Found this on Marcus Miller's website and found it interesting. Thought I would share it.
Question: What reason(s) do you see for an average or even a good player to buy a very expensive bass?
Answer: "My opinion is that the features that make most of those really expensive basses so expensive (beautiful wood, longer sustain, a thousand pickup settings) are pretty useless when it comes down to holding down a groove. As a matter of fact, I've had my drummer plead with me to throw all my sound check basses away (I'm always bringing a new bass to sound check to try out. Most of them cost upwards of $2500. Most of them sound like science projects. A couple are good for a particular song, usually one that requires a thinner sound).
Get a good solid bass that you can play a whole set on. Make sure it sounds good when the band is playing, not just in the music store (there's a big difference). If you have a relationship with a music store guy and can bring it with you for a day, record it and listen to the tone back. When you hear it back you won't be getting fooled by the amp's coloring.
Don't go so cheap that you run the risk of tuning or workmanship quality problems. But it doesn't have to cost $5000 either. Spend the extra money on a good pre-amp (Sadowsky's is good) and some CD's to practice to."
Question: What reason(s) do you see for an average or even a good player to buy a very expensive bass?
Answer: "My opinion is that the features that make most of those really expensive basses so expensive (beautiful wood, longer sustain, a thousand pickup settings) are pretty useless when it comes down to holding down a groove. As a matter of fact, I've had my drummer plead with me to throw all my sound check basses away (I'm always bringing a new bass to sound check to try out. Most of them cost upwards of $2500. Most of them sound like science projects. A couple are good for a particular song, usually one that requires a thinner sound).
Get a good solid bass that you can play a whole set on. Make sure it sounds good when the band is playing, not just in the music store (there's a big difference). If you have a relationship with a music store guy and can bring it with you for a day, record it and listen to the tone back. When you hear it back you won't be getting fooled by the amp's coloring.
Don't go so cheap that you run the risk of tuning or workmanship quality problems. But it doesn't have to cost $5000 either. Spend the extra money on a good pre-amp (Sadowsky's is good) and some CD's to practice to."
