
I mean. I get what youre saying, but I really dont care what you play. You could be a total beginner with a 4k $ bass, good for you. It might make your learning experience slightly easier.
Now, for any kind of intermediate/ below perfect player to buy an expensive bass; so what? It's not about your skill level, it's about your love for the instrument.
You dont have to be a racecar driver, to own a lamborghini, right?
If you're serious about your hobby, I'd invest in a good bass as soon as possible, no matter the skill level. You'll be spending countless hours with it, and a tiny tiny issue like sharp pickguard edges (or smt silly like that), can become a major problem if you rub against it 50 times/hour.

For me, the amount of money (or anything else, like time, thought, etc) you put into your instrument, directly corresponds to your amount of love for the instrument. Not your skill level.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ADHD librarian
#99
There are great basses for $300 and there’s great basses for $30,000.

Being able to play that bass to your top potential is one thing. However, fully understanding that you have a great instrument in your hands is another.
The name on the headstock isn’t everything, but in many cases it’s a philosophy on how it was built as you’re buying the builder,

There are plenty of bass players that have incredible talent that unfortunately never get the recognition they deserve. And there are some that make it to the top that are just average players.

Maybe the right answer to this question is who cares? So what? Let’s enjoy our instruments, get better, learn to set them up properly, and get connected with our instruments!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chicken Wing

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back