I think I stop believing in expensive basses!

[Gaius46]

Maybe it's just me but I worry about bringing expensive basses into bars full of potentially drunk and stupid people.

 

[gazman_res]

I think it boils down to quality control/construction.

The maple you can find in a squier, can be the same quality as you find in a ken smith, if you put a Fodera pickup and pre on another bass with the same woods, it will sound the same.

Here is where i stopped reading, and why i believe you are incorrect.

If you actually believe that the quality between a squire squier and a ken smith is the same, clearly you are not looking close enough.

 

[Antny]

The bass does not make the bassist. The bassist makes the bassist. Carry on.

 

[MikeBass]

I think it boils down to quality control/construction.

The maple you can find in a squier, can be the same quality as you find in a ken smith, if you put a Fodera pickup and pre on another bass with the same woods, it will sound the same.
i know boutique means that you pay more for a better fretboard finish, neck joint, hardware, aesthetic etc etc but..

I've tried many boutique basses with single coil configuration, and the end result is almost the same: a Marcus miller/pastorious, fender jazz bass tone, in some cases a good pre can give you more power and tonal options.

You can see very repetitive between luthiers from around the world, all converging on the same, Hipshot tuners, obp3 aguilar pre, Bartolini pickups, (hey i'm not saying this is bad) different basses using the same parts will sound the same at the end!

All this is just maybe crazy allegations from me, in my humble opinion, i have 3 good basses, one of them a boutique bass, and i'm really tired of saving money to buy more expensive instruments, I need to raise money for other life plans!

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!

That very first line (that I highlighted) kinda set you up for a

It COULD be the same quality, but it isn't.
Sorry. It's not.

Just look at the quality of the ash for example that Sadowsky, F-Bass or countless other high-end builders use.
The grain is pretty much flawless.
Also, you get insanely good consistancy from bass to bass.
The quality and level to detail- take Valenti basses. Every seen inside that control cavity on Nino's basses?? Good Lord is it prefect.

Check out the neck pocket of a Lull or a US Lakland......Stupid tight. Perfect if you will.

The feel of the neck transition to the body on a Fodera or a Smith feels as natural in you hand as the transition from the small of Scarlett Johansson's back to her a$$.
A damn near work or art.

The above applies to prett much ALL "high-end" botique basses.
You NEVER get than in lower line production basses.
Sure, they are incredibly nice for the money these days. But some things are just not possible once you break that say, $1600 mark.
IMO, that's when you start seeing all those "little" things really tended to.

And a bass, again, IMO, is the sum of the whole. Not just a Squire with a Pope pre-amp and Seymore Duncans in it and it's a Fodera. Of a Warmoth with Sadowsky electronics and it's a Sadowsky.
Sure, eather may be nice and get you close, but there is always something missing.

remember, sometimes in the PGA, the winner to the "also ran" (meaning tour pro's who you don't even know who they are) is only seperated by 6 -8 shots.
It's that last little 10% that is the hardest to get. And sometimes it's the biggest margin to overcome with the most noticable results.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Some people don't notice the difference between one thing and another. Some don't care. So do notice but can't or won't spend more than they're comfortable with. Others see things they like as being worth what they're willing to commit to. I guess the fun comes in when you start projecting your position onto others.

I play whatever I feel like playing. Using how much money someone makes compared to what they paid for an instrument as some sort of barometer has always been a curious POV to me.

I can tell a difference and it really doesn't matter if anyone else believes or respects that. I can't think of one bass I truly dug or disliked because of the price. And IME a bass is far more than a recording, the entire experience comes into play. A recording tells me nothing about how a bass feels or plays.

So while I don't "believe" in expensive basses (seen way too many that didn't grab me), I do believe in basses that I like.

 

[roadkill2309]

I'm not sure exactly why this kind of question keeps popping up. Basses are kind of like cars in that there are affordable ones, cheapo ones, those whut are pricier and a couple of blindingly expensive ones.

The difference is that, when I see a BMW ahead of me on the road, I can almost always count down until the guy does something stupid, while seeing an expensive bass strapped to someone doesn't always mean he's about to make an arse of himself.

While we're at it, I have no idea if Sadowskys are 'worth' it, what the best bass for metal is, or just why tort and sunburst are the answer to any question asked on TalkBass.

 

[thepontif]

You must be talking about 3 series BMW's. Guys in 5's and 7's don't do that stuff

 

[spade2you]

Are we trying to beat the horse back to life, here?

So we can beat it to death (again).

I like guys who spend $5,000 on a bass to make $65 at gigs..haha, nice work..

Insert your "integrity, and your soulful connection to the bass"....here

I love how a majority of musicians can't resist urination/penile measurement contests.

 

[tdub0199]

Who really gives a Flying #$@& about how much a bass cost, 99% of the people in the audience doesn't..... They could care less if you paid $50.00 or $5,000.00.... I agree with JimmyM, let this post die please cause some of you guys are killing the dreams of some of the less fortunate people on this forum.... you DO NOT have to own a $5,000.00 bass to sound good & be Happy.....

 

[JAUQO III-X]

you DO NOT have to own a $5,000.00 bass to sound good & be Happy.....

The reality and truth is that some people do. And one shouldn't have to be crucified because that's what they feel will make them happy.

At the end of the day, they're life could be worse.

 

[bassist4dalord]

I think it boils down to quality control/construction.

The maple you can find in a squier, can be the same quality as you find in a ken smith, if you put a Fodera pickup and pre on another bass with the same woods, it will sound the same.

Oh boy

 

[klejst]

Depending on what kind of bass it is, I can honestly say my MIM Fender Precision Standard I use sounds just awesome for whatever I need it for and the best thing is I paid under $400 for it. At times I feel it sounds better than some MIA P's I have encountered. I truly believe you do not always need to spend thousands to get quality and what you want/need.

 

[tdub0199]

The reality and truth is that some people do. And one shouldn't have to be crucified because that's what they feel will make them happy.

At the end of the day, they're life could be worse.

Who's crucifying them? I think they do that to themselves..... don't get me wrong, I have nice gear, (not all of it is Bass related) and I'm Happy with what I have..... but could live perfectly fine with less....

 

[tdub0199]

Depending on what kind of bass it is, I can honestly say my MIM Fender Precision Standard I use sounds just awesome for whatever I need it for and the best thing is I paid under $400 for it. At times I feel it sounds better than some MIA P's I have encountered. I truly believe you do not always need to spend thousands to get quality and what you want/need.

^ AGREED....

 

[miltslackford]

I sort of agree with this post. I find that a lot of expensive basses have no character to the sound - or at least, not a character that I like! I find warwick etc style basses far too smooth and 'nice' sounding.

I play a lawsuit 80s tokai jazz bass and it has tonnes of character. These bolt-on neck basses have a sound with a certain roughness that is very appealing.

Having said that, most cheapy instruments are very bad. But I would still prefer to play a cheap fender copy than a 1,000 pound warwick. Just my personal taste.

 

[spade2you]

you DO NOT have to own a $5,000.00 bass to sound good & be Happy.....

No, but this one was sure fun.

 

[Marc61]

I think it's an interesting discussion. I was taking lessons from Ken Smith when he was developing his bass guitars. The prototype was awesome. It played so fine, and the bass balanced on my knee! My only thing was I found all the electronics a little excessive. Ken being Ken had use for it, as did other quality players who purchased from him. Seemed like it was worth the 4K plus he was asking. I believe this was 1981 or 2.

That said, I'm more fascinated watching really good players go through the inexpensive inventory at GC or Sam Ash looking for "the one". They find them too. One of my friends, who I respect as one of the best guitarists I've ever seen, pro or otherwise has tons of vintage guitars, mainly because he refuses to sell EVER! One day I asked him what he would pay to have new frets installed. His answer "nothing, I can buy a guitar for that price". The real answer is that because he knows what he likes, and can set it up for himself, he can get away with always using less expensive guitars.

In fact, Easter Sunday my son and I went to the local GC. At 14 he's developed into a pretty good player on bass,drums,guitar, uke, kazoo...you name it. I know he really wanted a Les Paul. So, being I'm short about 2K for such an item, I always put an Epi LP in his hands hoping he'll bite. We get there and we see this supposed "ltd ed" Epi LP that's on sale. I couldn't pry the guitar from him after he got his hands on it. On closeout to boot!(remember this means no one else wanted it, through several price drops).He emailed me a demo he recorded with it...WOW what a crunch.

On the flip side, I've loved the 60s Classic Vibe Sq in the Pino colors since it came out. Neck has a great feel, brass saddles give it great sustain but....can't get myself to bite because it's a "Squier". Shame on me.

I've probably changed basses more than I've changed my underwear of late. Currently playing a Ovation Magnum I. Sounds and plays incredible to me. Looks cool too. As good as many boutiques. Funny when I first saw them in the 70s, didn't seem that way.

 

[MikeBass]

I like guys who spend $5,000 on a bass to make $65 at gigs..haha, nice work..

Insert your "integrity, and your soulful connection to the bass"....here

And I know guys who spend $75,000 on cars that they just drive (or not drive- trailer) on the weekends to car shows and win maybe $500.
I also know guys who spend $30,000+ on their motorcycles that get no more than 1000 miles a year put on them riding them to Hooters bike night once a week.
And I know guys who spend $1000's+ on getting their CD's pressed and maybe sell 30 for $10 a piece....

Not sure what point your post made, because to be honest, I can't find one.....

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Who's crucifying them? I think they do that to themselves.....

I hear bass players all the time crucifying other bass players for having so called expensive basses. And it's usually coming from a player that feel that they're own gear is cheap because it doesn't cost $1000 or more.


And there are guys who have expensive basses who put down the player with the cheap bass. And it's usually coming from guys who can't even play. Whether they were playing a cheap or expensive bass anyway.



There is no win or lose situation when it comes to a expensive or cheap bass.


Remember at one time Fenders,Gibsons and Rics were used every where and there was no social class between owners. Just brand separation.


I've never been a gear snob. And I have no plans to start.

 

[Bass4LifeRS]

Having said that, most cheapy instruments are very bad. But I would still prefer to play a cheap fender copy than a 1,000 pound warwick. Just my personal taste.

How would you even carry a 1000 pound bass?