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GAS free guide to Bass purchasing

#41
theduke1 said:
I take exception to this Fender is a must.
I know the powere that be say Fender P or we don't want you and you can't fight City Hall, but I'll put my two G&L 2500s one fretless up against any bass out there.
Most likely you won't land what the op calls pro gigs with out a. Vintage P, but that doesn't make it right.
Click to expand...

Hey, I'm not saying the situation is right, or fair, or anything like that. I'm certainly not saying that a Fender Precision is a superior instrument from a player's perspective. All I'm saying is that I just want to work, and taking the path of least resistance is paying off.
 
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#42
Now the arguments start.

Seems to always eventually go in the direction of:
"My (cheaper) [country] made [brand] is just as good, if not better than the (more expensive) [country] made [brand].

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's not "really" the point here. I feel like the point is:
Most artists rent a studio, which costs x dollars an hour.
And then they hire session guys, who also typically charge y dollars an hour.

So every minute you [the session guy] are in studio, you are charging.

So let us switch roles, lets say you (an artist) is going to hire a session guy. You get a list and it has their gear next to their name. All of their rates are comparable.

Will you pick the guy with the $200 instrument or the guy with the $2000 instrument?

When you are deciding this, do you want to take a chance on losing a day in studio and the money you paid for the day because you decided brands didn't matter?
Or are you going to go with the brand, that more often than not, always yields better results?

I understand that my bottom line bass has been nodded and that I trust it as much as my upper line one. I know that I've had it for years. It's never let me down. But my client doesn't. He/she doesn't have experience with it. It could be a CL bass and he/she doesn't want to risk it. Especially when there are literally hundreds of other musicians in line that want the part just as much as you.
 
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#43
Bunk McNulty said:
Hey, I'm not saying the situation is right, or fair, or anything like that. I'm certainly not saying that a Fender Precision is a superior instrument from a player's perspective. All I'm saying is that I just want to work, and taking the path of least resistance is paying off.
Click to expand...
Agreed
Sorry I got on my soap box
I ment no disrespect.
Duke
 
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#44
Remember this - bass guitar can be one of the toughest instruments for an engineer to process in a mix. So you are making their life easier and also giving yourself a better chance of being mixed well when they have familiarity with the tone.

And it's definitely NOT a fair situation, considering guitar players have a lot more options (but ask an engineer about how well Gibsons stay in tune and thats a whole new ball of wax), but my post is about making it into an advantage. The advantage in this case is using one tried and true instrument over years of time so you get more gigs and have incredible confidence with it due to the amount hours you have logged.
 
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#45
theduke1 said:
I take exception to this Fender is a must.
I know the powere that be say Fender P or we don't want you and you can't fight City Hall, but I'll put my two G&L 2500s one fretless up against any bass out there.
Most likely you won't land what the op calls pro gigs with out a. Vintage P, but that doesn't make it right.
Click to expand...

I'd say that the OP's point isn't that Fenders are the best playing or sounding. It is that they are good, and that other musicians recognize them as a known quantity, which will minimize their concerns when hiring you into their projects. Other musicians may not be gear savvy and recognize other less common brands and appreciate the "better" characteristics they offer. His point is that this is a numbers game, and the fewer concerns and questions others have about you, the more open doors you will see.
 
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#47
theduke1 said:
I take exception to this Fender is a must.
I know the powere that be say Fender P or we don't want you and you can't fight City Hall, but I'll put my two G&L 2500s one fretless up against any bass out there.
Most likely you won't land what the op calls pro gigs with out a. Vintage P, but that doesn't make it right.
Click to expand...
No, it doesn't make it right, but that's the way it is. Probably because it all started with the P and it became the standard long before many of the makers you see now even started. It has become the benchmark.
I've had a G&L, an SB-2, and I liked it as well as any Fender I have owned, but unfortunately, I had to let it go during a particulary hard year in 2002. I think the build quality on G&L is actually better than Fender. But that may be old news. Having purchased my first P in 1967, I often wonder how a person can not like a Fender.
 
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#49
OP, maybe you should make an edit to the original post saying something like "It doesn't matter whether you think X or Y brand is better or just as good as the P, what matters is the opinion of the people that hire you. I'm making this thread to make it easier for you to get hired. An American P increases your chances of being hired more than any other bass. If you want to take this path with a different bass, understand that you are putting yourself at a disadvantage."

I think you are giving some solid advice that could translate into other careers. Go with the industry standard, master it, earn your reputation, THEN go off the beaten path.
 
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#50
I recently viewed two seperate videos of bass players recording in a studio. One was Pino Paladino and the other was Seah Hurley... Both using a PBass with flats. Having done some recording myself, I bring My Sadowsky 5 Jazz,
Sadowsky 4 PJ and my Fender P bass with labella flats. Real easy to get the sound "They" the customer is looking for.
 
#54
wintremute said:
I don't think this has been asked yet: OP, what is the best bass for Metal?
Click to expand...

This is a great meme, but it's funny because in a rather known metal studio the debate has been raging between a few producers and engineers.

Metal is a whole different animal, so it is not your typical gig and really doesn't apply as much to this thread. But for the sake of sharing interesting info, the current basses that are most used and revered by these guys :

Fender Jazz and Fender P American Standards
Spector Euro 5
Warwick Thumb 5
Ibanez Prestige 5000E
 
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#55
Check out a thread I started this morning that arguably translates to what basses are best to bring into an unknown session in a studio:

Commodity Basses for Studio | TalkBass.com

Same answer as on this thread: Have a Fender American Standard P-bass with flats a Fender American Standard J-bass with rounds, and then let's talk about having a Ric with rounds and a semi-hollow with flats. Done.

I've been around the block in the studio and on stage over the past 40+ years and agree wholeheartedly with the OP. Great thread and incredible advice to those trying to get in to the game. Thanks for paying it forward, as they say!

As the aforementioned thread continues, the debate on the last 2 now includes a 5 string, a lefthanded model, a Ric, and a (semi) hollow body. Good discussion and set of opinions.
 
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#56
I won't disagree htat this is the case. I think it's sad that engineers won't take the time to learn how to mix a bass other than a P bass. I get the time is money thing but man, there have been other basses in studios before and I know people who don't record with or play a P bass live and they sound amazing. Why is that? There are plenty of people out gigging/touring with something other than a P bass. Yes, there are plenty that are, but it certainly isn't exclusive.

Again, I guess I'm glad that in my situation I don't have to play a bass that others want me to play and that I don't particularly want to play. I get to play a bass of my choosing and I love it.
 
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#58
AngelCrusher said:
This is a great meme, but it's funny because in a rather known metal studio the debate has been raging between a few producers and engineers.

Metal is a whole different animal, so it is not your typical gig and really doesn't apply as much to this thread. But for the sake of sharing interesting info, the current basses that are most used and revered by these guys :

Fender Jazz and Fender P American Standards
Spector Euro 5
Warwick Thumb 5
Ibanez Prestige 5000E
Click to expand...

Now I have even more reason to convince my wife to let me buy the Prestige 5000E!
 
#60
Kmay said:
Next thread should be same guidelines except with amps.
Click to expand...

I got amps for free when I toured. Used whatever I could afford before that, used DI's in the studio.

I think having good DI's is most important as a bass player. The Amp you can have some fun with and then see who offers you free stuff when you hit the road.
 

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