What is Your Price Comfort Level?

[unclejane]

I think we are saying the same things. A bass needs to fit your needs. It does not need to be expensive, but it just might be expensive. If we are intelligent, we come to learn what works for us. We also must accept that others generally know what works for them too.

Well... heh. I submit that frequently they don't. You can read the tragic stories of those cases here on TB pretty much anytime you want; I've also seen it happen personally any number of times. A player will buy into the cosmic argument and sell their house to buy an Anthony Jackson or something like that, thinking it will solve all their problems. In the end, they sound no better on that than they did on their old Fender or Ibby they abandoned for the high-end bass.

But the money is gone, the wife has filed for divorce and a fire sale on the bass eventually ensues. A pretty heavy price, overall.

I'm not saying it never happens that an AJ is the best compromise, only that it happens a lot more rarely than may be commonly thought.

This makes me think of Janek Gwizdala criticizing John Pattitucci for using a Yamaha Sig. Gwizdala sounds great on his Fodera, and he is successful, case closed. For the life of me, I think the same can be said for Pattitucci (heck JP Sigs really aren't that cheap anyway, they sell for $2.5K new, and that exact same bass made by Fodera would probably run $6K.) My point is that these are two world clas musicians, and both know what works for them.

Agreed and that's probably part of what makes them world-class. They know what their needs are and the cost is kind of incidental to fit and tone.

Bunny Brunel, for instance, is in the same class with these guys, but the instrument he uses is between 1/5 and 1/10 of the cost. Jeff Berlin is probably better than any of them and his bass is like 600 bucks. So what works for you doesn't necessarily == expensive .

LS

 

[jim777]

But again, fit and tone - those are primary. Fortunately, we're in the good old days of basses now, with an amazing array of choices available to us at really good price points. I.e. my Carvin Bunny has spoiled me for pretty much any other bass, except perhaps my L2K. And at only about 1.2 large. So it wasn't that expensive of a place to land. It fits me and generates the tone I need. What more could I want?

LS

I love my Bunny, it's an awesome bass. It's the one I judge everything else against.

 

[R. Laevinus]

When I started out, I couldn't tell the difference between a $200 bass and a $2,000 bass. Therefore, I thought expensive basses were a sham.

As I got better, I realized that $500 basses had some merits over $200 instruments. So I moved up.

As I continued to improve, I began to catch on to the fact that > 1k instruments were even better; but I couldn't stomach the fact of paying a grand for a guitar, so I didn't move up.

But then I bought my first horn - a Yamaha YTS-62II, which set me back almost 4k all in. (5k if you count the mouthpieces and whatnot.) Suddenly, paying a grand for a bass didn't seem so bad.

So I bought an American Standard for $1,400.

I happen to now have an American Deluxe, which set me back just over 2k. I'm very happy with it for now, but who knows what I might want in the future?


The moral of the story is, the price comfort level varies and is based on many factors.

 

[Musicfreak1988]

I'm still a student, but I apply the following rule: if I want something, I have to have at least twice the amount of money left over after the purchase. You never know what happens (a phone, computer, amp - or even a bass - can die on you or get lost or stolen) and I think that you have some reserve left on your bank account.
To make a long story short: if you buy a $100 item, you have to have $200 left after the purchase.
If some of you are checking my profile, they might think I'm a spoiled student, but I work hard to afford the stuff I play. I work the maximum days allowed by our government (weekends, holidays, school breaks), I'm a private teacher and I'm a freelance musician, not afraid of doing ****** jobs as well.

If I were to take care of my own family, housing, car, etc..., I suppose family comes first. In case of a working musician, well, in times of trouble you just have to keep your tools, not the extra's.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I'm still a student, but I apply the following rule: if I want something, I have to have at least twice the amount of money left over after the purchase. You never know what happens (a phone, computer, amp - or even a bass - can die on you or get lost or stolen) and I think that you have some reserve left on your bank account.
To make a long story short: if you buy a $100 item, you have to have $200 left after the purchase.If some of you are checking my profile, they might think I'm a spoiled student, but I work hard to afford the stuff I play. I work the maximum days allowed by our government (weekends, holidays, school breaks), I'm a private teacher and I'm a freelance musician, not afraid of doing ****** jobs as well.

If I were to take care of my own family, housing, car, etc..., I suppose family comes first. In case of a working musician, well, in times of trouble you just have to keep your tools, not the extra's.

You learn everyday! That's a really good way to look at a purchase!

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Well... heh. I submit that frequently they don't. You can read the tragic stories of those cases here on TB pretty much anytime you want; I've also seen it happen personally any number of times. A player will buy into the cosmic argument and sell their house to buy an Anthony Jackson or something like that, thinking it will solve all their problems. In the end, they sound no better on that than they did on their old Fender or Ibby they abandoned for the high-end bass.

But the money is gone, the wife has filed for divorce and a fire sale on the bass eventually ensues. A pretty heavy price, overall.

I'm not saying it never happens that an AJ is the best compromise, only that it happens a lot more rarely than may be commonly thought...

LS

I agree that many of us don't know what works for us, and we get things we don't need and get in debt or worse. My point is that for most of us, we manage to figure things out without ruining ourselves. Sometimes little common sense ideas like "that's a cool bass, but it's not what I need," or "dang, that's nice, but I already have something like it," are all we need to keep ourselves on track. Finally, "that's great, but it is just way out of my budget," is always a great check on GAS.

More importantly, the key questions are:

What music do you play?

Where do you play, and are you making money?

What tone/players do you like?

 

[smperry]

I'm pretty conservative when it comes to spending money, so given some upcoming costs, I don't feel comfortable setting aside any cash for a bass right now. Luckily, I'm pretty happy with the four I have. I daydream about #5, but it's not in the cards for a while.

 

[zachoff]

~$500 and I'd have to save a couple months to get that.

 

[nostatic]

Exactly what is the "more to it than that"? Can you define whatever this undefinable quality is in reality-based terms?

My question is partly rhetorical, but the point should be clear. There's nothing cosmic about a bass. It's a piece of wood (or composite) with strings on it and some electronics embedded in the body.

And when it comes to cost, this becomes extremely important - you can pay $1200 for a block of wood or $12,000 for a block of wood. If you think there's something supernatural going on, you can be convinced towards the $12,000 option when in fact it doesn't give you what you need any better than the $1200 option. So this piece of folklore about more than the sum of its parts, etc., can be very costly if it catches a victim unawares.

I submit that only fit and tone - real world measurable properties - should drive the choice, not cosmic ones.


I'm in favor of rational choices, not necessarily rationalization. Like I said, if you're taking grandma and kids down to the pawn shop to get the finances for it, you need to be certain you've made the right (rational) choice.

LS

If you believe that creating music is strictly a product of "real world measurable properties" then we will have to agree to disagree. While I don't believe in "cosmic" basses, I do find that for whatever reasons some instrument feel better to me and inspire me more than others. And different instruments work better in my hands for certain styles than others. While some of the parameters are indeed measurable, some don't lend themselves to analysis.

Art isn't science. There are some intangibles that don't boil down to metrics. And while rational is *a* goal, it isn't necessarily the only one. To quote Shakespeare, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

 

[Calebmundy]

$10-$20.

 

[Gard]

(...checks pockets...)

...I've got a nickel, two pennies...OOHH! a quarter, ANNNNND...



...no, just some lint.



...too many variables, for every player it will be different.

For me, it's dependent on what I'm trying to achieve with the purchase when cross-referenced with the cost of the best available item to achieve said purpose and what my bank account looks like that day.

So, even for ONE person, I think it's trying to hit a moving target...

My rule: get the best possible option for your needs and taste that is within your ability to afford (when all variables are considered).

That really narrows it down, doesn't it?

 

[Dr. Cheese]

...Bunny Brunel, for instance, is in the same class with these guys, but the instrument he uses is between 1/5 and 1/10 of the cost. Jeff Berlin is probably better than any of them and his bass is like 600 bucks. So what works for you doesn't necessarily == expensive .

LS

This is so true!

 

[unclejane]

While some of the parameters are indeed measurable, some don't lend themselves to analysis.

Then they're not "parameters". Because there's no way to define them, they're indistinguishable from things that don't exist. And I don't think a method based on intangibles is a good approach to sizing up an instrument.
I do think there's trial and error involved, but in the end it's not a mystery.

Art isn't science. There are some intangibles that don't boil down to metrics. And while rational is *a* goal, it isn't necessarily the only one. To quote Shakespeare, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Well, no, I'm not convinced. Even when it comes to aesthetics, you have to be able to identify what you like and what you don't. If you can't, how do you know what's good for you and what isn't?

This is especially true when it comes to selecting an instrument. If you value your bank account, this really does need to be a sober, this-worldly process if you want to get good results.

LS

 

[bassbenj]

If you believe that creating music is strictly a product of "real world measurable properties" then we will have to agree to disagree. While I don't believe in "cosmic" basses, I do find that for whatever reasons some instrument feel better to me and inspire me more than others. And different instruments work better in my hands for certain styles than others. While some of the parameters are indeed measurable, some don't lend themselves to analysis.

Art isn't science. There are some intangibles that don't boil down to metrics. And while rational is *a* goal, it isn't necessarily the only one. To quote Shakespeare, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

You and I will have to agree to agree! Music is art not science. The "feel" of a bass in your hands is art, not science. Yes you can weigh it and measure the scale and look at the weight of the bridge till you are blue in the face, but it still won't summarize the total feel of the bass in your hands. But that is just the first step. The sound (tone) has to work with what you are trying to do (hearing in your head) with the music. Again it's a totally subjective thing. And finally the look of the bass is a final subjective judgement. Some are obvious: Old school = Fender; Modern = Alembic etc. Some not so obvious. Does color or pickguard material matter? Sure it does. Music is "show business". Your band does not play music behind a curtain!

So the bottom line is that while measurable quantities are important in choosing an instrument, once you've reviewed all of those THEN it's just YOU as an ARTIST making an artistic judgement as to whether or not this given instrument will give you what you want. So both things are important. And I think either can only be neglected at your peril.