The Dean Custom Zone and an Ibanez Prestige are leagues apart.
So yes, we clearly have a different idea of what is a killer deal
So yes, we clearly have a different idea of what is a killer deal
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Practice bass....
- Thread starter TheBlueFalcon
- Start date
what would most garden variety players care when a great bass can be had for a vast fraction of a Prestige ...which I'd bet has a wide range of fine modern sounds but doesn't nail a classic P? does a noob need more than an excellent basic bass? in fact, how many of us do?
Exactly!
I've been tempted all year long looking at some good inexpensive basses I've found on Reverb.
However, other than a rare acoustic bass I bought two months ago, I've kept myself from buying several "bargain" basses because I don't want a good bass, I want a great bass...it has to feel good, sound great and look even better.
With so many quality basses to choose from, the perfect bass isn't only possible, it's easily attainable.
For me, anyway.
Maybe for you, too.
Life is too short to worry about this. Get the bass you love and play it as much as you want. By the time you wear it out (if ever) you will have gotten your money's worth ten times over.
Exactly! Get the one that really speaks to you. When I was in high school I came across a Pedulla RB4 that I LOVED. Took almost a year to save up for it, but it was worth it.
A well cared for good bass is going to serve you well. There is no such thing as a “starter” bass. This idea has turned many people off of musical instruments in general because inferior instruments are more difficult to play than nicer ones. I always recommend getting as much bass as you are comfortable buying and get it set up by a competent shop. Have them put on the strings of your choice and set the action (string height) as close to the fret board as is practical for your playing style. If you need a “beater” to practice, you are practicing way too hard these instruments aren’t fragile. You can play them a lot without fear of hurting them. A good player would maybe have something inexpensive if playing dive bar or lots of outdoor gigs where the weather might not be very hospitable. Other than that, if you get a good bass and treat it with respect, you won’t need to worry about a good bass to play and a cheap bass to practice.
Last edited:
My thinking is practice with the best instrument you can. A good instrument will inspire you to practice more. What you gig with depends on the gig. As long as it gets the job done it's ok. How you sound on the gig will have far more to do with the practicing you did than the bass in your hands.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
My understanding is that the one you play on the most will be the one you are most comfortable with. Therefore, the one you play. If you want a good bass, get a good bass...and play it.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,793
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
OMG no. I play the crap out of both my US Lakland 4460 AND my vintage 1962 Fender Jazz. LIFE'S TOO SHORT
as most people are saying...just play your bass...if you want to "collect" something you don't touch, buy baseball cards or coins
You're just being over-cautious. A bass is not like the brakes on a car, it doesn't wear out in normal use to the point of needing replacing. The only thing (besides strings) that can need a replacement are the frets. This would take years of constant use and a replacement should be less expensive than a cheap bass. Stainless steel frets solve that but I wouldn't worry about it. I doubt hobby players ever wear out regular frets.
The neck will be rubbed on the back and a glossy finish will turn matt. It might not be visible unless looking for reflections in it.
An Ibanez Premium is a lovely thing and if that's what you want, you should go for it, unless it will "live" in a hostile environment with dogs pissing on it or kids throwing it down and dragging it on a floor covered in hard Legos.
As has been said, you will not wear out your bass simply by practicing on it. My uncle has both guitars and basses from the 1960s and 1970s that he used to play very regularly and still plays sporadically that are in amazing condition. I mean, unless you are a complete savage with a really hard pick—in which case just get a bass with a good pickguard. Definitely don't need a "good bass" and a "practice bass"—you can practice every day on the good one.
However, I'm not 100% sure that "save up for the best bass you can" is necessarily right, if this means you're going to save forever and will have no bass at all for a long time. If you have the urge to play now, you want to capitalize on that! There are very good instruments at reasonable prices (especially used), and while I can get behind the idea that life is too short to spend it playing a $100 bass that you don't like, life is also too short to wait six months to get started. Figure out a budget that won't overly delay you, and get the best bass you can get that fits that budget and that's nice enough that it makes you want to play it every day.
However, I'm not 100% sure that "save up for the best bass you can" is necessarily right, if this means you're going to save forever and will have no bass at all for a long time. If you have the urge to play now, you want to capitalize on that! There are very good instruments at reasonable prices (especially used), and while I can get behind the idea that life is too short to spend it playing a $100 bass that you don't like, life is also too short to wait six months to get started. Figure out a budget that won't overly delay you, and get the best bass you can get that fits that budget and that's nice enough that it makes you want to play it every day.
The solution to that is to get started on a second hand instrument that can be sold with next to no loss when the time comes.
Of course, the sentimental ones never sell their first instrument and that plan backfires on them
Ibanez SR370e....$349.00. If money is not an issue, you can get an Ibanez SR370e from Japan for $2000.00.
True, I should add to my comment about the Pedulla that I had several other basses to play while I was saving. Main bass at the time was that SR800.
OP hasn't mentioned budget or if hes ready to buy now or not.
I was impressed with the older SR400 and 500 models. The newer SR670 and 1400 gave me some GAS until I tried them out. Great basses, just not for me. (Neck pickup placement is the biggest issue)
I tend to just play my favorite at whatever moment I feel like playing. Although I am highly considering buying a couple bass guitars to leave at my drummers and make my "gigging" instruments, and leaving my current bass guitars at home.. but that's mostly because I like the idea of not having to tote things around every week for practice. Idea being having a fretted and fretless 5 string both at home and at the jam spot.
My first bass was a SR370E, bought used for 200€ with gigbag and cable. I am NOT selling it. Ever. It's good.
The Premium models are a lot nicer and surely some of the stuff in them makes a difference somewhere but the 370 has everything it needs and is as easy to play as a bass can get.
I play/practise with my main squeeze (the one Leo Thunder posted a pic of) pretty much every day. I have a beater PJ that sits in a gig bag most of the time apart from when I feel like a change of sound (maybe once/twice a month tops).
Last edited:
