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EYE CANDY!
- Thread starter BustinJustin
- Start date
I used to seriously GAS for an X-Factor, back in the day when Stu Hamm used to play them. My bass teacher had one and a local store had a couple. I thought really hard about it, but never did get one.artistanbul said:
Hmmmn, not the sort of thing I usually go for, but that is a seriously pretty bass.Zillium said:This thread needs more Nordstrand!
Well, I KNOW there are guys with more/better basses than mine, but I LIKE what I have!
My first choice is ALWAYS the Ken Lawrence Brase, followed by the MTD. I like the Lakland, just not as much as the others. If I did not have the Brase and MTD to compare it to, it would get used a LOT more, it is a great bass.
Dan K.
My first choice is ALWAYS the Ken Lawrence Brase, followed by the MTD. I like the Lakland, just not as much as the others. If I did not have the Brase and MTD to compare it to, it would get used a LOT more, it is a great bass.
Dan K.
WHY NOT?mgood said:
, simply the best basses ever...oh and BTW, mine was stu hamms 
i gas for more, many more
Matthew Bryson said:Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that the owner is a Les Claypool fan?
is it just me or is that neck extrememly tiny
- May 2, 2004
- 2,862
- 244
- 38
- Disclosures
- owner/builder, ISLAND Instrument Mfg.
Oh, I don't know. I got over it. I still think they're cool basses. But I have no great desire for one. If I just happened to come across a good deal on a good used one, I just might go for it.heath_the_great said:WHY NOT?
Brad Johnson said:None taken. Short answer... I've paid for all of my gear by gigging.
Long answer...
I don't consider myself a pro because I have a day job. I probably do 6-10 gigs in an average month. My gigs do tend to pay better than most that I'm aware of, that's the level I've tried to put (and keep) myself on. Dependable, competent musicians tend to work more
I don't consider myself a collector because that's not why I buy a bass. I'm a classic bargain hunter who loves basses so I'm always on the watch for a deal. As such, I've found a ridiculous amount of crazy deals. In most cases I keep them. Sometimes they don't work out for me so I'll move those.
Two of the basses in the big pic haven't been on a gig... the Kay hollowbody and the Guild B301F. Otherwise everything gigs or has gigged at some point. Bear in mind that I've been playing for about 30 years now. I've had some of these basses for over 20 years.
Some deals comes around that are just too crazy to pass up like the Surine 7 for $1k. It was my first 7 and I realized that even though I liked the bass overall the high F really didn't work for me. From that deal I ended up with a singlecut Elrick fretless 5 (by way of several basses in between) for practically nothing.
The green Zon fretless 5 in the fretlesses pic was another sweet deal. I got it new for half price AND the store had no interest/no payment for one year. For the following year that was my main gig bass... I used it with no cash outlay for that year, made more than enough to pay for it (and a few other things) and at the end of the year I paid it off.
My oldest Fenders were $125 (1968 Jazz w/ amp) and $500 (1978 Jazz). Couldn't pass either up. Play both of them.
I also tend to buy instruments that nobody initially wants.
I bought my first Tobias back around 1980... it had hung on the wall at a store for a couple of years and apparently most people didn't see what I saw in it. I buy what appeals to me, not what's popular.
The reason I've ended up with what I have is because I've put myself in a position to take advantage of the crazy deals I find. It has a snowball effect and believe it or not some of my stuff I've ended up getting for free, after turning over other gear and generally wheeling and dealing.
So pro, no. Busy, yes. Collector, not IMO, though I do have a collection. I'm a guy who enjoys the different vibes that each bass brings vs. someone who has an "ideal" bass in mind and tries to get everything to sound like it (not that there's anything wrong with that
).
Trust me, they get played. By myself and lots of other people too.
Thanks Brad - excellent answer. The thing that pisses me off BIG TIME, as a music journalist and bass player - is people who bull****, and you are obviously not one of them!
I think your approach to 'obtaining' basses is very, dare I say, karmic, in that you obviously love the instruments and considering you're doing s shed load more gigs a month than I am, your 'hobby' as it were, is basically paying for itself. I hope that doesn't sound like I'm a f-ing sychophant, but when I see these city types in London, going into the big bass store in the heart of the financial district - and these guys CAN'T PLAY - and they walk up to the biggest/most expensive amp and plug in a friggin £4,000 ($6,000 approx) Alembic or whatever - and try and play 'Scool Days' - well you get the idea - it's pretty sad! Plus the fact you have had the eye for a good bass and a nose for a good deal when you see one is a credit to your skills as a bargain hunter - they are out there, you just have to find them!
Anyway thanks for giving a great answer and for setting some kind of example to the rest of us about how it can be done - I've been playing 19 years - so hopefully I'll lay my hands on a couple more nice 'tools' soon, but I get by right now.
Cheers
M
You gota love that Nordstrand. The back is simply amazing
This me Doug Wilkes custom im lovin it to bits
This me Doug Wilkes custom im lovin it to bits
urb_munki said:
One of my earliest music store memories was of a kid who came into a store, grabbed a Les Paul and couldn't play "Smoke on the Water" to save his ___. His parents wrote a check and walked out with it... and an amp (Marshall IIRC).
At the time I couldn't afford strings
The same thing might've bothered me years ago but I came to the realization that that's their deal and hating on it is counterproductive.
I think I got my appreciation of nice instruments from coming up when and where I did. I would wager I was just as estatic about receiving my first (almost) real bass, a copy of a copy of a Telecaster bass (from Western Auto, a hardware store, back in the 70's) as I was finding my Ambush
. Heck, it even had it's own (chipboard) case
I also realized that no matter how much or little you spend, the results ultimately rely on shed time. If you don't put in serious effort, don't expect serious results. A friend of mine recently sold his Fodera because it wasn't giving him what he wanted. I played his bass and it became obvious that what he wanted was definitely in the bass... he hadn't spent the time figuring out how to get it out. He said he didn't practice, I told him don't expect to sound like you practice... unless you do. It's not all that complicated.
I know collectors. A friend of mine calls them "black holes", where instruments disappear. That's not me. People see way too much of my stuff on a far too regular basis
. That's why I got it... to have fun using it. Bragging rights never entered the equation, though it may sound like bragging when I mention a crazy deal. Maybe it is, I don't know. My main intent is to let people know what some of the possibilities are, by both playing what I own and knowing how I got it. No magic at work here. Just diligence, patience and prioritization. Obviously music is a most serious priority for me.really...why wopul;d you give a **** abolut the back...it nerver gets seen on a gig....and basically youhave to tell peopl to look at it,,,,,...sorry....im drunklewibassist said:
Brad Johnson said:One of my earliest music store memories was of a kid who came into a store, grabbed a Les Paul and couldn't play "Smoke on the Water" to save his ___. His parents wrote a check and walked out with it... and an amp (Marshall IIRC).
At the time I couldn't afford strings
The same thing might've bothered me years ago but I came to the realization that that's their deal and hating on it is counterproductive.
I think I got my appreciation of nice instruments from coming up when and where I did. I would wager I was just as estatic about receiving my first (almost) real bass, a copy of a copy of a Telecaster bass (from Western Auto, a hardware store, back in the 70's) as I was finding my Ambush
I also realized that no matter how much or little you spend, the results ultimately rely on shed time. If you don't put in serious effort, don't expect serious results. A friend of mine recently sold his Fodera because it wasn't giving him what he wanted. I played his bass and it became obvious that what he wanted was definitely in the bass... he hadn't spent the time figuring out how to get it out. He said he didn't practice, I told him don't expect to sound like you practice... unless you do. It's not all that complicated.
I know collectors. A friend of mine calls them "black holes", where instruments disappear. That's not me. People see way too much of my stuff on a far too regular basis
Word to all that Brad - music is it's own reward - look at Prine - for years he just used a cheap Tele copy as his main 6 string - he just liked it - and like you say, it's about the music you make with your hands, and your soul, that counts - when I got my Thumb when I was 18, I honestly thought "I'm not good enough to really do this instrument justice." I just turned 32 (yesterday) and the Thumb has never sounded sweeter - same bass - just 14 years of hard playing and thousands of hours of practice - it's no cooincidence!
Cool man - love the attitude - funny how one's life perspective changes with some maturity eh? Keep it locked.
Have a great weekend
Mike
my favourite exeperiences is seeing someone ask for strings for an ibanez rg guitar, and someone ask, 'wow is that a bass guitar...i didnt know that existed, why does it have 4 strings?"
urb_munki said:
heh heh,,i got my kubicki when i was 17, about 4-6 months ive had it for about that long..and in that time my technique has improvved so much...i love my kubicki..all i need now is another 9 kubicki's and 10 alembics
i mena.....would ya buy a bass just because "it has a cool back...oh and its a lakland".....relly....no..thats why i like my kubicki..all green and 1 peice maple...
