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How do you know your ready?
- Thread starter Lanso3000
- Start date
Well i've had the one bass for the 5 years i've been playing, just a beginner yamaha.
I'm now pretty confident with a handful of jaco tunes...
and now my to-be 6 string is being shipped in. =]
you'll know when your ready, lol.
I'm now pretty confident with a handful of jaco tunes...
and now my to-be 6 string is being shipped in. =]
you'll know when your ready, lol.
Whenever you're tired of the one you're playing. Duhhh. Who cares if you don't have the money "right now." That's why they have credit cards.
well the thing is if im looking at a nice bass thats a little on the expensive side i get the feeling im not worthy
Taylor Livingston
Commercial User
You are ready when you aren't happy with what you have and you can afford the thing you want. More expensive basses are actually easier to play than cheap basses, so it isn't like you need to be more skilled to play a nicer bass.
However, don't get caught up in the mentality that so many of us have (myself included) which is that you need to keep getting new and better gear. That is an endless road, so unless you are rich, you should always consider whether you really need a new bass or if your current one is satisfying your needs well.
If you are asking how skilled you need to be to play fretless or a bass with more strings, none of us can tell you. Many instruments don't come in fretted varieties typically, like violin, viola, cello, and doublebass, so there's no reason that you can't start on fretless bass. Likewise, plenty of talentless hacks play 6-string guitar, so there's reason you can't start on a 6-string bass.
Ask yourself these questions: is my current bass hindering me? Can I afford a new one? If yes to both, you are ready for a new one.
However, don't get caught up in the mentality that so many of us have (myself included) which is that you need to keep getting new and better gear. That is an endless road, so unless you are rich, you should always consider whether you really need a new bass or if your current one is satisfying your needs well.
If you are asking how skilled you need to be to play fretless or a bass with more strings, none of us can tell you. Many instruments don't come in fretted varieties typically, like violin, viola, cello, and doublebass, so there's no reason that you can't start on fretless bass. Likewise, plenty of talentless hacks play 6-string guitar, so there's reason you can't start on a 6-string bass.
Ask yourself these questions: is my current bass hindering me? Can I afford a new one? If yes to both, you are ready for a new one.
I'll tell you what I did..My personal way..I went to the music store with my first bass an Ibanez RD-300. Not a bad bass if I do say so. I tried pricier and pricer models until I couldn't tell a difference in quality, playability, feel, electronics anymore. I just didn't have enough experience beyond a certain point.
This technique stopped me at the 700-1000$ range as I just didn't have enough experience in the feel, electronics, quality anymore. I was 3 yrs. into playing bass. I bought my Marcus Miller Jazz because in that price range, It sat on top at 750$.
I'm sure that Ive been playing long enough now to graduate to a Sad. Jazz or something in the 3-4k range now that I have enough bassist feel and vocab to define what I'm looking for now. But my Miller keeps me happy right now until I save up money again for the next price jump.
Once you get into the 2k+ range you start to branch out on what your personal goals for a bass are rather than just satisfying general needs.
When you feel the bass you have start holding you back, be it spacing, string quantity, electronics, feel, ergonomics, etc. than you can take a trip to the store if you want...to give you a general money sum you need. Then, you save up for that bracket.
Many people have alternate feelings on buying the best you can get or getting a lower model and modding it up. I'm just sharing my general rule that works for me and seems economical in the way that I'm not buying too much bass for my needs.
This technique stopped me at the 700-1000$ range as I just didn't have enough experience in the feel, electronics, quality anymore. I was 3 yrs. into playing bass. I bought my Marcus Miller Jazz because in that price range, It sat on top at 750$.
I'm sure that Ive been playing long enough now to graduate to a Sad. Jazz or something in the 3-4k range now that I have enough bassist feel and vocab to define what I'm looking for now. But my Miller keeps me happy right now until I save up money again for the next price jump.
Once you get into the 2k+ range you start to branch out on what your personal goals for a bass are rather than just satisfying general needs.
When you feel the bass you have start holding you back, be it spacing, string quantity, electronics, feel, ergonomics, etc. than you can take a trip to the store if you want...to give you a general money sum you need. Then, you save up for that bracket.
Many people have alternate feelings on buying the best you can get or getting a lower model and modding it up. I'm just sharing my general rule that works for me and seems economical in the way that I'm not buying too much bass for my needs.
I think everyone so far has given good advice, except for my previous post, of course. I'd say when you're ready to move on, you'll know. Either a song or a video clip on YouTube will spark a certain something that'll make you want a certain tone. You'll go wandering into GC or somewhere like that and play some basses and then you'll get a better feel of what you want. You'll probably find within the first few basses a bass you'll like, depending on the quality of the one you play now.
To me, the fact that you're even thinking about it might be a sign of it being time.
To me, the fact that you're even thinking about it might be a sign of it being time.
well when i got a new bass a few years ago i instantly was looking at new basses the very day i got it
when you stop falling asleep while just messing around while laying on your bed watchin tv.
thats when you know its time for a new one
thats when you know its time for a new one
well when i got a new bass a few years ago i instantly was looking at new basses the very day i got it
That's the very first sign of G.A.S. Reread post #8.
If being "worthy" of a better bass was a requirement, I think most of the bass companies would be out of business and I'd still be playing the POS St. George bass I started on!
If you can appreciate and afford a better bass, you're worthy.
Exactly.
You don't earn "the right" to buy it by playing better, but by earning the cash to buy it.
I dunno. I didn't get a new bass until 5 years after I started playing.
it was like a quantum leap when I did though. I went from a $150 Ibanez to a $1500 Carvin.
I could have gotten something else before that though...
it was like a quantum leap when I did though. I went from a $150 Ibanez to a $1500 Carvin.
I could have gotten something else before that though...
Whenever you're tired of the one you're playing. Duhhh. Who cares if you don't have the money "right now." That's why they have credit cards.
Wise words
