Is a high priced bass necessary?

[friskinator]

Not necessary at all. Anyone can drive to work in a Honda Civic. It's just feels better to drive to work in a Lamborghini.

My mother in law has a thing for expensive American sports cars. Her current ride is a 2016 Corvette, and her other car is a 2013 Camaro. And she rarely drives. Are those cars necessary for her? No way. Indulgent? Probably. But she enjoys them.

I drive a Honda, and I'm fine with that.

 

[MoeTown1986]

My mother in law has a thing for expensive American sports cars. Her current ride is a 2016 Corvette, and her other car is a 2013 Camaro. And she rarely drives. Are those cars necessary for her? No way. Indulgent? Probably. But she enjoys them.

I drive a Honda, and I'm fine with that.

Lol exactly! It's 100% ok to drive a Honda. It'll get you from A to B reliably and efficiently.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

Is a high priced bass necessary? Yes. Yes it is. That's what I keep telling myself!

 

[jwilson67]

Agreed... but it doesn't need to be done by a "pro". It just needs to be done.

Well, yeah but there are certain things that should be left to a tech (unless you are inclined enough to do it yourself) like fret leveling. Obviously intonation, truss rod, pickup height adjustments can be done yourself.

 

[jwilson67]

To give an example - I went in to the Sam Ash store the other day and they were selling a used Squier Affinity Strat that had been upgraded with locking tuners, aftermarket pickups, and a Babicz trem. It was a well played guitar as the neck looked aged as well. I put it up against a MIM Strat off the wall and it matched it pound for pound if not a little better.

Start with a structurally good instrument and you can add on to it for years to come as your budget allows.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well, yeah but there are certain things that should be left to a tech (unless you are inclined enough to do it yourself) like fret leveling. Obviously intonation, truss rod, pickup height adjustments can be done yourself.

My point was that a basic pro level setup can be done by the owner should they decide to spend the time learning how. It's not very hard IMO.

 

[pappabass]

Tough question, people who can afford $4k for a bass will say yes. If I could afford one I would say the same. I had the opportunity to play a friend's Fodera bass. Really nice guitar, but I can't say it is 5 times better than a $1000 bass. I can't say it is 8 times better than my LTD. It is a lot nicer than my beater Squier VM, but did not sound 20 times better. I can't say that it sounded twice as good as my VM. It sounded more different than better. But, you get a LOT more respect when you show up with a Fodera than when you show up with a Squier, or any other low end guitar. So, to answer your question, it depends on you & who you are trying to impress. After a point, Sound and Playability does not necessarily improve because you pay more.

 

[Dave W]

thread - tl;dr

Is eating anything more than oatmeal really necessary?

If you want to live longer, yes. You still need vitamins/minerals/nutrients that aren't all found in oatmeal.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Tough question, people who can afford $4k for a bass will say yes. If I could afford one I would say the same. I had the opportunity to play a friend's Fodera bass. Really nice guitar, but I can't say it is 5 times better than a $1000 bass. I can't say it is 8 times better than my LTD. It is a lot nicer than my beater Squier VM, but did not sound 20 times better. I can't say that it sounded twice as good as my VM. It sounded more different than better. But, you get a LOT more respect when you show up with a Fodera than when you show up with a Squier, or any other low end guitar. So, to answer your question, it depends on you & who you are trying to impress. After a point, Sound and Playability does not necessarily improve because you pay more.

Most people who have spent more than $4k on basses have said no. Because basic need can easily be met without spending a lot of money. When you decide to get beyond that, for whatever reason (trying to impress? ), it may cost more. As far as the respect thing, I guess that depends on where you are and who you're around. Most bassists IRL don't even know what Foderas are.

 

[Amano]

Definitely, the more you pay the better you play. (In your mind).

Look at it. A bassguitar is essentially a verry basic design. It consist of two or three pieces of wood, some plain chromed metal hardware and some simple electronics. You can put a preamp in it. Or use nice coffeetable wood. Or ad a string. But its basic design has not changed in 70 years(!) The attention for detail, building and adjusting it properly makes sense. And a minimum of quality for the parts. But a bass is a bass. IMO.

 

[jamro217]

High priced basses are fueled by GAS. Nobody lusts after a cheapo copy. Are they worth it? They could be in the event of you playing your best because you're more inspired than you would have been had you playing some no name copy you hated. Maybe we should call that the "Satisfied GAS Syndrome" or SGS for short. There are low budget basses that are killers, though. Unfortunately there are boutique dogs, too. If you find a decent neck/ body combo that stays in tune with a working truss rod(s), you've got something to work with. Electronics and hardware are easy to retrofit to anything. Finding a bass you're comfortable with is much more important than what material the inlay is made out of or how much it cost. Happy hunting.

 

[Bigbri]

My mother in law has a thing for expensive American sports cars. Her current ride is a 2016 Corvette, and her other car is a 2013 Camaro. And she rarely drives. Are those cars necessary for her? No way. Indulgent? Probably. But she enjoys them.

I drive a Honda, and I'm fine with that.

Sounds like she likes Chevys and not ford. Well, If Honda made a car that had a big 8 banger going to the back wheels, she'd have a Honda too.

 

[cdef]

One of the best players I ever heard had built himself a simple little headless bass, something like a fretless Hondo Flash, with regular tuners at the body end and one J-type pickup. He didn't really have any luthier skills beyond a general understanding of what goes into a bass, and with the brushed-on, matte-black paint it looked frankly awful. But it worked to his satisfaction, and hearing him in his reggae context one might have thought Jaco had landed a gig with the Wailers. - So obviously the price of a bass has no real bearing on what it'll sound like in your hands.

 

[DinoRock]

You will play better if you have one of these basses and this amp:

Sorry - couldn't resist as I just spent 2 days at the Rock Hall. Again, as many have said, there are lots of great basses, both new and used, in the $500-800 price range. (New) Price does matter in terms of quality of components, though not necessarily in what any of us gets out of them in terms of playing. There are some very good YouTube videos that compare various Fender guitars (Squire, MIM, MIA) and goes through quality of metal, components, wood, wood thickness, pups, pg, knobs, and on and on.

 

[Blankandson]

I've had several dozen basses beginning in 1965. Almost all were bought new. I currently own and play two Warwicks that listed new for $4,800 (for both). I purchased both used, one for $350 and one for $950. I play them daily on and off the stage. One is a J/J and the other MM $$. They play just as good as when they were new - I just didn't pay new prices. Shop used!

 

[NoBlackTShirts]

.
There are people who feel that they need expensive stuff. Cars, clothes, basses. I don't understand that but as long as they leave me alone I'm perfectly fine with it. Although some people with that kind of excessive self-image are kind of creepy.

If I had $1000 to spend on a bass, I'd buy a $500 one with roundwounds and a $500 one with flatwounds. You really kind of need both.

Unless you're a symphony player you don't need a megabuck instrument but if you're a symphony player you're not playing an electric bass.
.

 

[JIO]

Tough question, people who can afford $4k for a bass will say yes. If I could afford one I would say the same. I had the opportunity to play a friend's Fodera bass. Really nice guitar, but I can't say it is 5 times better than a $1000 bass. I can't say it is 8 times better than my LTD. It is a lot nicer than my beater Squier VM, but did not sound 20 times better. I can't say that it sounded twice as good as my VM. It sounded more different than better. But, you get a LOT more respect when you show up with a Fodera than when you show up with a Squier, or any other low end guitar. So, to answer your question, it depends on you & who you are trying to impress. After a point, Sound and Playability does not necessarily improve because you pay more.

It's about consumerism. Capitalist technology provides entry to purchase anything within an escalating price structure based on many things. Any LTD or Squire VM will get the job done.

 

[Kirk Bryant]

Oh definitely you should have several. Ritters, Foderas, MTDs, Drozds, as many as possible really. Everybody knows you need to spend a small fortune on basses. It's the TB way, and by proxy that of course is the only way. That goes for amps too. Everybody's doing it. And while you're at it you should pick up a Lambo or Ferrari. This also makes you more handsome and intelligent.









Sarcasm.

 

[NoBlackTShirts]

But, you get a LOT more respect when you show up with a Fodera than when you show up with a Squier, or any other low end guitar. So, to answer your question, it depends on you & who you are trying to impress. After a point, Sound and Playability does not necessarily improve because you pay more.

Now, that's the kind of thing that kills us. It really does matter that you have the right gear, the right black t-shirt and the shine on your shoes. The people who are in a position to hire got there by being social. And conformity to those kinds of people's expectations is a lot of what they want.

Investing in $$$ gear is like buying a suit. It's not for you. It's for them.

 

[JIO]

Now, that's the kind of thing that kills us. It really does matter that you have the right gear, the right black t-shirt and the shine on your shoes. The people who are in a position to hire got there by being social. And conformity to those kinds of people's expectations is a lot of what they want.

Investing in $$$ gear is like buying a suit. It's not for you. It's for them.

It's an interesting observation - but I would like to hope that visual expectations will be re-calibrated if they are introduced to a personable professional who knows their stuff, regardless of what gear they bring or garb they wear. Isn't it about getting the job done?