One of these days, you need to play a boutique bass that's made and set-up well to erase your notion that all basses are flawed. Somehow I sense that'll never happen......
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I have no notion that all basses are flawed. I have a notion that some are flawed and some of those (perhaps many) are boutiques that shouldn't have those flaws at those price points, but in no way does that mean I think "all basses are flawed".
I have no idea where you got this.
We might quibble about what we mean by "flawed", but I don't think we're too far apart on that.
I hate to sound like a snob, but the idea that the bassist must serve the bass is horribly outdated. You can get a $500 bass to sound good. I'm not going to start a urination match, but I have 2 6ers and 4 5ers that require ZERO adjustment of technique between the B and E strings. In fact, I've gotten many compliments that my B string was the best they had ever heard, which got me many spots in bands. I'll compromise my technique to a certain extent, but not because of flaws in bass/string design. There's simply no reason, other than bragging how good you sound on a $500 bass.
Again, I think you're describing a struggle with a problem in the bass that just simply doesn't exist in the bass. At the very least, I can't seem to replicate it personally unless I go out of my way to do so (play near neck, really wail on strings, etc). So I'm a little skeptical that your apparent fix - ever more and different, expensive boutique basses - is really a fix. In fact, I'm generally always skeptical when I hear a player claim, as you're apparently doing here, that their technique is so nuanced and advanced that only the most expensive, esoteric equipment is sufficient to exploit it to its full potential, etc. - the problem is usually the player in those cases and not the equipment.
Maybe in extreme cases with really crappy strings for example, but otherwise I just don't see it myself. For sure, I've never heard any of you guys sound any better on the Fodera A. Jackson or etc. than on the "lesser" stuff like a bolt neck carvin or even the lowly Fender Jazz. That's really the smoking gun.
Even the very mediocre (er in fact, kinda awful) strings that came on my Carvin Bunny yesterday don't give me any trouble after finishing up its setup this morning (well, beyond the kind of rubber band sound they have in general so I might eventually need to change them). I can get a nice chug out of the B the usual way with a light touch right over the humbucker at the bridge - my usual technique I use on all my basses. Again, if I can get a decent sound out of a B anyone can.
That's a major advantage of being a mediocre player like I am - limited susceptibility to the fix-problem-with-expensive-gear syndrome. My Bunny is as extravagant as I've had to ever get and it was mainly to fill a fit/range need that I have. Sure enough, even tho I can play a wider range of notes without crunching my wrist, I still sound like me (unfortunately) even $1300 later. And no floppy B problem that I can tell (tho again these strings just sound bad in general)...
LS
