Travis Dykes - Cheap vs Expensive Basses (Can PROs Hear the Difference)

[Root 5]

Kodiak nailed it up above - can I do what I do with a $300 Squier? Sure, sort of. From experience I know the constant maintenance involved will quickly make me regret the decision. I need always-on reliability. I need an instrument that I selected because it fit my body and playstyle, minimizing physical stress. I need something that has the specific sound for my playstyle, instead of the lowest common denominator P sound required by inexperienced sound techs.

I've been in the room with a pro who plays 20,000 - 40,000 seat shows fairly regularly. He will go on at the slightest provocation about how expensive instruments are dumb and all you need is a low-end P. Oh, also, he has 6 of them in a rolling case, and a bass tech who constantly restrings and maintains them between every show, and a small sound crew who are familiar with it, and a stage hand who is ready to do a fast swap whenever needed.

Yeah, that might have cost $400, but he's not living the $400 lifestyle.

The solution is to change the pots, caps and have it rewired. Then the electronics will be as reliable as a $7000 Suhr P bass. Don't like the machine heads? Change them. You will spend much less than on a custom 'Whatsit' and sound great.

 

[brianrost]

 

[dbflats]

The element of luck plays a part. I couldn't have known how nice the $249 bass I bought in 2004 was going to be. It was nice enough that I quickly bought another one.

At the time, my main bass was a monster G&L L-5500. Quite a beauty, and much spendier than these MusicYo headless Spirits I was moving to. But now, 20+ years later, the switch has proven itself over and over.....for what I'm after.

Oh yeah, headless is great too!

 

[friskinator]

For me, it's about the neck and the pickup being of good quality. I don't really care about the body. My main player is a modded Squier P with an AllParts neck and Benson pickup.

 

[gln1955]

I call BS on inexpensive (though not $50 POS) basses needing more maintenance. Not my experience at all.

As for the video, it just shows you how much tone is a personal subjective thing.

 

[jd56hawk]

Sure, you can make a cheap bass sound good, but for every bassist out there, pro and amateur alike, it's not about just sounding good...sometimes it's about looking good.
Hell, I usually won't even plug in and play a bass if it doesn't look good, and even though I've owned quite a few cheap basses, let's just say a dozen, I wouldn't trade my expensive bass for all twelve of them.

 

[JazznFunk]

Welcome to the 75th Edition Thread of Cheap Vs Expensive Bass Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor!

 

[ElectricBass72]

Oh well. I enjoy playing my $200 Ibanez Talman. I enjoy playing my $3K Spector Euro Classic.

 

[DCErik]

I'm just a simple janglepunk bass player, but I find the combination of a cheap bass and very expensive fingers is tough to beat.

 

[chris_b]

The video was a bit of fun, but the sound and style of the player will change everything around, so in a blindfold test you'll never know one bass from another.

 

[Bass1447]

Yeah....

I still ain't ditching my MTD 534.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

This is one reason im apprehensive about getting a US. Made Jazz. If it turns out to be significantly better than my modded MIM Jazz, what then??

 

[LowWay]

Inexpensive basses now are better than they have ever been historically, and yes, many are good enough to actually play professionally and sound good (maybe with minor upgrades, or not) and feel good to play (maybe with some TLC with the fretwork or not).

THis means a new player getting a lesser expensive instrument has a good shot at not quitting due to an instrument that sucks too much, especially if they have an experienced friend t help them get their first bass.

This does not mean expensive basses have nothing to offer. We like what we like. I like very specific things in a bass that I can't get off the rack. I have CLiff Bordwell build them for me because I can afford it. I also have a squier mustang in my stable. And if I had to have only that squier mustang (with upgraded tuners and pickups at this point), I would still enjoy playing bass.

 

[Thumpin6string]

The thing I find sad is the worst sounding bass of all the ones he played was the Fodera IMHO. It had no meat to it. Very shallow and clanky.

 

[lomo]

These things are always so dumb. The question is not "Does a $10K bass sound significantly better (whatever that even means) than a $200 bass?" The question for a working pro is:

Does this thing feel ergonomically comfortable when I'm playing for hours every single night, 100+ days per year, for the next decade?
Is it stable and reliable enough that I don't have to worry about something breaking down or failing on stage or on the road?
Does it combine with all the other elements of my rig, the stage rig, and the overall band's needs and goals to sound the way they are paying me to sound?
Is it easy to play so I stay healthy and minimize the wear and tear on my hands, joints, and tendons?

Maybe Joe Blow can't hear the difference between a pawnshop P-bass and a custom Sadowsky, but a touring pro might FEEL a big difference on their hands and shoulders by having a higher quality instrument.

I agree 100% with everything you say, BUT sooooooo many players wax endlessly poetic about the tone wood, oh the sacred wood, and all the rest of the nuances in the chain, as though it's all about the sound/tone, all the time......without acknowledging that actually hearing differences consistently when truly blinded is the ONLY way to avoid hearing with one's eyes and knowing what's real/true in terms of sound. Obsessing about tone can be fun and is fine, but it's often accompanied by firmly declared conclusions based on nothing more than oft repeated opinions without logical, unbiased evidence to back them up. To believe what one wants simply because one wants to is a human tendency and frailty. Some people pay hundreds for cables with sexy marketing. Knowledge is power.

 

[JazznFunk]

The thing I find sad is the worst sounding bass of all the ones he played was the Fodera IMHO. It had no meat to it. Very shallow and clanky.

We have no way of knowing how the preamp was set in the demo... that could have contributed to the perception of it.

 

[Five or Six]

I was going to post a while back about a Harley Benton 5 string I've had. It sounds as good as anything I own. I know, there are folks here that may say that isn't possible? Well, after comparison, yes it is possible. It doesn't have to be a top brand to produce.

I think some of us get lucky that way with a less expensive bass. I have top end "stuff", boutique and otherwise. I did a comparison with the Benton and my top end stuff. It held it's own. When I recorded with it during the comparison thing, I nor my bass playing cousin could tell the difference in sound.

This isn't one of Bentons most expensive 5s. I liked the look and I just wanted to check one out. New strings and my OCD setup proved the end result to be a big surprise. Other than strings, I changed nothing. I finally took it to a rehearsal. My band likes what it does and I've asked them for input. I gig with it, and have never heard anything bad about it. Not to mention it's paid for itself.

 

[Geri O]

This video reinforces my theory that a solid player can make a cheap bass sound good.



I searched, but didn't see this already posted. So if I missed it and another thread already exists, my apologies.

That "theory" is no secret and has been around since the beginning of time.

There's several dozen of these "pro makes a cheap bass sound great". Pick one and grab a drink….

Maybe I should post a video of my $300 Squier 6-string Jazz that sounds really good.

Wait….

I'm not a pro. Oh, well….

 

[Bass1447]

I've owned cheap instruments. No name instruments. Knock offs. Name brand cheapened instruments (Indos, Chinese, MIM, god only knows who made it).

I've not only seen the difference, I've heard it. I've felt it. And after years my opinion is this.

If it works for you... run with it.

I'm keeping my MIA Fenders. My Fullerton G&Ls and my usa MTD.

Nothing compares. If it did I would have it.

But what do I know. I've only been playing since 1968.

 

[CamJazzBass]

My MIA Ultra Jazz is my #1 and I love it. Love playing it and it sounds out of this world. But, I have 2 (soon to be 3) China parts basses that are outstanding. Not quite as good as the MIA, but really good. Things have changed. And in a short amount of time I think. Just 2-3 years ago when it came to pedals and basses, I was not having anything China made. Everything I had tried was not good at all. And, that still is the case for some, but a lot of that stuff really has improved. A lot. I've bought a couple of necks to put on my builds and they are as good as most you would find on MIM, MII, and some MIA basses. I don't know what happened. I bought one about 8 years ago on the first bass build I did and it just wasn't very good. And pedals too. Sonicake and others are really putting out some good stuff. The Sonicake Source compressor is really not far off at all from a Cali76 and better than a lot of compressors I've tried that are 3 to 4x as much.