I've worked with several professional producers and have yet to find one who cares more about gear than sound. Sorry if anyone else has.
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Turning up to a session with a Squier. Yay or nay?
- Thread starter T-C-Bass
- Start date
Depends what style you are playing..
There was a famous story about a Lenny Kravitz cattle call audition for bass players. They sent everyone home who turned up with a 5 string.
Might want to have a fender 4 string w flats and a quality 5 string w rounds w/ a good tube di. All bases covered.
There was a famous story about a Lenny Kravitz cattle call audition for bass players. They sent everyone home who turned up with a 5 string.
Might want to have a fender 4 string w flats and a quality 5 string w rounds w/ a good tube di. All bases covered.
It totally depends on the people and the gig. Some will care, some won't. If these aren't people you know and its super pro level stuff, you may get some guff for showing up with a sub-par instrument. If this is a low key sort of thing, it may not matter. If you can find any other cheap P bass that isn't a Squier, even if its not well known, you might be better off getting that. The "Squier" name just has a stink to it that they can't wash off, regardless of whether or not it is deserved.
MDBass
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- Nov 7, 2012
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Get the CV and just scratch off the Squier logo, those basses sound great and the motor will blend right in
Your buddy may have answered your question. He said, "if you had a precision". He didnt say Fender, Squier, Sandburg, Yamaha.....I would think if it mattered THAT much, he would have stated something along the lines of "high end precision"....maybe....
MDBass
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- Nov 7, 2012
- 8,590
- 14,892
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Dingwall-Fender-Bergantino-Dunlop-Tech 21-Darkglass-Nordstrand
This is good advice.
No one has ever gotten turned away for only bringing a 4 string to a session or gig, but having a 5 on hand just in case notes below a low D are required is a good Idea.
Sounds like the OP will be all set once he gets the CV
You can get a sunburst Mexican precision for $300 or so on CL (at least in the LA area). They sound amazing stock, look nearly the same as a $5000 vintage fender (to non-bass players), and no one will know what you paid for it.
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I'm hoping that I'll be all set with my Jazz 5, I have a Yamaha TRBX305, and I play upright too. Hopefully if I do end up with a Squier and it was an issue for someone, then I've got other selling points. I've found I've prefurred top end Squiers to lower end Fenders every time. I would end up modding it anyway.
Bring a Squier. If anyone asks tell them you left your Fender at home because, for some reason you just can't figure out, the Squier has always sounded way better on recordings.
This thread reminds me of the rich guy that did online dating and showed up in a Honda Accord. If the girl balked at the car, it was another one wisely removed from the "wife prospect" list.
The squire is the same thing. Only, in my case it's SX.
The squire is the same thing. Only, in my case it's SX.
My opinion, as someone who never has been in a production studio and is thus mostly unqualified to give it: If a producer wants a certain sound, they can buy a bass and have it in the studio for them to insist on. Many do just that it seems when I see pics of in-studio processes. That way they know the equipment, I'm guessing. They spend how much money on high-end mics and recording gear? Is a $1300 Am-Standard P that much in the grand scheme of all that? If someone came in with a Squier P that wanted to play that because they knew it from muscle-memory, fine. That's what an EQ is for.
This thread reminds me of the rich guy that did online dating and showed up in a Honda Accord. If the girl balked at the car, it was another one wisely removed from the "wife prospect" list.
The difference is the OP is trying to break into session work in a major market. To do this, the OP needs to nail EVERY opportunity available.
If his goal was to avoid working with difficult people and gear snobs, your analogy would be spot on.
I agree. I was ignoring the kernel of the story. If you want to make REAL money and pursue this as a career, it is not always wise to ALWAYS be true to yourself. You can do that when you become the Bob Dylan, etc. In the meantime, you have to choose your battles. There are all sorts of "dumb" rules we put up with to make real cash.
This thread reminds me of the rich guy that did online dating and showed up in a Honda Accord. If the girl balked at the car, it was another one wisely removed from the "wife prospect" list.
The squire is the same thing. Only, in my case it's SX.
Your bring your bass to your dates?
Anyway, I have nothing to add that's on topic. Seems like having something nice with Fender on the headstock is the way to go (or put Fender on the headstock yourself). Even if 9/10 producers/customers won't care, you don't want to lose the 10th over such a trivial matter.
I'm not a session player in pro situations, but I did read an article where a sound engineer says he prefers it when a bass player shows up with a well-known brand like a Fender because he knows how to EQ it in the mix. If the bass isn't a standard brand he's used to, then it takes more messing around than he cares for.
I would be inclined to ask this question of a sound engineer in town, or a regular session player on a non-competing instrument, like a guitar player, for example. See what they say before you drop coin.
I would be inclined to ask this question of a sound engineer in town, or a regular session player on a non-competing instrument, like a guitar player, for example. See what they say before you drop coin.
Bring the Squier and let it drop how much you love it since you put in the expensive handmade pickups. Then go play your ass off.
For $20 you could sand it off, add a new water slide and poly over it and remove that part of the equation in case you didnt get the gig. I'd do it in a heart beat if I thought it could potentially open some doors for me in the future. Just don't expect my opinion to be in the majority here on TB.
