It's interesting, to me, that when others revel in the excitement of their new, expensive instrument, there always seems to be someone who cannot seem to help themselves by bringing up the personal satisfaction they find with their budget bass which, in itself, is perfectly fine. This kind of response to others' NBD posts is a whole other road I won't go down, but this seeming need to firmly encamp themselves in the "budget bass or bust" category usually involves exclaiming that they are capable of achieving the same or similar tone as that of an expensive instrument.
I cannot help but wonder, is tone really why people buy expensive instruments? Maybe some believe as much, but when you consider the massive difference in sound simply playing with fingers versus playing with a plectrum makes, it really does matter how someone plays the instrument, hence professionals picking up cheap instruments and sounding fantastic. In the end, a cheap instrument is cheap for a reason. My point is that when I personally buy an expensive instrument, it's typically the result of the kinds of wood used, the cuts of the wood, the finish, or perhaps even the exclusivity of it. There are other factors, including playability, that seem to come with expensive basses too, but I understand that it's subjective. Anyway, all I'm saying is that it's not just about tone. Expensive instruments are typically expensive for a reason, and the reason is often outside of tone.
