DOES PRICE MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

[ezstep]

I always went with the feel and sound then would look at price tags.

Great advice. I have told many young, budding bassists to play a dozen or two basses, find the one or two that they really, really like, and THEN AND ONLY THEN look at the headstock and the price tag. Lots of comments about how they like any bass "...except a Fender" or "...except a Peavey" suddenly change when the guy looks seriously with his hands and ears first.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

There are lots of great cheap and mid priced basses that will serve a player well. I just know that I can tell the difference when I play a high end bass. The difference, however, is not always worth it.

 

[nato101010]

Yes, prices does make a difference. A CS fender will be better than a squier if there are no lemons involved.

 

[zachoff]

Great advice. I have told many young, budding bassists to play a dozen or two basses, find the one or two that they really, really like, and THEN AND ONLY THEN look at the headstock and the price tag. Lots of comments about how they like any bass "...except a Fender" or "...except a Peavey" suddenly change when the guy looks seriously with his hands and ears first.

Truth... Except I like any bass except an Ibanez SR and Spector.

 

[BulbousMoses]

For me, at my skill level, it would be a waste of money for me to buy a 3K bass, simply because I am not good enough as a player to be able to take advantage of the better quality. In addition to that, I just don't have the budget for a bass that expensive (without a dedicated savings strategy). Even at the low end of the spectrum (Squiers/Epiphones. etc) you can get a fine instrument. The key is not to accept one that's a dog and keep going back till you get a diamond. I've returned a number of inexpensive basses because they had issues and kept looking till I found one that didn't. At the end of the day, I'd rather have a playable bass that I can learn and practice on than have no bass for a year and a half while I save money for the 3k instrument.

 

[THORRR]

Way to generalize folks who spent a bit of money on their basses as lacking in sense.

I didn't say EVERYbody

 

[DBTOYS]

A former coworker of mine put it best...

"The quality is remembered LONG AFTER the price has been forgotten."

+ 10

 

[perfektspace6]

What do Y'all think? I have both very expensive and very cheap and with a little TLC the cheap ones have just a good of sound as the others.

The more you spend on bells and whistles that are cosmetic the less return (if any) you receive in how good the instrument sounds. Solid construction, decent woods, hardware and electronics are all you need and it doesn't cost 4K to get that combination in most cases. "Exhibition" quality tops and the like don't do much for tone.

I do think there is a big difference between an SX/Squier/other crappy bass and a American Jazz or (fill in the blank). You can gut those basses and turn them into something halfway decent but at that point you are spending a few hundred bucks and the very cheap vs. expensive argument becomes weaker.

No offense to those who love the cheapies but some players aren't experienced enough or don't have the ear to note the differences so who the opinion comes from makes a difference to me.

 

[dakpluto]

It's a proven fact that big numbers on the price tag have a direct relationship to the sound of the instrument!

In reality, no, price doesn't matter. What you get with price is an expectation of quality of materials, the time and effort spent on making the product, and the research into the design process.

So yes, the more expensive the instrument the more likely you are to get a better sounding and better quality, but it's not a requirement. Flaws happen, mistakes are made, and acoustics in general are finicky things. It's possible to find a $99 SX that fits 100% into the sound and feel you are looking for over some $9000 Ritter made from the deck boards of a sunken viking ship.

 

[Ed Goode]

Price absolutely makes a difference ... the question is, does it make a difference to YOU ....

I gig a lot and I don't want to have any issues with my basses. They must be able to hold up to my sloppy handling of them and they must be professional instruments in all ways. So, I have to pay for that luxury. Could I get away with using a production bass instead of a custom bass? Sure. But my basses are built to be exactly what I expect from them.

It's really very simple, IMO .... buy what you can afford, buy what sounds good to you, buy based on your realistic needs. If you can afford very high end stuff, then go for it. If el-cheapos is the best you can do, then find the best el-cheapo in your price range

I have never felt the need to justify a bass expenditure in my life and I surely don't care what other people think of my basses. As someone said above, play it first and fall in love with it, then worry about the price .....

 

[BulbousMoses]

Price absolutely makes a difference ... the question is, does it make a difference to YOU ....

I gig a lot and I don't want to have any issues with my basses. They must be able to hold up to my sloppy handling of them and they must be professional instruments in all ways. So, I have to pay for that luxury. Could I get away with using a production bass instead of a custom bass? Sure. But my basses are built to be exactly what I expect from them.

It's really very simple, IMO .... buy what you can afford, buy what sounds good to you, buy based on your realistic needs. If you can afford very high end stuff, then go for it. If el-cheapos is the best you can do, then find the best el-cheapo in your price range

I have never felt the need to justify a bass expenditure in my life and I surely don't care what other people think of my basses. As someone said above, play it first and fall in love with it, then worry about the price .....

+1

 

[dakpluto]

In the same light though, for some people might be a turn off. Again, personal preferences. There are some where it's just as much fun taking a cheaper instrument and molding that into the options they would get from the expensive custom. Most important thing is get the bass you want for your needs. If someone says you paid too much or too little, tell them to kiss your strings.

 

[BulbousMoses]

One way of looking at it is this: Price DOES make a difference in the quality of the instrument in that more expensive will get you a consistently better quality of product. One caveat: It won't make one iota of difference if you don't know how to play. IMHO, the more that bass costs, the better the quality (genereally speaking) AND the better the player has to be to squeeze out or take advantage of that last few percent of quality increase.

 

[Punk Rock Jason]

Price only makes a difference in terms of what materials the instrument is constructed from and where it is produced. Now, those aspects obviously impact the quality and feel of an instrument.

That said - in my time playing I've never paid more than $900 for a bass (a used EBMM Stingray). While that was a great bass, was it really that much better than my MIM Fender P or my Peavey T-40s that cost half or a fourth of that? I've had good experiences with most of my basses and don't tend to spend much more than $500 on new basses.

It's all a matter of perspective and what's important to you in your instrument. I'm not a boutique bass type of guy and could never justify paying thousands for an instrument in my own mind.

 

[Faderoktopus]

Price only makes a difference in terms of what materials the instrument is constructed from and where it is produced. Now, those aspects obviously impact the quality and feel of an instrument.

Hopefully you don't think the location has any effect on the quality. Just to be sure, that's a matter of craftsmanship, not point of origin. Many asian instruments have gained a bad rep for being second rate copies of american ones. This is probably true of the sub-companies of american brands, as these also use inferior materials and less quality controll since it is their job to produce cheaper aternatives to their american counterparts. I'm sure many original asian brands are up there with the best that the rest of the world has to offer, especially in terms of innovative design. Yamaha, though not my cup of tea, produce top notch instruments with gorgeous woods (as well as cheapos). That being said, I don't question the fact that when it comes to basses, MIA is still a sign of quality all over the world, it's just not the only one.

 

[plangentmusic]

It's the equivalent to placebo. Because you THINK something should do something, to you, it does.

I think the mistake a lot of people make is thinking that a carpenter is a luthier.

 

[s_mcsleazy]

ok being someone whose never been verry well off i can honistly say ive had so meny people look down there noses at my 2 main basses a £80 squier and a £50 p-bass knock off. its not the bass its the player, its that simple.

its not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog

 

[Gort]

Can't buy talent at any price...I know, I've tried.