what makes a bass "gig worthy"?

[savit260]

That's true, my main gigging basses in the early '80s were a Gibson Thunderbird and a G&L L1000. Cheap basses then were barely playable. But I'm not talking about then, I'm talking about now. Over the last 10 years I've gigged with numerous cheap basses, like an SX SPB-62, Ibanez SR-300, Peavey Milestone II and a Yamaha RBX-250. No problems with any of them.

Here's the entire original post I put up in context.

As far as I'm concerned, the big difference is that nobody paid to see you play in the garage. Having knobs fall off, strap pins rip out, bridges falling appart, necks warping, electronics short out, jacks fall off or going way out of tune just isn't acceptable when people have actually paid money to see you play. If this happens in the garage... yeah, inconvenient. If it happens on stage in front of a paying audience, you're going to look foolish. Not to mention the fact that a "working" bass is going to be moved around between back rooms, vans, stages etc, where it's going to probably get knocked around a bit. It better be able to take it.

That said, most budget insruments these days are pretty "gig worthy" in my opinion. Back in the days when budget instruments meant plywood and really bad electronics and sub par wiring jobs, this was much more of an issue than it is today.

The second paragraph adresses the issue of then vs. now. I'm with you a hundred percent that modern budget equipment can be quite good, and definitly gig worthy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I gig all the time with an SX SPB 62 as my main bass. I'm a true beliver in the better quality modern budget stuff such as SX. Here's a pic from a show last week.

 

[JoshRomance]

What makes a bass gig-worthy?
Sturdiness(holds tune), looks and tone, in that order...
Because running through an Ampeg SVT head and a 6x10 makes any bass in the world sound better than the Carvin that guy is running through an SWR 10-inch combo amp...

It's all in the amp, everything else is aesthetic...

 

[jasonbraatz]

For me, money isn't an object: even an SX will do (and does!) as long as it's set up well and doesn't slip out of tune.

What makes a NICE bass not gig-worthy for me is if the neck and string spacing is too big for me. I'll only be able to go three or four songs before my hands start cramping up. What sucks is that "too big" for me is anything bigger than an SR5, which is just about every bass out there.

 

[tplyons]

I'll gig with anything if the pay is good.

 

[Lowpro]

Just also want so say a good giggable bass needs to be able to aclimate well for outdoor gigs. You should be able to leave it outside for a day or two, tune it up, and it keep for the most part in tune.

 

[Stumpy]

For me gig worthy =

Ease of playability after two hours of intense playing

Electronics are not only giving the sound I like, but able to continue that output regardless of the weather/room conditions (humidity, sweat, etc) and must stay put

If I don't like the feel I don't look any further. So...All of my basses are gig-worthy. If I have to play one because I snap a string on a bass, then the back up has to feel pretty much like the primary. IMHO

 

[Lorenzini]

Takes a really crappy bass to not be worthy to gig.
If it makes a TON of noise, or is falling apart or is completely unplayable it falls under "not gig worthy".

I had an SX bass that cost me under $200 even with nice pickups and a professional setup that was super gig worthy.

Why did you bring this topic up, by the way? Got a bass like that?

 

[Winemule]

I regularly gig with two basses that are both worth 3-4 times that much and never worry about them a bit. I don't treat 'em any differently than I do a $300 bass or a $1000 bass ..... they are all handled carefully and all appreciated equally ....

You must play in better venues than I do.

 

[sedan_dad]

If your at ease using it then it's gig worthy.
Face it,it if won't stay in tune or parts are falling off I don't think there would be a question in your mind.

 

[Silversorcerer]

Well, I've played a gig with a mic'd washtub and I played one last night with a Ritter. Anything in between is good as long as you can play it and it "works".

 

[DanielleMuscato]

I have five basses right now, two of which I'd consider "gig-worthy."

They are:

- 2x Line6 Variax 705
- Squier Bronco "Badtz-Maru" short-scale 4
- New York Pro cheapie 5
- MTD Artist 5

The Squier is a short-scale and the intonation is horrible (two-piece saddle, as good as it will get). I wouldn't want to play a show with it, even a free one.

The New York Pro is a piece of **** I got for a steal. It has no strap buttons and the string spacing is 16mm. It's difficult to play, because the action is also very high. I wouldn't play out with that one, either.

I like the sound of my MTD Artist (sounds a like like a Stingray), but it has a 35" scale (very uncomfortable for me - I'm 5'5" and have smaller hands) and *bad* neck-dive. I played one gig with it - the day I got it - and have since demoted it to "back-up" status.

My two Line6 basses are the ones I gig with now. And even then, I *barely* consider them gig-worthy, because they have an external power supply that's a pain in the butt, and their tuning stability is not great.

I'd say an American Standard Fender is gig-worthy. Also, any Sadowsky, etc. Gig-worthy, to me, is:

1. Stays in tune
2. Balances well (no neck dive)
3. Easy to dial in a good tone
4. Tough as nails (in other words, Fender )
5. Not so expensive that if it were stolen, I could either replace it or eat.

My $0.02

Dave

 

[butchblack]

Nothing particularly new to add to this thread. The bass needs to stay reasonably in tune, the electrics shouldn't be overly noisey, it should be properly set up and intonated. If you can't set up and intonate it yourself, get it done professionally. I can't stress the benefits of a good professional set up. I had my Fernandes J bass copy professionally set up (by Jimmy Mouradian of Mouradian gig bag fame) and it turned a good playing bass into one that played like a custom. A good guitar tech will tell you whether your bass is capable of being set up properly.

 

[savit260]

I'd say an American Standard Fender is gig-worthy. Also, any Sadowsky, etc. Gig-worthy, to me, is:

1. Stays in tune
2. Balances well (no neck dive)
3. Easy to dial in a good tone
4. Tough as nails (in other words, Fender )
5. Not so expensive that if it were stolen, I could either replace it or eat.

My $0.02

Dave

You just described my SX to a T.

 

[Tactician]

Bass quality is the factor I’d look at in a gigable bass. The point you make about CNC machines Pointbass, is the one that's likely to give you trouble over time with a regular gigging bass. For example - the biggest difference between custom made basses and those that last - like a 30 years old basses right now, is that neither were made with CNC machines. Wood is an organic material. CNC shapers were originally made for blocks of homogenous material like metals and plastics. The trouble with doing this with wood is every piece is different – the machine will cut you the same neck whether you put in the finest, straightest grained maple or a knotty lump of pine. The guitar at the factory gate can look just like a version made by hand – it’s the manufacturing cost that's different – two weeks on a custom bass at $20 an hour adds $1600 to the price of the materials or 15 minutes in a CNC loaded factory in China and labour at $18 an hour comes to something like $10, plus the materials. (I’m sure someone out there knows the exact numbers.) The point is that basses come on a huge range of quality verses price. Not unique to us – piano players, violinists, brass players – all musicians are making this calculation nowadays.

I think you’re unlikely to find an acceptable bass for less than $1000, both to the audience who’ve paid to see a pro musician, you the player who wants a reliable bass that can take temperature changes and being lugged from gig to gig, and a bass that stays in tune and sounds great. Most likely this is going to be from a manufacturer who uses CNC, but has a huge reputation to protect, so they put quality at the top of their agenda. If you can go to $2000 then the custom neck and a CNC body is probably the way to go – you’ll get a very stable multi piece neck made by a luthier attached to a fairly stable body and your own choice of Pus. $2600 would get you all the essentials hand made.

What do I use? A Fender MIM J with SD Classic Stacks + Luthier set-up (because of the neck) - $1250. An RD Ibanez 600 with a Badass (poor bridge on original), SD MM and ¼ pounder J - $800, and a $150 no name P for students use. They are compromises, but a handmade neck, bought in body, MM PU custom is in the pipeline.

 

[Tactician]

Dave Muscato +1

That's a good list

 

[Dr Stankface]

What makes a bass gig worthy?

It sounds good and you like playing it.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Any bass that drinks less than the drummer.

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

Not falling apart, staying in tune, sounding good, easy to play, not too heavy.

 

[savit260]

I think you’re unlikely to find an acceptable bass for less than $1000, both to the audience who’ve paid to see a pro musician, you the player who wants a reliable bass that can take temperature changes and being lugged from gig to gig, and a bass that stays in tune and sounds great. Most likely this is going to be from a manufacturer who uses CNC, but has a huge reputation to protect, so they put quality at the top of their agenda. If you can go to $2000 then the custom neck and a CNC body is probably the way to go – you’ll get a very stable multi piece neck made by a luthier attached to a fairly stable body and your own choice of Pus. $2600 would get you all the essentials hand made.

What do I use? A Fender MIM J with SD Classic Stacks + Luthier set-up (because of the neck) - $1250. An RD Ibanez 600 with a Badass (poor bridge on original), SD MM and ¼ pounder J - $800, and a $150 no name P for students use. They are compromises, but a handmade neck, bought in body, MM PU custom is in the pipeline.

I disagree that you need to spend at least $1000 to get an "acceptable" bass for a working pro. I see guys in full time and part time touring bands using instruments that are under, and sometimes well under that price point. I've yet to see any audience member inquire about how much any of those bass players payed for their bass, and it sure hasn't stopped people from coming out to see their bands play.

Also, What exactly did you have to do to that MIM Fender to hit the $1250 mark?

 

[Tactician]

OK. Well here in the UK we pay about 1 for 1 dollars to pounds. Even though the exchange rate is near to 2 to 1. So I bouight my sunburst MIM jazz for £470 = $846 at 1.9 $ to the £. Add a new bridge and string trees from Stew mac, add tax to that - yes they knocked on my door and collected the tax from me! $50. Add a pair of Seymour Duncan Classic Stacks for 140 and a thoroigh set up and fret dressing from my Luthier= £180= $342. That all comes to $1238.

There's all sorts of threads about this UK verses USA pricing, but you can see how the whole thing gets expensive. USA P's and J's are getting close to 1000 pounds (that's $1900) here now unless you look for them in the music supermarkets where they are £879 = $1670. I't not surprising that those who visit the USA often come back with instruments and even if they pay import tax, they're still a good deal. Where's all this profit margin going between the USA and the UK? For the same price as a standard USA bass I can get a basic UK custom made to my specs - what would you do?