So, I've noticed one thing from my time here on TB and playing with many people, friends and professionals alike. When it comes to bass, it's Ampeg amps and Fender Bass. What is the mentality behind this?
Let me clear things up by saying that I am not writing this with the sole purpose of upsetting anyone. To each his own. I would like opinions, but if you feel that the only way to respond is to try and be smart about it, try posting somewhere else.
Unless it is a gift with no strings attached, I do not see myself wanting any kind of Ampeg amp or Fender bass. I think they are both way overrated. Sure, they sound good, and they have established themselves in the market for a reason, but with prices and quality these days, I find it hard to see why people keep going back to them. My biggest gripe is that they are considered to be the definition of Bass by both musicians (not necessarily bass players, but rather mostly guitarists) and non musicians.
The sound people are always looking for is always "an SVT sound." That isn't a problem in itself, but noone ever says they want a GK, Aguilar, Genz Benz, Markbass, etc. in mainstream playing. The same can be said about the instrument itself (I know, this isn't about amps per se, but i found that most of the rant fell under AMPS). If it doesn't look like a Fender, then it is considered "different." Again, this is generally from non-bassists, as we (for the most part) know better than to categorize things so simplistically as Fender and non-Fender.
This is just a rant induced by a performance everyone commented an amp based off of the "Classis SVT sound" and why my bass doesn't have, as told nicely by a vocalist, "the bass headstock, you know, the fender one with 4 tuning thingy-majigs on one side."
Though this is mostly just a rant to get things out of my system, I do have one question about this whole scenario. If the SVT is truly the definition of what a bass sounds like, then why is Ampeg having trouble creating a monopoly on amplification?
Just food for thought.
Let me clear things up by saying that I am not writing this with the sole purpose of upsetting anyone. To each his own. I would like opinions, but if you feel that the only way to respond is to try and be smart about it, try posting somewhere else.
Unless it is a gift with no strings attached, I do not see myself wanting any kind of Ampeg amp or Fender bass. I think they are both way overrated. Sure, they sound good, and they have established themselves in the market for a reason, but with prices and quality these days, I find it hard to see why people keep going back to them. My biggest gripe is that they are considered to be the definition of Bass by both musicians (not necessarily bass players, but rather mostly guitarists) and non musicians.
The sound people are always looking for is always "an SVT sound." That isn't a problem in itself, but noone ever says they want a GK, Aguilar, Genz Benz, Markbass, etc. in mainstream playing. The same can be said about the instrument itself (I know, this isn't about amps per se, but i found that most of the rant fell under AMPS). If it doesn't look like a Fender, then it is considered "different." Again, this is generally from non-bassists, as we (for the most part) know better than to categorize things so simplistically as Fender and non-Fender.
This is just a rant induced by a performance everyone commented an amp based off of the "Classis SVT sound" and why my bass doesn't have, as told nicely by a vocalist, "the bass headstock, you know, the fender one with 4 tuning thingy-majigs on one side."
Though this is mostly just a rant to get things out of my system, I do have one question about this whole scenario. If the SVT is truly the definition of what a bass sounds like, then why is Ampeg having trouble creating a monopoly on amplification?
Just food for thought.
