Price vs Quality

[Technotitclan]

It has come up so I want to take a poll just for the sake of seeing what the general consensus it.

Dave has brought up the topic of bass snobbery Here on TB so, I'd like to see how much of it holds true. My question is: At what price point do you feel that for a new bass if you pay anything less that your just getting a bass that is going to have problems and your square in the "You get what you pay for" zone?

 

[Technotitclan]

Feel free to also comment what you voted and whether your rookie/amateur/hobbyist/semi pro/pro.

 

[INTP]

I'm loving my Squier VM series. I've gotten some funny comments from people who read the headstock, but mostly compliments on the sound.

FWIW, I still love my Pedulla, too, but I don't care to take it to jams.

 

[Winfred]

I'm a semi-pro (whatever that means?). I've Been a weekend warrior and fill-in bassist for years. I've played and owned high-end: Warwicks, Fenders, Gibsons, and Spectors. I've also played an owned lots of less-than-$300 basses. Heck, I still own a Spector Q4 Pro I bought for $225 off ebay. Great bass!

My opinion is that, sure, there's some bass snobbery here, but I see way more people buying inexpensive gear and making the best of it. It's all a personal/financial choice for each individual.

 

[tangentmusic]

I voted $300.
A new Squier VM or Classic Vibe bass or SUB 4 is probably on the bottom line of the scale for "nice" basses.

 

[OldDirtyBassist]

The most I've gotten from a brand new bass for the money was the Squier Classic Vibe Precision. The American Standard Precision I bought new in 1995 was also a great buy.

All the high end stuff I've had held me back a little, with too many knobs/distrations or just being afraid of damage.

 

[GregC]

I was wondering when someone was finally going to address this topic....today.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I went with $600, which gets you into a whole range of very nice professional grade instruments that start to have some really nice veneers, highest quality electronics, etc. It seems like you get into diminishing returns beyond that point.

 

[bassbully]

I'm a semi-pro (whatever that means?). I've Been a weekend warrior and fill-in bassist for years. I've played and owned high-end: Warwicks, Fenders, Gibsons, and Spectors. I've also played an owned lots of less-than-$300 basses. Heck, I still own a Spector Q4 Pro I bought for $225 off ebay. Great bass!

My opinion is that, sure, there's some bass snobbery here, but I see way more people buying inexpensive gear and making the best of it. It's all a personal/financial choice for each individual.

I agree play what you want and what gets you the check. Low overhead means more money in a players pocket at the end of the night. I know of a national player who tours the world with basses costing $3-500. I bought two off him and sold them quickly for I didn't think they were crap. But to him and in his hands they were gold.

 

[OOD]

You always get what you pay for. More or less money doesn't make me like a bass more or less.

 

[nostatic]

It has come up so I want to take a poll just for the sake of seeing what the general consensus it.

Dave has brought up the topic of bass snobbery Here on TB so, I'd like to see how much of it holds true. My question is: At what price point do you feel that for a new bass if you pay anything less that your just getting a bass that is going to have problems and your square in the "You get what you pay for" zone?

The other thread is based on an incorrect assumption imho. As for this, what kind of "problems" are you talking about? Scratchy pots, uneven frets, pitted hardware, or are you talking more playability, fit/finish, etc? You can have a problem on basses in all price ranges, they tend to be more rare the more you spend. As for the esoterica, that has no real metric or universal standard. One man's affordable is another man's too expensive, one man's "plays like buttah" is another man's "feels terrible." And some rarely venture above the 7th fret while others wheedle away near the 24th.

There is no standard or even much of a mean. Closest you can come is that some (many?) put a break point for diminishing returns around $1500 but even that is plus or minus $1K.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

Assuming that we are strictly talking about brand new stuff here:

I feel like anymore, it is sort of NOT a given that price completely determines quality. When I got into playing (early 80's) it totally did. I feel like anymore, the homogenization of what is "mass-produced" and what is "hand made" is so great that it makes price less of a determining factor. I am a drummer by trade, and I definitely feel like this issue is more relevant for drums than for electric basses/guitars. In the "New" market, pretty much any set under the $700 price range is a toy. In the 80's, I would have said the same for electric guitar instruments. Probably even higher. Now, you never know.

I wonder what the double-bass contingency would say? I would imagine in that arena, price point-to-quality is definitely more relative.

 

[INTP]

I wonder what the double-bass contingency would say? I would imagine in that arena, price point-to-quality is definitely more relative.

Well...that's different...

 

[ZenG]

I don't agree that you always get what you pay for (as stated by Potthof a couple of posts back).

You get what the market dictates you'll pay in the geographical location you live.

Some basses I see in stores here cost twice as much as some locations in the states.....even though it's the same bass......

To me buying a bass is like buying anything else. There are lemons and ripoffs throughout the price -point structure in everything.

Take jewelry for one.....most of the rings and such that people buy are not in reality worth anywhere near what they paid for it.

Take electronic keyboards/digital workstations/pianos for another.....fraught with high-priced lemons.......if you go by price alone you are in for a world of hurt.

Ditto for refrigerators and appliances.........many of the brands of old that were reliable are now made offshore and are junk.....even though brand-messaging and premium price are tailored to convince you otherwise..

Ditto for automobiles in more than one case.

I believe that in most goods/products there are quality offerings throughout the price range/structure..........but you need to do the research to find them.

 

[SamJ]

Too many choice brackets but in my case my two most expensive basses with retail prices well above $7k are definitely uniquely nicer than anything in the sub $2500 range.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

.......I believe that in most goods/products there are quality offerings throughout the price range/structure..........but you need to do the research to find them.

I definitely agree that you need to research more now-a-days. As mentioned, back int the 80's, you had to research less b/c you knew that most likely a higher priced good was goign to be of better quality. Now, due to the "homogenization" I alluded to above, quality is more sporadic in the price points. I think it is easier now to find a lower priced instrument that is well put together, but you have to sift through more stuff. On the otehr hand, It think it is not smart to just assume that a $3000 instrument is goign to be instantly a "top quality" instrument.

 

[Jeff Scott]

It has come up so I want to take a poll just for the sake of seeing what the general consensus it.

Dave has brought up the topic of bass snobbery Here on TB so, I'd like to see how much of it holds true. My question is: At what price point do you feel that for a new bass if you pay anything less that your just getting a bass that is going to have problems and your square in the "You get what you pay for" zone?

It doesn't work that way, there are no specific $$$ related benchmarks. YMMV

 

[Technotitclan]

I was wondering when someone was finally going to address this topic....today.

All in fun

 

[bass_case]

"Value" is subjective.

 

[Technotitclan]

The other thread is based on an incorrect assumption imho. As for this, what kind of "problems" are you talking about? Scratchy pots, uneven frets, pitted hardware, or are you talking more playability, fit/finish, etc? You can have a problem on basses in all price ranges, they tend to be more rare the more you spend. As for the esoterica, that has no real metric or universal standard. One man's affordable is another man's too expensive, one man's "plays like buttah" is another man's "feels terrible." And some rarely venture above the 7th fret while others wheedle away near the 24th.

There is no standard or even much of a mean. Closest you can come is that some (many?) put a break point for diminishing returns around $1500 but even that is plus or minus $1K.

I'm going to say playability is pretty subjective so I'd take that out. I'm more referencing quaility of parts/build and longevity of it. Like you said, pots, pickups going dead, fret finish issues, neck stability, shifty saddles... the list goes on and typicly gets smaller the more expensive it is. At what price point do you say "well the frets work but could be better and jack pops a little when unplugging but the price was worth that"

Too many choice brackets but in my case my two most expensive basses with retail prices well above $7k are definitely uniquely nicer than anything in the sub $2500 range.

I struggled with the price selection. Either too many, not enough, wrong groups..... Just decided to say f it and put together a list.

Are your +$7k basses so great that you would no longer consider basses that cost less? Or would you be fine playing something cheaper knowing that you can still do better but the price point was acceptable for the quality of the cheaper instrument.

It doesn't work that way, there are no specific $$$ related benchmarks. YMMV

I personally find that there are. Its just different for each person. For example, I would be super miffed if I bought a new USA Spector with dodgy fret work. The same dodgy fret work I would find more acceptable on a $130 Dean. Slightly scratchy pot on a Ibanez SR300? Alright I spose, got it kinda cheap. Slightly scratchy pot on a USA Fender P... No, its going back.