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Pros that use cheap/pawn shop basses...

#61
staindbass said:
thanks for the mention jimmy. not only are they cheap(inexpensive) but i have bought used spectors from ebay and tb classifieds. i gotta keep this short, im on the phone with radio shack trying to hook up an endorsement deal :)
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Dude, any time you're in Orlando and you want to use my Radio Shack bass, say the word!

HAHAHA!!
 
#62
Returning to the topic, McCartney's Hofner Violin bass was a cheap option when he bought it. The import duty on US made instruments in the UK at the time made Fenders extremely expensive whereas European made instruments had little or no import duty on them and so were much cheaper.

Same goes for Bill Wyman's Framus.
 
#63
JimmyM said:
Johnny April from Staind uses Czech Spectors. Jeff Berlin uses a Dean signature model that doesn't cost very much. Oteil Burbridge has been spotted playing a MIM Fender Jazz before. And tons of players use Danelectros. And while not quite on their level of the showbiz ladder, your truly has been spotted onstage with Bowzer from Sha Na Na using these beauties:

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Hey Jimmy, is that a tic-tac ? And where does that term evolve from concerning the Dano's ???
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#64
Jack Casady plays his Epiphone signature bass. It isn't cheap, around $700, but it isn't a "Made In The USA" boutique bass.

I would consider the Fender Jaguar a "higher end" cheap bass. Pino Palladino plays one. As does Matt Freeman and Justin Meldal-Johnsen.


The Peavey T-40 (well loved here on TB) is a pawn shop find. Other than Ross Valory, I don't know any pros who play one. Someone told me the guy from Fishbone recorded with one.
 
#65
Clark Dark said:
JimmyM said:
Johnny April from Staind uses Czech Spectors. Jeff Berlin uses a Dean signature model that doesn't cost very much. Oteil Burbridge has been spotted playing a MIM Fender Jazz before. And tons of players use Danelectros. And while not quite on their level of the showbiz ladder, your truly has been spotted onstage with Bowzer from Sha Na Na using these beauties:

Invalid Link Removed

Hey Jimmy, is that a tic-tac ? And where does that term evolve from concerning the Dano's ???
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Not officially. Tic tac basses were usually the 6 string Danos. This is a 4-string, but it could be used for tic tac. The term comes from country music in the 50's. They would use an upright and double it with a Dano played with a pick to get some high end attack, and they called that sound "tic tac." A lot of the older country guys still call those 6 string basses tic tac basses, and many newer ones as well, because it seems to be coming back into fashion.
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#66
raul said:
Pros that use cheap/pawn shop basses...

Tons of super cheap or rather, inexpensive basses can be found all over the good planet Earth and are ripe for the taking...

1. who are some of your favorite pro players that have cheap/inexpensive/pawn shop goodies as far as basses go?
2. did they and do they play them live?
3. have fun...
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1. Me. I recently added a Stagg BC-300 to my arsenal.
2. Yes
3. Yes

;)
 
#67
bunnykeeper said:
David Wm. Sims (Scratch Acid/Jesus Lizard) played a Memphis jazz.
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He still does. I've met David a couple of times and have had intermittent email contact with him. He only owns three basses, but his main bass is that Memphis Jazz. It's stock except over the years he's replaced the jack and bridge.

He's a great player and his sound live and studio is killer. Most of his recordings and gigs have been done on that Memphis. He's still touring the world doing an experimental solo bass project under the name unFact.
 
#74
Ah, I was just ragging you. :) He's always had a great tone, but that early 70s era, peaking with the '74 Wall of Sound tone is a sound I would worship at the feet of, it's just so full and rich and deep!

ETA: And of course, he wasn't using a pawn shop bass, but one of the first basses modified by Alembic!
 
#78
bassbenj said:
Here's my take on this.

First there is the "rule" used to take money from noobs: "If you buy a bass just like Joe blow plays then you'll play like Joe!"

Obviously false.

Then the rule "If you pay more for a bass then it will be a "better" instrument". (often worded as "you get what you pay for")

Also false since "better" has not been defined. What you spent the extra money to get is important. Was it tone? was it looks? was it history? was it mojo? If what you paid extra for isn't what you wanted then you wasted your money.

The thing I've noticed about really "good" players and especially "pro" ones (make a living playing) is that they don't buy into all the myths and rules and they are REALLY serious about MUSIC!

And how this comes out is that they LISTEN! The implication in this thread is the irony of a pro player strokin' away on a hunk of junk. But that ain't it. They don't go hit the pawn shops and just buy the first trashy instrument they see. They LISTEN to them! And when they hear something that they recognize as MUSICAL, then they'll buy it and BUILD on that. In their view WHAT they heard it from is not important. What is important is WHAT THEY HEARD!

Just take the example of Boomie and his Realistic. Yes, a Radio Shack bass is SEEMING trash, but he heard something in there he recognized as musical! And he doesn't just play it as is, he tweaks on it to bring out all that music he heard in there! (go check the thread here when he bought it)

Sure there is a certain "statement" to be had from playing an "apparent" trash bass. Blues guitarists love to play a Reso that looks like it's been laying in the swamp for 7 years. But I assure you they DO NOT sound or play like that. I love to play my SX for that reason. But hey, that is not a stock SX. It's been tweaked by me to play and sound musical. So in a way, playing the SX is really a lot of "showbiz". And similarly you might think that Bowzer's bass player is up there thumpin some trash Radio Shack bass, but the truth is that he found something musical in there and brought it out. Where he found the instrument or what it cost is really irrelevant.
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I'm resurrecting this old dead thread because I'm debating selling my two SX basses to get something "better" at some point. The MM/J has a great neck (and I leveled the frets) and the body vibrates like crazy when you play it. It has a really nice unplugged tone to it and sounds good plugged in. I'm not sure I'm going to get "better" for the $500 or so I'd have to spend on something "better".
 
#80
JimmyM said:
Yep, Radio Shack sold them in the late 60's for $90. Nice bass, though...Matsumoku made it. Blows away my Jay Turser, a bass I really loved until I got this one.

Unfortunately, I sold the SX P earlier this year in favor of the PJ. I don't know about classy, though...that "gold anodized" pickguard was a white plastic pickguard I sprayed gold paint on ;) Did make it look better, though.
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Yup. My dad (an electronics enginer) got their catalogs all the time, I remember drooling over these basses when I was a kid.
 

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