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I think I stop believing in expensive basses!

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#682
Isn't this the case/buying motivations with almost ANYTHING?

I only have expensive____ because they're so much better made, use higher quality materials and I get better service from the manufacturer. Cheaper____ may serve mostly the same purpose, but my ____ give me exactly what I need with my advanced technique. You may get good results with your budget ____ but my ____ will hold their value and get me the admiration and envy of my peers.


(Fill in the blanks: Golf clubs, cars, motorcycles, cameras, bicycles, or bass guitars)
 
#685
Legattabass said:
This thread is 34 pages of two irrational extremes calling the other passive aggressive and illogical.

Anyone else see the problem here?
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This, I can't believe it's still being debated, Who cares just play the bass you like, feel free to think it's the best bass EVER and let everyone else do the same.

Why is it so important to convince someone else that your property is what you believe it to be?
 
#688
bassbenj said:
The problem is nobody quite knows what any of this means. I play some cheapo basses that sound great, not just "reasonably good". That is because I personally have gone over them with a fine tooth comb making them just what I wanted. They started with nice pieces of wood picked out by me and "tonewood" doesn't make much difference anyway.

So now we have a question. Am I still playing a "cheap" bass? If I have an SX Pleked and plays like a Sadowsky, what is it? Yes it's $200 more for one thing. But uncounted here is what is my time worth. If I paid Roger Sadowsky to do the things I did then the bass could be worth thousands. But if I do it, and only use some of my time, is it still a cheap bass? But on the other hand *I* really like what I do to a bass so when I'm done it's specifically tailored to me. Surely that sort of thing is worth money?

The bottom line therefore, is that rules like "you get what you pay for" are simply not always valid. Sometimes you pay what the guy is charging regardless of what he's doing. And sometimes you don't pay at all and get great. So while there is SOME truth to judging a bass by it's headstock shape, it's also easy to be fooled by a Squier or SX because you don't know where it's been or who has been tweaking on it. On the other hand if you are the sort of person who isn't much with tools, then obviously you have to pay someone else to do it, and the more talented they are, the better job they do, which means the more they charge. Which is sort of what expensive boutique basses are about.
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Go ahead. Post the picture of the 15 identical SX basses you own.....you know you want to! ;)
 
#690
bassbenj said:
If I have an SX Pleked and plays like a Sadowsky, what is it?
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It is "you are fricking high"
have you ever actually touched a Sadowsky?
I didn't like fender style basses at all until I tried out a Sadowsky in their former Brooklyn shop.
I've played plenty of basses, and I have been doing my own setups for about 25 years. Sadowsky basses are more than a nice setup.
Do you roll the edges of the fretboard on your SX?
Do you swap out the pickups and tone control/preamp?
bassbenj said:
The bottom line therefore, is that rules like "you get what you pay for" are simply not always valid.
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True, if you are talking about Gibson, Fender or any other major brand that charge you thousands more for... nothing really.
Once you get past the entry level models the models are all pretty much the same except for cosmetics. And with Gibson even the cosmetics are all over the map.
 
#691
Just Thumpin' said:
95%+ of our instruments since inception have been either 3-piece or one piece. When folks work with us to spec out an instrument and they are interested in a 5, 7 or 9 piece neck we are straight forward with them and tell them that north of a three piece neck you gain next to nothing from a stability standpoint...it's all about looks at that point -- which is fine, but not necessary from a functional standpoint.

At an extreme level you can actually argue that more glue = less resonance = diminished tone. There is definitely a stability / structural benefit when you make the jump from one piece to three (there's also an added cost), but north of 3 pieces it's more about achieving a certain look.
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How much does choice of neck wood affect sound compared to choice of body wood?

===

One thing everyone noticed about this magic plank (I took delivery at work) was that it was way louder unplugged than any of us expected a solid body bass to be. Is this any reliable indicator of good tone? Also I've seen light weight cited as an indicator. True or not?
 
#693
spade2you said:
Nor am I trying to prove anything, but foundation of these threads are to justify cheap basses and start stuff with those who own expensive basses.
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You are not obligated, like a knight to a leige lord, to defend the reputation of expensive basses. You are not duty bound to slug it out for 30 pages because someone's opinion clashed with yours.

To claim they "started something" with you is absurd. And Juvenile. Why are you on here, arguing with phantoms? Go play your awesome expensive bass, leave him to his opinion.
 
#694
Legattabass said:
You are not obligated, like a knight to a leige lord, to defend the reputation of expensive basses. You are not duty bound to slug it out for 30 pages because someone's opinion clashed with yours.

To claim they "started something" with you is absurd. And Juvenile. Why are you on here, arguing with phantoms? Go play your awesome expensive bass, leave him to his opinion.
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It's not absurd. It's a double standard. Bashing expensive basses and the people who use them is condoned. Bashing cheap basses is snobbish.
 
#698
Hey Guys,

I'm pretty thrifty and always searching for "cheaper alternatives" to some of the uber high priced stuff that most music stores try to get to my wallet with... I'm surprised how little sometimes people don't look into that sort of stuff... Doesn't help that I'm a kid in High School in a small town that doesn't have many job opportunities for people like me whether it be in the Summer or Evenings... So when I do have the cash to splurge a little, I try to make it count.

My Main Bass is a White Charvel 2b from 1987 that I picked up just before Christmas in 2009. Anybody who knows Charvels, especially from that time period, knows that they make quality stuff. I split the cost of it with my Dad (ehem, Santa!! :smug:), it came bone stock with the original hardshell and cost around $350. Last summer I finally had it with the stock passive PJ Jackson pickups that came with it.... I decided to go all-out with it and put a set of Seymour Duncan Music Mans in there.... that and a 3 band EQ (total investment around $300) was the best thing I ever did for that bass.... other than buying the bass. I've taken it out alot since I modded it and done Country, Blues, Folk, Rock and Metal gigs with it.... I did a few recordings with it. One was a Skynyrd type tune, the other was more along the lines of Metallica. It held up amazingly well for all that it's been thru.... The only thing that I'd like to get for it is a Hipshot D-tuner.... but that's on my "want" list...

Moral of the story (sorry, I'm pretty long-winded); the total investment in the bass was less than $650 and all I can say is WOW. I'd put my hack-job hot-rodded 80's Charvel bass up against most new basses running for over a grand with confidence.... Sure, it's maybe not the best looking bass in the world. It's definitely not the best routing job in the world (trust me...) Yeah, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles a Ritter or Fodera might, but for me and the way that I play, it's perfect. It does everything I need it to do and then some.... I don't need a bass that was made on Jupiter and has a coffeemaker built into it and splits atoms and can tell me what day of the week it is.... I just need a reliable friend to hold it down with up onstage.... and I think we work together quite nicely... :)
 

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#699
spade2you said:
It's not absurd. It's a double standard. Bashing expensive basses and the people who use them is condoned. Bashing cheap basses is snobbish.
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Bottom line: Whichever choice you've made, cheap or boutique or anywhere in-between, if it works for you that's all that matters. And if you go to extensive lengths defending it, you're likely somewhat insecure about whether it's right for you or not.
 
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