• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

I think I stop believing in expensive basses!

Status
Not open for further replies.
#21
At the end, the musician begins to mature in this sense, and only if we have the money and that boutique bass makes us happy, we bought it, but a 5000$ bass will not make us best bassist, we should worry more on study!
Click to expand...

I'm guessing English is not your native language, but the point you make here is a good one.

If you can afford an expensive bass, and it you enjoy it, cool!
It won't make you a better player. Also cool.

Having a Porsche won't make you a better driver. And there are some drivers of Toyotas who are better drivers than some drivers of Porsches.
If you can't afford a Porsche - don't worry. You don't need one to be a good driver. Enjoy driving the car you have.
But if you enjoy driving, and can afford a Porsche, and want one, get it and enjoy!
 
#23
Munjibunga said:
OK, I'll show you a couple. Now do you believe?

BN5-Twins-full.jpg
Click to expand...

Me + The above picture = erect
 
#27
valid points, several millionaries pro bassist play instruments that does not worth more than $ 1,000 USD, in the other hand, there are several bassits playing gigs in bars and making $100 usd per night playing very expensive instruments, both ways are valid because at the end of the day is what make the player happy.
 
#28
it all boils down to what a person can afford, thats about it man, if i had alot of money i wouldn't be opposed to playing higher end f bass's sadowsky pedulla modulus etc. I just got myself an epi thunderbird and i love this one alot. I have four bass's now, only two are american, one's mexican and i think ill put that one up for trade sale once i get it back.
 
#29
JoshuaTSP said:
This is what I don't get?

So you're never happy with anything? :confused:
Click to expand...



I'm happy with tons of things in life. I'm just saying, there is obviously a market for daydreamers and people that want "nicer" things as they progress through life.

When I was 10, I loved the fort my brothers and I built out of sofa cushions, but that doesn't mean we weren't dreaming of running into the bedroom, pulling the pillows and blankets off our beds, and building an extension...

If everyone was happy (and content) with the first or second thing they experienced the world would be a very boring place.
 
#30
I just posted in another thread how important it is for someone playing w. other people and playing gigs to have reliable equipment. If you're fighting your gear, you'll simply wind up frustrated and you'll be taken out of the music.

IME, cheaper equipment can certainly sound as good as boutique stuff (YMMV), but a higher level of craftsmanship equals a higher level of reliability. I like Squire stuff, but I'd be skeptical of gigging a Squire bass as it's mass produced and doesn't have the same level of attention payed to each instrument as one of its more expensive counterpoints.

With that all said, my main bass is a Sadowsky Metro... yet I also have no qualms with taking my LTD 6-string that cost me a fifth of the price to gigs because it has proven itself to be reliable.
 
#32
ModulusQ5-122 said:
So you're saying if i put mike pope elctronics in a squier it will feel and sound like a fodera???? I dont think so buddy.
Click to expand...

Probably closer than you would think. It just wouldn't look as pretty or cost nearly as much.

Wood is wood. Every piece is different, and yet the same. It all comes from a forest somewhere.

Couple hundred bucks in a decent bridge and tuners with that Squier and I bet you would have a very good bass and yes, it would sound spectacular.
 
#33
I don,t get why so many people are againts basses that cost more than 300$. Never saw the price of an upright bass ??? a good one will cost more than 15000$ USD ...

I think the music you play/listen to have an impact of what you are looking for in a bass. Like if you play punk/rock/pop ... a beat up P-bass will do the trick but in R&B/Jazz you will see more expensive basses.

Also ... some people ( like me ) like to have something unique for themselves, with special specs. One of my oncle love to play golf, he isn't a pro at all but he spend a lot of money on good equipment because he likes it. It is the same thing with basses, it may help you putting out the best of your habilities.
 
#34
fenderhutz said:
Probably closer than you would think. It just wouldn't look as pretty or cost nearly as much.

Wood is wood. Every piece is different, and yet the same. It all comes from a forest somewhere.

Couple hundred bucks in a decent bridge and tuners with that Squier and I bet you would have a very good bass and yes, it would sound spectacular.
Click to expand...

Sound? Perhaps. Play? Probably not, unless you remove the frets, plane the fingerboard, refret, and dress the frets to perfection.
 
#35
JoZac21 said:
I just posted in another thread how important it is for someone playing w. other people and playing gigs to have reliable equipment. If you're fighting your gear, you'll simply wind up frustrated and you'll be taken out of the music.

IME, cheaper equipment can certainly sound as good as boutique stuff (YMMV), but a higher level of craftsmanship equals a higher level of reliability. I like Squire stuff, but I'd be skeptical of gigging a Squire bass as it's mass produced and doesn't have the same level of attention payed to each instrument as one of its more expensive counterpoints.

With that all said, my main bass is a Sadowsky Metro... yet I also have no qualms with taking my LTD 6-string that cost me a fifth of the price to gigs because it has proven itself to be reliable.
Click to expand...

I disagree that you get an appreciably higher level of reliability with boutique. OK, out of the box you probably do, but I tend to take a cheap instrument and tweak it - tighten down the bolts, redo the soldering, adjust the action, etc. In the end I know the instrument very well. I probably wouldn't have to do much of that with a Sadowsky. Certainly not the tightening and possibly not much adjusting the action.

My latest project bass has been a real learning experience - badly cut nut, a shim where it didn't need one, truss rod not tightened at all out of the box, action a total mess and at this point the D and G strings are practically inaudible compared to the B, E and A when you're in an ensemble. But I honestly believe that I will have a bass that I can confidently take to gigs when I'm done. In fact, if I had to choose between a cheap bass that I've lived with for a while and a brand new boutique bass that I haven't spent much time with to take to a high profile gig, the cheap bass would win.

All that said, this is not a slam on Sadowsky or Lull or Alleva Coppolo or those fine basses that Munji posted. Maintenance is part of the whole process in my life. I'm more confident doing it to cheap basses because, well, it's a cheap bass. On the one hand I wouldn't have popped off the neck and the nut and sanded the fretless fingerboard on a boutique bass - I'd have brought it in to a reputable shop and had it done properly. On the other hand I wouldn't have had to. But I enjoy the tweaking process - making a less expensive instrument as nice as I can. I wouldn't trade my Tokai P-Bass for any boutique bass sight unseen.

KO
 
#37
echoSE7EN said:
If everyone was happy (and content) with the first or second thing they experienced the world would be a very boring place.
Click to expand...

Call it luck, but I still have my 1st bass and I'm very happy and content with it to this day. Had a collector not offered me a bunch of $ for my 2nd bass, I might have it as well. I may not have my 1st guitar, which I sold due to horrible frets and and fingerboard, but I still have my 1st real guitar.
 
#38
fenderhutz said:
But would it play $6,000 dollars better :D
Click to expand...

Depends on the preferred action and preferences, especially since most people who say that X isn't worth it haven't touched one. That's not to say you need to spend that much to get a great bass as I've found a few awesome builders who specialize in stuff that's about 1/2 the price as the BIG names and I don't feel I'm sacrificing any quality whatsoever.
 
#39
BigOldHarry said:
Agreed.

I think the pitfall that folks encounter is that they want CHEAP, they want GOOD, but the don't want to do the work that requires. Work??? Yes, WORK - you have to play a ton of basses, pick them up, plug them in, go to store, hunt around.... Great affordable basses exist and are for sale, but you're much less likely to get one by going to MF and buying based on a photo.
Click to expand...

+1

Imagine that, actually going out and playing a bass before you buy it. Who'd have ever imagined doing something like that? :hiding:
 
#40
If you buy older guitars, say 10 plus years old, there is less likelihood of bad timber warping and quality issues that would not be noted when playing I have owned $4000 basses and $400 basses and I like them all for what they are. It is a matter of sound and playability.

If it sounds good and is nice to play, it is a good bass regardless of price.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back