Never heard of him.I dunno. I learned how to tell the difference from a guy named Mr Furlanetto. You might have heard of him...
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Expensive vs inexpensive basses
- Thread starter TKnights
- Start date
At least you admit it, many won’t.Every time I hear some run of the mill crappy p-bass tone I'm always thinking. Man! If only that sweet bass line was played on a hand-wade boutique $5000 bass, instead of a $400 industry standard, maybe I could enjoy the song!
To each his own!
Play what makes you happy!
Nobody knows better than you what's best for you!
That said, my own personal experience has been.......
After years of insisting on name brand, pro level instruments (mainly Fender, Musician & Lakland) and never giving less expensive instruments a look, I recently jumped on the Squier train. In January I bought a VM 70's J and just last week I bought a short scale Jag. Both basses play and sound as good as the more expensive instruments I have or have owned in the past (IMHO). Admittedly, the USA built name brands show an attention to detail and build quality missing in the Squiers.
The Jag has been a true revelation. I would have never considered a 30 inch scale until a recent shoulder injury. After 2 gigs on it I'm thinking I should have been playing a short scale all along. Both Squier basses have me considering selling off my more expensive instruments.
Play what makes you happy!
Nobody knows better than you what's best for you!
That said, my own personal experience has been.......
After years of insisting on name brand, pro level instruments (mainly Fender, Musician & Lakland) and never giving less expensive instruments a look, I recently jumped on the Squier train. In January I bought a VM 70's J and just last week I bought a short scale Jag. Both basses play and sound as good as the more expensive instruments I have or have owned in the past (IMHO). Admittedly, the USA built name brands show an attention to detail and build quality missing in the Squiers.
The Jag has been a true revelation. I would have never considered a 30 inch scale until a recent shoulder injury. After 2 gigs on it I'm thinking I should have been playing a short scale all along. Both Squier basses have me considering selling off my more expensive instruments.
So a guy who makes high end basses taught BassButcher that the difference between mid-range basses and high-end basses is in your head???
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"Better" is utterly subjective though. It's different for every person.
A $10K boutique, luthier-built, lovingly handcrafted bass made under a full moon from unobtanium, unicorn horn and magical wood harvested from the tone-tone tree that is equipped with active electronics, 9 strings, fanned frets and 37 knobs and switches may have superior capabilities, components and craftsmanship, yes.
But none of that is going to mean jack diddy to a guy who prefers a rough hewn passive 4 banger.
They ARE tools. It's not mystical. The upshot, so often echoed on forums such as this (and rightfully so) is: play what you like and like what you play.
That can mean so many different things to each individual.
"Better" has nothing--nothing whatsoever-- to do with price tag, year of build, country of manufacture, brand name or headstock shape.
I've been playing bass for 40 years now. I've owned basses from across the spectrum. I found they each had their charms.
People should buy and own and play whatever makes them happy.
^^^ These. This is another issue altogether, but relates to the thread topic. Only gearhead geeks like us give a crap about who is playing what brand, how much it cost, etc.
If you were Jaco playing solo gigs at fine music halls, yes. There are going to be some drooling bass players in the crowd.
For 99.9% of gigs, 99.9% of the audience isn't going to know or care what you are playing, nor would they care or be able to tell much difference even if you were to expressly point out to them: "Thank you, ladies and gents...that last song was played on a cheap Korean laminated P bass copy. For our next number, I'm pulling out my Fodera..."
Sounds ridiculous, right? For most gigs, most of the audience isn't there to be dazzled by your awesome bass tone and technical wizardry, and for the most part they aren't paying attention to that. They are there to have fun and hear some good music.
Corrected. Now get off my lawn and go buy an expensive bass!Get your thread-wars straight old man!
I'd rather be an old man than a young punk.
I think I fall into the "old punk" category.
It's kind of strange to assume that someone who prefers to play budget basses for whatever reason, does so because they cannot tell the difference between those basses and expensive custom basses. Kind of comes across like wine-snobs ego stroking. Just saying...
It’s dangerous to assume yes.
However, as I’ve discovered purely on the site, there’s quite a number of players who simply cannot tell the difference AND are absolutely unwilling to even give something out of their normal price range a try. And then automatically “it’s a waste of money. Diminishing returns... Jaco only needed... my cheap squire is better than all other basses I’ve tried blah blah blah”
Why do we have threads like this? I own expensive and cheap as hell basses. While I love the idea of saving money, and while both kinds of instruments can be fun to play....id never poo poo someone for playing what they like.
I wouldnt be able to say a word because I own cheap Squier's and SX basses...and even own a $3k custom bass. And my boutique bass isn't even the most wow I've gotten from playing an instrument for the first time. I'd say the MusicMaster Caprice did that for me (still a $2-grand instrument tho)
The fit and finish on a cheap bass can never compare to an expensive instrument right out of the box. And while the cheaper basses never gave me the same wow factor when I first put them in my hand, they both can still make you very happy after some TLC.
Live and let live.
I wouldnt be able to say a word because I own cheap Squier's and SX basses...and even own a $3k custom bass. And my boutique bass isn't even the most wow I've gotten from playing an instrument for the first time. I'd say the MusicMaster Caprice did that for me (still a $2-grand instrument tho)
The fit and finish on a cheap bass can never compare to an expensive instrument right out of the box. And while the cheaper basses never gave me the same wow factor when I first put them in my hand, they both can still make you very happy after some TLC.
Live and let live.
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I don’t recall anyone assuming this. What I have seen over and over and over again are people saying that expensive bases are not worth it because their cheap bass is at least as good.
The other thing I have seen is people saying, “if you want to play cheap basses, have fun. But, don’t come on here denigrating quality basses just because you are unable to tell the difference.”
I haven't posted here much lately. It's awesome to see that we still have the SX basses are $11 and better than Fedora bass threads. Maybe next we can finally solve the best bass for metal riddle.
This has been my experience exactly. The pickups in the moderately priced seem to be much better and less muddy in my experience.
well, i been away from TB for a couple of years.....nice to know that some things havent changed
that works both ways: Theres players out there with house mortgages worth of upper-end gear that have crappy setups, bad technique, and strings on them old enough to vote........Then theres players that have gear thats 1/10 the price but have phenomenal technique, perfectly setup instrument (for their needs) and intoned, fresh strings (preference), and know how to dial-in their gear (instrument, amp, etc)....Which do you think will sound better?......If a player has found the thing(s) that work for them, why change?
that works both ways: Theres players out there with house mortgages worth of upper-end gear that have crappy setups, bad technique, and strings on them old enough to vote........Then theres players that have gear thats 1/10 the price but have phenomenal technique, perfectly setup instrument (for their needs) and intoned, fresh strings (preference), and know how to dial-in their gear (instrument, amp, etc)....Which do you think will sound better?......If a player has found the thing(s) that work for them, why change?
I think that may be the issue that poster had: that there is an automatic assumption that just because someone prefers a less expensive/mass-produced bass to a boutique, that they must either have no experience with high end instruments or are unable to distinguish between them. And this, of course, is nonsense.***
I can tell the difference between an Alembic (and I've owned one) and a Fender.
I acknowledge that in many regards an Alembic may be considered "better" or of higher quality with regards to construction and components (for example) but I still prefer--for a wide variety of reasons--to own and play the "lesser" Fender (or even Squier or certain knockoffs). It's my personal taste and a more comfortable/basic tool for me, perfectly serviceable and suitable for my needs and I prefer not to own things that represent a huge investment when they are subject to theft, damage, destruction and loss.
That's just me. For me, a sub-$500 bass is "better" based on all that, "better" again being 100% subjective, situational and relative. "Better" has f-all to do with a price tag or brand name.
*** I readily admit it is equally nonsensical and ridiculous to make blanket statements like "My $200 Squier Affinity beats the hell out of your $5000 coffee table bass!"
