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Giving up on a brand?

#41
DiabolusInMusic said:
Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you.
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I think that's fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.:)

As for the OT .. I don't have brand "loyalty" but there are some brands I have come to appreciate more than others because they meet my needs. Big name endorsers do not influence my gear choices much. I take all my gear on an individual basis and considering that most brands from ice cream to basses are not what they used to be for me it is all about how it tastes .. to my tongue or my ears or my fingers..
 
#42
JimmyM said:
I disagree, and yes, that was exactly what I was saying. Give me an amp and I'll make it work no matter what it is. I've had to do too many gigs with amps I don't like, and never once got a sound that didn't work for the band(s).
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^This

Myself, I actually enjoy bringing out the best in whatever gear I'm using, and over the years I've used quite a bit of lower tier stuff just because, you know, I just do this for fun.

I'm currently traveling for business this week, and as usual when I'm in a bigger city I hit the local music shops to see what's there.

I grabbed a nice Precision off the wall, a cable, and just went down the line at the bass amp section, tried a lot of the new stuff and I tried EVERY used bass amp they had.

Yep, I could get a useable tone out of everything I tried.

And yep some things requirement much less knob tweaking than others before I found a tone that I liked.

Oh, and I found that a vintage Acoustic 320 sounds really, REALLY good through an Aguilar cabinet. :bassist:
 
#44
JimmyM said:
I disagree, and yes, that was exactly what I was saying. Give me an amp and I'll make it work no matter what it is. I've had to do too many gigs with amps I don't like, and never once got a sound that didn't work for the band(s).
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I agree to this. I won't find my ideal tone in many amps out there but I guess I can get 99% of all amps to work for me/my band during a gig. However I require a certain amount of power in case there is no PA, but that holds for every single one of us
 
#45
JimmyM said:
I disagree, and yes, that was exactly what I was saying. Give me an amp and I'll make it work no matter what it is. I've had to do too many gigs with amps I don't like, and never once got a sound that didn't work for the band(s).
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Forgive the rant, but those who can't get a usable sound out of a bass rig are probably guilty of navel-gazing: gotta have my tone, man! :ninja:

There's only one instance I recall when I couldn't get a decent tone out of a rig (that wasn't malfunctioning, anyway). It was a mutt rig supplied at an open mic blues jam: I had to start playing as soon as I plugged in and didn't have enough time to ensure that it was set reasonably flat. I forget whether it was from contour switches or graphic EQ or both, but response was uneven. All that said, *I* noticed the unevenness, but I'm not sure anyone else did.
 
#46
It's not about "my" tone at all, I think most players are perfectly capable of making a rig work.

Whether it provides what you really want or not is a different thing entirely, and this is where brand loyalty comes in. You can't give up on a provided backline/rig if it is something you didn't support or buy in the first place. Totally off topic if you ask me..

There are a few brands I would never buy for various reasons, others I am quite happy with. I'm not married to any of them though, and would get something else in a heartbeat if that's what I wanted.
 
#47
I'm not so much one for brand loyalty. I tend to like cabs from one company, pre amps from a different company and so on. im loyal about ampeg classic cabs. But they just work for my sound and I've never had any issues. Every other cab i try either doesn't have the sound or they fall apart on me. I've had loads of broken horns, blown speakers, cone creasing you name it with other brands. Never had any of those issues with ampeg cabs. On the other side I'm not a big fan of ampeg amps. I am a fan of tech 21 but only use their rack mount sans amps. I don't use tech 21 heads or cabs. Bass wise i was a warwick fanboy for a while but after owning 4 nice German made warwicks i got away from them.warwick has such a big variety of basses these days they completely lost the idea of having their own sound. When i think of real warwicks i think of thumb basses and dolphins. streamers are essentially a Spector rip off, and you can buy corvettes that sound more like a fender than a thumb bass.
 
#48
Fuzzbass said:
Forgive the rant, but those who can't get a usable sound out of a bass rig are probably guilty of navel-gazing: gotta have my tone, man! :ninja:

There's only one instance I recall when I couldn't get a decent tone out of a rig (that wasn't malfunctioning, anyway). It was a mutt rig supplied at an open mic blues jam: I had to start playing as soon as I plugged in and didn't have enough time to ensure that it was set reasonably flat. I forget whether it was from contour switches or graphic EQ or both, but response was uneven. All that said, *I* noticed the unevenness, but I'm not sure anyone else did.
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Yeah the majority of your audiences are oblivious to the stuff we hear with amps and effects unless you're out of tune. No effect can mask that or had playing. I don't blame you though. That's why I don't use amps unless I have to. I have all my tones dialed into my bass driver.
 
#49
I've only bought one thing made in China (my old Ampeg SVT7) and it crapped out on me in a year. So, I don't buy any of my basses or rig components if they are made there. I would buy Ampeg's Heritage series though because they are not made in China. History shows that China will get it's act straight though, so I may bend on this in about 5 to 10 years.
 
#50
I used to focus on brand names when I was younger and started noticing a lot of the bands I listen to using the same gear. That is a big reason why I wanted to own a EBMM Stingray. I finally got one and sold it after about 4 years of use.

I'm now much more open-minded when I make a purchase. Usually, if I'm turned off by a specific brand due to past experiences, it is for a certain type of product. For example: I've had bad experiences with Behringer bass amps but better experiences with some of their low cost accessories. Also, as I learn more about making adjustments and modifications to my instruments, I am more open to purchasing low-end bass guitars that I can tweak rather than searching for my "dream bass."
 
#51
I would say I'm more likely to buy something based on brand, or my perception of the brand. It's probably not right, but I'm being honest. Some brands I just avoid and would be less likely to look at or purchase because of the name on them and experiences I've had, or read about, or have heard from friends.

One thing that comes into play for me, and I'm not sure anyone has mentioned it, is how much some of the stuff costs. I try to buy the best I can afford, and stuff that I have confidence in but I have a limited budget. Love them or hate them, I've had fantastic luck with my All-Carvin rig. Actually, a lot of my stuff is Carvin, including my go-to bass. So I usually look to Carvin first and if they don't have what I need then I look elsewhere, and their stuff is pretty reasonably priced for what you get. For me, they've been great to deal with and I've had absolutely zero problems with my BX500 and my BR cabs. Plus, I like the fact that the stuff is made in the USA.

As far as going with a brand because a celebrity endorses it, not so much. But I am one of those people that does tend to lean toward one brand or another.
 
#53
I gave up on some brands, basically because I couldn't tell one P-bass from another and quality issues reported by local dealers of their guitars.

I have two Fenders made by FGN back in the 80s and had a 3-year email conversation with Kazuma Tanabe at FGN about their OEM business. When they opened their US online store, Mr. Tanabe worked with me to allow me to purchase a new FGN as I didn't have the money right away.

I doubt that Fender or Gibson would do that. I love my FGN.

I also bought a bass from Andrew Drake's Drake Custom Basses in Iowa. He also worked with me and I have to say the man is an awesome luthier. It plays better than any custom shop I've played.[/QUOTE]
 
#54
AlexanderB said:
TB has all kinds of players and some invest a lot of research, money and feelings (word?) in creating the rig that reflects their personality and makes them feel good.
The other extreme could be both the less discriminating player or the person that consider all gear to be "just a tool" that could be replaced in an instant.
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I really fit into both those categories -- I like what I like, but I also believe that at the end of the day anything works. In any case, I never have been vested enough in any brand to have the capacity to give up on it. The closest I've come was giving up on gigging with homemade stuff for half a decade or so, but I'm mostly back on that plan now. ;)
 
#55
JimmyM said:
I disagree, and yes, that was exactly what I was saying. Give me an amp and I'll make it work no matter what it is. I've had to do too many gigs with amps I don't like, and never once got a sound that didn't work for the band(s).
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True.

I think anyone who has spent significant time in cover bands and tried to get reasonably close to recorded tones using a single bass and single rig has found out how far a bit of EQing and technique will get you.

That said - and I think you'd agree with me here - if I'm going to shell out for a rig I want to be able to dial in a tone I love easily and consistently.
 
#56
I agree with finding the right stores / contacts/ support system. For example, I really like Club Bass in Toronto. Dave's stuff is not low end, and typically not cheap, but he filters out 80% of the junk, and sells the right gear. I've also made contacts within excellent local and not so local stores.

It's not so much about the brands.
 
#57
swamp_bass said:
My notion of brand loyalty evaporated after a few abysmal purchases many years ago as a teenager from what had been "trusted" names. Now I look at new product introductions from any manufacturer as a potential clean slate - for better or worse.

Like you, I cherry pick what I like if it suits me, regardless of label.
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Brand loyalty is for lemmings. Good is good, bad is bad. That goes for everything in life.

What attracts me to a brand, behind a basic value proposition, is novel engineering. I bought an aluminum neck Kramer when I was 18 because no one else was doing that; I bought my first Zon in 1996 because it was the best carbon fiber neck I had played; I drove RX7's because of the rotary engine
(yeah, I'm an engineer when I'm not playing bass). I like folks who do things differently/creatively and I want to support that with my business). In the Bass World, the established builders of old (Fender/Gibson/Rick/etc) haven't done anything interesting or inventive in ages. They make what they make - and much of it is very good, but just not interesting to me.

I'm also a bit of a sucker for a personal touch on products or services - so when I met Nick Epifani at a NAMM show, I felt an attachment. Very nice guy, gave me Tee shirt, thanked me for using his gear... But now I'm ready to move on from that (hence my recent Berg purchase). I played Rotosounds for YEARS because I met Sir Howe at another NAMM show and he was charming and friendly. I felt a connection. Fender? Go to the Fender booth and it feels like going to costco. Nothing wrong with Costco, but geez...
 
#60
Jaco who? said:
When I see phrases on here about "Creating" or "building" a "rig" my eyes just kind of glaze over. I never liked the term "rig" in the concept of bass gear, and I can't help but think there are more than a few on this site that would be monsters if they spent half as much time listening to and playing music instead of buying and selling gear. Not trying to imply the OP or anyone in particular has this problem, but It comes across that way at times.

If you haven't guessed, I'm in the gear is just a tool camp.
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perhaps a rabbit trail but-
+1
 

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