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Overhyped Features You Just Had to Have
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Back in the 90s I thought I might really have use for a fiver down the road. So I figured I'd best get comfortable playing one. Ended up getting a very nice 5-string (a Spector) which I very much enjoy playing.
It's also the least called for bass I've ever owned. Even my two fretless basses see more action.
It's also the least called for bass I've ever owned. Even my two fretless basses see more action.
That is so true! I also agree with you about fanned frets. That said quality 34 & 35" basses have great B & E strings too.
if you would like to see it used, please send to me. I will send weekly videos of it being played.
One of many things TB has taught me over time, not everything that is hyped is that exciting. However, some of it's warranted. OTOH, I've found some pieces of gear that some thought sucked, I loved or that others thought were awesome that did absolutely nothing for me. There it is, this is ALL relative. I do believe that maple boards are brighter therefore I like them more than rosewood, I think a high mass bridge and brass saddles or a brass nut make a difference. I think that graphite necks are hyped for a reason, they are in fact, IMO, awesome! I've only played a couple of them but man does it make a huge difference in the way an instrument plays! For the better of course.
TB is most def a springboard for all things bass. And I know I can speak for myself, when I like a piece of gear, I come right here and scream it from the rooftops how great I think it is. I like talking about gear and the things I use and play. It's fun for me. I used to be much more active than I am these days, but I still like to hype some things myself. I think a place like TB is the nature of things, to hype and or share your experience and admiration for the gear you've tried and used/use. It's cool to come here and geek out on the gear you love with others that feel the same way. I have to agree with you too @Dr. Cheese, I'm def no prodigy. Not even close. What I found was that things like "all those extra switches or range or settings or EQ or whatever" is all fine and good, but I don't normally end up using mos of it. So these days I usually only buy into hype unless I know I can utilize what's being hyped.
All that said, TB still cause my GAS to flare up. But I've just been here long enough to learn control.....well, somewhat haha. The thing is though, I am really happy with my overall setup and rig. So I dont catch myself searching on here nearly as much as I used to. But IMO, the hype is usually somewhat warranted. But hey, the companies have to bring their products to market and get people excited somehow right!?
TB is most def a springboard for all things bass. And I know I can speak for myself, when I like a piece of gear, I come right here and scream it from the rooftops how great I think it is. I like talking about gear and the things I use and play. It's fun for me. I used to be much more active than I am these days, but I still like to hype some things myself. I think a place like TB is the nature of things, to hype and or share your experience and admiration for the gear you've tried and used/use. It's cool to come here and geek out on the gear you love with others that feel the same way. I have to agree with you too @Dr. Cheese, I'm def no prodigy. Not even close. What I found was that things like "all those extra switches or range or settings or EQ or whatever" is all fine and good, but I don't normally end up using mos of it. So these days I usually only buy into hype unless I know I can utilize what's being hyped.
All that said, TB still cause my GAS to flare up. But I've just been here long enough to learn control.....well, somewhat haha. The thing is though, I am really happy with my overall setup and rig. So I dont catch myself searching on here nearly as much as I used to. But IMO, the hype is usually somewhat warranted. But hey, the companies have to bring their products to market and get people excited somehow right!?
Thanks! I needed a good laugh. I knew a few of those tools, and truer words were never spoken.
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I understand what you mean about over hyped features. I will also extend that to over hyped basses too.
At the end the day some basses do sound better than others, but ultimately, a bass sounds like a bass
to the general public!
I needed a Stingray and just didn't like it at all.
Someone else mentioned anything active and/or non-Fender. I now agree with that!
Someone else mentioned anything active and/or non-Fender. I now agree with that!
I'd been playing 10 years before I realized I could own 2 basses at the same time. Not sure if that was over-hyped.
overhyped thing I had to have? My stupid house. Hate it. Hate paying for it, maintaining it, fixing what breaks. What an absolute joke of an American dream.
I mean...I did sub once 10 years ago for a band that did Yankee Rose...y'know where the bridge is in drop D and the rest is in standard (not that they cared)...but then it got cut from the set at the last minute because we went long.
Edit: Had huge GAS for a Warwick Thumb for years. It was my must-have. Love how they look and sound. Then I played one for 15 seconds in a store. Hated the neck and balance. I was pretty bummed.
I never got one, but I used to think I absolutely needed a headless with purple heart fretboard. It was purple so it was important for my success apparently!
Graphite necks. I have had 4 Modulus basses. They were all top shelf quality. But no matter what I did, I could not get them to grind. I realized that my better quality wooden neck basses were just as stable, and they sounded better.
A Warwick. It took me a while to get one, but I've played many. None ever felt right to me. But hype is hype. I thought if I could get one, it would grow on me and I'd be gas-free. Didn't happen.
A Stingray. In the early 2000's, at least in the regional Indie original bands I was always with and rubbed elbows with while on tour, it was the new P-bass, sure to become the next industry standard. Mine was great and lasted a while. But once I got a nice P I suddenly had no more use for it.
Jazz basses. A fantastic tone to hear others play on in recordings. Demos usually sound terrible to me. And it's difficult for me to make one work in a mix. I have had several high end ones over the years. A P-bass sounds way better in a mix. But I know I need that tone because I'm a freelancer, and I had to get a 6 string active Roscoe Jazz to get it "there."
Overdrive/distortion/tubes. I don't need it. I like to hear it, but I have not really been able to make it work for anything I play.
Singlecut bodies. Not for me.
But, I'll keep my 24 fret, active, 2-pickup (all humbucking) 6-string 35"scale basses. They work very well for me. Oh, and, PJ Is my favorite pickup configuration, I love a Hipshot Detuner on my 4 string basses, I'm over the whole tort thing, I only play on roundwound strings, I LOVE Dingwalls, Fenders are generally meh, same as G&L, and my least favorite string is TI Flats.
Now that I have offended everyone...
A Warwick. It took me a while to get one, but I've played many. None ever felt right to me. But hype is hype. I thought if I could get one, it would grow on me and I'd be gas-free. Didn't happen.
A Stingray. In the early 2000's, at least in the regional Indie original bands I was always with and rubbed elbows with while on tour, it was the new P-bass, sure to become the next industry standard. Mine was great and lasted a while. But once I got a nice P I suddenly had no more use for it.
Jazz basses. A fantastic tone to hear others play on in recordings. Demos usually sound terrible to me. And it's difficult for me to make one work in a mix. I have had several high end ones over the years. A P-bass sounds way better in a mix. But I know I need that tone because I'm a freelancer, and I had to get a 6 string active Roscoe Jazz to get it "there."
Overdrive/distortion/tubes. I don't need it. I like to hear it, but I have not really been able to make it work for anything I play.
Singlecut bodies. Not for me.
But, I'll keep my 24 fret, active, 2-pickup (all humbucking) 6-string 35"scale basses. They work very well for me. Oh, and, PJ Is my favorite pickup configuration, I love a Hipshot Detuner on my 4 string basses, I'm over the whole tort thing, I only play on roundwound strings, I LOVE Dingwalls, Fenders are generally meh, same as G&L, and my least favorite string is TI Flats.
Now that I have offended everyone...
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Graphite reinforcement rods in the neck. I'm so paranoid now that I almost won't buy a neck without them. Almost.
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,222
- 45,000
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
I look at my Zon, and think "from the perspective of the Doc's post, it has a lot of 'overhyped features'"
Figured Bubinga top - I have loved beautiful wood on basses since 1982 when I built a bass out of koa. So no overhype.
Active - fits the sound I want. So no overhype.
Composite neck - first time I played a Zon fretless, I realized that it was a tonally unique beast and I fell in love. So no overhype.
5 strings - been playing 5'ers pretty exclusively since 1988. They work for me, I use the B string all the time. So no overhype.
Extended fingerboard - I don't play in the upper, upper registers. However if I hadn't had it built with the extended fingerboard, I would have had Joe put a ramp on that part of the body. Extended fingerboard = ramp, cleaner and easier. Maybe overhype, but I think not.
Extended cutaway - I really don't play that high on the neck , afraid I'd get nosebleeds or something. OK, overhype. But I like it.
Partial fretlines - I LOVE these things. Makes position jumps easy for me. So no overhype.
Figured Bubinga top - I have loved beautiful wood on basses since 1982 when I built a bass out of koa. So no overhype.
Active - fits the sound I want. So no overhype.
Composite neck - first time I played a Zon fretless, I realized that it was a tonally unique beast and I fell in love. So no overhype.
5 strings - been playing 5'ers pretty exclusively since 1988. They work for me, I use the B string all the time. So no overhype.
Extended fingerboard - I don't play in the upper, upper registers. However if I hadn't had it built with the extended fingerboard, I would have had Joe put a ramp on that part of the body. Extended fingerboard = ramp, cleaner and easier. Maybe overhype, but I think not.
Extended cutaway - I really don't play that high on the neck , afraid I'd get nosebleeds or something. OK, overhype. But I like it.
Partial fretlines - I LOVE these things. Makes position jumps easy for me. So no overhype.
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No you're not. Haven't you been reading??
