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Kids with expensive basses...

#123
The first Bass I used was borrowed...that led to my first bass: a cheap $90 used Torch Vintage series MIJ bass, which 3 months later led to a used Ibanez Roadstar II active bass... and so on and so on... amps followed the same path...
I didn't have much cash either and for me it was part of the fun as I got better and really appreciated the better instruments and amps... don't let it get to you, unless that lights a fire in you to do what it takes to get that dream Bass ! It will be all the more exciting when you finally get it IMO

EDIT: Meant to add that I once saved up all my available cash for months to buy a gorgeous bass that I wasn't ready for (a real 70's US P bass modified to fretless with active EMG's) really pretty thing that I wish I could find the photos (pre digital camera era) for... but I was really green as a player and in the end I hated it, because I couldn't play it, and sold it to buy an ovation style acoustic bass (bloody Vilolent Femmes) which in hindsight was a mistake... I sold the acoustic 2 years later to put towards my first custom, now that way exciting !
 
#125
I agree, that's pretty stupid. I'm 16, and I've been playing for two years on a $199 Squier Jag with a $100 combo. Thankfully, since they know I've been playing every chance I could get daily for the past few years, they're getting me a $600 Ray34 for Christmas. I wouldn't have it any other way personally. There's something about that feeling of "earning" quality instruments that makes you feel better about improving.


Now I'll tell you what really frustrates me. Kids that just learned to drive getting Cameros. They're just going to bang it up anyway. If I'm lucky to get my own car, it's going to be a 1k used one.
 
#127
pete rallis said:
unless he gets good real fast, most everyone will just say what a waste of a great bass guitar...a great player will always beat great gear...
Click to expand...

'Most everyone' being the two other kids in school who know the difference between a bass and a baseball bat.

My first two basses could not produce a decent slap sound. When I was starting to play bass (in the mid-to-late 80s) I was hearing a lot of slap and wanted to reproduce that sound. Thanks to my basses it took me a long time to figure out that I wasn't the problem - my basses were the problem. Always get the best instrument you can.
 
#128
It's a balance between finances and skill set. I would put myself at average in skill set. I would say my finances allow for purchasing a higher end bass. Plus, if everyone in the crowd hears a wrong note, they'll look up and say "it can't be the bass player, he's got a rickenbacker"

As my sig says: *read below*
 
#129
Kinda along those same lines as those above stated-

If he's playing a GREAT SOUNDING bass, and a GREAT SOUNDING AMP, everyone is gonna hear it when he plays horribly.

Part of the fun of learning to play was not really being able to hear myself over the rest of the band because the gear I had was so crappy. Kinda took the pressure off :D
 
#130
I'm with the folks who ask "Why do you care?".

You're wasting energy focusing on something that is out of your control and none of your business. Enjoy the music you make with your bass and the fun you have doing that.

Also, when you do eventually get a nicer bass, keep the old one. I'm 50 and I still have my first bass which I got 30-ish years ago. Its total crap. I love it. So many fond memories stuck on that thing. It sits on a stand next to my recliner and its my "reach and grab" bass when I want to figure out something or just run thru scales during a boring tv show I'm half watching.
 
#131
Spinal Tapper said:
Kinda along those same lines as those above stated-

If he's playing a GREAT SOUNDING bass, and a GREAT SOUNDING AMP, everyone is gonna hear it when he plays horribly.

Part of the fun of learning to play was not really being able to hear myself over the rest of the band because the gear I had was so crappy. Kinda took the pressure off :D
Click to expand...

Everybody being able to hear the rich kid screw up might just be the motivation he needs to be great.

At the end if the day, making assumptions about others gear is just dumb. As a kid, Marcus Miller's Mom bought him a Fender Jazz as his first bass, in fact she bought him more than one because of theft. I don't think Miller's family was rich, but clearly they knew Marcus Miller was gifted and talented, and his Mom was willing to spend a few hundred on a bass for him since that's what a used Jazz cost in the Seventies.
 
#133
To the OP - REALLY? Someone owning something more expensive than you gets you this worked up? There will be examples of this routinely for the rest of your life. Enjoy what you have without being concerned about what others have and whether they deserve them or not.
 
#135
Connor stop comparing yourself to others. You'll need to develop this even as you develop as a player. There will aways be someone who has better equipment, has better chops, plays faster, knows more people, has a better bass etc. Look at yourself and like what you have. Leave that other stuff alone. He may not even stick with it and someone will be able to get a good deal on a used Ric. He may not even be that much into bass. Watch and see what happens in the future. Relax man.
 
#137
Someone you know nearby plays bass too!? Talk to the dood! Practice together! Teach'em something! Learn from teaching him something! Show him how good his bass can sound! Become competitive or something! I'd love to talk to other people about bass!

Ooohhh...that's why I'm here... :ninja:
 
#138
OP, you should be proud! it is ALWAYS cooler to see a cat that PLAY with a cheap instrument, and it is ALWAYS a drag to see some mediocre "musician" with an expensive axe! no joke. and one more thing, probably one of the worst feelings in the world is when you do buy an expensive high-end piece of gear and it turns out to not be that much better than your cheaper gear. remember that Jaco played that jazz, which was not a super expensive instrument at the time, but he played the crap out of it! and when you watch his video, Jerry has that sweet Abe Rivera, but he can't even come close!
 
#139
I think the brand new 4003 is a little extreme, sure, but younger players with nice instruments isn't this horrible thing I tend to see it portrayed as... I'm 18. I've been playing around 6 years and have a Dingwall ABZ5 and a 1977 Fender Jazz bass. I tend to get the rich kid comments because of those basses, but the thing people don't realize is that I worked my a** off to get those basses in both playing and my job (working in a commercial painting company). I wont judge people (and kids) for having nice instruments, as long as they can make use of them somewhat properly.

Like I said though, I can see how a 4003 is a bit nuts for a first bass...
 

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