Does a High Quality Bass Improve Our Playing?

[devnulljp]

I played my heart out on a crappy Kay catalogue PoS, a (at the time...before it was 'vintage') Peavey T40, a crappy Westone bass (which wasn't that bad, really), a Tokai that took me a year to pay for ... so by the time I could afford a nice Aria that I didn't have to fight with ... then yes a decent bass makes you play better.

I don't wish the old days on younger people, but man my generation fought for it.

 

[devnulljp]

And the reverse as well...

Oh man, I've seen so many really crappy players on gear I would crawl over broken glass for....

 

[Leonid Nidis]

Yes high quality bass is better,plays easy,sits in the mix better,projected better through PA,records much better.
The quality gap between expansive and cheap ,is closing though,cheap stuff is very useble.

expansive in my book is 1500-2000$

 

[mmon77]

No.

Give someone who's never held a bass a $50 eBay Chinese bass, and they will suck. Give that same person an Alembic, and they'll still suck just as much.

Edit to answer more of the OP:

I do believe woods make a difference. My Thumb bass still sounds like a Thumb bass, even unplugged, so there must be something to the wood thing.

Bridge? I doubt I could tell the difference. Tuners? If they work they work, if not, that's a problem.

I have cheap basses, and one expensive one. I play them all the same, but I'm not going to hand my Thumb bass to a drunk guy in the bar to try out.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube: Zakk Wylde shredding on a Hello Kitty guitar, Mike Portnoy playing "Painkiller", "Reign in Blood" etc. on two Pokemon drum sets put together, and they still sound good on those crappy instruments. They're only able to do that though, because of their skill as players. Quality instruments can help them to sound better, but they cannot make up for lack of skill.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I played my heart out on a crappy Kay catalogue PoS, a (at the time...before it was 'vintage') Peavey T40, a crappy Westone bass (which wasn't that bad, really), a Tokai that took me a year to pay for ... so by the time I could afford a nice Aria that I didn't have to fight with ... then yes a decent bass makes you play better.

I don't wish the old days on younger people, but man my generation fought for it.

Yet you still advanced with the so-called crap. Yes, a decent bass makes you play better but It didn't make you play, as you were doing that already.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Yes high quality bass is better,plays easy,sits in the mix better,projected better through PA,records much better.
The quality gap between expansive and cheap ,is closing though,cheap stuff is very useble.

expansive in my book is 1500-2000$

Expensive in my book is, it cost more than the money I have
Expansive in my book is, what my tummy has become :\

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Tone is in your fingers, so is talent. I have an Ibanez P bass clone that I got for a great deal and I love it as much as my mahogany Ibanez w/Barts. None of my basses are expensive but they are quality built by Ibanez. They are maintained carefully-- checking mostly string height and neck straight etc. There's a rather middling bass player in town-- nice enough guy, but he has money and uses high end equipment. When my group gigs with him I bring my own amp and bass-- against his SWR and $3500 bass. My gear is a GK MB500 and 2 x Eden cabs and an Ibanez SR500. He likes my tone and is a bit miffed that he can't get that tone out of his system!

A high quality bass might make you sound better. But not as much as practice.

YMMV

 

[Skybone]

Yes.

And No.

 

[nilorius]

When i read down the first story of this thread i understood that you are slowly moving to a custom shop, but if i should have some starting point, i would know why. Of course - the quality and type of any part of the instrument gives it something special, but the last moment is how it will work together and if they will - you need to set it all up perfectly. That is all why there are basses from 150e - 15k e.

 

[el murdoque]

Hi,
With a bass... can anyone honestly hear a sonic difference between an Adler & Basswood body? At bass frequencies, does the body wood actually make a noticeable difference? I'm suggesting no.
I do think mahogany sounds different. I do think maple/rosewood sounds different than maple/maple.
What about bridges... one high mass versus another... if equally balanced and weighted... which tech is a difference maker?
Tuners, as long as they stay in tune right?
How about the nut. Does nut material create a noticeable sonic difference?

So, my fancy Fender... it so nice I'm careful every time I touch it. Kinda not fun... my Epiphone Les Paul is not as concerning but I'm mindful. Squier, although appreciated. I'm never careful and its available for anyone to handle. My question becomes does having a higher quality bass actually add to my playing or limit it? IDK.

What have you decided? If you play a $2k bass... how carefree with it are you? If you play an entry bass what bothers you most about it if anything?

I'd wager that when you take two basses that are identical in every way, excepting one of the mentioned factors,
the difference will be barely noticeable in ideal testing circumstances.
I'd also wager that when you take two basses that are built with the same blueprint but one of them has the cheapest available materials (provided they are not too cheap to do their job) and the other one has all the bells & whistles, only top notch, there will be a difference audible even in normal circumstances. All the tiny little things add up to a bigger thing in this scenario.

That said, I'd like to argue for a factor that has the biggest impact on me personally: Inspiration.
Sometimes, when I pick up a bass, something in that bass inspires me to play certain things a certain way.
This can be the shape of the neck, the string spacing, a better response to a certain frequency, the string height or even something bad like a dead spot on the neck.
Something suddenly gets easier or harder than one is used to, or something becomes more audible or less audible in the mix, which triggers a response in the style of playing.
I basically can gig with any instrument that is reliable enough to do so.
As long as it stays in tune, has a proper setup (intonation, string height, neck bow) and the electronics won't fail, I can make it work on stage. But. That says nothing about how much I enjoy playing that particular instrument.

I do own a luthier made custom bass, where about 90% of the work was done omitting powertools. Handwound pickups, top notch electronics, boutique woods, you name it. I also own a US made Carvin that cost me two grand back in '96. And an Ibanez that was half of that. Apart from tiny details all these work more or less the same, but each of these basses did trigger some inspiration when I picked them up for the first time.

I'd say once you cross the threshold that separates the junk from the decent instruments, every additional buck you spend is for you. Sometimes, through inspiration or maybe even placebo effect, this will result in better playing. Sometimes not.

 

[two fingers]

Interesting way of asking a question we have swirled around a lot here.

To me it's all about feel. If a bass feels good in my hands, if the neck just begs to be played, if the place I find to anchor my thumb is in my plucking sweet spot, I can and will play the crap out of that bass.

As for tone, it's the totality of everything you mentioned.

Will you notice a big difference in tone between a Leo Quan and a Babicz bridge if that's the only thing you change? Likely no.

But every part of the sound of a given bass is like a recipe for chili.

I own three P basses. They all sound different, but they're all similar versions of P bass chili. I tweaked a few thing here and there to make the different versions of chili even more different. One wears flats. It's a more mild chili. One has an old PAF era DiMarzio pickup. Strung with bright strings that chili is spicy!


As for your Strat, if that sucker feels good and sounds good, play the crap out of it and quit worrying about a scratch here and a ding there. If you owned a Ferrari, would you only drive it 45 mph on Sunday afternoon on back roads with no traffic because it might get a scratch?

 

[iomamo]

A better quality and presumably better playing instrument is primarily for the benefit of the player and not the audience. It stands to reason that the better the player the more they would notice the nuances of their instrument. Same could be said for any professional's equipment, be it a carpenter's tools, a golfer's clubs, whatever.

 

[cnltb]

Does a High Quality Bass Improve Our Playing?
I think so.
A bass you really enjoy will be easier and more fun to play and by extension help you to improve as you may well spend more time with it than with a bass you do not enjoy quite as much.
Built quality is part of that, I think.

 

[Kmonk]

When I purchased my first Alembic, I was shocked at how clearly I heard the notes I played and how sloppy my playing seemed to be. It forced me to work on my technique, especially muting strings to prevent them from ringing while I was playing.

 

[MtManiac]

Everybody is different, but for me, playing a bass that sits perfectly in my left hand, is well balanced and comfortable, and to my ears has great tone definitely inspires me to play better. Whether anybody listening would agree is a different question. But that’s how I judge quality, not by price tag - it just so happens for me, that’s my American Standard P bass, versus the several Squiers and MIM Fenders I’ve owned and sold. I’m not gonna knock anyone for playing anything else, though, cheaper or more expensive, like I said, everyone is different.

 

[MtManiac]

I've never worried about what a bass costs, or what wood it is made of for anything other than cosmetic reasons. If it feels good and sounds good it must me good. My American pro fender is around 2000 canadian, and I love it. But I still prefer my 800 dollar epiphone explorer. I'm also equally as reckless with all my basses. I have good cases to transport them, and I don't intentionally bang them up, but I move around a lot on stage and all of my basses eventually wind up with some wear. Dings, scratches and chips will happen. My fender is the usual, alter body, maple neck, rosewood board. My explorer is all korina with a rosewood board, and my latest, a jackson CXBNT, is a maple neckthrough, with basswood wings and, you guessed it, rosewood fingerboard. Now, these basses are all fairly different, but I couldn't tell you if the wood or the cost are contributing to the sonic differences. But they all feel solid and play well, so they all get played. View attachment 3245044 View attachment 3245045

I love that Explorer! I’ve always wanted one of those, but at my age and with my late 40s gut, I wouldn’t look as cool as you playing it.

 

[Bruiser Stone]

OP: BillMason is the primary TB’er I mentioned in my eatlier post who convinced me to keep my porker of a PBass. He’s right. If it makes your hands, ears, and heart happy, then it just comes down to what you can afford versus what others opine.

 

[BoogieZK]

It depends:
If High quality means well balanced, good intonation and setup then the bass will not put a limit to what you can play.
If high quality means only high quality material and design, than i don't know.

I will always prefer my $$$ bass because i invest in an instrument that is perfect for me, it will not be perfect for everyone.

My bass teacher who is a gear demonstrator can play anything on everything.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

A high quality bass has no talent requirements for purchase, but in the hands of a capable individual it will perform better and sound better. Additionally, a quality bass in the hands of a beginner is going to play better (in general) than the typical starter bass and give the student a better experience giving them a higher likelihood of sticking with the instrument. And the good news is that we can get extremely high quality instruments at $2k or even lower on the used markets. Ask some woodwinds what they paid or even the Bach 37 trumpet recommended frequently in high schools costs $3k. Recently I've been messing around with acoustics and I had an ok guitar that I was using. It cost about $600 when I bought it years ago. Bought a Taylor 314ce about a month ago and the difference was night and day. The Taylor plays so much better, sounds better and my playing has improved considerably because of the better guitar.

Then we get into the inevitable socio economic unfairness and yes, some can go out and buy a $2k bass on a whim and other might have to save for a long time. This is unfair, but it is the way it is. I can't afford a Ferrari nor a house in the Hamptons. At one point in time I couldn't afford the gear I wanted, but I saved up for it. Now, kid 1 is through college and the crazy thing is that we're older, making more, but have fewer bills than when we were in our 20's. So, life gets better and you'll be able to afford some of the shiny toys at some point. Keep yourself in reasonable health so you can enjoy it. That said, I need to get back to the gym.

Additionally, we're in a time when the $300 bass is not a bad bass by any means. When I bought my first bass many years ago, it was also $300. It was also a piece of crap. Today's Squier Vintage basses are really nice and mid range Sire basses kick butt, if you find one that's light enough. Make sure you don't cheap out on the amp. A $300 bass through a $1000 amp will sound better than a $1000 bass through a $300 amp. (exceptions exist, of course)

In closing, don't worry so much about the price tag on your bass. Play what you have and save up for the next bass if that's what you decide you need. You may decide you don't need it after all.

 

[chris_b]

Does a High Quality Bass Improve Our Playing?

My HQ basses have definitely improved my playing. I find these basses are easier to play and convert my efforts into a better sounding signal for my better amp and better cab.

The best bassists will sound good on anything. The rest of us have to make the best use all the tools at our disposal. It's a circle of improvement. If I hear myself sounding better I play better. If I play better I sound better.