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Does a great BASS make a great BASS player

#161
I think a great bass can make you play better, it doesn't have to be expensive. I had a yamaha bb1500a that i bought for 400$ and it was phenomenal...
On the other hand i also think that if you put enough time with a certain bass( it has to be at least playable), and bond with it, you will be a great bass player!!

Problem is today, we buy and sell basses at a glance, so we don't really make the instrument our own...whichbis the most important IMO
 
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#163
On a slightly different tangent...I'm of the opinion that a good bass, is a good bass. As in, if your ~$350 Squier happened to be well-made or comes from good stock, it doesn't matter what's on the headstock as it's simply a well-made bass (not on the whole, that specific one). Of course the inverse can be true of more expensive basses as well.

It's the same with tone as well...if the proper mix of settings using a Zoom multi-fx, a boutique class-A boost pedal, paired with an old Peavey head and two Ampeg 15" cabs sounds good then rock on, my friends. Might not be able to get any GK sounds out of that setup, but you found something that works.

Professionals with more expensive gear are typically looking for reliability and flexibility. If there's a song that needs a bass with flats, but they've only got one bass on them, it would pay to have something with flexible EQ options to get close in the mix. I think being able to coax different tones (via settings or technique) is a skill in and of itself.


Sorry, I know it's not the OP's direct question, but I feel it's in the same spirit.
 
#164
dbsfgyd1 said:
That said, great bassists are in demand and with the extra income associated with that, they can afford better basses if they choose to do so.
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The best bass players I regularly interact with are guys that make their living from music. The guys who aren’t quite as good don’t practice as much, because they have real jobs, and they have more money for gear.
 
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#166
JazznFunk said:
I'd counter this with 'Don't ever let anyone tell you that you don't deserve what you want, or that you've earned.' We only live once. What we 'deserve' is often tainted by what we think other peoples' perceptions of us will be if we acquire what we feel we don't 'deserve.'. If you DO want that boutique bass and can afford it without putting yourself in dire financial straits, then buy it. The only person who can truly convince you that you do or do not 'deserve' something.... is you.
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I like your attitude, I just don't share it.
 
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#169
No .
A lot of the music I listen to on YouTube for learning new tunes have players using Jazz basses or even more P basses . There are lots of inexpensive basses of both of these basic bass designs that are almost impossible to tell soundwise from the real thing live . My basses now are all under $600 new but sound and play as well as any of the more expensive basses I've had . These days with CNC programming even cheap basses are built to close tolerances

A good player can sound great on a cheap bass but a poor player will sound like a poor player no matter what bass he or she is playing .
 
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#171
Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson could shoot close to PAR with a set of $100 clubs.
Bassdirty said:
beginner level basses are much better today, than..the "olden days".
T$
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I never quite get the term "beginner bass" only has 2 strings?? (BASS HUMOR) Funny I have played for 30 years and have digressed to a beginner bass! Well, I have other better basses, but my favorite is a $299 bass!
 
#172
 
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#173
 
#174
Blues Bass 2 said:
No .
A lot of the music I listen to on YouTube for learning new tunes have players using Jazz basses or even more P basses . There are lots of inexpensive basses of both of these basic bass designs that are almost impossible to tell soundwise from the real thing live . My basses now are all under $600 new but sound and play as well as any of the more expensive basses I've had . These days with CNC programming even cheap basses are built to close tolerances

A good player can sound great on a cheap bass but a poor player will sound like a poor player no matter what bass he or she is playing .
Click to expand...

I'm right there with ya , the bass I paid 399.00 for in 2017 is a BRICE FREAK 6 str.Bass , It plays great, looks great, sounds as good If not better than alot of basses costing hundreds even thousands more.
But my Ibanez bTbs are MoNsTeR basses.
Thanx for your reply
 

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