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Stoopid Kweschun

#2
Because wood? :eyebrow:

Cruddy neck wood might not hold shape, could cause fret sprout, and perhaps a host of other problems.

Now I say "Might", "Could", and "Perhaps" because a cheaper neck or bass is not a guaranteed failure...neither is an expensive one a guaranteed success. Sometimes it pays to roll the dice, just depends on your circumstance and expectations. I've gambled on used Ibanez basses several times and so far I've come out ahead :cool:
 
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#6
Same reason you can't take a house built with junk bricks on a slippery slope, and make it into a villa.
Good bass guitar (and I guess any instrument) is not a just a peace of wood shaped into an instrument. You take quality wood that finished drying, work with grain and use all your knowledge and experience to make it into a good constructions. But that is just start.
Wood is organic, it reacts to changes in temperature, moisture, pressure, etc.
Not saying you can't make inexpensive guitar play great, but smart musician will start with good "bones" and invest only when there is potential.
That is why I (and most folks here) advise less experienced musicians to stay away from "upgrading".
 
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#7
Remguy said:
Now I may be totally naïve - and I am - but I have a stupid question for y’all:

Why can’t you take a cheap @$$ bass, and have a luthier do a top notch fret job on it, and make it play like a $10,000 boutique bass?

(Told you it was stoopid)
Click to expand...

It's plausible but you have to address all the variables & limitations. I jokingly refer to my mid-tier Soundgear as the "Carl Thompson"....both models are essentially blocks of wood glued together (hippie sandwich?) and questionable electronics / pickups. I'm pretty sure my guy in Indonesia did not tap-tap-tap each wood selection nor did he craft it on his coffee table.

Riis
 
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#8
You can.

If you're going to keep it with no idea of resale, you're good to go.

If not, a perfectly good Squier or other bass redone with all Shaller or Gotoh, 'upgraded' pickups and wiring, and a within-an-inch-of-its-life pro setup is going to get you the job of reselling (to break even) a REALLY nice thousand dollar bass with 'Squier' on the headstock. And just like a car with all kinds of add-on tuner bits, you'll never see that investment returned, because WHO's going to pay that for a $399 Squier?

Pick One.

It's like any other manufactured product: Time and Material. The better sfuff is built by more skilled and expensive builders which sets the price.

Fender Custom Shop pieces are built using as good materials and parts as money can buy for as long as it takes by the most experienced people in an expensive economic location.

A Squier is CNC'd from far cheaper parts and woods by assembly line guys turning them out quickly in a far cheaper environment. CAD/CAM and CNC closes a big part of the difference in quality, and the buyer decides what works for him and votes with his wallet.

And every player has their own idea of how much $$$ a bass should cost for their needs. At one time, American production items were obviously better than imports. That is simply no longer the case in a world economy, and a CNC-driven plant with a trained-up, motivated workforce can be set down anywhere in the world where capitalism will flock to for an advantage.

1783440268540.png

Your new bass and big screen are in here somewhere . . . .

And this is in just about any consumer item you can think of: IF you took your average WalMart and reduced the stock on the floor to ONLY US-made goods, with what you'd have left, you could just sell it out the back of a U-Haul truck by the front door.
 
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#9
well.. its like putting a brand new LS1 engine in a 1980s Honda civic. its may 'move fast' but it wont ride or feel like a new high end sports car.

Lots goes into a high end instrument beyond the setup; wood selection, resonance, matching pickups electronics, ergonomics, craftsmanship of build, fit and finish, weight.

A great setup should be acquired on all instruments, regardless of value. —it just won't turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.
 
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#12
Remguy said:
Now I may be totally naïve - and I am - but I have a stupid question for y’all:

Why can’t you take a cheap @$$ bass, and have a luthier do a top notch fret job on it, and make it play like a $10,000 boutique bass?

(Told you it was stoopid)
Click to expand...
It can be done but as J Wilson says it depends on how much you want to spend over the value of the bass. Would it be better to spend more on the front end! That is only for you and your wallet to decide!
 
#15
1. No boutique bass justifies a price above $3000-4000 in terms of functionality or build quality.
Anything above $4000 is purely branding and name \ history of the company.

2. Playability is not just about frets or fretwork.
It's the construction, the woods, how the woods are glued or connected, the 3d layout of the bass (angles, heights, ergonomics), neck-body connection, neck rigidity, fretboard wood type, how energy is transferred thru the build and woods, allowing the string to vibrate, sustain and pluck in a certain way.
The action, relief, tension of the strings (some stuff you can't simply adjust with setup, truss rod adjustment, action setting or intonation)

3. Woods cost a lot these days, and determine how a bass sounds, vibrates, resonates. How fast is the attack of the string. Cheap basses = cheap woods.

Fretwork is maybe 5-10% of playability. Also depends on the frets installed - height, width, material, shape.
 
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#16
Making a cheap instrument play like a more expensive instrument is very possible - that's setup, fretwork, etc. Making a cheap instrument feel like an expensive one is less possible, IME/IMO, because that's wood, construction, attention to detail, etc.

You can make pretty much any bass play great, but you can't a make it feel more solid.

This is not bashing less expensive instruments - there are plenty of good ones out there. But in an example I've cited on here numerous times on these types of threads, I had my tech setup a $200-something Squire that a friend got for his daughter. I played it after the setup, it was surprisingly good, I could have easily gigged it. But it in no way, shape, or form felt as solid, as connected, or whatever adjective you want to use, as my G&Ls, Modulus, or Reverend.
 
#17
I have a Leo Fender Sig G&L L2000. But, I also have an SX jazz bass (b-stock, was $79.99 to buy). I switched out the bridge and the pickguard on it, had it set-up including some fret work, but I haven’t touched the pick-ups or the wiring. It’s obviously a different bass from the G&L, but it’s really really good. I’m probably $250 all-in on it.
 
#19
shai-ga said:
1. No boutique bass justifies a price above $3000-4000 in terms of functionality or build quality.
Anything above $4000 is purely branding and name \ history of the company.
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily agree with that. There can be a lot more costs involved in any given product that adds to the price that are not just functional or quality attributes. Yes, branding is part of that, but there's also support, warranty, R&D, licensing, etc.
 
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#20
N4860 said:
I don't necessarily agree with that. There can be a lot more costs involved in any given product that adds to the price that are not just functional or quality attributes. Yes, branding is part of that, but there's also support, warranty, R&D, licensing, etc.
Click to expand...

I think I wanted to say something positive about $3000-4000 basses, not something bad about those who charge more (might be legit financially or logistically)
I meant you can find many many 10/10 basses in that price range.
 

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