Expensive vs inexpensive basses

[Rwelshjr]

I personally believe that once you reach a certain mid-grade level of quality, it's mostly taste that guides your purchase.

Modern manufacturing has advanced to the point where you can get a pretty decent piece of carved wood with frets for relatively little money. Fit and finish is generally acceptable on all but the cheapest crap. The biggest difference I see is in the rest of the hardware. Tuners may be flimsy, electronics substandard, etc. And of course where it's made. I tend to buy USA, although not exclusively. I've seen some Indonesian basses that played very well, although I wasn't blown away by their sound.

If I had a limited amount of money to spend and intended to play live, I'd probably put the bulk of the money into the amp and seek a decent, used player bass. I know that's heretical around here, but man playing with a band through a bad amp sucks.

Amp is definately a key factor. I think bass is too though. I think shorting your quality on either is screwing one’s self.

 

[english4bw]

As an owner of just about everything and every brand of bass in my life I will say without hesitation that the more expensive basses are undoubtedly better than the cheaper basses. So many reasons why... not even time to list them here. Suffice it to say I have a Sadowsky RV5 and a Yamaha BB2025X right now and flagship models are flagship models for a reason: they are AMAZING. Lower end models are okay, just not quite at the same level. IMHO.

I'm currently saving for a Fodera Emperor Standard Classic 5 so I will take the OP's advice and enjoy it as well. I would never go back to anything less than high-end basses. Just sayin.

 

[Coachkellyg]

@LovingBass, make sure you unplug your instrument after playing; the battery should not go dead that often if you put in a quality battery and leave it unplugged between sessions.

If you watch the various shootout videos on Youtube, you will see that in the hands of a good musician, the difference between an expensive bass and an inexpensive one is rarely detectable. And that is to us! Imagine how much less our audience members notice. And then you add in the rest of the band sound that further hides our fantastic tone. If the instrument is mechanically sound with a flat fingerboard and properly set up, the only person who will know you spent a lot or a little on an instrument is you. If you have the means to spend thousands of dollars on a bass and spending that money makes you feel better or feel you play better, then go for it. If you have a mid-level instrument, you can sound fantastic. Play. Play every day.

 

[CD Thompson]

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 .

I have a friend in LA area that I play guitar in a band with and he uses an Ibanez 5 String and he gets a great sound out of it and has no complaints with his Bass. After a hiatus of 8 years of not playing out “live” as a Bass player I have returned to my number one instrument as of 2017 never to ignore it again. When I started honesty playing Bass again I was using a friends Ibanez and I could make it sound acceptable but immediately found myself in desperate need of a great working Bass so off to the local music store I go and found a Fender American Pro J Bass. This was not the Elite version but still well over $1000. I played a Guild Bass that I tried to fall in love with and a bunch of other basses only to find that I had to have “Excalibur” LOL. I currently own that Fender J Bass and a picked up a Rickenbacker because that’s what it takes for me to contribute as a musician to any endeavor “Live” or “Recordings” ... I’m a long ways from being rich but if it’s a choice between food or a musical instrument, IM GOING HUNGRY

 

[Bobby Bass]

Unless you are playing for a bunch of musicians most people really don't care what Bass you are playing. I have a 1996-7 Custom Shop Fender Jazz Bass, a Relic Cunetto. Stays home but I usually play a (2003) MIM Fender Precision I paid $300.00 for with a hard shell case. Like new that gets the most use.

 

[Coachkellyg]

As an owner of just about everything and every brand of bass in my life I will say without hesitation that the more expensive basses are undoubtedly better than the cheaper basses. So many reasons why... not even time to list them here. Suffice it to say I have a Sadowsky RV5 and a Yamaha BB2025X right now and flagship models are flagship models for a reason: they are AMAZING. Lower end models are okay, just not quite at the same level. IMHO.

I'm currently saving for a Fodera Emperor Standard Classic 5 so I will take the OP's advice and enjoy it as well. I would never go back to anything less than high-end basses. Just sayin.

I'd love to hear the reasons!

 

[selberg]

I think electric bass guitar players in general should be happy the instruments are so cheap. $100 gets a playable instrument. $1,000 gets a professional instrument. $10,000 gets a top end instrument. My dad played cello professionally. $10,000 gets you the professional bow. The professional instrument is $40,000 - $80,000. Top end Strad? You are into seven figures.

 

[mihayloff]

Looks some owners of used car-priced basses are bitter they weren't able to escape the law of diminishing returns with their decision, so they slam someone who got a much better bang for their buck than they got.

 

[FlametopFred]

I have owned many, played many basses of friends.

No question those original Music Man basses continue to be something super special. Feel. Sound. And Leo Fender seems to have gotten the electric bass right. Amazing guy.

Gibson basses ..I have a love/hate relationship with. So many Gibson basses look cool. But none ever grabbed me, excepting their G-3 bass. That one felt right ... felt Fender-ish.

I've had a Casady for a while. Fun. I had a '60s Japanese Beatles Bass clone. Also fun.

In the end the only two basses I have at the moment are a early '70s Taro (Japanese) Telecaster bass which was $100, really suits me, has a maple neck, maple body (I think) and one pickup. The other is a Squire Bass VI which was $200, suits me and is fun.

Cheap is beautiful. Sometimes exactly as hit-or-miss as expensive basses.

I am not a bass player but I portray one on stage.

 

[Screnshaw]

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 .

I have a 1978 Gibson RD Standard, 2005 Gibson SG bass, Fender MIA 5 string Jazz, Fender MIA Hwy One 4 string Jazz (50th anniversary), a Fender Kingsman acoustic bass & a 60th anniversary Fender MIA Precision. All great guitars. And you know what....I play my $500 Schecter Diamond series Stiletto Extreme 4 more than any of them. I always do take one of the others and put on a stand on stage (for back-up and just to keep the brand snobs at bay), but price isn't necessarily always the determining factor for good sound and playability.

 

[David Canady]

My Ibanez SR800 is wonderful ($150 used). My Epiphone viola with upgraded filtertron pups (About $400) and flat wounds is wonderful. My Customized Bassmod (about $1,200) with over-wound pups and 18v preamp is wonderful. All are set up perfectly for my style which is very light. They all have a very different feel and tone. For gigs the Epiphone comes out the most. For home the Bassmod comes off the wall first. With the exception of the extremes, I'm not sure how we can argue about one being better.

Also, that price point comment is dead on with all kinds of equipment. In backpacking I can go from a 4 lb sleeping bag to a 3 lb for $50. I can go from a 3 lb to a 2 lb sleeping bag for $150. To go from a 2 lb to a 1.5 LB bag it's going to run $400+

 

[Osk]

In my experiences, cheap basses sound great, or good enough; however, often times, I come up on a fret that has unwanted buzz or is out of tune when the rest of the frets on that same string are in tune. In my opinion, this is probably due to mass production, machines putting these guitars together versus a person perfecting these details in to the bass guitar. The expensive bass guitars I have played/own do not seem to have these issues.

 

[tpress]

I'm happy with my G&L SB2...gets the job done. Also have a 1978 Fender P Bass. The sound and feel on that
is totally different as you'd expect. A bit chunkier to play but a nice deep sound..

 

[Hugo55]

i tell you what. if you buy an expensive you can sell it for dang near what you paid for it, or more if its vintage. buy a cheap thing, its immediately worthless as soon as you take the plastic off

True, but typically I buy something to play and enjoy and not to sell....

 

[Trib]

Same here guys. The "Tone" is quite often in the fingers. Price is not always indicative of value. There are a lot of "Quality" low priced bass's out there.

 

[mihayloff]

At least elitism doesn’t pretend to be virtue like reverse-snobbery does.

You might want to review all the snarky righteous indignation against less expensive basses expressed by many here and reconsider your fallacious statement.

 

[chadds]

People are putting it all out at the bass. An old story from this bassist struggling with his moderately priced upright (way past what money we are talking here) and Miroslav Vitous set in with his group using his questionable bass. He said Vitous was making it sing and roar.
I regret the negative responses but what feels great to you and stays out of your way is your best bass. Price? Up to you and no one else. Who cares?

 

[chadds]

You might want to review all the snarky righteous indignation against less expensive basses expressed by many here and reconsider your fallacious statement.

I think you misunderstand what he’s saying.
Reread it. He’s not defending snarky from anyone.
He is actually saying if you are looking down on others you aren’t necessarily pretending to be holier than thou. Where as in our society defense of the poor is a holy position. It makes the people who have other expense priorities victims and people who actually have “extra” money the victimizers.

What if a bassist makes minimum wage and scrapes and saves and buys a bass that exceeds some nebulous number that TB says is expensive? Is he now not approved of by the aggravated TB populace?

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I have a Roscoe LG that is currently selling for over $5K. It's a fantastic instrument and I am happy I decided to buy it. I have a Pedulla I bought at a pawn shop for one sixth of the new price and it is a fantastic instrument I love to play.
I have a number of Yammies that I have accumulated through various sources, all but one bought used and I enjoy them all! Even the $40 yard sale find sounds great with a p/u upgrade.
Play what you can and enjoy what you have, it's no one's business what you like or dislike. I have never had anyone come up to me at a gig and tell me that didn't like my tone, regardless of what I am playing. Mostly, they don't even know I am there!
Fishheadjoe

 

[specialca]

I bought my Musicman Sterling in 1996 and yes it cost me 1K for this baby but I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world because it is the best 4 string that I have ever own. Now my 6 string is an Ibanez BTB 1006 that too cost me 1K!