Expensive vs inexpensive basses

[JohnnyBottom]

I so want our regular crowd to like my classic 50's , or Jack Casady, or Ibanez musician or Vintage modified as much as my Alembic, but its always..we like the Alembic so much better. Yes Im so grateful I have one, but I like playing those other basses too. Actually my favorite bass seems to be which ever is in my hand at the time.

 

[Element Zero]

Some people decorate their homes with art. Other people decorate their home with item you can buy from Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I play a bowed piece of 2X4 with rubber bands attached to it and it's the best bass sound possible. You can keep your GSR200, I paid $1.38 for my bass.

When I was young, we only WISH we had the money for a 2x4. We had to beat the banister with a warped stick, and before we went to bed, our music teachers would beat us within an inch of our lives.

 

[IronLung1986]

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

When a scholar chooses to brawl.

 

[BadWithNames]

I bought a GSR205SM for a school group I was in a few years ago. A lot of the music I was getting required notes lower than the low E, and I dont like alternate tunings. I also needed a cheap travel bass I could load on a plane and not really worry about.

The thing sounds great. Extremely hot, though. Have to have all amps set to about 1, maybe 2, so I don’t kill someone with it. I love the PhatII. Just sounds great overall. Except for the B string. That sounds floppy and dead. If I could get the four string with soapbars instead of P and J pickups, I would seriously consider it.

Having said that, do I think it’s a better bass than my Modulus? No. I spent $329 plus tax on the Ibanez, and I could buy close to 6 of them for what I payed for the Modulus. But I’d still buy another Modulus before I bought another GRS200/GSR205.

 

[foolforthecity]

I dig them all. But after owning some high end basses i can’t see myself spending more than $2k on a mass produced bass again. I’d go higher for a custom bass but in my opinion when it comes to production basses there’s such little improvement beyond $2k it’s not worth it. The improvement between a $2k bass and a $5k bass isn’t enough to justify the cost imo.

Right now I could see myself spending over $2k for a used custom dingwall super p 5. I’ve been gasing for a custom clement bass as well as I’ve seen more and more of his work and got to know him a little on FB. But lately my two bass lineup tends to consist of a main player in the $1500-$2k range and a backup in the $300-$500 range.

Lately I'm starting to like the idea of selling off some of my $1-2k basses and order up a Cliff Bordwell. Mid-6lb and such wicked playability

 

[Chrisk-K]

If you are happy with playing cheap basses, driving a cheap car, eating cheap food and living in a cheap house, that’s good for you.

I’d rather play expensive basses, drive luxury cars, eat gourmet foods, and live ina mansion.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

I think the law of diminishing returns applies to most things. But there is a sweet spot and it’s there for a reason. For me somewhere between 300 and 1000 seems to be that price range. My most expensive bass is a 800 Hofner. My fav is my 700 used mij Jazz.

 

[chuck1073]

Some of both here. Boutique/classic...and budget.
The less expensive basses have a place on the gig. Especially when there's a
possibility of theft.

 

[gln1955]

Having a wife who will buy you a bass and not continuously lusting after more and more expensive gear is a good place to be.

 

[arbiterusa]

As with most things, the closer you get to the really pricey stuff, the more you have to spend for each additional increment of "better". So, while it may not be quite as good as the the super-pricey stuff, moderately-priced stuff it is WAY less expensive.

The cutoffs are the same as when I was last working in a music store, and is only applicable to electric instruments:

$100: marginal at best
$200: usually giggable
$500: quite nice
$800: quite nice
$1500: quite nice
$5000: museum/collector/showroom quality, you won't gig this one because it's too expensive
$10000: museum/collector/showroom quality with mostly CITES-banned woods built buy a guy with a long-standing reputation. Or low-end/off-brand (like my Steinberger) vintage.
$25000: you have too much money and decided a legit collector quality vintage piece is the way to go. You will never admit, after getting it, that you just indulged in a colossal waste of cash, because it really doesn't sound too good. Looks awesome, though, and you can brag about it. But you'll secretly hate it until you have an excuse to unload it on the next victim.
$100k and up: you have too much money and decided a legit collector quality vintage piece is the way to go. You will gleefully admit, after getting it, that it's awesome, because it very likely is.

 

[bkbirge]

The astounding thing is that some of the worst examples of budget lutherie have survived and are commanding top dollar as vintage instruments. Imagine a '60's Silvertone, Teisco or Dano going for more than a Yamaha or Ibanez. Disgraceful!

Those are the genetically superior specimens that have survived long past the time the others have devolved back into chipped wood.

 

[Stevorebob]

Basses are worth what a buyer will pay.

 

[Element Zero]

The cutoffs are the same as when I was last working in a music store, and is only applicable to electric instruments:

$100: marginal at best
$200: usually giggable
$500: quite nice
$800: quite nice
$1500: quite nice
$5000: museum/collector/showroom quality, you won't gig this one because it's too expensive
$10000: museum/collector/showroom quality with mostly CITES-banned woods built buy a guy with a long-standing reputation. Or low-end/off-brand (like my Steinberger) vintage.
$25000: you have too much money and decided a legit collector quality vintage piece is the way to go. You will never admit, after getting it, that you just indulged in a colossal waste of cash, because it really doesn't sound too good. Looks awesome, though, and you can brag about it. But you'll secretly hate it until you have an excuse to unload it on the next victim.
$100k and up: you have too much money and decided a legit collector quality vintage piece is the way to go. You will gleefully admit, after getting it, that it's awesome, because it very likely is.

Who won’t gig a $5000 instrument?

 

[J-Mags]

The cutoffs are the same as when I was last working in a music store, and is only applicable to electric instruments:

$100: marginal at best
$200: usually giggable
$500: quite nice
$800: quite nice
$1500: quite nice
$5000: museum/collector/showroom quality, you won't gig this one because it's too expensive
$10000: museum/collector/showroom quality with mostly CITES-banned woods built buy a guy with a long-standing reputation. Or low-end/off-brand (like my Steinberger) vintage.
$25000: you have too much money and decided a legit collector quality vintage piece is the way to go. You will never admit, after getting it, that you just indulged in a colossal waste of cash, because it really doesn't sound too good. Looks awesome, though, and you can brag about it. But you'll secretly hate it until you have an excuse to unload it on the next victim.
$100k and up: you have too much money and decided a legit collector quality vintage piece is the way to go. You will gleefully admit, after getting it, that it's awesome, because it very likely is.

The thing is that the $5,000 and $10,000 ones are often merely "quite nice".

The more I think about it, the more I think that there are two states of mind regarding electric instruments. One says that it's just a tool, and if it plays the notes in tune and sounds halfway decent, you're off to the races. The other says that you want much better than just ok, and when you're playing music on an instrument, you want to be collaborating with another artist who designed and built the instrument. What is frippery to one person is refinement to another.

 

[Kmonk]

I am an admitted gear snob. For live performances and in the studio, I only use MIA Fender, Alembic, Spector, Musicman. I travel for business several times per month and I was looking for something inexpensive to take on trips with me so I could practice while away from home. I found a Korean made Spector Legend 4 with EMG Stuart Spector Design pickups online at GC for $119. I decided to take a chance. When I received it, I changed the strings, adjusted the neck and the intonation. The bass plays great and has a decent sound. My only criticism is that it's not as full sounding as I would like. I'm considering changing the tone capacitors. Other than that, I've been surprisingly happy with it.

 

[Turnaround]

Wow, imagine that, better basses sound better and play better!!! I’m sure it’s only because the cheap basses you have played were not setup correctly, lol.

They probably need a shim.

 

[I am Soma]

No. One. Cares.

 

[Gizmot]

Wow, imagine that, better basses sound better and play better!!! I’m sure it’s only because the cheap basses you have played were not setup correctly, lol.

I used to work in a music store and I have lots of experience with basses of all price and quality levels. Here is a simple fact: better basses are BETTER. You can take a cheap car, replace the tires and give it a tune up, but at the end of the day its still a cheap car. Its the same with basses - you can't make a bass with design flaws and low-grade materials perform like something thats simply better.

 

[Ric5]

Here's my $135 bass with about $200 in upgrades … I can cop a Rick tone, Fender tone, and a stingray tone … I just leveled the frets and it plays even better