• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What makes a bass great?

#121
Joe Nerve said:
As the years go by and the basses pile up in my closet, I have to humbly admit that I no longer have a clue regarding this.

I think I finally get it when I see someone playing an OLD, no name POS and being completely content with it. While sounding great at the same time.

When I first started playing bass, all basses sounded the same to me, and I'm starting to feel the same way again. Admittedly, that might have a lot to do with the fact that for the past 2 years I've been using IEMs... and well, all basses are pretty much sounding the same :). Or that I'm going deaf :)? But I can still hear them... in my house... and in the gigs where I'm not using IEMs.

I own far too many basses and I'm reluctant to sell because I feel like I'm going through some sort of temporary insanity here. I therefore thought I'd open the topic up to conversation. And to add a little to what inspired this post...

The last bass I fell head over heels in love with was my Rickenbacker. I can't put a D-tuner on it, so I don't use it with my current band. Since then I've purchased TMB 30, A Caprice, a Jazz, a Mustang, and most recently dropped a big fat chunk of dough on a Huntington 3.

I play all these basses at my gigs, and whenever I'm not playing my Mustang, I wish I was playing my Mustang. And this is going on for a while now.

I paid $400 for that Mustang, new.

I can't lie to myself anymore and felt I needed to make that admission openly.

What's going on here?

Help me please to understand :).
Click to expand...
You, it, the union of soul
 
#124
What makes a bass great?

great question …

This is obviously different to different people.

Some people what makes a bass great is rarity, others it is an expensive custom bass,

For me it is a bass with good tone, and a bass that plays good, and it has some good looks …

I also like basses that I build, and I like basses with 5 or more strings ...
 
#125
Joe Nerve said:
As the years go by and the basses pile up in my closet, I have to humbly admit that I no longer have a clue regarding this.

I think I finally get it when I see someone playing an OLD, no name POS and being completely content with it. While sounding great at the same time.

When I first started playing bass, all basses sounded the same to me, and I'm starting to feel the same way again. Admittedly, that might have a lot to do with the fact that for the past 2 years I've been using IEMs... and well, all basses are pretty much sounding the same :). Or that I'm going deaf :)? But I can still hear them... in my house... and in the gigs where I'm not using IEMs.

I own far too many basses and I'm reluctant to sell because I feel like I'm going through some sort of temporary insanity here. I therefore thought I'd open the topic up to conversation. And to add a little to what inspired this post...

The last bass I fell head over heels in love with was my Rickenbacker. I can't put a D-tuner on it, so I don't use it with my current band. Since then I've purchased TMB 30, A Caprice, a Jazz, a Mustang, and most recently dropped a big fat chunk of dough on a Huntington 3.

I play all these basses at my gigs, and whenever I'm not playing my Mustang, I wish I was playing my Mustang. And this is going on for a while now.

I paid $400 for that Mustang, new.

I can't lie to myself anymore and felt I needed to make that admission openly.

What's going on here?

Help me please to understand :).
Click to expand...
I go through the same thing but luckily I only have 4 basses but guess which one I pick up the most? The Squier CV 60s precision. I dont play out or with a band anymore but as I get older I find that I crave simplicity. But I also have my 80s Tune Bass Maniac that was used in so many applications in the 80s(Benny Rietveld/Jorge Casas) that when I get the itch, I reach for that. So really its down to 2. I would hate to think that I spent all of these years searching and spending only to prefer a total of $1000 worht of basses. It makes me sick just thinking about it lol..
 
#126
Yammybass said:
I understand what your saying. I agree with the points you are making, all valid points. I Have just heard so many phenominal players that do so much with so little or inexpensive guitars. I can only imagine how they would sound with a properly set up rig like you are saying. I apologize again for what i had said.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the thought but you needn't apologize... this is just a discussion. I agree that a great player can surely shine in a well set up instrument.
 
#127
Joe, the best way I can describe what a great bass is, is by describing why I consider my favorite bass to be a great bass. Among my instruments, my favorite bass is an Ibanez Talman 600 and I think it’s great (others may not). The only mod has been switching out the tuners to Hipshot Ultralites with a Drop-D. It’s not that expensive as basses go. Here are my reasons in no particular order why I consider this instrument GREAT.

1. It’s got a really cool retro look that I love (not much different than your mustang).
2. I love the neck shape and it feels “right” to me.
3. It’s not too heavy (roughly 9.2lb).
4. No neck dive.
5. It is a P/J bass (providing lots of tonal variation).
6. The pups are Nordstrand, and I like their sound.
7. It has a 34” scale and that’s what I like
8. It can switch between active or passive EQ (I can choose old school or modern)
9. The active EQ is Two band (hi/lo) and that’s fine for me.
10. Has some pretty decent sustain
11. Has a great setup and action (I did it myself, not bragging just did it to my liking)
12. Works well with Rotosound 66’s and those are the strings I like.
13. I’m an old fart so I like the tort pickguard (to each their own)
14. I’m always excited to play it.
15. When I’m not playing it, it beckons to me when I look over at it.
16. Works well with every style of music I play.
17. It holds up under use and was a good quality build to start with.
18. It’s a 4 stringer and that’s what I like.
There may be more reasons I think it’s great, but you get the gist. I’ve owned and played many basses in my life, but right now I only own three. The other two are really good instruments too (not necessarily expensive either), but I think the Talman is a GREAT bass. For ME. Everybody has different criteria and a different list. So what would your list look like? ;-D
 
#129
All my basses can be my “The One” main giging bass. I prefer light weight, satin jazz necks, jazz pups, EB light gage flats etc... basic stuff but I need to gig a bass and set it up inch by inch over months of playing it, from practicing to gigs consistently! And before I know it the bass fits my like a glove and I can coax anything my head is telling me out of it.. but unfortunately I like variety. So it’s sometimes next bass on deck please!
Although I will say my Fender Road Worn jazz with Fralin pups has been my go to for almost a year and superseding a BB2024x, BB3000s, Schecter USA Jazz, 79 Fender P, Warmoth neck MJT body jazz... all killer basses but there’s something about that RW!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Benko
#130
For me 1) is the neck, not too chunky, solid grade A woods used. 2) pickups, Alnico with strong ohms and non-active. ... 3) It's been played well and looked after, good set-up and stored well. ... Good instruments need to be looked after. ... The thing is, I don't believe inexpensive instruments get any better as they get older. They just loose value, to everyone but the owner. ... Spend the money on quality and live in the enjoyment of it.
 
#135
I think it is a mixture of the objective and subjective: always both nature and nurture.

We all know what a bad bass sounds like, and consensus emerges readily. The harder part is a great bass, and even a good bass will have some variation. Pain is something we all know, but subjective. That's why they ask YOU to rate you pain on a scale of 1-10.

Given that 'great' is subjective, I could offer my thoughts, but it would matter only to me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IamBuzzy
#139
garp said:
Perhaps a tad sacrilege to say here on TB, but IMHO, a bass is great when you don't need any external validation to admire the instrument's inherent qualities. I don't begrudge any player who has amassed a large herd of basses. However, if instruments are "piling up" and going unloved, perhaps some introspection is warranted.

Signed,
A guy who went from 30+ basses down to less than 10, and is still working on it
Click to expand...
This is an excellent answer. I only have a few basses nowadays but they are equally playable. They meet a level of quality I set for myself and I've played long enough that I can usually make a marginal bass sound decent. I don't feel a need to let people know on TB that I own several dozen anything, most likely I'll never see anyone here in "real life." Well, there are a few I'd LIKE to meet. YMMV
 
  • Like
Reactions: garp and IamBuzzy

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back