Too Much Money (Not Enough Practice) - Rant!

i guess everyone likes to play?

 

To me, it doesn't really bother me when the bassist is murdering the instrument, no matter how nice their set up is... It makes me feel a little better about myself, even though I'm no where near "great" or "amazing".

On the flip side, I LOVE watching bands where the bassist is amazing.

Come to think of it, I never really think about what they're playing too much in a jealous thought. I just figure if they can afford it, all the power to them, and that I'm happy with what I own.

 

Maybe you should get over yourself. So what if he's butchering basslines? Yeah, he's got some money. Yeah, he doesn't have great chops. So what? Life's not fair. Yep, I don't have awesome equipment (It's awesome to me). I might have more chops than someone who's got better equipment. Oh well.

 

I agree that this may be something that you see from time to time, but it's no different from anything else in life. There are a lot of bad drivers out there with really expensive sports cars. And I know several people with really expensive televisions that don't understand that they aren't receiving an HD signal because they haven't upgraded their satellite/cable package.....

As far as "spend your money on lessons instead of gear...." If you have some ability, you read some books, and then you practice, then successfully playing in a basic classic rock cover band should be something within your grasp without having to resort to a lot of expensive lessons. You aren't actually writing songs or bass lines - you are learning songs and parts that already exist. This is not to say that all songs are easy to learn, of course, but a good chunk of classic rock songs are fairly straight-forward.

Sounds like he needs to spends some time practicing and learning songs. But if he truly doesn't have a feel for rhythm and timing, he probably needs to stick to playing at home....

 

Ferrari dealers don't subject paying customers to driver's tests and sobriety screenings to determine their "worthiness" of owning an expensive sports car. They just care about making a profit by selling them.

Along those lines, an MTD dealer will be equally happy to sell a 535 to a beginner or a famous virtuoso-level player. In each case, each buyer's money is equally green.

 

hate that. As a teenager who works for every penny to buy my gear and earn it through practice, It hurts.

 

if he earned the money to buy it, he deserves it.

 

I have this other syndrome.....

 

Yawn. Again?

 

Whew! Mine's a GS410. Otherwise, I'm that guy. Of course, his tone sucked because he was playing through 12's.

 

That's life man, happens everywhere.

It is a posibility that the bassist is just beginging, had money and bought good gear from the start. . and now he is learning and improving.

I personally have about 10 grand invested in my rig and main bass (not to mention the 5 others) I am not in a band nor do I play shows . . . I don't suck none the less but i am sure there are lots better out there with less expensive gear. It's a matter of income and taste.

 

It's also possible that this guy is a sub, maybe plays beautiful originals, or isn't a bass player at all and is using someone else's stuff to help out the band, etc...

Let's all judge him by his equipment and his level of playing.

 

If he has the money, and the desire to play with great equipment; more power to him.

It is still more fun to suck on, learn with, and improve playing good basses; then it does playing with basses that suck.

Even craftsmen that are just learning a trade usually start with good tools.

 

So Nick. Let's say you can easily afford any bass and rig you want, and you're a middling middle-aged player. Are you going to be playing a Squier through a Crate amp, or an MTD through an Aguilar?

 

Life's too short to worry about such things. So what if he was playing through a high end rig? For all you know, he could have been simply borrowing it for the night, as someone else suggested.

 

I bet he worked hard to purchase his gear, and even if he didn't, who are you to judge? At least he's enjoying playing and probably enjoying others playing bass, unlike those who just judge others on their gear.