Is a high priced bass necessary?

[GaryCorby]

McCartney played a £35 Höfner because he couldn't afford a £100 Fender. It worked out okay for him.

Of course, it helps to be McCartney.

The same logic does not apply to amps and speakers. Abbey Road engineers had to haul in replacements for his amp because no amount of talent could overcome his noisy, broken rig.

So, a cheap bass by all means, but a quality amp and cab.

 

[Wolfenstein666]

Is it necessary? Probably not, no. Having said that, I absolutely love my expensive bass (RIC 4003) and after playing that it would be very hard for me to pick up a 200-300 dollar bass and really enjoy it.

 

[johnson79]

There are so many great basses available in "lower end" models right now. I mean, if you have the cash to buy the best great, not everyone does. It is 1000% possible to play a less expensive bass and record and tour with a low cost imported or used bass. A dollar amount truly means nothing to me.

 

[JRA]

Is a high priced bass necessary?

of course not!

 

[SteveCS]

My fretless Eko cost me £130 in 1988. Others, including a US jazz and a Wal have come and gone but the Eko has stayed and now plays and sounds better than ever. Good wood and good construction are important (and generally become less of a crap-shoot at higher prices) but playability, balance and tone, all of which are personal and available at most price-points, are the real keys, IMHO...

 

[39-Bassist]

A good bass = comfortable to play + like the looks of + sounds good to YOUR ear + setup. Now the sounds good comes down to quality pickups, electronics and strings.
So after saying that, $800 can get you a nice bass. I do suggest though once you get a bass, have it a good setup....(worth every penny and makes playing and learning much more fun)
Enjoy!

 

[bassinflorida]

I do not think price matters, but consider these questions.

Does it intonate well?
Are any of the electronic components or circuitry?
Do the frets feel comfortable?
Are the pickups satisfactory?
Do the tuners slip?
Is the neck playable (truss rod, relief)?
Basically, does it play and sound the way you would expect for the price without needing (upgrades).
Some do and some don't.

 

[obimark]

No- and these uber-priced basses are COMPLETELY unneccessary- law of diminishing returns.

If you paid more than $2000 and the sucker wasn't built exactly the way YOU want it, something is wrong. You are paying to play someone else's dream model.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Necessary? No, but I own three expensive basses and no cheap ones. I found what I like and unfortunately for me they cost a pretty penny

 

[superdick2112]

McCartney played a £35 Höfner because he couldn't afford a £100 Fender. It worked out okay for him.

Of course, it helps to be McCartney.

The same logic does not apply to amps and speakers. Abbey Road engineers had to haul in replacements for his amp because no amount of talent could overcome his noisy, broken rig.

So, a cheap bass by all means, but a quality amp and cab.

So true.
It seems like a lot of people don't think twice about buying expensive basses, but many of those same people settle for cheap or mediocre amps.
IMHO, a good amp is absolutely essential for getting the most out of your bass.
A good bass often sounds like crap when played through a cheap amp, but a good amp can often make a budget bass sound pretty darned good.

 

[mbbassmojo]

Around $1k seems to be the best bang for the buck in my opinion; especially on the used market.

 

[NeonVomit]

Necessary? No. I've owned a ~500 pound Ibanez SR406 string that was perfectly adequate for any job. Fairly quiet pickups, good output, decent playability, all fine. The sound was workable, nothing to write home about. Would it have taken the abuse of 10+ years of heavy, continuous use that my 1999 Warwick Thumb 6 string has taken? Probably not - the Warwick's hardware is obviously more expensive and you can tell it's built like a tank. The Warwick's sound is also much better, in that it cuts through the mix whatever I play.

Given all that, I'm in the process of getting an entirely custom instrument built for about the same cost of a Warwick custom shop build. Why? I have a specific image in my mind of what my dream bass would be, and if someone came up with a production model of it (Ibanez got fairly close with the new Adam Nitti bass, I considered ordering one of those) I would've jumped on it.

But more specifically, I've been playing bass for almost 20 years now, at a professional level for about 10 (meaning in my case that I make some money off it, but not my living - in any case, I am very active as a bassist.) I feel I owe it to myself to get my specific, exact bass and I've got the financial means to do it now. I'm getting it because I want to, the luthier in question will carry out my exact requests in terms of woods, finish, electronics and so forth, and I know I will be getting a world-class instrument which will be super-versatile.

Do I NEED it? Categorically, no. I've got my Warwick for literally any musical situation - I guess I could play in my punk/thrash band with it even, but it would look a bit silly so I have my Stingray 4 for that. I guess it's nice to have a couple of basses in different tunings, maybe. But unlike some other guys&gals here I haven't built up a massive arsenal of basses - I only have 2 I use with any great regularity, another cheap Peavey I customised as a project which sees a decent amount of use and my first-ever bass which I couldn't sell for sentimental reasons (also because it's beat up as hell and completely covered in stickers and graffiti).

However, I want it, I can afford it, and I'm willing to pay for all the details I want at a custom hand-made level from a reputable builder.

tl;dr not necessary but why not.

 

[baltodoc]

I went on a 3 year quest for the Holy Grail of basses which I thought would lead me to a Fodera. I went through most every boutique brand around and finally got to the Fodera. You know what my conclusion was? There were some great basses along the way and the Fodera was awesome, but they're just basses. I now have a 50th Anniversary Precision (I paid $700 for), a Sire V7 5-string (paid $550), A Sire M7 4-string on the way ($600), an Ibanez SR805SC (brand new B stock $700), and a Bass Mods 5-string fretless (400). I couldn't be happier. No more boutique basses for me. There are some great choices for very little money.

 

[Saratogacv60]

At the end of the day a bass is a musical instrument, it's purpose is to produce a range of sounds. Most products suffer from diminishing marginal returns. Meaning, $10 more at the $100 price point means you get $10 more quality of the core purpose. But as you move high up in price if you spend 10% more you are not getting 10% better sound. For example I own a g&l usa mj4, it retailers for about 2k (but I bought it used for much less). I recently played a Brubaker jxb which retails for 3k. So it's 50% more expensive. It sounded better than my g&l, but it wasn't 50% better, maybe 5%. For some people that 5% is worth it. But not for me. Also remember that once you get past the mid level say $800 to $1200 range, the difference between basses are going to be customization, fit and finish.

 

[bassbully]

If you think others care you have a high dollar bass? They don't..so no.

 

[Basspolizei]

Before I say anything, I played guitar for 12 years and know the difference between a $200 instrument and a $2000 instrument but I've only been playing bass for 2-3 yrs and am still learning about the instrument. When it comes to guitars, I personally believe that the cheapest guitar can sound good in the hands of a good player but I've been told that the bass is different in that respect. I currently have an Ibanez SR305DX that I bought from a friend for almost nothing and I know that it's a "beginners" bass. My band records and mixes everything in-house and will eventually be playing shows. I can't really afford anything too crazy so my question is, can a moderately/mid-priced 5-string bass be adequate for recording and performing live? To me a high priced bass is $800+. I was looking to get something with a 35" scale and spend around $500-$600. A lot of reviews for basses in that range say things like "Good for practice" etc. Just want some opinions from more experienced players than I. Thanks.

Wow, you hit a note here with this question. I have played for approximately 35 years. I have owned basses from $300 -$2400. Being completely honest I play my $400-$600 basses when I want to have fun. I play the more expensive ones only when I feel that need just to see them, smell them and hold them again like a beautiful woman. With the up to date electronics and millions of basses birthed (many out of the same factories) I say No! Money doesn't always equal sound quality!!

 

[City]

Before I say anything, I played guitar for 12 years and know the difference between a $200 instrument and a $2000 instrument but I've only been playing bass for 2-3 yrs and am still learning about the instrument. When it comes to guitars, I personally believe that the cheapest guitar can sound good in the hands of a good player but I've been told that the bass is different in that respect. I currently have an Ibanez SR305DX that I bought from a friend for almost nothing and I know that it's a "beginners" bass. My band records and mixes everything in-house and will eventually be playing shows. I can't really afford anything too crazy so my question is, can a moderately/mid-priced 5-string bass be adequate for recording and performing live? To me a high priced bass is $800+. I was looking to get something with a 35" scale and spend around $500-$600. A lot of reviews for basses in that range say things like "Good for practice" etc. Just want some opinions from more experienced players than I. Thanks.

I play bar bands, and I never saw the need to have a high priced bass. I let the road take its toll, I walk away from my bass and turn my back on it often, leave it on stage between sets and in general don't give a damn. Now, if I was taking it up a notch, lets say, like BassCliff and other "more pro" players here, well, I would go shopping. There just isn't a need for it. I did upgrade my Schecter with a new Aguilar preamp and Seymour Duncans, and have a good sound, but after that, I just don't see the need.

 

[InhumanResource]

Nah. I'm sure it's fun to own something really special like a Fodera or whatever, but I can't see spending more than maaaybe 3k USD on an instrument (and I have yet to spend anything close to that). I think unless life changes drastically and I can afford to drop 5 or 6 grand without it really hurting the family then maybe I'd get something top-shelf...but even then it's more a gift to myself than an investment in anything musical. I (along with plenty of pros) can get the job done with a good solid Fender or other run of the mill instrument without dropping a fortune on it.

 

[GK Growl]

Is a high priced bass necessary?

For what? Getting gigs? Getting a proper tone? Fitting in with gear snobs?

I have 2-3 gigs per week and get compliments on my sound every time with my two Squier VM P5s. That said, I can tell that some people (only musicians of course) once they notice the Squier on the headstock, act a little weird. Even after they thought it sounded great then it's "oh, it's a Squier....a Fender would probably sound better". Whatever.

 

[Manticore]

this is the truth! AMP FIRST

Respectfully, I'll disagree with this one. I rarely use an amp anymore. Amps, although fun, aren't really all that practical, particularly if you travel. A decent bass and a decent DI or pre amp is all you really need. By decent I mean a bass that is quiet, in good working order and set up for your preferences; it doesn't need to be a high-priced instrument. A bonus to leaving the amp at home is your house engineer (whether a dedicated pro or the band's guitarist) will love you and you'll have less to schlep! You'll get a better sound in your wedges or in-ears if the monitor mix doesn't compete with a stage amp. And no, I'm not talking strictly about ginormous stadium stages. This works wonders all the way down to the coffee shop gig.