When (beginner, intermediate, advanced, ...) can one truly appreciate a high-end bass?

[QweziRider]

Well, my most expensive bass is cheaper than my wife's violin bow.

Isn't that some crazy stuff? I'm a hack at double bass - just enough to get through country and classic rock gigs (where it might fit) and claw my way through a couple symphony gigs my wife roped me into. I looked into better bows than what I have and said, "Nope....nope nope nope nope."

 

[Achtelbeat]

When your experience and ears combine to tell you that you're now hearing and playing something extraordinarily better than anything you've touched before.

Those many years ago when I was a piano student, I was fortunate to play far more good pianos than bad ones. Became quite used to several Steinway and Yamaha grands around town, all in good maintained shape, wonderful action and tone. Baldwins I laughed at, old fogey dead wastes of floor space.

Then I played a Bosendorfer. Once.

I remember it like it was yesterday, and actually now it's almost fifty years ago. I was used to very good pianos, but this was something else. But had I not had an experience base in my head, I would not have heard the difference.

I'd say this applies to basses, and really a lot of things in life, although I've never had my world re-aligned ever again as that Bosendorfer did. Without that mental yardstick, it's hard to know where you're at.

Yeah, the same Bösendorfer experience I had like 40 years ago when I first played one.
And it explaned to me very very clearly what to practice on. Maybe this is what a high end musical instrument / bass is good for.

 

[Drifter8230]

Isn't that some crazy stuff? I'm a hack at double bass - just enough to get through country and classic rock gigs (where it might fit) and claw my way through a couple symphony gigs my wife roped me into. I looked into better bows than what I have and said, "Nope....nope nope nope nope."

Its almost like the high-prices are a "gate." We can't have the unwashed masses playing classical instruments!!! This is fancy stuff here

 

[QweziRider]

We can't have the unwashed masses playing classical instruments!!!

They saw me coming a mile away and said "lock the door!!"

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Around here it’s normal for established players to have as many basses as they want, of any pedigree, and to flip them whimsically with or without regrets. So what’s the big deal if a new player doesn’t make a perfect (and defensible) choice on their first bass?

I’m pretty sure that in addition to our noble protective herd instincts, that sometimes it just grates upon our collective craw to think of a new player skipping to the front of the line.

I say all the power to those who were able to buy a very nice bass starting out. I had to wait a while to buy my first Jazz bass and it was on time from my bass teacher in high school. But boy did I love it when I finally got my new (old) bass!

 

[Watchootognbout]

Sometimes people don't know enough to know better.
Until they are shown better.

 

[Watchootognbout]

You'll appreciate the workmanship in high end basses, when you've played really crappy ones.

High end basses don't sound any better than 15 dollar molasian ones. They're made better.

"molasian"?"

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

"molasian"?"

Whatever dude

 

[Delsan]

Totally agree! There is absolutely no point in starting with a Fodera or other high end bass as a beginner. Before you really know what you want you have to have played on many basses. And you have to have a few years of playing experience. Sure the bass you start with has to be in good condition and with a good setup and reasonable sound. But that can also be a 200$ bass off the shelve. Even a Squier starters kit bass can keep you happy for the first few years. You can always upgrade later.

Oh yeah no. But Fodera is an outlier for...almost anybody.

I agree that any bassist would be better suited to starting on a Squier, etc. etc. You gotta see if the instrument is gonna stick. Nobody's first car is a Lambo, and nobody's first bass should be a Ritter lol.

But if a bassist is lucky enough that maybe their dad or some other relative played, and their first bass is a Japanese Fender or a Vintage Stingray, you give em a nod and say "you better treat that thing right".

 

[Delsan]

Sometimes people don't know enough to know better.
Until they are shown better.

When I first started I remember thinking Rickenbackers must be "the best" cause in all the Musicians Friend magazines they had "call for price".

(I was 12)

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Oh yeah no. But Fodera is an outlier for...almost anybody.

I agree that any bassist would be better suited to starting on a Squier, etc. etc. You gotta see if the instrument is gonna stick. Nobody's first car is a Lambo, and nobody's first bass should be a Ritter lol.

But if a bassist is lucky enough that maybe their dad or some other relative played, and their first bass is a Japanese Fender or a Vintage Stingray, you give em a nod and say "you better treat that thing right".

But with cars, you don't start with a Lambo because it can kill you if you don't know what you're doing. Not so with basses. There are usually ways to downtune a lot of high end cars, partially for valets and partially because kids will get a $125k vehicle for their first car. Not my kids.

 

[Delsan]

But with cars, you don't start with a Lambo because it can kill you if you don't know what you're doing. Not so with basses. There are usually ways to downtune a lot of high end cars, partially for valets and partially because kids will get a $125k vehicle for their first car. Not my kids.

A $10k investment can kill you too, if you don't know how to get gigs and you have a wife.

What I mean to say is, you extrapolated the wrong point from my reply lol.

 

[LowWay]

Around here it’s normal for established players to have as many basses as they want, of any pedigree, and to flip them whimsically with or without regrets. So what’s the big deal if a new player doesn’t make a perfect (and defensible) choice on their first bass?

I’m pretty sure that in addition to our noble protective herd instincts, that sometimes it just grates upon our collective craw to think of a new player skipping to the front of the line.

Not me. I love seeing new players with nice gear. I love seeing anyone finding joy in music how ever they can.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

A $10k investment can kill you too, if you don't know how to get gigs and you have a wife.

What I mean to say is, you extrapolated the wrong point from my reply lol.

Even with cars some people think you should buy your kid a beater, while others think you should buy your kid a new car that has all the latest safety features. In both cases, I'm somewhere in the middle, starting on a better bass will probably help you learn easier because you're not fighting the instrument. But it doesn't have to be a Fodera.

 

[LowWay]

Oh yeah no. But Fodera is an outlier for...almost anybody.

I agree that any bassist would be better suited to starting on a Squier, etc. etc. You gotta see if the instrument is gonna stick. Nobody's first car is a Lambo, and nobody's first bass should be a Ritter lol.

But if a bassist is lucky enough that maybe their dad or some other relative played, and their first bass is a Japanese Fender or a Vintage Stingray, you give em a nod and say "you better treat that thing right".

my first bass was a brand new guild pilot, with the original headstock, real EMGs, and it cost 200x my hourly gross pay. My first Amp was a GK 400RB and a 4x10. So probably 250x my take home pay as a 16 year old. That’s 25 weeks pay if I save every penny. About 6 months. For the bass. Another 6 months for the amp.

I loved it. Never had a bass below that quality. In the mid ‘80s MIM Fenders were garbage.

Now you can buy a bass for $300, put $150 into pickups, $50 into a good setup, and have a seriously decent playing instrument that sounds great. And for a kid starting out, you don’t need the pickups right away, but good tone is the joy of the beast. The game has changed.

 

[Delsan]

Even with cars some people think you should buy your kid a beater, while others think you should buy your kid a new car that has all the latest safety features. In both cases, I'm somewhere in the middle, starting on a better bass will probably help you learn easier because you're not fighting the instrument. But it doesn't have to be a Fodera.

If it's not a Fodera, then it's not the Lamborghini equivalent of bass.

If you're saying "buy a stingray as your first bass" yeah whatever, go ahead. It might be a really crappy investment if you end up not liking the instrument, but some people can afford it.

If a Fodera is a Lambo then a Stingray is a low end Mercedes, or a high end trim Toyota. Your call.

 

[inchoate]

I got very lucky and when I got started a friend of my dad’s was able to lend me a 60s Fender Jazz Bass. Having a good instrument made learning a lot easier. I ended up buying it years later and 35 some odd years on I still have it.

That said, a Squier with a good setup probably would have worked just fine for me.

 

[Delsan]

my first bass was a brand new guild pilot, with the original headstock, real EMGs, and it cost 200x my hourly gross pay. My first Amp was a GK 400RB and a 4x10. So probably 250x my take home pay as a 16 year old. That’s 25 weeks pay if I save every penny. About 6 months. For the bass. Another 6 months for the amp.

I loved it. Never had a bass below that quality. In the mid ‘80s MIM Fenders were garbage.

Now you can buy a bass for $300, put $150 into pickups, $50 into a good setup, and have a seriously decent playing instrument that sounds great. And for a kid starting out, you don’t need the pickups right away, but good tone is the joy of the beast. The game has changed.

I got my first when I was 14. I had some modest savings by that point, and I bought a Squier Affinity.

It wasn't much but it got me through the initial learning curve until I learned enough to buy my first Warwick, some basses later.

I still have the Warwick.

 

[LowWay]

When I first started I remember thinking Rickenbackers must be "the best" cause in all the Musicians Friend magazines they had "call for price".

(I was 12)

My second bass was a ric. Hated it. Didn’t like the tone, didn’t like the feel, the hardware was odd and clunky, but I just had to get it because I found a used cherry burst for $500. Sold it less than a year later. That’s when I became spoiled for life with a pre-Gibson Tobias with bartolini j/j pickups and that was a quantum leap. From there only really nice stuff would do, and I’m now a Bordwell conver for life.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

My first bass was a Cort headless that I bought when I was in the Army. The neck was less than stable and somewhat like a Whamola. So, I saved up some money and got a Steinberger XM2T (TransTrem) and that was my main and only bass for the next 15+ years. The TransTrem was a gimmick that I could have done without, but the neck was super stable and the action was consistent day to day, year to year. If I had stuck with the Cort, I doubt I'd be playing bass today.