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I think I stop believing in expensive basses!
- Thread starter FunkyMan
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Maybe we should start a pool on when this thread will be closed. I've never seen so many rude, disrespectful, condescending posts in a single thread - and those are just MY posts! 
To be fair, you could have posted this response at least 50 times at various points in this thread and been correct.
Bass Mentor
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- Apr 30, 2012
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- endorsing artist: Lava Cable, E&O Mari, Rupert Neve Designs
I do own some high -end basses...Tyler and Sadowsky-- but a much cheaper '57 vintage P made in '92 that I paid 720 bucks for is a great bass and have done master recordings with it.....I think the key is if the instrument serves you, who cares how much you paid? It most certainly is not the # factor in great bass tone... there are many wonderful instruments out there that is worth the price tag if the player's perceptions and needs are being fulfilled.
I think boutique basses are really not needed. Almost any 400$ bass these days can get the job done fairly well. I LOVE my peavey Rudy Sarzo signature (not the Cirrus, the other one) and I think it's the bass that I'll be keeping for a long time. Then again, I said that about my ESP LTD F-155DX too, and I could see myself selling that... 
My Sarzo was around 500. As far as value, I can't imagine a boutique bass being 4x or more better than mine. That being said, I've never played a boutique bass.
My Sarzo was around 500. As far as value, I can't imagine a boutique bass being 4x or more better than mine. That being said, I've never played a boutique bass.
I guess I'm just not sure how you can determine what a bass is worth without playing it.
Not to point fingers but of the folks you pointed out, I'd say Spade2you has the most disdain for boutique instruments of the bunch.
I see what you did there.
I think boutique basses are really not needed. Almost any 400$ bass these days can get the job done fairly well. I LOVE my peavey Rudy Sarzo signature (not the Cirrus, the other one) and I think it's the bass that I'll be keeping for a long time. Then again, I said that about my ESP LTD F-155DX too, and I could see myself selling that...
My Sarzo was around 500. As far as value, I can't imagine a boutique bass being 4x or more better than mine. That being said, I've never played a boutique bass.
A Rolls Royce is not needed but it's desired by many. Sure, you could drive your Jetta and get from point A to point B in the same amount of time as you could in a Rolls. However, aren't Rolls Royces freakin' sweet? That's my take on this whole thread. I used to own a Mexican Fender Jazz that sounded decent. However, when I got my USA Cirrus or my Elrick (either one) I never played the Jazz again. I actually gave it to the church I played for at the time. Now, I have a hard time taking anything off the walls at a music store that costs less than $1000. Don't get me wrong. I like bases, especially Jazz basses, and I will NEVER raise my nose to any other player no matter what he/she plays. It's not my place and it's not beneficial to either one of us. I just like what I like because I've experienced the other side and the other side IS GOOD!
Wait, are my words being twisted? 
ok. You pretty much summed up exactly how I feel about the subject.
But the comparison of Jetta vs rolls.....I am not sure 100% about that, because though the jetta is no Rolls, it is still a great car.
What a lot of TBs are doing is effectively comparing the rolls royce to a Hyundai or yugo, and saying that the Hyundai compares favorably with the rolls...
compares how? The yugo gets you from point A to B just like the Rolls, so that means they are the same? really?
As to your other points, I too own a bargain bass. I never play it, now that I have better basses. Why would I? My new Carvin is not a Fodera or Alembic, but it really and truly blows away my MIM fender. Absolutely. I just can't imagine that I got my new Carvin, and kept on playing the MIM more.
But that's me. I don't like cheap beer or fast food either, though the cheap beer gets you just as buzzed as expensive beer, and the fast food fills you up just as well as the most expensive gourmet dinner.
It's all about the experience, both sonic and tactile. I don't understand the "Fodera sucks" or "Pedulla sucks" comments. And those are the "boutique" makers I refer to in all my examples.
Brad Johnston says that there are some boutique builders who make horrible products. Probably, but i was not referring to some rare builder few have ever heard of, or Wishbass, or anything like that.
Tell me, really...how can Alembic, Sadowsky, Fodera, etc...really suck?
Seems the people who make those kind of statements are never able to back them up. Even the Fodera guy pointed that out a few 1000 posts back...when he asks one of these "fodera sucks" posters why...they got nothing.
But according to those posters, Fodera owners are now engaged in a mass exodus, selling them off faster then facebook stock, and meanwhile, 1000s of pros are now making a galactic shift to Squire, the new TB "It" bass.
Just can't stay away can you?
Guilty. This is my last post. I will now mark this thread as read before doing anything else.
Tried many Alembics, Smiths, Fenders and everything in between. I like my Fodera, Carl Thompson and Cliff Bordwell, and I like them MUCH better than my MIM Jazz.
I like how he keeps spewing the same self-generated nonsense over and over again and claiming everybody else is doing that.
I like how you have absolutely nothing to contribute to this thread except your little snarky comments.
My needs are being fulfilled with my '87 Jazz Bass Special and '01 American Jazz. Good enough for me. But, I agree that expensive basses give you more. Then again, it depends on what you're after. For some, a cheap bass is fine. For others, an expensive one is in order. The thing that folks keep fussing about is whether one is better than the other. There are two answers. Objectively, the more expensive ones are generally made better and have better components. And, they are more stable, and will last longer. But subjectively, if the buyer is satisfied, a cheaper bass is "better" for them.
In general, it's all in the eye of the beholder. For now I am as happy with my basses as a dog with two tails.
In general, it's all in the eye of the beholder. For now I am as happy with my basses as a dog with two tails.
From time to time, even good builders make a dud.
My Rob Allen 5 had a few problems arise because I trusted a humidifer that wasn't working. As a result, it needed a new bridge and there were a few hairline cracks in the fingerboard and wall of the pickup. These weren't Rob's fault, but he fixed them free of charge.
Good luthiers will honor issues and problems. There have been a few in the past who didn't do that.
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