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Does this REALLY happen?

Have you suffered Gear Snobbery?

  • Yes - No Fender = No Gig

    Votes: 22 21.2%

  • No - Fender?? Schmender

    Votes: 68 65.4%

  • I only play with myself

    Votes: 14 13.5%
  • Total voters
    104
#21
bassaroo said:
I was playing a show for a week - the show was titled "Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" (Don't shoot me - it was actually a fun gig!).

... We played lots of songs from Jesus Christ Superstar
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Anyone who would bust on you for that is nuts, especially if you're playing those killer bass lines from JC Superstar. My hat is off to you, Sir!


P.S. I completely agree: the MTD 535 is an absolutely incredible bass, but it's most definitely not a P-bass.
 
#23
Around here, people are happy if you show up with a bass and you can play it. :D

I have run into the occasional requirement for a P, and not just in the studio. It seems that not only the sound but the ease of setup/EQ drives this, as has been pointed out a zillion times. Not to mention the looks, but to some folks that counts as well.
 
#24
I have not experienced gear snobbery of any kind, even though I have used ostentatiously boutique basses for Motown, blues, and country gigs.


That said: if it was a gig I really wanted, and there was lots of competition, I would bring the most appropriate bass I own simply because I'm aware that gear snobbery *does* exist.

If it was a quit-your-day-job ultra-high-dollar gig then I'd consider playing any bass that they wanted me to play, but that ain't gonna happen!
 
#25
Probably the best band I played with, the one that had bookings galore, travelled state-wide, and had SRO crowds wherever we went, hired me when I was playing an Electra Phoenix.

Electra Phoenix.jpg

Decent enough bass, it got the job done, but certainly not your "high-profile" brand name that gear snobs would give a thumbs up to.
 
#26
It happened to me once about three or four years ago. I was invited to try out for an ACDC Tribute band. One of the requirements was to send a pic of your gear, so I did. They responded back that I would need to show up with only a Stingray 4 banger. I e-mailed them back that my Millennium 5er could cop Cliff's tone no prob & was/is the only bass I will own or use. After discussing gig volume & $$ per show, I just ended up telling them to look elsewhere and turned down their request to audition for them. In the long run it was the right thing for me.
 
#27
studio producers are always raving about p basses, and preemptively will say you need one. I've experienced this twice.

I tried out for a heavy band once, and the guitar player didn't like the peavey cirrus that I had. he wanted a painted guitar, and wanted me to use a pick. They weren't that great so i didn't think about it much after I was passed over. singer and drummer knew i nailed the parts.
 
#28
Never. Everybody in my band (except the drummer) plays mongrel instruments which may not look the greatest, but rock hard, so we'd be in trouble if that was the case. Of course, I live near Detroit, so while there is gear pride, there isn't much room for gear snobbery.
 
#30
jlane72t said:
I will say, back in college I was starting up a classic blues-rock band, and a kid showed up to toting a BC Rich Warlock. Now I'm no gear snob - my main bass is a SquierVM, and I even owned a Warlock myself at one point - but there's a certain point where you're just showing up with the wrong tool for the job...and I don't want to waste my time with someone who doesn't know the difference.
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I can play a blues I, IV, V root on a pointy six string as well as I can on a one string plank. Quality, tone, appearance, and ergonomics of a bass may vary, but it's still a bass and fills a slot in the sonic spectrum. You can still be a minimalist toting a Conklin. I would never exclude anyone based on what they play.

On the same note, a guitar is a guitar no matter how it looks. I'll make a BC Rich Warlock sound like a feral dog in a blues jam just about as well as I will with a Strat. Hell, the BC Rich will actually sound grittier. My main guitar is a Squier Strat with a crazy pickup mashup. I've never been turned down despite how ugly it is. Once I turn on, I'm in. :hyper: On a side note, it's been kicked out of it's spot by a vintage Ibanez strat clone MIJ sometime in the '80's.
 
#33
phillipkregg said:
So, a Sadowsky and an SX are pretty much equal - except that they both have something different written on the headstock?
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They both play notes in the bass register and I would never reject anyone based on what they play. It's all about how they play it.

I buy basses that feel comfortable (1st) and sound good to me (2nd) regardless of brand. Value is also a powerful factor in purchase. ;)
 
#34
christw said:
They both play notes in the bass register
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Yes, they do. And that's pretty much where the comparison stops.

and I would never reject anyone based on what they play.
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Never said you should.

It's all about how they play it.
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This is what I said on the first page.

I buy basses that feel comfortable (1st) and sound good to me (2nd) regardless of brand.
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Yup, everyone should do this.
 
#35
There was a bunch here in Atlanta many years ago that was looking for a bass player,and the ad said" must play old Precision bass and Ampeg SVT amp and cabinet". Needless to say they finally gave up. I told him that I'd do the gig if he would provide the gear,and got a definite "hell no'.
 
#37
I think that there is alot of unwarranted gear snobbery, but I think that in certain, limited situations there is good reason for it. Check the Lenny Kravitz thread for more on this topic.

I got my country gig based mostly on my playing and personality, but they did mention that they really appreciated me showing up with a Fender 4 string and not the "pointy dean" that the guy before me had. I've played my T-40, Artcore, Fender, Frankenfender and Decade-Wanabe on stage with them since then but it's undeniable that a classic-styled 4 stringers just fits the visual look of that band.

Musicians are entertainers.
Your bass is part of your wardrobe.
Dress appropriately.
 
#38
TolerancEJ said:
Hmm... Well you probably shouldn't show up at a country band audition with one of those pointy BC Rich's.
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I showed up to a country bass audition, more of a "can't find anyone else willing so lets just make sure this guy can play" session with my Warwick Rockbass Corvette. The guy let me play, I got the gig, but then he started busting out basses he wanted me to play. I now play a Fender Jazz and a Ric 4001 (on indefinite loan) and leave my Rockbass to sit. So, I got the gig, but based only on the guy's perception of the bass (only played through a crate taxi at the audition in his living room) I may not have if he wasn't stuck for a player! In the end it's all good, as I get to play, make a few dollars, and use their fine instruments to boot!
 
#39
grisezd said:
I showed up to a country bass audition, more of a "can't find anyone else willing so lets just make sure this guy can play" session with my Warwick Rockbass Corvette. The guy let me play, I got the gig, but then he started busting out basses he wanted me to play. I now play a Fender Jazz and a Ric 4001 (on indefinite loan) and leave my Rockbass to sit. So, I got the gig, but based only on the guy's perception of the bass (only played through a crate taxi at the audition in his living room) I may not have if he wasn't stuck for a player! In the end it's all good, as I get to play, make a few dollars, and use their fine instruments to boot!
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Geez, so picky. I wouldn't consider a Warwick Rockbass Corvette to be overly exotic. Oh well, at least you get to use their instruments... and break their strings. lol
 
#40
Never been turned down by a band, but I have had the soundguy discriminate against me (IE: turning down or muting my channel) due to his dislike of my bass of choice.
I and everyone else in the band liked the tone, however.

I won't work with that guy again.
 

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