Don't knock cheap basses until you try them.

[Dr. Cheese]

Add in Ibanez and you have three of the most undervalued manufacturers out there. IMHO of course!

For sure! ATKs, BTBs, all Prestige Ibbys kick butt!

 

[jhan]

I recently tried a used MIM Fender Jazz and really liked it.

 

[jnuts1]

i am not saying things don't happen but even if i did have to sell my bass for financial reasons, i would buy another nice bass eventually. but i am no gas whore, i have been playing the same MTD for at least 8 years now so it is not like i am buying crazy basses all the time. i just know they are made better & play like butter compared to your regular mass produced bass. & i really don't get the guys who are scared of hurting their expensive bass, it is made to be played.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

i am not saying things don't happen but even if i did have to sell my bass for financial reasons, i would buy another nice bass eventually. but i am no gas whore, i have been playing the same MTD for at least 8 years now so it is not like i am buying crazy basses all the time. i just know they are made better & play like butter compared to your regular mass produced bass. & i really don't get the guys who are scared of hurting their expensive bass, it is made to be played.

You specifically like MTDs, so it would make sense to get another one. As for me, I just appreciate quality, and quality could be a Hamer Cruisebass, a Peavey Millennium, or a Yamaha TRB. None of those basses cost much on the used market, but they are all very high quality.

 

[jnuts1]

you are right, i love my MTD. but i don't know if i would go get another one. i really like Ken Smith & CB basses. & all the CB basses i have played were quite nice.

 

[Relayer71]

The best bass I ever played was First Act bass for $50 at my local music store, sure the frets were a bit sharp, the color was pink. but it practically played itself, It played better than all my custom built basses I had built.

Ha! That never happened, that was a movie of the week. I saw it. Nice try though !

 

[Relayer71]

Din Of Win, you forgot the guy (pro or non-pro) who's got a ton of cash but is just stingy as hell and would rather not spend more than $xxx on a bike/bass

Or the one doesn't really have a lot of cash (or need really) for expensive gear but who thinks boutique names include some kind of sophistication and credibility in the case!

 

[Din Of Win]

Din Of Win, you forgot the guy (pro or non-pro) who's got a ton of cash but is just stingy as hell and would rather not spend more than $xxx on a bike/bass

Or the one doesn't really have a lot of cash (or need really) for expensive gear but who thinks boutique names include some kind of sophistication and credibility in the case!

Haha an example of your second paragraph would, in bike speak, be the new-fangled (er-at least since '06ish) Fixie Hipsters. Willing to drop $2000 on the simplist machine because of the name it caries.

You exemplify my point though... there are so many different sittuations... it's really nonsensical to bash anyone for what they play/ride. But, also, in hobbies that have SUCH a wide degree of seperration between tools (i.e. basses, bikes) these arguments are inevetable.

 

[jay tay]

I've always played cheep bass' I learned to play on a P-Bass copy that cost less than £100,
I always wanted to play a really nice bass, and saved up for years to buy a Fender urge, Stu Hamm signature bass, it cost over £1000. The thing is, though the Urge played well, and had an amazing array of tone's and sounds, I always found myself picking up my old cheap bass, every time I felt like Jamming, I guess it's a bit like having an old friend!! any way these days I have a selection of budget basses, and some middle range basses, and I love them all, I'm in the process of designing my own custom axe with the help of a local Luther, as I intend to spend a lot of money on it, I want it to be as close to perfect as humanly possible, so I'm experimenting with modifying cheep basses, until I find the right tone, shape, balance, electronics ect. and the Urge... its on long term loan to a friend who gigs with it, records with it, loves it more than I ever did!

 

[randall p]

I'm loving my Squier VMJ. Bought an aftermarket bridge for it for $20, may change the pups, but the neck just feels "right". And if the neck feels good, hard to pass that up regardless of the name on the headstock.

 

[blipndub]

I just think it's amazing what good quality there is for such little money. And it's a good thing because people just starting out don't have to suffer playing all the crappy beginner basses that were around 20 years ago. My first bass was a black 1978 Fender Musicmaster that my dad bought in 1983 for like $150. It sounded terrible due and the neck was bent all to hell, the bridge was a joke - typical Fender junk. Now for that kind of money you can get a decent gig quality bass. It's a good thing!

 

[insidious meme]

An example using one of my other favorite things... CYCLING!


We have person A. He is a dentist who has picked up cycling as a weekend health and all around fun past time. 'A' has the money, being a dentist, to drop a cool $3000 on a nice carbon fiber road bike, with a snazzy spandex suit that he can pedal around with on the weekend.

We have person B. 'B' is a serious cyclist. 'B' competes in cat. 4 road races during the summer and has also taken up cyclocross in the winter. Now, to kill time and stay in shape, 'B' has also been compeeting in the local Velodrome as well as a tri-athalon or two per year. 'B' is so serious about this that he has spent about $5000 on each bike for each race, which has been custom made for his height and weight. Cycling for 'B' is a full time job and it is how he makes a living. 'B' is puuuuure pro.

We have person C. 'C' is a bike messenger on the mean streets of New York city. 'C' is on his bike for hours upon hours 5 or 6 days a week. Now, NY is a rough place, and 'C' doesn't need a fancy carbon bike. 'C' has dumpstered a frame and built it up himself, stripping off superfluous gears and/or braking systems. If that fails, 'C' has no problem rocking a WalMart bike that gets him from point a to point b. All in all though, 'C' doesn't spend more than $100 or so on any of his bikes.

Finally, we have person D. 'D' is a pure commuter. However, unlike 'C', 'D' has a nice spot to lock his bike up at work and can afford to spend $2000 on a comfortable bike. However, 'D' is aware that he lives in a city and theft happens, so 'D' also has a neat little hybrid bike that only set him back about $500. Recently, 'D' has been enjoying his hybrid even more than his nice commuter bike.



Now, the same story can be applied to almost ANY sort of wide-ranging hobby. In our bass world, 'A' would be the same affluent dentist that has a super nice Sadowsky and a nice micro combo that he mainly uses in his bedroom... but will play out on occation. 'B' would be the super pro with a bajillion different basses for each job. 'C' would be the less-affluent but still giging bassist that has no problem rocking an SX or Squier as long as it gets the job done. Finally, 'D' would be the guy that gigs some times and jams with his friend, he may have a nice MIA Fender... but he's also hip to the pure playability of his SX.

So the moral is... everyone is different. Everyone's reason and methodology for playing bass is different. Some guy loves his $4000 Ritter just as much as the guy that loves his SX. You can't put a price on passion and you can't make judgements on other people's said passion. No-one has the right to bash someone's $4000 high-end boutique bass just as no one has the right to bash the other guy's $80 SX.



TL;DR - Play your own bass to the best of your own ability and play it so that YOU are happy.... **** what anyone else thinks.

And here I am thinking if I should drop a wad of cash on a new set of handbuilt wheels for my low midrange priced roadie.

Regardless, the message is the same.. play/ride the hell out of what you got.

 

[funkingroovin]

I applaud you,sir.

I have to be the only guy here that will ever boast about a Rogue,but I can't help it. I have a Rogue lx405pro in the liquid sunset quilt finish. I paid $212,shipped to my door. I bought it because I was looking to get a "good"($$) bass,but didn't want to break the bank on a 4str,and later find I would rather play 5. So i got a cheap 5r to try out.

Opened it up,changed the strings and battery,and have been gigging it for about three yrs now.It sounds good,cuts thru the mix and it's comfortable.

It's not my main player,but sadly(?) it's the one I've received the most compliments on.They see the pretty finish and the shiny parts,and say "Man,I bet THAT one set ya back,huh?" or "I can see why you're playin' the black one(Fen.J),don't want to scratch the good one,right?"

In the end,only you(or another bassist)really know the score,so if it works,work it.

 

[Din Of Win]

And here I am thinking if I should drop a wad of cash on a new set of handbuilt wheels for my low midrange priced roadie.

Haha... well wouldn't that just be comperable to throwing on a new bridge/tuners/pups on an SX?

Going a lil' off topic... I think wheels are VERY important. Give me a rusted raggedy, but sturdy steel frame, i'll still slap on some nice wheels in a heartbeat! If you get a chance... learning to build wheels is one of the most fun bike-related projects i have ever taken on and i highly reccomend it! The difference in cost to build your own vs a custom job is astounding!

 

[FunkMetalBass]

If I don't like how it looks, then I wont even bother to try it or play it.

I'll say that about a lot of the higher-end companies as well.

 

[roadkill2309]

Haha... well wouldn't that just be comperable to throwing on a new bridge/tuners/pups on an SX?

Going a lil' off topic... I think wheels are VERY important. Give me a rusted raggedy, but sturdy steel frame, i'll still slap on some nice wheels in a heartbeat! If you get a chance... learning to build wheels is one of the most fun bike-related projects i have ever taken on and i highly reccomend it! The difference in cost to build your own vs a custom job is astounding!

I have two bikes, a Devinci XC hardtail and a Cannondale Prophet. Neither are new any more (uh, I think the Devinci's a 2004 and the 'dale's a 2007), but for both, I made sure to buy the model with the best frame I could afford so that I could (if I wanted to) upgrade things as I went over time rather than buyign a new bike every few years.

That being said, I agree with you about the wheels. I find that hitting the same price point on bikes and I mentioned in my previous post about basses gets you some nice wheelsets, though. And pups, tuners, etc that you don't need to upgrade on basses.

I've upgraded a lot of stuff on the Devinci over time, but that's mostly because I fell into the upgrade mania that some of us fall for (be it bikes or basses). Now, I'm just using the bikes. I'll replace stuff as it wears out.

The Devinci doubles as my transportation in the city. Yes, getting from A to B on a $1500 (plus upgraded disc brakes, crank and cockpit) bike might seem kinda stupid, and I don't disagree. If there wasn't dedicated indoor bike parking at work, I'd likely buy a $50 stinker for bombing around town.

The fact is that my philosophy about bikes matches that about basses. I want to use stuff that excites me, even if my gigs are almost always at pubs.

 

[Christian Waiau]

I have two bikes, a Devinci XC hardtail and a Cannondale Prophet. Neither are new any more (uh, I think the Devinci's a 2004 and the 'dale's a 2007), but for both, I made sure to buy the model with the best frame I could afford so that I could (if I wanted to) upgrade things as I went over time rather than buyign a new bike every few years.

That being said, I agree with you about the wheels. I find that hitting the same price point on bikes and I mentioned in my previous post about basses gets you some nice wheelsets, though. And pups, tuners, etc that you don't need to upgrade on basses.

I've upgraded a lot of stuff on the Devinci over time, but that's mostly because I fell into the upgrade mania that some of us fall for (be it bikes or basses). Now, I'm just using the bikes. I'll replace stuff as it wears out.

The Devinci doubles as my transportation in the city. Yes, getting from A to B on a $1500 (plus upgraded disc brakes, crank and cockpit) bike might seem kinda stupid, and I don't disagree. If there wasn't dedicated indoor bike parking at work, I'd likely buy a $50 stinker for bombing around town.

The fact is that my philosophy about bikes matches that about basses. I want to use stuff that excites me, even if my gigs are almost always at pubs.

best reason and explaination ive heard

 

[insidious meme]

Haha... well wouldn't that just be comperable to throwing on a new bridge/tuners/pups on an SX?

Going a lil' off topic... I think wheels are VERY important. Give me a rusted raggedy, but sturdy steel frame, i'll still slap on some nice wheels in a heartbeat! If you get a chance... learning to build wheels is one of the most fun bike-related projects i have ever taken on and i highly reccomend it! The difference in cost to build your own vs a custom job is astounding!

Well, I wouldn't compare my Specialized Roubaix to an SX, though an SX would be IMO alot more valuable than say a GMC Denali bicycle for respective use.

The wheels would be the best bang for the buck upgrade I can think of on my bike, but it's more now that I have to come up with funds than anything. I haven't got the tools, know how or desire right now to build my own wheels, though it is as you say with regards to cost. In that case, I'd rather just continue developing my musical skills, and have someone else deal with that.

 

[GregDunn]

If I don't like how it looks, then I wont even bother to try it or play it.

I'll say that about a lot of the higher-end companies as well.

So true. I'm very fortunate that the basses which play well for me are also attractive to me. I could hardly ask for more. Some of the expensive basses are just fugly, in my eyes, no matter how beautiful the wood grain and hardware are. To each his/her own.

 

[Din Of Win]

If I don't like how it looks, then I wont even bother to try it or play it.

I'll say that about a lot of the higher-end companies as well.

Yep. +1

It may not be rational... but i usually wont even look twice at a bass without a pick guard (which, much to the relief of my wallet, includes most of the high-end botique stuff). Dunno why...