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Expensive vs inexpensive basses

#243
Ok... I'm gonna make OP feel better, and make the rest of Y'all very angry with Me. But, that's FINE.

I actually like the way My Masters bass "feels", a 'bit' better than My Tobias (even though they are VERY similar). Now... the Tobias DOES SOUND BETTER than the Masters. But... I can "UPGRADE" the Masters. There is at LEAST a $2000.00 difference, in what each instrument can be "had" for. If I were to choose to, for MUCH LESS than the difference, I can make My Masters bass sound very close to, if not, JUST LIKE My Tobias, with "upgrades."

Now... to be on the side of those "offended", yep... I own a bunch of MID/HIGH dollar basses. None in the 5k range. But... a few 2500/3k range. There is DEFINATELY a difference, and... OP should NOT have lit the fuse by saying, "Keep your Fedoras", etc...
He may be young, inexperienced, and unable to AFFORD such instruments, at this time. But, what He can afford, and... what His very cool Wife purchased for Him, may be well and good enough for what His level of playing, and enjoyment is, at this juncture.

We ALL started somewhere, got better, and appreciated better instruments.

Let's back him up, and grow our COMMUNITY.

BTW, has anyone asked OP, what else is in His "arsenal? What he has played? He may be experienced, and have some pretty cool stuff. Maybe, his "cheap" bass, is throwing some cool TONES, that are NEW to Him.

Peace, Brothers.
Marc
20180620_222341.jpg

P.S.
I'm done "Talkin" for the the night. Gonna go have some Bourbon, plug in My '79 Sabre for a while, and enjoy the worlds greatest (midrange priced) bass EVER!!! :thumbsup::hyper:
 
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#251
All I saying is that you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on a bass when you can get a well constructed instrument for a lot less , make a few adjustments (if necessary) and you have yourself a nice axe . As Al Di Meola once put it . These are no bad guitars . Just bad players .
 
#252
micguy said:
I read threads like these, where the general consensus is that a $10K bass is ridiculously high priced.

Then I go and play music with cellists and harpists - to them a $10K instrument is a student model - at best. I have a bunch of basses that are great instruments, and added together they’re as much as one modest Asian upright piano.

We have it really good.
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Your right . I'm also a brass player and I , just for the interest of it , checked out the prices of new brass instruments . WOW ! I picked up a baritone horn in a junk store for $25 . And it is very playable . You can't get a new one (of equal quality) for less than $2000 . Same thing with a trombone (a '50s King pro model) I just bought in a pawn shop for $90 . $2100 new . I'll be very happy with my couple hundred dollar bass , thank you too much .
 
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#254
A correct statement would be that there are bad guitars, just that there are more bad players than bad guitars.

Hell, with modern production technology, there is an incredible number of great or at least okay instruments being pushed out of factories every day. Did not use to be the case 60 years ago, and any oldschool guy I know is floored by modern cheap instruments, because cheap back in the day meant "unplayable", pretty much, nowadays it means "not amazing".
 
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#255
Just will put in my 2 cents on this topic too - I only own two basses - a Squire Jaguar and the Paul Lairat Stega. I bought the Jaguar used for about $120 bucks and the Stega cost well over that. Anyhoo, when my Stega is getting a set up and it takes a week or so to get back I will play the Jag. Would I prefer to play the Stega - hell yeah! But when it is not an option that does not stop me from continue to practice and play with the Jag. I actually really like the Jag and for its cost is a great instrument. But at the end of the day, if I have both in the stable I will play the Stega. The build, sound, etc is better. Does the expensive instrument make me a better player - yes and no... There are things I can do on the Stega that are more difficult than on the Jag. But essentially I am the same player regardless of the instrument. Only practicing with make one a better player.
 
#257
cosmicevan said:
The comedy of folks railing against expensive basses as excessive while thier avatars and profiles show that they own an arsenal of lesser expensive instruments and gear is not lost on me.

Personally, I'd rather have a single half dozen than 6 individually wrapped.

:laugh::roflmao::woot:
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There are two ways to go about this - more basses are good for alternate tunings, scale lengths, pickups, frets(less) etc, BUT at the same time, when you're on stage with a $100 bass, the audience won't hear the other $900 you have at home. When you put $1000+ into a single bass then you are using the cost well at all times.
 
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#258
TKnights said:
I've played both high end and low end basses in my day and I have to say I'm getting a pretty good sound and feel out of some less costly basses . The latest addition to my arsenal is a very inexpensive bass . An Ibanez GSR200SM . My wife bought this for me for Xmas a couple of years ago . I don't know what she paid for it . I think it was a "Stupid deal of the day" from Musicians Friend . She said she liked the way it looked . So did I for that matter . After disabling that crappy active PhatII EQ (The pickups are actually passive) it's turning out to be a very good bass . The construction is solid and it feels and sounds great . I find myself using it more often than my other 4s . Furthermore , it came out of the box completely set up . The action and the intonation were on the mark . So you can keep your Foderas , Alembics , etc . I'm happy .
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Cheaper basses:
I think you're, kind of, hitting the nail on the head with a lot of this stuff. With CNC machines becoming cheaper and cheaper, that means woodworking is becoming cheaper and cheaper. Also, with so many pickup/electronics makers the competition is bringing down the prices.

CNC made instruments may get a bad rap... but they are made perfectly... every time... and consistently. A hand made instrument will have have a lot of inconsistencies. You really want a CNC made, hand finished bass. It will be the best of both worlds. Look at companies like Kiesel, for instance. They are making customized, CNC made, hand finished instruments that are inexpensive in the grand scheme of things. There are a lot of companies doing that now.

The biggest problem I've found with these cheap, mass produced, machine made instruments is a lack of setup. But, an hour or two of setup time and you can have a very playable instrument for a stupidly cheap price. No kidding, I just bought a 7 string fretless bass for $600. I spent an extra $200 on new pickups and paid $100 for my guy to swap out the electronics. That's a total of $900 for a bass made to my specs. My last bass before that was $8K and I wound up paying about $500 on a total electronics swap-out (active to passive). That's a big difference and both basses are of comparable quality and playability.

Active/Passive:
As an ERB player, I had been a fan of active electronics for many years. As I've gotten older, I've found a lack of warmth and responsiveness from the active electronics. In the past, there were very few ERB pickup/electronic choices. Now, there are a lot of choices. I have been able to go all passive on my basses and I am so much happier. You can hear a lot of subtle differences in the way you play and the materials of your bass when you go passive.
 
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#259
Well this is ridiculas ....I play court tabias bc rich and my baby is a Dean razorback dime bass ..and I tell you what if I'm gigging and you come up to me with your 1000 dollar bass and laugh at me for my 200 .to 700 dollar jobs were gonna fight and I'll break your picker ..bc in the big scheme of thinks your fancy ass stuff can't save you from a bloody nose...everybody plays what they can afford I play metal and welcome a Richie ass wipe to step up and disrespect me...we all bleed red ..never forget that...and ...if you can't afford the fancy stuff ..do the best you can ...lol and here is a funny spot ..you go to a gig and your bass ends up walking off ...I can go get another replacement at the local pawn shop and still do my gig .snobby ass wipes will go home mad and pout...hahahah
 
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#260
quickfix said:
I'm with you on the cheap basses.
Each of my basses new would be around $1,000 Cdn.
Seems to be the sweet spot for quality vs cost.
I can't imagine paying 4-5 grand for a bass.
My guitars on the other hand...worth every hard earned penny.
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I'm with You, l have two Fender's, a Amer. 4str.Deluxe Jazz Bass. Classic Tobacco Sunburst/ Tortist Shell Pick guard, Passive. Sey.Dun. Classic/Stay Pick.-Ups. Best 4str. I'Ve Ever owned. Same thing in a 5str.Fender, Passive, Sey.Duncan Hot/Stax. Pick-ups. Had this Bass since 1998. Best Five str. I'Ve owned. Paid $1,200 for it. Paid $1,300 for the Four str. Both together been offered $6,000 for the Pair, won't ever sell'em. I make $ 20,000-25,000 per year with these instruments Part time. They put food on my Table. So can't do the that with Cheap stuff, Sorry. Image is as important as everything else. To Look Pro and be Pro.
 

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