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Perspective fella's

USAJO

USAJO

Apr 13, 2005
1,137
1,480
#1
Not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers but this is a phenom that I noticed when I first visited here. Somebody buys a piece of gear and raves about it. Pretty soon there becomes a slew of threads hyping the above mentioned gear. (gear dejour) Now the posts pile up and if you look closely it is a small number of TB'ers who respond to every thread that mentions the amp/bass dejour. So it appears the whole world loves this item. I haven't noticed this phenom on other forums, bass or guitar but here at TB this seems to be the norm. The first I recall was Accugroove, then Schroeder and now Markbass.
It makes me feel skeptical about the gear. At first I thought there must be some type of seedy motivation for this now I think it is just a TB thing. Anyone else ever think about this? Really not trying to offend anyone I just think it is a legitimate topic for discussion. :hiding:
 
#2
USAJO said:
Not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers but this is a phenom that I noticed when I first visited here. Somebody buys a piece of gear and raves about it. Pretty soon there becomes a slew of threads hyping the above mentioned gear. (gear dejour) Now the posts pile up and if you look closely it is a small number of TB'ers who respond to every thread that mentions the amp/bass dejour. So it appears the whole world loves this item. I haven't noticed this phenom on other forums, bass or guitar but here at TB this seems to be the norm. The first I recall was Accugroove, then Schroeder and now Markbass.
It makes me feel skeptical about the gear. At first I thought there must be some type of seedy motivation for this now I think it is just a TB thing. Anyone else ever think about this? Really not trying to offend anyone I just think it is a legitimate topic for discussion. :hiding:
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I've also noticed this here, but it's not uncommon amongst those that post on audio fora and it's not even expensive or unusual gear that builds up a big following. There are a couple of budget DVD players and HT receivers that were supposedly great and very cheap and built big followings that died out after a while and were replaced with the next 'darling' item. I think it's the internet version of the herding instinct. A couple of the bass items that have similar followings I've tried and was greatly underwhelmed by them.
 
#3
I frequently have this conversation with another TBer who I hang out with regularly. The hype knob on this forum is cranked to 11 and superglued there. While this stuff happens with other forums (and as a drummer and audio recording nerd I've covered a lot of ground), Talkbass totally takes the cake.

That said, there is a lot of good info to be had here, moreso than any other bass forum I can think of. It just takes a bit of tweaking of the BS detector to get it all.
 
#4
I guess now that you've got knowledge of this - go try it and make your own mind.

I must admit a great deal of gear snobbery seems to go on - especially towards certain brands. Are some amps really 1000% better than others?
But saying that;
I personally think the depth of technical knowledge here is a great luxury to have on tap.
 
#6
not only have I noticed, I seem to have been at the center of it a few times :hmm:

Lots of good gear and good tones out there.... I've truly dug all the cabs I've had in the last few years but I've come full circle in rediscovering MY voice. No Tweeters!!!! Big & Heavy drivers in ported cabinets accented by guitar speakers in sealed chambers mated to my Tube head :bassist:
 
#7
USAJO said:
Not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers but this is a phenom that I noticed when I first visited here. Somebody buys a piece of gear and raves about it. Pretty soon there becomes a slew of threads hyping the above mentioned gear. (gear dejour) Now the posts pile up and if you look closely it is a small number of TB'ers who respond to every thread that mentions the amp/bass dejour. So it appears the whole world loves this item. I haven't noticed this phenom on other forums, bass or guitar but here at TB this seems to be the norm. The first I recall was Accugroove, then Schroeder and now Markbass.
It makes me feel skeptical about the gear. At first I thought there must be some type of seedy motivation for this now I think it is just a TB thing. Anyone else ever think about this? Really not trying to offend anyone I just think it is a legitimate topic for discussion. :hiding:
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while what you're saying is true, you cant say that this only happens here.

seriously, how can this phenomenon not happen on EVERY other forum out there? guitars, bikes, motorcycles, car parts, fishing tackle, the list goes on and on, and they're all the same.

seriously, we're no different. ;)
 
#10
USAJO said:
Perspective fella's
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If you had put a comma in the title it would seem a little less like you were trying to meet someone! Personals Ads might work better :)

Sorry - just kidding and this is not the grammar police getting on your case.

It's easy to see this behavior in many forums and not just here on TB, although your point is well-made. I've also found myself an unwitting part of the "flavor of the month" club. Having said that, I've been more than satisfied with my current rig. I wouldn't have found it but for the great Amps forums here.

On the topic of instruments however, I am far less likely to be influenced by the opinions of others in any of the various forums.
 
#14
I agree with your point. However, as long as you realize this, then it's not an issue. I find the reviews of certain TBers very accurate, unbiased, and helpful. If you try to estimate the quality and/or popularity of gear by the number of posts about it, shame on you:D

So, I'm not sure I see certain things as 'hyped' so much as unique and causing some excitement. Look at the gear that has caused a 'buzz' in the last couple of years. All of it, IMO, whether it delivered your particular sound or not, was unique to the market place:

For example:

Berg NV's.... boutique, uber quality vintage
Schroeder cabs.... stupid loud for their size and weight
EpiUL's.... full range tone and big boxes that weigh nothing
Berg IP's... unique 'high end front of house' type design for bass
Markbass.... boutique features and power at 'under mainstream' price
Thunderfunk.... unique 'non class D/Switching' that was lighter than most of its competition at a good price point.


Etc.... all the above deserved the buzz that came with their introduction.

But.... +1 to your general point... don't buy based on the buzz and number of threads... but if you sift through the information, there's some VERY good direction here for most of us who would never be able to try any of this boutique type gear before purchasing.

IMO as always.
 
#15
WillPlay4Food said:
It's also funny to see the gear someone gushed about in the For Sale section about two months after the gushing stops. :) The basses forum is good for this too.
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+1 again. However, this happens in the 'music store purchase' world also. Some stuff that we even have the opportunity to spend time with 'in the store' prior to purchase behaves very differently on the gig. I've purchased plenty of stuff that 'didn't work out' eventually.

I do believe there are buyers who place too much emphasis on the 'buzz' and not enough on what posters who have actually tried and gigged with the 'hyped' products are saying.

It is also why I (and others) try to post both positive AND negative things about each piece of gear... no piece of gear is 100% perfect. I find the 'negative posts' (as long as they just don't say 'this thing sucks':smug: actually more useful than the 'gushing' type reviews.

IMO again.
 
#17
I agree to a certain extent on the "hype" issue...but I will counter that argument with this:

We're in a true "golden age" for bass gear. More and more small companies and boutique manufacturers are developing products based on the real-world requests of players. Never before have we as bassists had the opportunity to play such wide-ranging gear.

When you combine this with the relative difficulties in actually getting to DEMO these new products, you get a lot of buzz on forums such as this.

I think that so many people hear about Schroeder (or Berg, or Epi, etc) gear only to find there's no local dealer...then they are reduced to making expensive decisions based on compressed .mp3 clips and the opinions of people they've never met.

Often those decisions work out GREAT, but often they don't. When the honeymoon is over, lots of that gear ends up on the For Sale section, as the next "solution" is chased.

The funny thing is that there IS a very noticable tonal difference in many of these top end amps or cabs...but unless you're lucky enough to live near one of the top-end bass shops (or Tombowlus ;) ), you'd have to spend a grip of money to actually make an INFORMED decision comparing two products.

The hype will live on as long as manufacturers continue to improve their product lines and we remain passionate about our tone...and that's a good thing, IMO!
 
#19
I think that many of us get excited about our gear de jour and become quite loyal to the brands we own. The "mine is better than yours" mentality comes into play often as well.

As examples.... I love my relatively new Ampeg setup and also my Bongo 5 string. When someone posts that either of them suck, it pi$$es me off and I get defensive because I think/know differently and they work for me.

On the flipside, if a TBer posts asking what 5 string or what amp (or whatever) to buy, I will glowingly and passionately recommend what I like and am familiar with.

I think this is a normal phenomonon with any consumer product or service. Just ask a few friends if they can recommend a dentist, lawyer or accountant ("my guy is the best.... you HAVE to go see him/her"):rolleyes:

Will I sell my Ampegs and buy Peavy? Will I sell my EBMMs and buy Wishbasses? I friggin' hope not, but you never know......;) :D
 
#20
There was a time when Fender and Ampeg were just about all you had to choose from.

When you think of all the advancements in bass gear, combined with the speed information about that gear can be shared over the internet, it comes as no surprise that there will be a rise and fall of interest in those products.

Someone designs something new, and customers buy it, try it and let others know about it. When we read about these new features, we have an interest in, and curiosity about, them. We want to know more, and only those with direct knowledge about it can help us decide if it's worth pursuing in our quest for the ultimate gear.

If someone designed a 410 or 215 cab that weighed 20 lbs. and could faithfully reproduce a low B at 120dB, using only a 2 lb., 100 watt amp, everyone would be clamoring for information. The more glowing reviews that get posted, the more people will buy them. Then more will post reviews and more will try them. And on, and on it will go until either the product over time doesn't hold up, or the newness (or hype if your prefer) wears off, or something even newer take center stage.

Then everyone will be onto something new.

I don't see a problem with it at all. Talkbass is unique in that most of the general bass playing public isn't even aware of Talkbass, and so those that come here are in a minority of well informed bass players that are on the edge of these new advancements in gear.

You are probably right in that other equipment forums don't get into the hype as much, but then again there isn't as much reason to get hyped up (about other kinds of gear) as we bass players here do.

It's pretty cool to know that if there is any new bass gear out there, talkbassers will be "in the know" about that gear long before the general bass playing public ever will. In fact, because of the "hype" about gear on Talkbass, I know way more about bass gear than any of the three music stores around my area do (which is really saying a lot around here because all the shops around here are run by musicians, not some corporate suit).

Bring on the hype. Bring on the glowing reviews as well as the slams. I'm intelligent and discerning enough to not rush out and spend my money just because someone raves about some gear, nor do I sell my current gear right away just because someone rips on it.

If you've noticed anything, it's just that Talkbass is THE place to get info on new gear (even though it's up to each person to sift through all that info and opinions). It's just human nature for us to get all giddy about what's now available to us bass players.
 

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