My late buddy guitar player always said: If you don't know how to play on crap instrument, you would never appreciate good instrument".
It was meant to be so...
It was meant to be so...
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Starter Basses Today And Back In The Day!
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Great as always Cheese ! Ya, new players have it lot better. That old bass has ridiculously high action !!!
Where I was from Fender was the only bass to have, but only an MIA Fender. MIJ Fenders were considered little more than dung shaped to resemble an instrument, and Peavey was even lower than that.
I had a conversation with my wife about similar ideas regarding violins lately. She's a violinist, and teaches orchestra in a local school district. She's had plenty of students who have questionable instruments bought online. I haven't seem them in person, and I certainly can't play violin, but my wife knows her stuff. I wonder why those cheap violins can't be made to the same exacting standards as a bass? I've never had issues with playability on any modern bass. (I've been playing for 20 years, which makes me feel old...) She likened it to parents telling their children that they could play basketball, but only with a deflated ball until they really got into it. Then, they'd inflate the ball (aka buy a better instrument). Seems to prevent people from wanting to follow that path.
In keeping with the topic, this makes me feel lucky (and old!). My first bass (which I still own!) was an Ibanez SR300DX. It's nothing fancy, but there are certainly no issues as far as playability and quality. It's a solid bass, and I've never had any issues with it regarding the functionality aspect of its use - it's been great! I couldn't imagine starting on a bass that had functional issues that I would have no idea about. It would kill me because I would probably think I was terrible. (Which I am, but not for that reason! I don't need any help to play poorly!) Anyway, I'm glad that even cheap basses are well-made - if we want people to play, they have to have serviceable instruments from the start.
In keeping with the topic, this makes me feel lucky (and old!). My first bass (which I still own!) was an Ibanez SR300DX. It's nothing fancy, but there are certainly no issues as far as playability and quality. It's a solid bass, and I've never had any issues with it regarding the functionality aspect of its use - it's been great! I couldn't imagine starting on a bass that had functional issues that I would have no idea about. It would kill me because I would probably think I was terrible. (Which I am, but not for that reason! I don't need any help to play poorly!) Anyway, I'm glad that even cheap basses are well-made - if we want people to play, they have to have serviceable instruments from the start.
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Your wife made a brilliant analogy about deflated basketballs.
I have four Harley Benton basses. They did need *some* work but I'm fairly certain that in a blind test, most wouldn't be able to tell them apart from way more expensive instruments. That said, I'd really love a G&L or a Warwick or an American Performer.
Still, a note. The higher you go price-wise, the bigger any blemish will look.
Still, a note. The higher you go price-wise, the bigger any blemish will look.
Yes, The deflated basketball theory. I'm "borrowing" that!
I'm actually (in retrospect) thankful for the cheap guitars and basses we had available to us poor kids during the 70's. I bought my first one for $25, a terrible "National" in brown burst that was nearly unplayable. But, I figured I had nothing to lose by turning every screw on it that I could find.
And I did. And sometimes... it made it play BETTER. Pretty soon, I'm tearing into the electronics and changing out pickups and painting them with automotive spray paint. And then my friends ask me to look at their guitars, because they're shorting or something. And it just builds from there. When DiMarzio pickups became available, I must have put a few dozen in for friends. Then more aftermarket parts, etc, etc.
Without those crappy guitars, I would not have started tinkering. And I would probably not have a guitar repair shop today.
I'm actually (in retrospect) thankful for the cheap guitars and basses we had available to us poor kids during the 70's. I bought my first one for $25, a terrible "National" in brown burst that was nearly unplayable. But, I figured I had nothing to lose by turning every screw on it that I could find.
And I did. And sometimes... it made it play BETTER. Pretty soon, I'm tearing into the electronics and changing out pickups and painting them with automotive spray paint. And then my friends ask me to look at their guitars, because they're shorting or something. And it just builds from there. When DiMarzio pickups became available, I must have put a few dozen in for friends. Then more aftermarket parts, etc, etc.
Without those crappy guitars, I would not have started tinkering. And I would probably not have a guitar repair shop today.
When speaking of buying instruments - yes indeed.
When speaking of having quality learning stuff for no money - yes.
When speaking of career options - bad news. Rock and rock bands became niche music and bass in modern pop comes from software.
EDIT
My first bass had no truss rod. Neck resembled a bow and playing anything above 3rd fret simply couldn't be in tune.
I paid around 40$ in 1998 and I had to work 4days to earn this enormous money.
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It is pretty incredible. Hand made customs for well under 3k, and in 2021 dollars...
Meanwhile, poorly built houses go for 500k... Or 1M in my neck of the woods.
Upside down era.
Meanwhile, poorly built houses go for 500k... Or 1M in my neck of the woods.
Upside down era.
I agree about "starter" basses being junk back in the day but how about lower level amps? OMG, I had some terrible amps and speaker cabinets
I remember things like Hondo back in the day. Things have come a long way in the budget line for sure.
Starter bass? I started with a professional bass over 50 years ago, a Silvertone Model 1444. I still use one.
My first bass was a FAIM (Fábrica Argentina de Instrumentos Musicales, logo in Fender like font) Jazz Bass copy. Terrible piece of furniture. Cost me 100 US dollars used, was the kind of thing you could afford back then (late '80s, early '90s) in an Argentina that was VERY closed to the importing of any goods (not that it's much better these days over there).
Over the '90s I've had 2 real Fender MIJ Jazz Basses (one fretted, one fretless) that costed around 600-800$ each new. Now, 2 years back I bought an allegedly kit bass which was unusable (badly cut body, worn truss rod) for 38€, then got the cheapest neck & (basswood) body I could get from AliExpress (51€ for both, so 89€ total for the bass) and I must say, even tho' the neck is a little thicker than I'd like (the MIJs' slimmer necks were great) it plays fantastically and it's defintely the best sounding Jazz I've had, by much (completely ignore the origin of the no name pickups).
So, back then it was 100$ for a bass I could barely play and sounded like crap, and now such money can get you a totally competent giggable bass you indeed will LIKE to play and hear.
Over the '90s I've had 2 real Fender MIJ Jazz Basses (one fretted, one fretless) that costed around 600-800$ each new. Now, 2 years back I bought an allegedly kit bass which was unusable (badly cut body, worn truss rod) for 38€, then got the cheapest neck & (basswood) body I could get from AliExpress (51€ for both, so 89€ total for the bass) and I must say, even tho' the neck is a little thicker than I'd like (the MIJs' slimmer necks were great) it plays fantastically and it's defintely the best sounding Jazz I've had, by much (completely ignore the origin of the no name pickups).
So, back then it was 100$ for a bass I could barely play and sounded like crap, and now such money can get you a totally competent giggable bass you indeed will LIKE to play and hear.
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My earliest memories (mid to late 70's, mostly centered around guitar), where that there were really crappy guitars, but at least with electrics, some quality Japanese stuff was starting to show up at the entry level. I remember I traded for a Yamaha hollow body (whish I still had it!) that was outstanding, and some of my HS buddies bought those new-fangled Ibanez guitars that seemed better than anything the American manufacturers were offering at the time. I also remember, in the late 70s after a motorcycle induced injury, switching to bass for a while, and trying to use a Gibson short scale that was virtually unplayable. Things sure have changed for the better. I bought a $179 Indonesian-made bass last week as a beater, and after a fret polish, set up tweak, and new strings, it plays like a dream!
Back in my day, we couldn't afford real instruments. We had to deal with whatever landed in our laps. We had Crummy POSs (CPOS), and Quality POSs (QPOS). The Cs were borderline unplayable, while some Qs were surprisingly good. Some came from the dumpster, some were top of the line pawnshop finds and as always, Uncle's garage.
How so? You can't play at all with a deflated ball. But you can certainly play on an ultra-cheapo violin, no matter what the pros say (at least, as long as it's not so cheap that it's falling apart). In fact, a pro who will stoop so low as to actually play one sounds rather good. Try that with a deflated basketball.
godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
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- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
When I started out you got a Fender ( maybe a Gibson or Rickenbacker) or a piece of junk from Japan, there was no middle ground .
Starting in the mid 70's some good affordable stuff started showing up from Japan.
Starting in the mid 70's some good affordable stuff started showing up from Japan.
