Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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'm not into expensive basses at all.
- Thread starter Rambazamba
- Start date
I'm fightin' the G.A.S. too!That looks super nice B-Mac. Thanks a lot!
I don't like attractive, athletic, educated 35 year-old, brunette nurses who also are fantastic mothers and also REALLY like books, coffee and are super into music...
Oh wait
Oh wait
It never stops... @Volker Kirstein had a link to a different bass on a different page so I just had to browse that page and now I got G.A.S. for this 29" Jazz style bass for around $104!!!!
Jack & Danny
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
J & D Bass guitar JB Mini BK Black | MUSIC STORE professional | en-US
I bought a full size J&D Jazz for modding purposes, it was not a good bass. The best part was bizarrely the tuners, the rest was horrible. Spaghetti neck, pre-dented body, bridge made of chrome covered cheese and the bridge pickup didn't work. Maybe the minis are nicer, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Not at all. He is referring to basses as feminine... like boats or cars.
Depends on what's "expensive" to you. In rough numbers, to me that means over $1000. I have exactly one bass that cost more than that, my Gretsch ThunderJet. My 1963 P is worth more but it cost less when my parents bought it in 1967. That ThunderJet has a great sound, nice neck and the best action of anything I own. The quality of the bass is reflected in the ease of playing it, as well as the visible fit and finish. Would I pay $1000 for the fit and finish? Nope.
I have a number of really good basses that cost me under $300, and that's generally my price range. My Dean Cabbie fell in that price range, and so did a Jack Casady that had a crack between the neck and fretboard at the top end - it required just a bit of super glue to secure it.
I have a Squier Bronco with one of the nicest necks I've ever played, and after adding a Gretsch 2202 pickup I play it often in preference to basses that cost 8x as much. Cost me about $120 used, without a scratch on it.
And I'll bet that no one in the audience could tell them apart, at least in terms of telling me what which are long and short scale, and which cost more than others. Some are a bit easier to play than others; the ThunderJet and '63 P probably have the best actions.
I have a number of really good basses that cost me under $300, and that's generally my price range. My Dean Cabbie fell in that price range, and so did a Jack Casady that had a crack between the neck and fretboard at the top end - it required just a bit of super glue to secure it.
I have a Squier Bronco with one of the nicest necks I've ever played, and after adding a Gretsch 2202 pickup I play it often in preference to basses that cost 8x as much. Cost me about $120 used, without a scratch on it.
And I'll bet that no one in the audience could tell them apart, at least in terms of telling me what which are long and short scale, and which cost more than others. Some are a bit easier to play than others; the ThunderJet and '63 P probably have the best actions.
By default,neither am I.
The most expensive bass I've ever bought was my first Tune TWB63 bass in 2007.
And it was $860.00 brand new.
Compared to many,that's not that expensive.
All other basses bought cost about half as much.
I can buy the basses I want.
Without having to save 60 days worth of paychecks.
The most expensive bass I've ever bought was my first Tune TWB63 bass in 2007.
And it was $860.00 brand new.
Compared to many,that's not that expensive.
All other basses bought cost about half as much.
I can buy the basses I want.
Without having to save 60 days worth of paychecks.
Last edited:
My most expensive bass is a Badtz Maru (Hello Kitty) Squier Bronco at €200.
My least expensive bass is a Stagg 24 fret short scale at €10.
My best bang for my buck bass is a Harley Benton fretless jazz for €25.
All other used basses have been between €35 and €60.
New basses have all been under €140.
So yeah. I'm not into expensive.
My least expensive bass is a Stagg 24 fret short scale at €10.
My best bang for my buck bass is a Harley Benton fretless jazz for €25.
All other used basses have been between €35 and €60.
New basses have all been under €140.
So yeah. I'm not into expensive.
Whilst I agree that the lower end of the offerings these days is pretty good, especially with some mods, no amount of modding is going to get a Squier into Alembic territory, not even in the same galaxy.
I know this because I have tried. It's like I used a lot of preamps to go direct to the board but the F-1X just gives me that something else, hard to quantify what it and I thought it was just me but after asking a few friends to try it out they just said "yeah, it's miles ahead but you can't put your finger on exactly what it is that puts it there". I guess basses are kind of the same, the high end ones have that "something else" that's not easy to actually describe but it's there.
Yes, sometimes living in the country of origin is a huge advantage price-wise. I know in Australia say for a $1,000US bass it's almost $1,600AU at the moment plus 10% duty when it arrives and shipping it will end up at around $2,100AU by the time it's in your hands.
Sometimes I look at a US price and I get excited until I do the math and then it's like depression.
My all time fave P bass is the Squier Matt Freeman signature. Great neck and playability, and the exact P growl I like. I've read the specs of the CV '70s P are the same. I even like the all black finish + maple + blocks CV '70s P better.
Yes I totally agree with you, it is ridiculous but it illustrates the point.
Of course generally every step up in price range offers some improvement, as the price increases you usually get less noticeable improvements and sometimes it's just things you can't see but they are there.
My Squier Jazz and my Warmoth Jazz are both alder body with maple/rosewood fretboards, both have EMG J System pickups but the Warmoth is noticeably better. It's heavier mind you but I've noticed that the weight is in the neck with two steel reinforcement bars either side of the truss rod. Are they both useable? Yes!
My point is that you start with an instrument, say a Squier and you spend some money on upgrades and you're happy with the result. You may get it to sound like a bass that's in the next price tier but it's not possible to spend say $1,000 or more in mods and make it sound like a $10K instrument.
Lately I've been thinking the same thing as the OP. A couple of months ago I bought this American Original Jazz Bass on a good deal, my first truly expensive instrument ever, thinking that it'd be THE bass. But I'm just not vibing with it at all. It sounds great and looks great, but, as crazy it might sound, I'm just not comfortable with it. I think I obsess about the price I bought it for too much. I for example hate carrying it to lessons or rehearsals, because I'm afraid of what might happen to it. I'd rather grab my cheapo Ibanez and go to town.
I think I'm just a 400 - 600 dollar kind of guy. Always looking for blowout sales or discontinued models to get some bang for my buck, but never really disappointed when one of them gets a chip in the body or a faulty wire.
I think I'm just a 400 - 600 dollar kind of guy. Always looking for blowout sales or discontinued models to get some bang for my buck, but never really disappointed when one of them gets a chip in the body or a faulty wire.
I'm totally with you here. I had the same experience. Also, I expect so much more from an expensive bass so I become resentful if anything goes wrong with it like fret buzz, string rattle, dead spots, and bowed neck. I'm afraid to repair it but with my cheapies I go in with confidence and it always seems to work out.
Exactly what happened to me. The bigger the price, the bigger the expectations and the bigger the disappointment if the expectations are not met. I have to put a brand new American pro P bass to sale, which i mentioned in couple of other topics. Even it has many qualities, the GAS, hype and everything, i couldnt get connected to it and i regret buying it.
Maybe the only disadvantage of cheaper instruments are the hit and miss ratios are more unbalanced. Generally they save the better parts of woods for more expensive basses, so miss ratios are lower (but still existent) with them. Components can be upgraded, still those components arent magical things by the way, if the wood is not resonating good enough, the result is still below average.
There was a Squier VM Jazz Bass couple of years ago, i swear it sounded better than all of the American Standards in the shop ( in fact there were three American Standards, but hey still it counts
). My friend's SX bass also was sounding awesome especially for that money, but they are very rare, you have to be lucky enough to come by one of them.
