Fine, I'll take your word for it that you think this thread is for audience members and players. As an audience member, your interest in an SX vs. Fender shootout would be...?.....
Damn, you got me....
I said "... most audiences I've seen aren't particularly concerned with the looks of an instrument". I stand by that observation. It's way down the list of priorities.
If the audience never heard of you before, sure. But if you have an image, that's what they expect to see. If I paid money to see Wooten, and he played an SX instead of a Fodera, I'd feel a little cheated. You could say you have no image, well then That's your image. If you always played in jeans and a T shirt in a jazz group and suddenly showed up in platform boots, makeup and playing a Cort Axe...people would think something is wrong, even if you managed to get the tone the same as your usual bass
I really don't understand what kind of a circle you seem to be talking in as far as playability. You said you don't care about playability for the players you mentioned. I said they care and you countered with this. Huh?
This question for instance is curious...
"As far as playability goes, Savit said it plays as good as, if not better than. the Fender. But would it matter to anyone but him if it didn't?"
Absolutely... it would very likely matter to anyone else who is playing one. It would matter to me. Do you actually think it wouldn't matter to anyone?
I said I care very much about playability personally, but what is a perfectly set-up bass for me may not be what you like. I like really low action, someone with a heavy attack may very well get string buzz and say it plays awful....in turn, I could pickup their bass and think the action is wayy too high...playability, within certain realms is subjective. Of course there are basses that are unplayable by most anyones standards, but I don't think that's what we are talking about.
Why does it matter to you if Savit finds the SX as good as, if not better player than his Fender? He said they are setup the same, his hand finds the SX very comfortable. Where is the problem there? Some people hate P necks, some hate J necks....doesn't matter, they make both for that reason. Unless you are wanting to buy either one, I don't get that or why you think it should matter to everyone, that he likes the feel as good as the Fender.
Different people like different setups for different kinds of music, hence my question, Do you think Jaco would find Jamerson's bass playable or vise-versa? Both were obviously playable by their owners, but if they swapped, don't you think some major adjustments would have been getting made?
In the context of what you quoted, I can't make sense of this either.
Sound checks are for what?
What the audience can or cannot discern isn't a big concern for me because I know that if I get it right to my satisfaction that's the best I can do. You seem to agree that personal satisfaction should yeild a better performance than having to deal with problems.
Sound checks are to get the best band sound for the show for the people that hopefully paid to see you. Be sure they go away happy and want to see you again, IMO. I do respect your attitude on this, and wonder if you may be doing the same thing but with a different focus. We may be splitting hairs here. You do sound checks be be sure things are the best you can make them before your performance...that benefits the audience, right? So they will come see you again, right?
Do you specifically disagree with something I've written? I can't tell.
I don't know anymore.
You seem to have a problem with this kind of thread, but at the same time you post alot in it....that's strange to me.
FWIW, I like Fender alot. I like SX too, and they are a great value for the money. If you like modding, you're gonna love SX, because they are perfect for it. But having bought a few, I am not under any delusion that you can buy a $100 SX and open the box and pull out a vintage Fender. Hell, you've done good if you buy a good Fender from Fender, IMO. Needless to say there are great Fenders out there, but more than likely an SX is going to need some attention to get up to speed. How much attention depends on your luck and goals, I guess. Like I said before I've replaced everything except the body on mine. Every wire, every screw, everything. I don't recommend them to beginners unless they have know-how to get it right, or access to someone who does. But it can, and frequently has, been done.
And yes, I may buy another one(but I hate, hate, hate that Ursa headstock)...but I know that the worse case senerio is that I wind up with a painted body for $100 as the only usable part...that's still a good deal. The best case senerio is tweak the truss, put on fresh strings and play. Better deal. But not likely.
<- naive, unprofessional bassist hiding away.
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