Quality or quantity?

[Watchootognbout]

I'm not about extremes of either.

I have two inexpensive used basses of "Good" quality.
Both of them together cost about a grand.

I don't need four used basses for $2000.00.
Although both of them together would cost $2000.00 if they were bought new.

 

[pappabass]

I'd get bored with one bass, so I'd go for the best balance of quality and variety that my 2K would get me. Ya can't really go wrong with a Jazz, a P and a Ray. I do love being able to cycle through periodic infatuations with each one...keeps things interesting.

Look at the models in between the standards/imports and the high end ones. I have a MIM 50s P and a 60s Jazz, and a SBMM Ray34CA...IMO the daylight between these models and their USA counterparts is shockingly small(I've owned plenty of the USA counterparts). No way IN HELL I'd trade those for one "quality" 2K bass.

My nice one is a custom US L2K, but I don't feel like it plays better than the others. It's just another part of the variety picture, it has its own cool look and sound going on.

Love it !!!!

 

[kmon]

It depends. If it were me, I’d purchase two nice used passive Fender American Standard Precisions (no mods) with maple fingerboards, take them to a great luthier, and have one set up with round wound strings and the other set up with flat wound strings, and both shielded. This could be attained for right at $2000.

this^^...a good luthier can make a good bass great

 

[luciens]

I just did this with my jaco pastorius - well, I had to borrow the $1800 but.. Now, I used to do the bunch of basses thing, but what invariably happened was, after a period of switching between all of them and doing recordings, etc. I ended up putting them down and playing just one about 90% of the time (my erstwhile G&L L2K).

So if I had it to do over again with a $2000 budget, I'd do the same thing. Just one good bass and get the jaco.

I do believe in backups, so eventually I might get another copy of this bass if I decide it's the best bass for me, etc. but hopefully this time I'll stop at just 2 basses. Tho watch that be famous last words, but...

L

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Whether a rank beginner or with 50 years under your belt, whatever instrument you play, get the best instrument you can afford.

^That. If you buy a really, really nice thing (I don't care if it's a bass, a car, a pocket knife, a pair of boots, whatever), as long as it's within your price range and doesn't put you in the poorhouse, you'll never look back on it and wish you'd bought something less nice.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

I'd go quality over quantity, that's how I ended up downsizing to 2 of my main basses. Quality doesn't mean super pricey though, I got both of my basses for a great deal on used market (USA Fender P and Japanese EBMM Stingray).

Japanese Ernie Ball?

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Quantity ! Hate to hurt feelings, not a lot of difference between a $2000 bass and a $500 bass . By 2 $500 basses and spend a $1000 on a killer amp!

There's a MASSIVE difference between any $1500+ bass and any $500 bass I've ever played. Sometimes it's in fit and finish, sometimes it's in build quality, sometimes it's in electronics, mostly it's in all three. If you can find a very well-made bass (they're rare, but they're out there) for $500, you can swap electronics and have a very good bass for well under a grand. By that time, though, you've spent as much as you could've on a good used bass that's already just as good, no mods needed.

You can definitely do anything you want to with a $500 instrument, I'm not saying you can't, just that $2000 is a whole different world in terms of quality.

 

[MMiller28]

I wouldn't use "high end" or "boutique" to describe a $2,000 bass, but hey, I'm a snob.

That said, I would absolutely take a Stingray Special or a Fender Ultra over two Indonesian Ibanezes. There's definitely a quality difference and I'm one of those suckers who loves a good "MADE IN USA" stickers.

 

[Malak the Mad]

There's a MASSIVE difference between any $1500+ bass and any $500 bass I've ever played. Sometimes it's in fit and finish, sometimes it's in build quality, sometimes it's in electronics, mostly it's in all three. If you can find a very well-made bass (they're rare, but they're out there) for $500, you can swap electronics and have a very good bass for well under a grand. By that time, though, you've spent as much as you could've on a good used bass that's already just as good, no mods needed.

You can definitely do anything you want to with a $500 instrument, I'm not saying you can't, just that $2000 is a whole different world in terms of quality.

Perhaps, but when it comes down to brass-tacks…or in this case, the fundaments of an instrument…a good piece of wood is still a good piece of wood, no matter what country it was cut in or the price it took to get it into one's hands. One thing for certain, that piece of wood won't care what it cost, it'll perform how it's supposed to.

 

[TrevorG]

Quality. At worst, it's a good investment. At least, it reminds you you're committed. At best, it helps you as a player to get where you're going.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Quality or quantity?

I like both ...

But I do like to buy cheap basses and tinker with them until they sound great and play great

Yeah, that's where I'm at now, too. When I was younger and ddn't have a lot of money, I traded/swapped/sold like mad to try to get better and better instruments. I also learned how to tweak them to play better. When I finally got my career going and started making decent money, I rewarded myself with an Alembic.. and then another.. and a couple other really nice, pricey basses.

But, I continued to enjoy buying the oddball, inexpensive quirky basses and modding them, eventually building my own basses out of various components to get exactly what I wanted. And I found I enjoyed THAT more than the expensive basses. Tinkering... that's what I enjoy MOST about the bass experience.

So, the analogy is: having a nice 7-Series BMW in the garage, but usually jumping into one of my vintage 2002's or the MiniCooper with a little rust to run to the beach. Don't care if I get sand in it, it's fun to drive, and it totally gets the job done.

Of course, I can tell there's a difference. But eventually, I sold all my expensive stuff and now just play basses I've pieced together mostly.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Tinkering... that's what I enjoy MOST about the bass experience.

TESTIFY!!

 

[pappabass]

There's a MASSIVE difference between any $1500+ bass and any $500 bass I've ever played. Sometimes it's in fit and finish, sometimes it's in build quality, sometimes it's in electronics, mostly it's in all three. If you can find a very well-made bass (they're rare, but they're out there) for $500, you can swap electronics and have a very good bass for well under a grand. By that time, though, you've spent as much as you could've on a good used bass that's already just as good, no mods needed.

You can definitely do anything you want to with a $500 instrument, I'm not saying you can't, just that $2000 is a whole different world in terms of quality.

It's your opinion, I got to hand pick the latest model of a Sterling Ray 4 out of several, fit is great, stays in tune like a $4000 bass, sounds pretty good, finish is not bad. Neck is nice, frets finished as well as any other bass I have seen. Granted it dont have the finish of a $2000 bass but that is about the only thing lacking. Get compliments all the time on how well is sounds. Yes, i play around very talented musicans. It was on sale for $260.00.

 

[pappabass]

Perhaps, but when it comes down to brass-tacks…or in this case, the fundaments of an instrument…a good piece of wood is still a good piece of wood, no matter what country it was cut in or the price it took to get it into one's hands. One thing for certain, that piece of wood won't care what it cost, it'll perform how it's supposed to.

LOVE IT !!!

 

[andyjevans]

I play short scale, so limited choice and the first thing to get right is the neck. Once you get a neck that feels good to you, the body and PUs can be looked at. I'm slowly building a bass with my choice of components. Telecaster guitar body in walnut, alnico MM type pickup. Haven't solved the neck yet. In the UK a short scale neck is a rarity. Something will turn up.

So in my case it's neither overall quality nor quantity as a binary. Just parts quality. I build my own hifi so for me everything is components - that's just how I think. I'm a Frankenbass kind of guy.

 

[mouthmw]

Japanese Ernie Ball?

Yup, Stingray EX. They were manufactured in Japan utilizing US parts, by Japanese EBMM-distributor Kanda Shokai for the Japanese market. Basically, original USA hardware, but bodies and necks were done and finished in Japan. They're discontinued.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Yup, Stingray EX. They were manufactured in Japan utilizing US parts, by Japanese EBMM-distributor Kanda Shokai for the Japanese market. Basically, original USA hardware, but bodies and necks were done and finished in Japan. They're discontinued.

I never knew Kanda-Shokai did any work for Ernie Ball/Music Man! I swear, if I were to ever write a non-fiction book, it would be on the awesome work they did with FMIC during that era, which would be perfect for a Japanophile and Fender/Squier adherent like myself.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Perhaps, but when it comes down to brass-tacks…or in this case, the fundaments of an instrument…a good piece of wood is still a good piece of wood, no matter what country it was cut in or the price it took to get it into one's hands. One thing for certain, that piece of wood won't care what it cost, it'll perform how it's supposed to.

I agree, but the REALLY good pieces of wood typically get snapped up by builders who are going to use them for higher-end stuff. If you're a company, are you going to pop for the stuff that costs five or six times what normal, pretty decent lumber that everyone else uses for instruments in a particular price range? Of course not, it's a competitive world and you'd go under.

More importantly, however, skilled and well trained labor is what is lacking in the majority of the Asian instrument plants. Yes, construction's CNC'd/automated, but wiring, finishing, fretwork, and setup aren't. There's no reason for highly skilled techs/luthiers to seek employment in those factories, their skill is worth far more than the pittance they can make in them, they move on to better positions elsewhere. Component (pickups, pots, tuners, bridges, etc.) quality is less important because they can be changed, but typically also lacking compared to top-quality instruments from America, Europe, Japan, etc.

Finally, and this might just be the union man in me, but I do absolutely everything in my power to never buy any product, at any price, which wasn't made by people who were paid a decent living wage and treated with respect and gratitude for the valuable work they put in every day. That's my personal stance, and doesn't really have to do with quality but does affect my enjoyment of the product.

There are totally decent instruments out there for under a grand, even some damn good ones that a player could absolutely earn a living with, but I've never played, handled, or heard one that could compete with a $1500-2000 American, European, Japanese, etc. instrument. After all, if there was no advantage, THOSE folks would be going under because they couldn't sell their much more expensive products.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

It's your opinion, I got to hand pick the latest model of a Sterling Ray 4 out of several, fit is great, stays in tune like a $4000 bass, sounds pretty good, finish is not bad. Neck is nice, frets finished as well as any other bass I have seen. Granted it dont have the finish of a $2000 bass but that is about the only thing lacking. Get compliments all the time on how well is sounds. Yes, i play around very talented musicans. It was on sale for $260.00.

I've never suggested that perfectly good quality instruments that perform flawlessly can't be had for reasonable prices. Quite the opposite, in fact. All I'm saying is there's a very real difference which cannot be denied. Whether it is or isn't worth the extra coin is entirely up to the player in question. To me, it most assuredly is, but I could get the job done just as well with something 1/8-1/4 the price.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Yup, Stingray EX. They were manufactured in Japan utilizing US parts, by Japanese EBMM-distributor Kanda Shokai for the Japanese market. Basically, original USA hardware, but bodies and necks were done and finished in Japan. They're discontinued.

Holy cow! I'm a regular Music Man fanatic (albeit a somewhat new one, maybe last 6 or 8 years), and I never knew such an animal existed. I need to learn all about them, is it just called the Music Man EX series?