The gear snob in the audience

[selowitch]

What if the gear snob is in your band? The guy that puts himself into massive credit card debt by buying nine or ten PRS Douchecasters in various colors playing through his JCM 900 half-stack and twelve stompboxes which produces a tone resembling bees getting gangraped by rattlesnakes who tells you your Fender bass is crap because you bought it used for $ 200.00 almost two decades ago? Yeah, I'm not in that band anymore.

ROTFL. That is hysterical. And 100% on-target. Well said, my man. Most excellent, biting sarcasm, and well deserved.

We're all guilty of gear snobbery from time to time, but hopefully we're wise enough to pull back and realize that, when you're out gigging, it's about the joy of playing music, not a gear showcase.

 

[touji]

Are all PRSi Douchecasters or is it just his?!

 

[DanNowhere]

Are all PRSi Douchecasters or is it just his?!

You know, I have nothing against PRS personally, but I only seem to see them played by Nickelcreed and cover band doods with flamey bowling shirts and bad Just For Men-colored goatees. Just the sight of those damn birds sends me into Post-Traumatic Shock.

 

[NKBassman]

You know, I have nothing against PRS personally, but I only seem to see them played by Nickelcreed and cover band doods with flamey bowling shirts and bad Just For Men-colored goatees. Just the sight of those damn birds sends me into Post-Traumatic Shock.

Hahahaha, you have no idea how accurately you just described the guitarist in one of Winnipeg's big cover bands. Only thing you missed was the over-bleached hair.

 

[GianGian]

I am not saying that this is the case, but sometimes we pay double and get half with "big names".

 

[Raymeous]

Sometime in the future during that nebulous "One Day" I would like to get a bunch of great players together and then do an album followed by a local tour using nothing but the entry level gear. You know those $300 started kits and such.

The musician makes the gear work not the other way around. I like nice things as I think most people do, but I have just as much fun playing my $300 Squier P-Bass Special as I do playing my custom built Carvin LB76.

I think too many people just buy whatever the market tells you is the cool thing to buy at the time, and whatever "it" is is usually pretty darn expensive!

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

I played this gig at a local bar once and I brought my trusty OLP MM2, a stingray clone. I had put a Seymour Duncan pickup and a 3-band preamp in it and it was (still is!) a sweet bass that sounded huge.

I do own a MM Stingray (2-band EQ version) and the OLP doesn't feel a million miles different and sounds great. But some people would just look at the headstock and say "bah, a copy".

So I play in thsi place, and afterwards I'm hanging out for a while and this guy comes to me, he compliments me on my playing and sound (always nice ) and goes on to say that of course, a Stingray is the best bass blah blah blah. He continues this monologue about Stingrays while I listen and nod politely just waiting for him to go and let me keep talking to my friends. Then he says that of course I have good taste, a real Stingray, because so many other peple would play a copy and it's nothing like a Stingray even if it looks like one, and continues this rant against Stingray clones... So I just listen, smile and let him talk.
When he finished, I tell him "actually, I was playing an OLP tonight".

His face! I wish I could have taken a picture. After he said mine sounded so good, he couldn't now say that it was a bad bass. Gotcha!
He didn't say anything else, just gave me a weird look and walked away.

I loved it.

I love my Stingray, but I also have two OLPs that are *fantastic* (with some not too expensive upgrades).
I hate gear snobs.

Mega-win! I love my OLP as well. Two of my favorite basses are ones I regularly gig with and cost less than $100. Not one person has ever complained about those basses; musicians, bandmembers, audience members or soundmen. Or even other bassists, for that matter.

 

[mcnach]

OLP were good basses but nowhere near SBM quality imho.

also nowhere near the price!

 

[selowitch]

I really think gear snobbery is out of fashion, what with the recession and all. Think about it: Not only do few people (namely, club owners) believe in actually paying musicians for their work these days, but the musicians themselves (who often have other jobs) have less disposable income to blow on fancy equipment.

Hence the rise of high-value, low-cost instruments like OLPs and Rondo SXes.

 

[rickl289]

Two of my favorite basses are ones I regularly gig with and cost less than $100.

Monday, the bass player for the band that played before us thought my Fender Jazz bass sounded great and loved the black/tort combo (he played a red Jaguar bass). I thanked him.

I play a Squier p-bass I bought for $65.

 

[dogofgod]

I really think gear snobbery is out of fashion, what with the recession and all. Think about it: Not only do few people (namely, club owners) believe in actually paying musicians for their work these days, but the musicians themselves (who often have other jobs) have less disposable income to blow on fancy equipment.

Hence the rise of high-value, low-cost instruments like OLPs and Rondo SXes.

Isn't this the truth. True story, My band shows up at a new place to play last Saturday, supposedly going to be the new hot spot, right in the middle of the busy downtown area, etc. and the Fing place doesn't even give the band free drinks, not even a soda, and we also learn the place doesn't want to pay . I was just about to lose it because I thought it was obnoxious that someone would ask for a band to provide entertainment for their business, and then have the gaul to not even provide drinks or a lousy hundred bucks for gas money. I hope the economy starts getting better...

 

[invader3k]

we also learn the place doesn't want to pay

Not to go way off topic, but why did you do the gig if they presumably reneged on paying you?

I agree with the point above that there seems to be less "gear snobbery" these days. People just don't have the disposable income they used to. Learning to do more with less isn't a bad thing, though.

 

[selowitch]

we also learn the place doesn't want to paywhy did you do the gig if they presumably reneged on paying you?

Sorry to answer a question not directed at me, but I've seen it happen many times. A place will invite you to come play and it seems like good exposure, so you agree before terms are discussed. They never bring up the subject of payment, so you're forced to mention it, and the management has the leverage to say, "Oh, sorry, we don't compensate live entertainment here. It's our policy."

It's always harder when you have to request payment instead of it being offered to you, because it's easier for the other party to simply say, "No."

 

[ga_edwards]

Hi Greg!

ukmg not enough, eh?

Jose

Hey Jose. Yes, got to get away from our 6 string brethren occasionally.

Greg

 

[TolerancEJ]

Generally, if someone in the audience has been watching & decides to talk to me, 90% of the time he/she is also a bass player. If the gig is in a club, I assume the person is already drunk & ready to share his/her alcohol-laden knowledge.

Best to just smile & nod. Don't make eye contact.

 

[Batmensch]

Yah, you know how those bass players are when they're drunk !!!

 

[mcnach]

Sorry to answer a question not directed at me, but I've seen it happen many times. A place will invite you to come play and it seems like good exposure, so you agree before terms are discussed. They never bring up the subject of payment, so you're forced to mention it, and the management has the leverage to say, "Oh, sorry, we don't compensate live entertainment here. It's our policy."

It's always harder when you have to request payment instead of it being offered to you, because it's easier for the other party to simply say, "No."

Before firmly committing to a gig, shouldn't those details be confirmed?
I have played for various amounts of money, some really low... but I always knew beforehand. I don't wait till the night in question to ask. So when I played for free (come on, at least the drinks are on the house, and they will provide backline... so it's a nice night out for me) I do it knowingly.
When I am the one doing the booking, I confirm dates and agree to play a certain venue a certain date... but *then* we discuss details: equipment needed, money: is it a fixed fee or door fee or what, drinks, etc. If a place is reasonable, they'd even have prewritten "contracts" with all those bits specified and given to "our agent" (me, for instance ) to be signed.
I don't go "hoping".
If the terms they offer don't seem reasonable... then I can also say "No, thanks" and not do the gig. BUT that's talked within a couple of days of the initial agreement, not on the night of the gig, obviously.
If they later refuse to pay, that's another matter (something that hasn't happened to me yet, but if it happened to Anvil it can happen to anyone )

 

[mcnach]

Hey Jose. Yes, got to get away from our 6 string brethren occasionally.

Greg

they're cute, 'though. Like pets. With their cute little strings and their high pitch squeals...

 

[Deepfrequency]

I played this gig at a local bar once and I brought my trusty OLP MM2, a stingray clone. I had put a Seymour Duncan pickup and a 3-band preamp in it and it was (still is!) a sweet bass that sounded huge.

I do own a MM Stingray (2-band EQ version) and the OLP doesn't feel a million miles different and sounds great. But some people would just look at the headstock and say "bah, a copy".

So I play in thsi place, and afterwards I'm hanging out for a while and this guy comes to me, he compliments me on my playing and sound (always nice ) and goes on to say that of course, a Stingray is the best bass blah blah blah. He continues this monologue about Stingrays while I listen and nod politely just waiting for him to go and let me keep talking to my friends. Then he says that of course I have good taste, a real Stingray, because so many other peple would play a copy and it's nothing like a Stingray even if it looks like one, and continues this rant against Stingray clones... So I just listen, smile and let him talk.
When he finished, I tell him "actually, I was playing an OLP tonight".

His face! I wish I could have taken a picture. After he said mine sounded so good, he couldn't now say that it was a bad bass. Gotcha!
He didn't say anything else, just gave me a weird look and walked away.

I loved it.

I love my Stingray, but I also have two OLPs that are *fantastic* (with some not too expensive upgrades).
I hate gear snobs.

Great story, I gave up on $3K basses 18 years ago when I finally met a woman who would put up with my playing. These days I make my basses. My latest is her first bass a Japanese Vox Phantom clone. The very same bass was my first bass too so I am partial to this, but it sounded like c#*p. I put Musicman pickup in it and active electronics and took it to the local open mike along with my $2k Warmoth Jazz and 1968 Gibson EB-3 ~with Alex Dumble mods. and everybody loved the little Japanese bass best. Says a lot for the MM pups, but like my cars if I can't fix em' why drive em'.

 

[rayzak]

Truthfully, I think Gu!tar players have it worse. There always seems to be some drunk @$$ in the crowd that wants to show up the guitarist and "rip it up on that Les Paul". IME, if your not playing a Fender/Ampeg, most people don't really care about what you're playing, just wonder why your not playing the "holy grail" of bass rigs.