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My budget bass is eclipsing my main basses!

Smit_Dogg

Smit_Dogg

May 17, 2009
345
78
Cumbria, UK
#1
Last night I used my budget brand fretless for a gig (a very nice model none the less) . A vintage v940fl. I also own a Lakland 4402 and modified yamaha trb1005j.

I actually had no intention of using the fretless, as I picked up my usual gig bag thinking the Lakland was in there which accidentally had the fretless in.

At sound check the other guys and sound guy commented on how well it sounded in the mix.

Come gig time, I felt really comfortable playing it and rarely had to tweak any eqs on the bass/ amp/pedals and got a lot of comments after the gig saying how well it sounded and cool it looks.

Even the guys in my band said this should be the main gigging bass now.

Spent around a grand on both the Lakland and the Yamaha (plus around £400 on its mods on the Yamaha ) and the Vintage cost less than £200..... I'm a little bit peeved to say the least that I've spent good, hard earned money on two quality basses and what I considered a cheap bass only for messing around on... is preferred by my other band members (seemingly the crowd too!!)

Sometimes it goes to show you don't have to be a gear snob and there are some cheap gems out there!
 
#2
Basically all my guitars were cheap. I like to have loads of guitars, because this gives me lots of sound possibilities, and it doesnt have to be expensive. Most of my basses price was less than 70$.

With my Defil I often go crazy, improvise, even sometimes a bit too brutal with the 25 year old strings set in, but playing it is a real fun. When I got my hands on a real Rickenbacker last year, I was so stressed, and I couldnt play a single riff on it.
Its like having sex with a woman that is a 100% beauty (and if you care about her its even worse), while playing a cheap, solid bass its like having sex with a woman that is not a big beauty, but you love her, because she fits you - cares about you, has similiar hobbies, interests, and likes to spend time with you. And the life mostly directs you to live with the second one, and I think its the best sentence to finish this very short cheap vs expensive gear review by KISSbestfan !
 
#3
Gear snobs are made, not born. ;) I had to put the model number in a search engine to see what you were talking about. Those are nice looking instruments. I didn't realize there was an actual "Vintage" brand before this. If you were growing into gear snobbery previous to this serendipitous event, I'm glad for you. Another reminder to listen, and not prejudge an instrument by what logo it bears on its headstock. :cool:
 
#4
KISSbestfan said:
Basically all my guitars were cheap. I like to have loads of guitars, because this gives me lots of sound possibilities, and it doesnt have to be expensive. Most of my basses price was less than 70$.

With my Defil I often go crazy, improvise, even sometimes a bit too brutal with the 25 year old strings set in, but playing it is a real fun. When I got my hands on a real Rickenbacker last year, I was so stressed, and I couldnt play a single riff on it.
Its like having sex with a woman that is a 100% beauty (and if you care about her its even worse), while playing a cheap, solid bass its like having sex with a woman that is not a big beauty, but you love her, because she fits you - cares about you, has similiar hobbies, interests, and likes to spend time with you. And the life mostly directs you to live with the second one, and I think its the best sentence to finish this very short cheap vs expensive gear review by KISSbestfan !
Click to expand...

Give me the pretty one every time :)
 
#5
Same thing happened to me. Have my American deluxe V as my main bass, I purchased the sterling sub5 bass new for $270 and my band mates say it sounds better and they like the look of it more. I won't ever sell my fender but it's a wake up call for me.
 
#7
More or less, I've toyed with buying more expensive basses, but I'm honestly very satisfied with my current non-boutique stuff. Maybe someday I'll figure out exactly what I'm not satisfied with yet and have something built custom to address the deficits, but until then..
 
#8
If the frets are placed exactly right and the setup is good then every note should be clean and true. If the PU's are decent then the sound to the amp will be strong and clear.

A bass that's put together correctly doesn't need to cost a fortune.

The hard part's on you, Superman

:D
 
#9
Its a British brand that seems to be only on sale within the EU. This model is now discontinued though. It is one of the only models they have made that isnt a copy /replica of an iconic bass.

For its price, its very hard to find something to fault it on. Being knit picky, its heavy and also the pickup volumes have a substantial difference. The neck P is much louder than the bridge J. I don't know if that's normal, but i do actually like this and use this to an advantage. I'm usually panned favouring the bridge. But if i feel a little lost in the mix I will pan it to nearer the neck to add more presence.
 
#10
I picked up one of these Vintage brand fretless basses a few weeks ago. It cost me 110 euro and it's a really nice bass. It came with flatwounds fitted and it has a really nice jazzy tone. I know I got a bargain!
 
#11
I get the same response from a franken jazz I built with generic parts but put in nice quarter pounders. My 2 nice stingrays and my USA P-Bass. Everyone lives the jazz, and I admit the tone is awesome-I'd put it up against any USA Jazz tone-wise, but with a bound body and no wrist contour, I don't like to play it on a whole gig.
 
#13
I recently acquired a bass for about $75 that seems to be a modified low end Washburn , not terribly old or new.
It sounds and plays better than any of my other basses.
I wish I could find more cheapo gems!
 
#14
I've never found sound to have much relationship to price on basses.

That said, this whole issue is negligible.

Why? Because the bass is only one link in the chain that makes up your live sound, and usually not the most important. The amp, the speakers, your choice of strings, playing position on the strings, the venue acoustics, etc., etc., etc. ALL can have a profound effect on your sound.

If you can have all this roll your way with your cheap bass, great -- but keep it all in perspective. ;)
 
#15
Bongolation said:
the bass is only one link in the chain that makes up your live sound, and usually not the most important. The amp, the speakers, your choice of strings, playing position on the strings, the venue acoustics, etc., etc., etc. ALL can have a profound effect on your sound.
Click to expand...

The point about a chain, though, is that's it's only as good as its weakest link. Of course, a signal chain is not a literal chain, but sometimes there's still only so much that you do to make up for certain weaknesses.
 
#16
I purposefully avoid the more expensive basses now :p I find that it's not worth even paying for something new if you can find something used that either is or will clean up to be as good or better AND cheaper. I've gotten great deals on both my basses because they were in rough visual shape and no one wanted to put in the time to fix 'em. Screw it, I'll take them and enjoy them. They sound and play better than basses I've played that are two, three and four times the original suggested retail, and that's what matters, not what brand it is, not how much it costs, and not even how it looks. IMO.

--Silvie
 
#17
topo morto said:
The point about a chain, though, is that's it's only as good as its weakest link. Of course, a signal chain is not a literal chain, but sometimes there's still only so much that you do to make up for certain weaknesses.
Click to expand...
It's not predictably about a "weak link" so much as a combination working great or not. None of the links need to be "weak" -- just not mutually flattering to the other stuff you're using.

This is why people who throw money at gear and expect great live sound so often fail. It's just not that easy.
 
#18
I'm with you on that!

I've had great basses in the past (ex)
Carving BB claro walnut, a super cherry 4001 Rickenbacher (that got blagged by some some heartless prick from our practice spot) & on and on.
However believe it or not my opinion changed on my back up/experimentation bass when my band mates also commented positive wise on my super cheap Indonesian made Squire V-J active bass.
It was almost an after thought when I bought it for around $350.00 (US)
Now that Squire gets all main play time!
In the end I've concluded to play what feels and sounds best to my mates and me...
I still dream about that Jens Ritter in my hands though :rolleyes:
 
#20
Her she is...
I call her " the Witness"
My favorite budget bass...ever!
 

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