More reasonably inexpensive decent quality instruments available right now than ever before. Sadly, there seem to be fewer new players to play them. But someone's buying them or they'd stop making them.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
Meh.
Great basses are made all over the world. Crappy ones, too.
Unless you're more into politics than playing great gear, I don't think it matters a whit.
Great basses are made all over the world. Crappy ones, too.
Unless you're more into politics than playing great gear, I don't think it matters a whit.
To the extent of all else being equal, and disregarding the little, jingoistic voice in my head? No, it doesn't matter much to me at all. But.. sad to say, all other things are not equal, so - yeah, it matters. Where a bass is made is not generally a major consideration for me. If I decide I need a XXX bass, it is what it is. If it costs XXX$'s, as long as I get my money's worth, I'm happy. And where it was made be Damned. To tell the truth, being a lefty usually means you're lucky you can get a given bass at all, and if they want a bass at all, 2nd class buyers (which we most certainly are) can't be too choosy...
Basses made in Santa Rosa, CA seem to be consistently better than basses made elsewhere on the planet; so, if it's made outside of Santa Rosa, no, it doesn't matter. 
I have instruments that were made in China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, US.
Seems to me you can get instruments that are above average, average or below average from any country.
Seems to me you can get instruments that are above average, average or below average from any country.
No, what matters to you is WHO made your bass. Which is as it should be.
Only with Fender. Lakland, Sadowsky, Dingwall, Ibanez and many other companies produce fantastic basses that are made in several different countries. Fender could also produce basses in China, Indonesia and Mexico with same quality than the MIA counter part but they chose not to.
To me it does matter. I play music genres that tend to be uniquely american--country and jazz mostly--and as such I feel more authentic playing an instrument made in the USA. But--it has to be a *good* instrument made in the USA. The fact that it's made here doesn't automatically make it good, and likewise the fact that an instrument is made oversees doesn't mean it's bad. I just like to make uniquely American music on an instrument that was made in America. No logic to it at all, it's just a internal feel thing.
i think less now with computerized CNC machines , versus the old days ..!
i try to stay away from Made in China ... just because !
i like MIK , MIJ , and of course MIA ... i have a few decent parts from Indonesia .!??!
regardless ... i have my own tools to make neck/frets much better ..!
i try to stay away from Made in China ... just because !
i like MIK , MIJ , and of course MIA ... i have a few decent parts from Indonesia .!??!
regardless ... i have my own tools to make neck/frets much better ..!
I have no problem buying foreign made basses but I find value in buying American. It keeps more Americans employed.
I would like to think that the workers are getting a fair deal, able to make a living for their labor and skill. Case in point the Squier CV 50s I purchased is phenomenal in the quality and the setup (crafted in China), obviously not a Sadowski, but I have zero complaints with it. Would I rather be paying Americans to make it? I don't know, I'm not a student of global finance but I assume people there are basically like people here in that if they have a good job they care about their work just like we do here. I'm an old fart who got downsized in the 08 crash and am working for a lot less than I think I'm worth but what are you going to do? I'm sure it's the same there. (Overseas facilities) I take a lot of pride in the job I do, I do not pro-rate my effort based on market value. Sorry, hope I haven't crossed any lines here mods, just sayin, I think it's elder abuse but I might not have a leg to stand on.
Danged arthritis!
- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
My Mayones Comodous was made on Mars by little martians with 16 fingers on each of 16 hand. The body shape was made by meticulous guiding of natural wind and sand erosion over the course of 1237 years. Then it was sanded to perfection by these 16 handed little blighters for another 2 centuries. It was finished with a rare lacquer made from the saliva of the northern Karut Bleezob and polished to it's incredible luster with the down of baby Emot Slavers. It was then assembled in the sacred Glasen Temple receiving the emotive mind waves of the Diolane order's most revered elder.
Thus, the perfect bass that refuses to play wrong notes.
So yeah, it matters
Thus, the perfect bass that refuses to play wrong notes.
So yeah, it matters
I was thinking about this the other day, not just Guitars, but stuff in general.
In the case of Fender do they make “lesser” instrument in places other than the US in order to amplify the relative quality of the nothing-really-spectacular US Fender instruments?
My Indonesian basses (Ray35 & VM Squire) seem to be very well made. They don’t feel cheap at all. My SX of unknown origin definitely has some cheaper components, but it still sounds good.
As a non-US resident, ‘Made in US’ doesn’t have any real appeal beyond resale value. Are Americans really any better at manufacturing then Germany, Japan, Australia, Indo etc...?
Purely by accident, my rig (Aguilar/Berg) is 100% US.
The way I see it, if I like the bass, it sounds great, comfortable to play, etc. then it doesn't matter if someone crafted it in their small shop in Anytown, USA or it was made off an assembly line in China.
Yes, but what constitutes a "good job"?
Having to get a person to relieve you for a pee break might disqualify it from being a good job.
However, it's better than working in the fields for $3/day.
It takes all types, just like here at home, but I've found that the lower the pay-rate the more "good enough" attitudes you see. You know, "it's good enough to pass & get me paid".
A good way to counter this is with incentives. For instance, we'd throw a little Friday night party for the production line with the least amount of rework.
When the workers can't afford to have a booze cruise on their own dime, it means more & they almost all turn up.
Sure there's the few that don't want the party bit, but they are clever enough to toe the line & not ruin the numbers for the rest of their team.
Keeping everyone in check at the parties & not sleeping with each other is a different story
A place can't make a bass. People make basses.
If, hypothetically, different areas consistently produced particular standards of quality that varied from area to area, the difference in quality would still technically be attributable to the management behind their creation rather than the area itself.
If, say, chinese Squiers *were* consistently terrible, it would be because of Squier's practices regarding Chinese production, not simply because "China makes bad basses."
Any location is equally capable of producing amazing or terrible instruments- it all depends on who you hire and what you're willing to pay.
--^@
If, hypothetically, different areas consistently produced particular standards of quality that varied from area to area, the difference in quality would still technically be attributable to the management behind their creation rather than the area itself.
If, say, chinese Squiers *were* consistently terrible, it would be because of Squier's practices regarding Chinese production, not simply because "China makes bad basses."
Any location is equally capable of producing amazing or terrible instruments- it all depends on who you hire and what you're willing to pay.
--^@
I'm just imagining that factories put their top dogs on the bigger paying contracts.
