Looking for a little education please....

[Fat Ol Bear]

...heaven forbid a stock trader.....

I realize that you were being supportive and I thank you for your kind words. However, the thought of being a stock trader is horrifying. It made my heart skip a beat and I got light headed and dizzy for a moment. Whew, give me a minute to catch my breath!

 

[Durham52]

However, the thought of being a stock trader is horrifying. It made my heart skip a beat and I got light headed and dizzy for a moment. Whew, give me a minute to catch my breath! from Fat Ol Bear

OK, so a bit tongue in cheek, but I figured that they are a bunch of guys who have had a pretty bad rap over the last decade or so. Probably not as much here in my country as in the US, but even here they rate at about the same level as used car salesmen and politicians who are generaly among the least trusted professions.

Sorry for the unnecessary strain on your heart.

 

[Fat Ol Bear]

It gets asked so many times that most regular TalkBass participants dread going around this question for the 300th time.

Please accept my sincerest apologies. When I held a gun to your head and forced you to read this I had no idea that it was such a boorish subject. I do not come often to TB and have no idea which subjects I cannot broach.
Although, I am of the very strong opinion that if you do not want to read something or become involved - don't.

I intended no harm in my simple inquiry. I was curious and slightly put off by what I considered to be exorbitant prices. Since reading these responses I have altered my opinion somewhat. To you my friend (Can I call you my friend?) I offer my humblest apology. Again, I meant no harm.

 

[Turnaround]

Please accept my sincerest apologies. When I held a gun to your head and forced you to read this I had no idea that it was such a boorish subject. I do not come often to TB and have no idea which subjects I cannot broach.
Although, I am of the very strong opinion that if you do not want to read something or become involved - don't.

I intended no harm in my simple inquiry. I was curious and slightly put off by what I considered to be exorbitant prices. Since reading these responses I have altered my opinion somewhat. To you my friend (Can I call you my friend?) I offer my humblest apology. Again, I meant no harm.

I know you meant no harm, and no harm done. The question gets asked so many times on TalkBass that I can hear a collective groan when someone asks again.

There is a search function in TalkBass and it's a good idea to use it to see if your question has already been answered. Otherwise you may get lots more "not again" responses.

And I apologize. I didn't mean to offend.

 

[Fat Ol Bear]

Okay, I done did it. I pulled the trigger on my new toy and she is a thing of beauty. I am now the proud owner of an Ibanez GSR100EXMOL named Sally. I first was attracted to this model because I have always liked the look of unfinished wood. I figure a mahogany body and maple neck can't be wrong. With my senior citizens discount I only dropped $155.00 on this instrument so I'm kinda proud of my "value for the buck" skill.

I have tried to look at it judiciously with an unbiased eye. I fully expected a low cost production line instrument to have a few mass produced, do it in a hurry type flaws. I haven't found any. There are no rough board end spots and the body almost feels like someone lovingly applied the final sanding. The fret ends are rounded nicely and feel smooth up and down on both sides. (I even dragged a piece of silk along the ends and they didn't snag anywhere.) There are no drops of excessive glue around the frets. I haven't approached it with any measuring tools yet but the frets all look level. Hopefully I won't have to mess with them for a while.

Looking down the neck from both ends shows a straight and true neck with no bends or twists. It is straight as an arrow and I may want to add a little bow but will do a lot of research beforehand.

The only problems that I can see with my untrained eye is the strings are level top to bottom with no radius. That is a minor problem and will be addressed when I set the actions. The intonation is ever so slightly off on the E and G strings but that is easy to adjust.

I was a little scared of it at first. The strings seemed so hard to push down and I had to stretch a lot more than I ever thought I would but I am guessing that a little practice will help that. Yes, I realize that setting the actions will make it much more playable so I not complaining. Just sayin...

My fingers already hurt from running a few scales and picking out a couple of easy tunes (Sunshine of Your Love and Smoke on the Water). It's a good hurt and this is pain that I am proud of.

Bottom line? I feel as if I have made a good purchase. At the very least it is a well researched purchase.

 

[P. Aaron]

Okay, I have finally saved up enough cash to pull the trigger on the bass I fell in love with so long ago. Before I do, I figured ya'll might be able to help be with a question that has been bugging me for a while. Don't worry. Your responses will not/can not have any bearing on my decision. That decision was made in the past. Also, I feel one point needs to be made: I realize that my inquiry comes from a location of pure ignorance so any condescending points of view will not bruise my ego nor hurt my feelings although they will not help in the slightest.

I have always wondered if there is enough difference in quality to demand the extreme high prices of some instruments. I'm no schmo. I realize the difference in workmanship and understand the disdain for stamped tin can bridges and other low quality parts. That is not the issue. Couldn't an average bass be outfitted with better parts and a few tweaks made here and there and be turned into a desirable high quality instrument? The difference in the materials (woods) used can not, in my mind, cause that much of a difference in price. Could it?

A decent starter bass can do most things any audience will be listening for...as far as recreating a song for them.

Your physical comfort playing an instrument is also key.

Also, tone. What music do you want to play? What kind of band?

Identify songs and music you like, research the who, what, where of the bassist(s)/band(s) and their gear. For example; I like Stax/Volt R & B, Muscle Shoals type stuff. So, let the tones of the likely music you’ll pursue guide your gear choices. If you stick with playing, expect those choices to possibly change. Not unusual. We’ve all gone through similar evolutions with our approach as experience keeps us curious and learning.

Not to be overlooked: A good amp/cabinet will overcome many shortcomings of an average bass. You will need to be able to be heard and have latitude in being able to get louder. You can always turn down. It sucks to want more power/volume and not have it.

A LOT of these questions get answered with experience, but it’s also important to have as much fun getting ‘there’ too.