Quality vs Quantity?

[madbass6]

would you rather have one $1500 dollar bass or 5 $300 basses?

Hell Yeah!!

 

[Thumpin6string]

Quality without a doubt. I own only 2 basses, my fretted 6 and my fretless 5. No need for anything else.

 

[faulknersj]

would you rather have one $1500 dollar bass or 5 $300 basses?

1 $1500.

No question.

 

[JimmyM]

I'd take one $1000 bass and two $250 basses.

 

[MynameisMe]

Depends what you like. I have a 5 string Lakland 5502 that I don’t play and get great joy from my $200.00 P Bass MIM that I modded myself. Also my MIM Jazz I gave less than $ 400.00 for. Love that thing. Then there is the uniqueness of my 4 string Arbor PJ and the $50.00 EBay P Bass that plays fantastic! Also my Carvin 5 string jazz active which is going thru an electronics change out and rarely gets played when it was together.
I changed likes from 5 active to 4 passive and in a couple months thru trade of some old gear and guitars hanging around not getting used, plus a little cash I went from 2 higher end to 6.
Long winded way of saying likes change.
Also there is snobbery in the “I’ve got a 2K bass and will settle for nothing less”.
Also I am not a paid musician, I play in my church as a volunteer so to me it’s fine.
You like what you like and who is anyone to tell you much money you should spend on a bass? I love modding them so cheaper is better for me. At the end of the day I end up with what I want.
Done.

 

[hypercarrots]

i counted wrong. i only have about 12 $300 basses. but i still have around 5 $1500 basses. give or take a couple hundred.

 

[gary mitchell]

How much money you got, I have a Fender Squire P bass , a Fender Okumeo how ever you spell it MIM jazz bass, And a Lakland 3TBS Hollow Body bass. I like them all.

 

[bassbenj]

i counted wrong. i only have about 12 $300 basses. but i still have around 5 $1500 basses. give or take a couple hundred.

This is me too. Vote for BOTH! only my 10-12 basses are SX and about $100-$200. Well, OK we can add in a few bucks for the mods as well. And while I have a herd of high end basses I only paid over a grand for 3 (Alembic Epic...new; Modulus Q6...used; Carvin AC50...New) others like my high mileage Ken Smith was used at $300. So which end is that one on?

The deal is that I don't care what you pay for a bass no single bass does it all. Sure it would be great to have a high end bass for every variation in bass you want to have in your stable, but that is just not financially viable unless you only need one bass (P-bass, flats, tort...Hey I got one of them too!)

 

[Nephilymbass]

would you rather have one $1500 dollar bass or 5 $300 basses?

I think everyone is a little different. For example if you’re mainly playing as a hobby at home one bass will be perfectly fine. I always recommend anyone who plays paying gigs to have a backup and feel it’s unprofessional not to because you could end up letting your fans and band mates down if there is an issue. Personally if my budget was $1500 I’d more realistically buy two basses; one around $1000-$1100 and use the rest to buy a cheap but decent backup. But there really is no budget limit long term.

I own three right now.

The Dingwall is considerably more expensive than the fenders. It is my go to bass for the majority of my gigs. The acoustic gets the most playing time at home partially because I don’t have to hook anything up but also because It’s cheap enough that I’m not concerned about leaving it out in my living room. The jazz 5 is mainly a “just in case” backup for the Dingwall 5. It has its charm but I prefer the Dingwall without question.

I could see myself upgrading from the fenders someday; maybe another production Dingwall or a used custom dingwall to replace the jazz and a nice high end Warwick Alien or Martin acoustic to replace the fender acoustic.

Not really interested in other stuff though. I’m never gonna bring more than two basses to any gig. So I don’t see a point in owning 5 basses at once, I’m definitely not a hoarder. I did own 5 high end basses at once at one point and felt some were neglected and It literally got to a point where i wouldn’t choose to play certain basses simply because the setups were out or the strings were super dead. If I want something different for a recording session or something I’ll just ask a friend to use theirs or buy one and then flip it when I’m done with it.

 

[CallMeAl]

It got me thinking, I went back and did the math, I spent about 200 on my parts bass, and 200 on my amp. I'm planning an upgrade budget, 400 each for bass and amp (used prices.) I think if I were gifted 1500, no strings attached, i would not change the plan at all. It's all i need, i guess I'm a low class cheapskate lol.

 

[Kmonk]

Quantity means nothing if the quality is poor.

 

[lbbc]

Another vote for quality. But quality doesn't necessarily mean expensive. A good bass, with proper setup, will be a pleasure to play.

 

[chris_b]

My logic for buying the best bass still holds even if that best bass costs $300.

I'd be gigging that one and, apart from the backup, I'd have sold the rest.


My take on the saying is that the winner is the guy who dies with the best toy, rather than the most toys.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

would you rather have one $1500 dollar bass or 5 $300 basses?

I think it depends on the quality of the quantity.

 

[James Collins]

The problem with the question lies in the variance of prices of the same model new, used or in foreign countries. I've yet to see a $300 Rickenbacker (not counting the pretend on Alibaba), and I haven't spent anywhere near $1500 building a killer mutt. The OP used the extremes to provoke thoughtful responses, no doubt. This is a tough one, though. I'd have to go with the cheaper/more alternative as I tend to be moody and find inspiration in certain instruments at different times. Maybe building a killer Ric mutt is a good idea. Just don't tell John Hall.

I think $300 and $1500 are not extremes of price. $300 it's around where the quality becomes decent. $1500 is just below where the quality becomes custom.

Would you rather own 30 $100 basses or 1 $3,000 bass?

 

[buldog5151bass]

usually true, although i know a couple guys who collect acoustic guitars that were cheap in the '50s and '60s and now are classic.

quality trumps quantity unless you need a 4 string and a backup, a 5 string, a fretless and a short scale to play what you play.

still, you can get some pretty good quality basses these days for $300, new or used.

IMO you don't need a backup unless you are gigging more than weekly (I know plenty of people with just one car). Also not sure why you need a 4 and a 5, a long and short scale, and there are very few people who need a fretless and fretted (I've played traditional jazz on a weekly basis for a decade on a fretted. Would it sound better on a fretless? Yes. Do I need it? #$_# no.

There is no doubt that there are plenty of decent lower priced instruments out there. What is going to be interesting is how they hold up over the decades. My wife's violin is over a century old, and has been around the world repeatedly. I have a '69 P that has been beat to heck (and looks it), but other than a replaced nut, is still a rock. I don't know if a Talman or Squier VM will hold up to the same punishment/wear. To me, that will be the true test. I'm hoping the definition of fine musical instruments do not enter our disposable society.

 

[jamro217]

I think $300 and $1500 are not extremes of price. $300 it's around where the quality becomes decent. $1500 is just below where the quality becomes custom.

Would you rather own 30 $100 basses or 1 $3,000 bass?

That's more like it. One $3000 bass for me, thanks. I do believe the OP was trying to stimulate conversation by using prices that are not uncommon but have certain connotations tied to them. $300 today buys a lot more than it used to and the quality of budget instruments has skyrocketed since the '60's. On the high end $1500 isn't extreme, but the idea is to compare a professional grade instrument to a budget one. Depending on where you draw the line and what your budget is $3000 could be a budget bass and a $25000 Ritter could be considered expensive.

 

[Jscriv]

My absolute favorite playing bass is my EBMM sterling. Retail is like 2399. I paid 1250. Either way. I have to vote for the more expensive stuffs

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

You can have both, but you can definitely get more higher quality basses for less money nowadays. If you only had $1,500 to spend on basses for the rest of your life, I would get a couple basses instead of one $1,500 bass. The time in my life where I was gigging 3 nights a week, every week, I only had one bass, which was a 1979 Peavey T40, I've since gotten all the basses that one bass could mimick

 

[Acoop]

Two seven fifties.