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SBL: When is a bass maker no longer boutique?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
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A bass is boutique when you own one. Once someone else you know has one, it isn’t anymore.
I'm not a prude and use my fair share of colorful language around certain friends, but I know how to turn it off in polite society. I'm not exactly offended by vulgarity, just ... weary of it. It's so ubiquitous anymore, and it sort of lowers the quality of discourse and the quality of life. It's tiresome more than anything.
Or two human actors trying to perform a ChatGPT-generated script about some obliquely bass-related subject. Zero calorie content.
Only? So you're not even going to consider a lot of people find their hyper personalities over the top and annoying?
Yeah, I'm just seething with jealousy over some Youtuber I never aspired to be. Okay.
It isn’t just younger bass players. I’m not a boy scout by any stretch when it comes to language. I’ve used my share of colorful language over the years. But it was always deliberately done for effect on carefully chosen occasions. I no longer bother cussing since it’s now completely lost its shock value.
The constant gratuitous use of profanity does get tiring after a while. I’m so tired of YT videos where the person has what my SO refers to as a “one word vocabulary.” Maybe some of these people might want to pick up a thesaurus and work on acquiring a better vocabulary. Then they can stop relying on a constant stream of f-bombs every time they’re at a loss for an adjective.
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i listened to the whole thing.
my take:
- i liked the video! thanks again, doc!
- the subject is "snobbish" to begin with, and they were both being snobs, unselfconsciously...apparently.
- i've had those experiences (boutique: pros and cons, snobbishness), so for me, "duh."
- everyone should have the experience of "boutique." "duh" is its own lesson: what's necessary, what isn't!
- they ended up rationalizing every possible choice: boutique, expensive, off the rack, cheap...meaningless, IMO.
- everyone who's anyone knows it's all about the way the instrument feels. how it responds to your growth as a musician.
- i enjoyed it and i thought they were pretty much right on point.
i think they'd be even better for the EB community if they taught more music fundamentals and presented less click bait fluff. but i also get the 'polarization as entertainment' paradigm in the modern age.
FWIW: i had custom-built instruments, a few "boutiques." i outgrew them, so never again for me --- too expensive for what they are....not unlike fenders (and i agree with scott: fenders aren't boutique!)
my take:
- i liked the video! thanks again, doc!
- the subject is "snobbish" to begin with, and they were both being snobs, unselfconsciously...apparently.
- i've had those experiences (boutique: pros and cons, snobbishness), so for me, "duh."
- everyone should have the experience of "boutique." "duh" is its own lesson: what's necessary, what isn't!
- they ended up rationalizing every possible choice: boutique, expensive, off the rack, cheap...meaningless, IMO.
- everyone who's anyone knows it's all about the way the instrument feels. how it responds to your growth as a musician.
- i enjoyed it and i thought they were pretty much right on point.
i think they'd be even better for the EB community if they taught more music fundamentals and presented less click bait fluff. but i also get the 'polarization as entertainment' paradigm in the modern age.
FWIW: i had custom-built instruments, a few "boutiques." i outgrew them, so never again for me --- too expensive for what they are....not unlike fenders (and i agree with scott: fenders aren't boutique!)
If you feel that way, then do not watch it and stop complaining, simple enought I think.
That is a slippery subject man. When I encounter a believer, I often krack a "There is no god" in the hope of killing those conversations because a lot of believer cant take that what is sacred to them is nothing to me.
I respect people, not fantasy stories, and this is a subject that should be avoided by both sides.
I couldn’t make it through all the chat to any discussion relevant to the thread; but, I’ll say this:
Their commitment and contribution to building schools in underdeveloped places on the planet is awesome. They get a pass on whatever else they are saying or doing just on that point alone.
I'm not all trying to be offensive when i say this BUT why does any if this matter? Who cares if something is boutique or not? And if you do care, why?
I know more than a few sociologists, linguists, and historians who would strongly disagree with that over simplification. You’r conflating ‘vulgar language’ in the sense of ‘lower class’ or ‘common tongue’ with vulgarity. Cultural imperialism doesn’t really factor into that. Every language has its share of so-called colorful words. And they’re seen as vulgarity even when they’re in the native tongue of whichever empire is currently in power.
^This.
To which I’d also add: assuming you do care, or think it matters, so what? Just buy and play what you like and move on.
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I'm merely saying that it's ridiculous to say that any disdain for these guys come from jealousy, as though there aren't tons of other reasons people might like them. That's like saying I don't like Taylor Swift because she's famous instead of because I find her lyrics cliche and boring.
Well... @Dr. Cheese is this the way you thought it might go? 
It wasn't where I saw it going. 
To be fair, I watched the whole thing before you posted. Yes, I listen to a lot of stuff while working. Did I agree with everything they said? Do I like the language? meh... some yes and some no. That's life.
To be really fair, in true TB style, I expected this to devolve into all you need is a cheap P Bass with tort and a set of flats that will last forever. To my surprise, it is rising in the "threads to be closed" category faster than a speeding train. Some folks are just so serious... Lighten up, Francis.
It wasn't where I saw it going. To be fair, I watched the whole thing before you posted. Yes, I listen to a lot of stuff while working. Did I agree with everything they said? Do I like the language? meh... some yes and some no. That's life.To be really fair, in true TB style, I expected this to devolve into all you need is a cheap P Bass with tort and a set of flats that will last forever. To my surprise, it is rising in the "threads to be closed" category faster than a speeding train. Some folks are just so serious... Lighten up, Francis.
As an American, I'm sometimes baffled by what offends people here. Some have strokes and heart attacks about the tiniest bit of nudity or a curse word on TV and yet have no problem with over-the-top violence or with reality shows that focus on, and to some extent, glorify selfish, shallow, greedy behavior.
I'd rather my child hear a few curses in the context of a music/educational show than be influenced by some of the vile and disgusting things said by politicians and certain news groups. I don't even curse that much and certainly didn't in front of my children when they were growing up, but if a child is old enough to be on the internet unsupervised, a few curse words should be the least of your worries.
Not just that, but that well-behaved, polite, angelic child is not the same around his peers. I've seen innocent looking (from afar) small children in their tidy little church school uniforms curse and act rowdier than a bunch of old drunks in a bar!
I agree with your comment "regardless of having or not a cheaper variation". I think you can still call a company "boutique" if they started out that way and still have a relatively small shop making small batches of "to-order" instruments. I probably would not call a major manufacturer that later opened up a custom shop, boutique, though.
It can become tricky though. You can have a boutique builder that starts importing cheaper basses and if that side of the business grows and becomes successful, it can shift public perception, especially to those new to the brand who might only know of their imports.
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Ok, that is legit as a reason, I felt that you were on the complaint side rather than an objective reason why you do not like them, I understand you.
While we talk:
That is on point, while those are industrial products, the US made Sadowsky are still boutique. You can be both imo.
That is on point, while those are industrial products, the US made Sadowsky are still boutique. You can be both imo.
If their products stop being exceptionally high quality. Which to me means that there are flaws in many of their instruments. And that would include flaws that are so minor, that most people wouldn't care. Not because I'm particularly picky about my instruments, but rather because when I would pay boutique prices, I want to have boutique quality.
At the end of the day it doesn't even matter if it's factory made, or if they produce a high quantity. If I pay let's say 10k for a bass, and there is even a single little issue with it (concerning issues that can actually be controlled, and not something like the wood suddenly warping, despite being a high quality properly treated piece of wood), then I would be mad.
By nature of how mass production works, most (if not all currently available) manufacturers would lose their boutique title as per my definition, once they go into mass production. Quality control just becomes considerably more difficult, but you also get a decent price decrease usually.
All that being said though, I don't think boutique is really a thing that anybody needs. When I buy boutique, I want an item that is somewhat useful, but for the most part really just novelty.
At the end of the day it doesn't even matter if it's factory made, or if they produce a high quantity. If I pay let's say 10k for a bass, and there is even a single little issue with it (concerning issues that can actually be controlled, and not something like the wood suddenly warping, despite being a high quality properly treated piece of wood), then I would be mad.
By nature of how mass production works, most (if not all currently available) manufacturers would lose their boutique title as per my definition, once they go into mass production. Quality control just becomes considerably more difficult, but you also get a decent price decrease usually.
All that being said though, I don't think boutique is really a thing that anybody needs. When I buy boutique, I want an item that is somewhat useful, but for the most part really just novelty.
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