What will a new/better bass get me?

[LanEvo]

Over the last 3 decades, I've played 4-, 5-, and 6-string basses ... fretted and fretless ... active and passive ... neck through and bolt-on ... production and exotic/handmade.

After all of that, I reach for a plain old PBass most of the time.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I play the most simplistic of basses - a 2010 American Standard Precision. It's been my only "real' bass since I started playing 13 years ago. It's lasted 10 years of steady band work and never given me a minute of trouble. Recording engineers seem to like the tone. Other seasoned bass players give me a thumbs up when they see it, hear it and try it out. I feel it's not holding me back, and I've never considered getting another one.

My band's guitar player has gone through about 6 $4000+ guitars in that same time. Last night he showed up with a gorgeous new PRS, and my band leader asked "Hey DJS how come you don't get a new $8000 bass?

My answer was "Because I don't think I'd be able to take advantage of the things that make it so nice." Guitar's response "Well, not sure if I can either, but here we are!"

But then I wondered, is this completely true? Could I buy better playing results with a higher end bass like I can readily buy better bike race results with a higher end, faster lighter race bike? It seems to me that I could hand my bass to Victor Wooten and he'd blow the roof off any auditorium without hesitation. Is this a solid rationale for sticking with what works? Or am I missing out?

I might not know the answer to your guestion, but there is a song out there about what loading 16 tons of coal will get you. LOL.

Seriously, if you are going to up grade, one, find out what you can't do with your current bass that would require another bass. Like a 5 string or fretless for instance. Secondly, buy a gently used quality instrument that will filling the void in what you can't do with your PB.

Finally, be patient to make sure you find the right instrument at the right price, and avoid vintage gear.

 

[Lownote38]

To a degree, the motorcycle comparison is apt: You could step up from a Yamaha R3, which you ride well, to a full-tilt Yamaha R-1M, it's only money. However, when you sit on the R-1M, thumb the starter and head out around Watkins Glen, you do NOT automatically become Valentino Rossi.

Great players have built entire careers, famously, playing only a Precision Bass.

It's all down to what you prefer, what inspires you to reach out, learn more, or just what sounds best to your ears. It's that simple. For some guys it's very expensive basses with complex amp and effects rig. Then just as many as a bass, a cable, and an amp.

You might at some time be moved to investigate a two pickup bass. Or a neck through. Or any other number of choices. On the other hand, you may very well be in your 'happy spot'.

I've owned everything from Peaveys to Alembics to Squiers. Each provoked some different tones, might have influenced me to play certain things differently, had different levels of pride in ownership. But out of these many, I can tell you that no particular one was the Rosetta Stone that unlocked some mystic secret to it all. They were all different flavors or takes on a certain tone or construction that added to a knowledge base from the experience of them all. And for me, I always sounded like me. Granted it may have been a better-sounding me on the Alembics, but none of them were a night and day revelation.

We play what suits us best, whatever that may be, and it's different for each of us. I'd say you've saved a fortune alongside your very fickle guitar player: He THINKS it's the guitar . . . . and not him.

Don't get me wrong: More than a few guys legitimately feel they need THIS bass for THAT sound, and then this other bass for this other tone, and like guitar players may carry several for different situations, and that's their thing, and it works for them.

I always felt it had to start with me. . . .than a different instrument, which doesn't really work for me. Others CERTAINLY have a different outlook and result.

Wow! Someone living in East Nashville that mentioned Watkins Glen! Now that's cool! (I'm from the area, and know the track well).

 

[andruca]

IMHO, objective feature/quality increase is "sketchy" probably past the $2000 (used) zone, increases stop being that related to/justified by price. On top of that, if what a new fancy bass will get you is "respect" in the eyes of some GAS stricken bandmate (cough... poser...cough...), well, doesn't sound like a compelling enough reason to me, definitely not one I'd comply with. Just make sure, before dropping any steep sum of cash, that you're not wasting it in elaborate inlays, overall expensive but irrelevant upgrades or hand procedures nobody cares about, but are getting effective useful improvements for your style, tone and kind of playing.

 

[BlueTalon]

I played one bass for about 30 years. It was enough.

Then I learned that if I give people money, I can get a bass guitar in return. (*mind blown*) So I started buying basses, most of them (until recently) around or below $300. I still have most of them. What I learned from that is that cheap basses can also be good basses. But I also bought a few basses for around $2000. What I learned from that is that expensive basses aren't necessarily a lot better than cheap basses -- but some are a lot better.

Many here have stated or implied that having a more expensive bass doesn't make you a better player. That's true, but you increase your chances of it, because having a better bass makes you a better player. I have experienced this phenomenon myself, but since I'm nobody in particular, I'll let someone with more cache than me explain it.
(Key quote: "Your playing improves. It just does.")

 

[Killing Floor]

Hell yes, tort! But I went radical with a bright maple neck.

As of now, no tonal issues. I play ska, which really doesn't have a lot of tone shaping going on.

Good to meet a fellow rider! I'd like to see the cinelli hairnet.

Another P isn't going to sound radically different, obviously. But there's no reason not to get another, right? Horace P from Specials played a lot of Jazz basses and even some Thunderbirds. He's my favorite from the old school ska branch. But there's no wrong answer.

 

[jd56hawk]

A better bass definitely made me better...and I'm not talking about some coffee-table botique bass.
Now, even when I'm playing an entry-level bass I'm much better because of owning/playing quality basses.
It's all about attitude.

Now, I would never suggest you spend more than $1,500 to maybe $2,500 at the very most on a bass, but I'd be remiss not to tell you that certain better basses can make you a better bassist, too.

For example, I'm willing to bet that if you go with any of these, you'll see exactly what I mean.
(From the least expensive to the most.)

By the way, I didn't see that you said you're thinking of getting rid of your P bass, right?
Good.
However, having another bass is almost always a good idea...even if it's just another P bass.

 

[Space Pickle]

more notes and riffs

 

[sokolasty]

Hmm, tort?
And bikes only go faster when you push harder.

Bikes go faster when there's less friction in bearings and tyres and when rider bends to front and reduces drag.
I switched from lousy bike to old-nearly-pro racing one and only this gave me AFAIR 25% of time reduction.

@DJS
Better bass means at least one of the list:
- improved looks
- improved playability
- improved intonation
- improved sound (timbre, dynamics)
- less hum

I have LTD Surveyor 87' Reissue 2021 and Mustang Player PJ 2021, and the former provides more punch and dynamics (I guess because of longer scale) while the latter is lighter and easier to play. I would definitely get me as good bass as I can justify for myself It makes more fun and encourages to play. Poor bass made me angry, especially when intonation is an issue.

 

[iiipopes]

I play the most simplistic of basses - a 2010 American Standard Precision. It's been my only "real' bass since I started playing 13 years ago.

Question:
What will a new/better bass get me?
Short answer: nothing. Different, yes. Quality-wise, no. If you want to delve into the world of all the alternate bass tones and styles, or need extra low notes or patterns, or upper range for soloing, then yes, a 5-string or 6-string bass with two pickups might facilitate that. But if you are continuing on as you are and don't really miss anything about what you play or want to play, whether tone or technique, then you already have a standard by which all others are measured.

 

[truand85]

After a decade plus, you'd know best right? Go sit in a store and play some bass guitars.

 

[Huw Phillips]

You sound like a very sensible person about to make an expensive mistake, my experience is that once you reach a certain level the improvements are very minimal for anything from wine to cars bass etc, if it ain't broken…..

 

[BarfanyShart]

Below $1,500 you have to expect some compromise in various components of the bass guitar's craftsmanship and components. Might still be a great instrument that any player - pro or hobbyist - might love, but you could easily point to aspects of it that could be improved. You can put a little work into one of these sub-$1,500, if you otherwise love it, and it will hang with just about anything else anyone is playing.

$1,500-$2,500, you're talking mass-produced basses that should basically be perfect, IMHO. If you changed anything out on these, it would be for personal preference more than anything else, I would expect.

Above $2,500, there's a class of vintage and collectible stuff, and custom/semi custom instruments. I personally dream of owning a fretless Rob Allen Mouse, which is a custom order just breaking into this territory. To me, you buy something up in this range because you really want something that isn't being mass produced for less.

 

[SoCal80s]

Sports comparisons (new bike, now golf clubs, etc.) are not appropriate because in sports you get a definite measurable result - faster speed, longer distance, etc. But that is generally not true in music, where most results are subjective - you just like one thing better, or you like it because its different. The only concrete difference you might see is one might allow you to play faster because it has a certain neck, or one might have a tone profile that another doesn't get. But beyond that, it's just a matter of having something different and deciding if that difference is worth it to you.

IMHO, all basses after about $800 are about comparable in terms of what they will allow you to do, and for me to spend anything over $1600 it would need to have something spectacular about it that I can't get for less.

 

[BlueTalon]

Short answer: nothing. Different, yes. Quality-wise, no.

You need to get out more.

 

[sotua]

Nick Johnston plays with a custom shop $3000 Schecter that is made in USA. Ebony board, wenge neck, an excellent take on the modern strat concept.

He also completely destroys on the $700 import version of his guitar (which I own).

I refer to this video every time I think I should upgrade the guitar - maybe if I practiced like Nick does I could make mine sound like that?

Now, to your particular case - your 2010 american P should definitely be of a quality level that it shouldn't impede you (super-cheap instruments usually have trouble staying in tune, getting low action, have bad sustain, kill harmonics, etc). But once you get to certain level (around $500-700 or so) there's usually no impediment to your playing that will be remedied by a more expensive bass. You could try getting a good pro setup? Maybe there's an extra ounce of playability that you haven't yet squeezed out of your bass, but that's going to be pretty small gains unless your bass has a crap setup right now (and doesn't seem like it, based on your post).

BTW, I don't mean that there's no reason for fancy or custom instruments. I'm only saying that you most likely don't *need* it. But if you want it, can afford it responsibly (you're not going hungry or in crushing debt just for that instrument), sure why not. In your particular case, I'd suggest keeping the PBass if you do go shopping for something fancier. It seems to me it's really your companion, and you'll regret it if you sell it.

 

[JW56789]

Wow! Someone living in East Nashville that mentioned Watkins Glen! Now that's cool! (I'm from the area, and know the track well).

Well, Brother LowNote, back in the day, I did follow NASCAR in the Petty/Jr Johnson/Allisons/Cale days, then later with Earnhardt and that crew in the 80's. NOT now, although I'm a huge Dale Jr. fan, who's made a wonderful life and career when the whole world expected him to be Dale Sr. the second, which he just isn't. I go back to the hairy-legged, fire-breathing drive anything guys like Foyt, Mario, Cale, later Tony Stewart, the last of them. Then on the other hand I'm a huge Alonso fan.

But I've always followed sports car racing (IMSA, LeMans, Sebring, all those classes), F1 (even though I'm more than ready to see the last of Lewis the 44th), the newly best open car with a rebounding IndyCar (FAR better than F1), and I know where the Glen and so many other American and overseas road courses are. I always watch the 24Hrs of LeMans and Daytona, and love the OG race tracks in Europe like Monza and Spa-Francorchamps that survive in less terrifying forms today.

And when I can find it, Australian Supercar and the various Touring Car classes in Europe. I grew up watching Mario and Phil Hill as a kid, Senna and so many others later. Then the Chili Bowl and all the dirt track stuff.

Not to mention MotoGP, World and American Superbike. Boy do I hate to see Valentino retire, but thank goodness he didn't hang around long enough to get hurt badly.

There's a whole world of racing past NASCAR I keep up with, yes, right here in the midst of the People's Republic of East Nashville. Doesn't everybody ? ? ?

 

[juggahnaught]

I play the most simplistic of basses - a 2010 American Standard Precision. It's been my only "real' bass since I started playing 13 years ago. It's lasted 10 years of steady band work and never given me a minute of trouble. Recording engineers seem to like the tone. Other seasoned bass players give me a thumbs up when they see it, hear it and try it out. I feel it's not holding me back, and I've never considered getting another one.

My band's guitar player has gone through about 6 $4000+ guitars in that same time. Last night he showed up with a gorgeous new PRS, and my band leader asked "Hey DJS how come you don't get a new $8000 bass?

My answer was "Because I don't think I'd be able to take advantage of the things that make it so nice." Guitar's response "Well, not sure if I can either, but here we are!"

But then I wondered, is this completely true? Could I buy better playing results with a higher end bass like I can readily buy better bike race results with a higher end, faster lighter race bike? It seems to me that I could hand my bass to Victor Wooten and he'd blow the roof off any auditorium without hesitation. Is this a solid rationale for sticking with what works? Or am I missing out?

You can get different basses that afford you different options. Different pickup configurations and different string counts are the most common factors here. Active electronics can give you more to work with tonally, and fretless basses can unlock a freedom of expression that fretted instruments can't offer. It goes deeper as you begin to consider the physical layout of the bass - size, scale length, multiscale options, instrument balance, etc.

But it's really more about "different" than "better". "Different" is objective and you can adequately measure it based on various factors. "Better" falls into the trap of subjectivity - after a certain point, it's a value judgment. Playing different instruments can help you, as a musician, to unlock things and think about your craft in ways you hadn't considered before. "Better" instruments just cost more.

So are you missing out? I'd say yeah, you are missing out by not necessarily exploring different configurations of the core instrument (especially in terms of string count). I think that can be a rewarding experience. But your thoughts are correct - "better" instruments won't make you a better musician. Musicianship isn't really something you can throw money at. So no - past a certain point, you can't buy better playing results with a "higher-end" bass. You can, however, try different things and see where they push you as a musician.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[wazzel]

Sports comparisons (new bike, now golf clubs, etc.) are not appropriate because in sports you get a definite measurable result - faster speed, longer distance, etc. But that is generally not true in music, where most results are subjective - you just like one thing better, or you like it because its different. The only concrete difference you might see is one might allow you to play faster because it has a certain neck, or one might have a tone profile that another doesn't get. But beyond that, it's just a matter of having something different and deciding if that difference is worth it to you.

IMHO, all basses after about $800 are about comparable in terms of what they will allow you to do, and for me to spend anything over $1600 it would need to have something spectacular about it that I can't get for less.

Sports comparison are very appropriate, for the same reasons. Pay enough to get past the junk and there is little extra bang for the buck. I upgraded my road bike from a $800 one to a $6k one. I did not get faster or able to go further the first time I rode the new one. Spend time practicing is the best way to see improvements in music and sports.

 

[iiipopes]

You need to get out more.

I get out all I need. Over the last forty-five years plus of playing I have acquired my own expensive basses as well. I have actives, fanned frets, plain wood, exotic wood, collectibles, beaters, etc. My response was to the OP's basic question which you did not quote my entire context which also set forth depending on what direction the OP wants to go with his bass playing. Please fix your post to set forth my entire quote, not just the out of context excerpt you copied.