Nope. Not naming any builders, I have owned basses that cost $300 to $10,500. My current basses average around $1000 and $1500 and I am very satisfied with them. I've had expensive basses that didn't sound all that great. You can find a great bass that is not boutique, you just have to look until you find it.
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.
Downgrading from High-End Boutique Basses... Insanity?
- Thread starter TheMartianBassist
- Start date
I went through a weird period where both of my basses were relatively high end USA made basses. (>$1,000/ea)
Then one day it hit me, I don't have a beater.
So I kept my RIC & now have a cheap Yamaha (<$100) as my beater.
It plays surprisingly well & is lighter than the RIC by almost 1-1/2 lbs.
Then one day it hit me, I don't have a beater.
So I kept my RIC & now have a cheap Yamaha (<$100) as my beater.
It plays surprisingly well & is lighter than the RIC by almost 1-1/2 lbs.
- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
AND, buying used and looking (diligently and patiently) for deals, one can get a "boutique" instrument for at or near the cost of a new, "off the rack" instrument.
Real Value Of Gear =(Money Earned with Gear) /(Price paid for Gear)
That said, my gear still hasn't paid or itself.
That said, my gear still hasn't paid or itself.
man o man....I was with an original hard rock band for 2.5 years up until March before I just had enough. 100$ each/mo for jam space, $$ for online stuffs, new gear, approx up to 5K for a three song EP...I'm gonna pay for that for a while....not ONCE was there a dollar in my hand from a gig. You basically play for the door...and maybe your expenses are covered.
You better get cracking on booking more gigs!!!! Everything I've bought in the last 30 years was paid for by gigs. Even a $30 gig brings in over $1500 if you have one every week...
A great discussion!!! However...
I used to be a professional photographer and there are many similarities between these two universes.
Amateur photographers (those who enjoy the trade w/o getting paid on a consistent basis) would come up and ask me what camera I was using, what lens I was using, what flash I had in my bag. Generally, I'd use a fixed lens and amateurs would ask me about the zoom lenses I had or the pixel count. I used flashes outdoors (which struck some as odd), I'd have a bag of batteries rather than a bag of lenses, I didn't have the latest model camera body.
Professionals (those who supported themselves with the trade) would ask where I was when I took photos, what it felt like. When talking gear, professionals usually only asked what kind of tripod I preferred (if I captured something on a monopod or a tripod, etc.). Professionals knew that the magic happened in the eyepiece, not in the equipment, and that a 50mm lens could create masterpieces in the right hands.
I liken the same to bass "playing". I don't think everyone is a bass "player". Perhaps there are different roles in the bass community: collectors, spenders, traders, amateurs, and professionals (likely even crossovers or ones I've not considered or mentioned). Many people enjoy collecting bass stuff - and that's good! Collectors may not play something as much as an amateur or professional, but owning it is part of the magic. (I imagine the cars in Jay Leno's garage, the ones with less than 1000 miles on them). Spenders turn things around fast, finding the newest and best iteration as necessary to their setup. Both of these roles are great for amateurs and professionals! Collectors with big bucks help keep the industry solvent and provide reason for manufacturers to create really exciting things. Spenders reward innovation! And amateurs and professionals reap the benefits by seeing botique pickups at a reasonable price and knockoffs that allow for 75-90% of the benefit of the real thing.
But beyond a certain point, the sound comes from the player, not the equipment. Give a $100 bass to a professional, let her/him rock it, and others will want that $100 bass. I have a friend who brags about his 8x10 cab all day long, explaining how heavy each magnet (in ounces) and how it'll shake the panties off of his next prey. But in reality, he doesn't play the bass that much, in fact he picks up my bass plugged into a 1x12 and has very little to say as he enjoys it. He is a collector. And being a collector makes him happy. He has something to talk about with his bass buddies, can use the first 5 frets, and waxes poetic about how deep he can sink his B string into this or that.
He and I are different. I practice an hour a day. I practice reading charts, tabs, notes, classical, country, hymns, contemporary, ear playing, boring riffs, hand strength and stamina exercises, finger twisters, reducing buzz, cleaning up my technique, and enjoy drinking 5 beers with a buddy and working over his ABG with round-wounds on his porch while he plays guitar and makes up lyrics. Its the doing, the playing, the mastry of a difficult skill that drives me.
However --> I'm happy that there are spenders, collectors, and players in the bass community. Without all of these roles, we wouldn't have a 1x12 that'll fill a 300 person theater. We would't know about the minute benefits and drawbacks of bolt-on vs neck-thru. I wouldn't have heard about cobalt flats or nickel half-rounds. Or how dead spots move around and can be shifted by a bit of weight on the neck. It takes spenders to sift through the hundreds of bass strings available. It takes collectors willing to look at a wall of +$5000 instruments. It takes amateurs who want to learn. It takes professionals who make me dream.
I will always only own one bass. If I can't do it on that bass, likely it isn't the bass that's the problem. I like the work, the effort, the mastry. But as Newton noted: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." The professionals, amateurs, collectors and spenders have gotten us this far, and we need all of us to keep it going.
Kevin
P.S. to answer the OP - I've not downgraded in search of "better" or "more," I've adapted my playing style to find the sound I need.
I used to be a professional photographer and there are many similarities between these two universes.
Amateur photographers (those who enjoy the trade w/o getting paid on a consistent basis) would come up and ask me what camera I was using, what lens I was using, what flash I had in my bag. Generally, I'd use a fixed lens and amateurs would ask me about the zoom lenses I had or the pixel count. I used flashes outdoors (which struck some as odd), I'd have a bag of batteries rather than a bag of lenses, I didn't have the latest model camera body.
Professionals (those who supported themselves with the trade) would ask where I was when I took photos, what it felt like. When talking gear, professionals usually only asked what kind of tripod I preferred (if I captured something on a monopod or a tripod, etc.). Professionals knew that the magic happened in the eyepiece, not in the equipment, and that a 50mm lens could create masterpieces in the right hands.
I liken the same to bass "playing". I don't think everyone is a bass "player". Perhaps there are different roles in the bass community: collectors, spenders, traders, amateurs, and professionals (likely even crossovers or ones I've not considered or mentioned). Many people enjoy collecting bass stuff - and that's good! Collectors may not play something as much as an amateur or professional, but owning it is part of the magic. (I imagine the cars in Jay Leno's garage, the ones with less than 1000 miles on them). Spenders turn things around fast, finding the newest and best iteration as necessary to their setup. Both of these roles are great for amateurs and professionals! Collectors with big bucks help keep the industry solvent and provide reason for manufacturers to create really exciting things. Spenders reward innovation! And amateurs and professionals reap the benefits by seeing botique pickups at a reasonable price and knockoffs that allow for 75-90% of the benefit of the real thing.
But beyond a certain point, the sound comes from the player, not the equipment. Give a $100 bass to a professional, let her/him rock it, and others will want that $100 bass. I have a friend who brags about his 8x10 cab all day long, explaining how heavy each magnet (in ounces) and how it'll shake the panties off of his next prey. But in reality, he doesn't play the bass that much, in fact he picks up my bass plugged into a 1x12 and has very little to say as he enjoys it. He is a collector. And being a collector makes him happy. He has something to talk about with his bass buddies, can use the first 5 frets, and waxes poetic about how deep he can sink his B string into this or that.
He and I are different. I practice an hour a day. I practice reading charts, tabs, notes, classical, country, hymns, contemporary, ear playing, boring riffs, hand strength and stamina exercises, finger twisters, reducing buzz, cleaning up my technique, and enjoy drinking 5 beers with a buddy and working over his ABG with round-wounds on his porch while he plays guitar and makes up lyrics. Its the doing, the playing, the mastry of a difficult skill that drives me.
However --> I'm happy that there are spenders, collectors, and players in the bass community. Without all of these roles, we wouldn't have a 1x12 that'll fill a 300 person theater. We would't know about the minute benefits and drawbacks of bolt-on vs neck-thru. I wouldn't have heard about cobalt flats or nickel half-rounds. Or how dead spots move around and can be shifted by a bit of weight on the neck. It takes spenders to sift through the hundreds of bass strings available. It takes collectors willing to look at a wall of +$5000 instruments. It takes amateurs who want to learn. It takes professionals who make me dream.
I will always only own one bass. If I can't do it on that bass, likely it isn't the bass that's the problem. I like the work, the effort, the mastry. But as Newton noted: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." The professionals, amateurs, collectors and spenders have gotten us this far, and we need all of us to keep it going.
Kevin
P.S. to answer the OP - I've not downgraded in search of "better" or "more," I've adapted my playing style to find the sound I need.
Last edited:
Own two Gibson Les Paul Custom guitars $3k or more each, play my $800 Epiphone Les Pauls 5x more. Down to 3 basses, all Fender $1200 -1800 (AM Elite, Deluxe, Select), that is it for me, don;t need anything pricier then that for my world. I say rock what you got. Skills more then make up for cost of the gear!
I don't quite have the $6,000+ range basses, but I have my fair share of Modulus, Dingwall and the like. However, at the same time I grab those "higher end" basses, I will also pull out my Krappy 2 string, my Peavey T-20 and my Kay KB-2 or even my Aria A-200, all purchased for under $75 each. So, right on. What ever you like to play you know...
What about the sheer joy I feel playing and hearing the instruments of my choosing, whether in a live mix or in a recorded one? I don't see that in your equation anywhere. And yes, to me that is REAL value.
Guys, let me refresh the notion that you would "downgrade" to a cheaper bass not for monetary reasons!
Tone, playability and comfort are the main criteria here.
Tone, playability and comfort are the main criteria here.
If you're talking Fenders and Fender clones, yes it would be hard to distinguish what's what. The difference would be much more apparent if it's a bass with a unique voice like Ken Smith, Wal, Rickenbacker, etc.
It isn't like you traded them out for Rondo SX basses or something like that. You still purchased some quality instruments that have a good reputation.
Some instruments are just expensive because they can be. There is a certain level of diminishing returns. I have nothing against the instruments you had; I would have bought them if I had the money. There is nothing wrong with what you swapped them out for either.
Enjoy your stuff and don't sweat it.
Mmmm... Yes, but the main factor, the bass wasn't sitting in the mix as good as I like. So instead of messing with different strings, I traded the Smith- (also I wasn't real happy with the low b).. It was ok, but not outstanding like my Bossa or Modulus. The tapered strings/bridge design, I'm not a fan of.Uhhh, you know you can change the strings, right?
I play and collect gear as a hobby. I rarely play outside the house anymore and if i do I play at my church once in a blue moon. When I do play there I usually play my p bass because it does the genre really well.
However i own many basses and have owned many above the $4k mark for my own enjoyment at home.
I love looking at the woodwork and playing finely crafted instruments.
I even had our floors done with wenge and bulbinga because I had a major thing for warwicks back in the days
However i own many basses and have owned many above the $4k mark for my own enjoyment at home.
I love looking at the woodwork and playing finely crafted instruments.
I even had our floors done with wenge and bulbinga because I had a major thing for warwicks back in the days
My downgrade wasn't for monetary reasons, it was that I really felt no more satisfaction playing a high end instrument. The big pile of money that came from this change of thinking was a nice bonus though.
Been there - done that. Heck, doing that. Lost my job, so my Lakland will just have to do (yeah, not exactly a profound backward step from my Fodera, but still...)
