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Why do "WE"...
- Thread starter Marc DLarosa
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- Jun 6, 2012
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- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
And a pretty serious case of apostrophitis, too. Research shows neither of these conditions are particularly conducive to generating good faith replies.
Everybody plays what he wants according to sound he wants and money he can afford. I think design is on a 2nd place.
Maybe, but there's no point in dying with a massive amount of unspent money in the bank either. Might as well put it to use by having things that you want.
I think the real question is "why do you want it?" (Or to put that in the proper thread context: why DO "yoU" wANt it?
)I like basses, therefore I buy ones I like and can afford.
Had the Shire had more cocaine and less Longbottom Leaf, there would have been a lot more cocaine hobbits.
Depending on the track, in many cases I bet a professional driver could lap the Focus faster than you could lap the Ferrari. Unless you are are experienced in this type of thing.
Probably for the same reason that some people drive expensive cars and live in expensive houses - because they can and they want to.
IMO: They are not connected. This is the 5% conversation. 95% of all your 'needs' can be managed easily. The 5% is where some live. The love of great gear is not synonymous with a desire to get great tone nor a desire to become a great player. They can exist in parallel, but not synonymous. This is proven over and over daily. With some, the love of both exists, but it is the minority. When 'cost' becomes connected with price vs function/form ratio, the perception becomes lopsided. Quality and its associated cost (niceness) are birthed from the desire to do excellent work, exceptional craftsmanship, exceptional or personal artisan expression, functional art and physics. Better 'function or form' is only sometimes a result however. The love of great gear has to do with the gear. Gear nerdery, appreciation or interest is an exciting world if that is your thing.
I'm not chasing anyone playing wise or tone wise. I'm trying to serve the music on stage. My primary concern is playability and comfort. Tone can be sussed out with technique, strings, amp and pickups in roughly that order. I balance my desire for a better instrument with the concern that gear will get damaged and worn from use. I have zero interest in a boutique coffee table instrument just as I have zero interest in a falling apart pawn store tetanus special. Get something that works, set it up to play as well as it can and play the damned thing.
A bit of a different take on this. A lot of a players tone is in their hands and play style, goes for famous folks and everyday Joes. However, one needs to also observe the journey that each individual player undertakes in search of their tone, and what that journey entails in terms of balancing the "I want their sound" and "I want my sound". Many beginner musicians, especially young ones (like myself when I started), pick up an instrument and latch onto a role model. Being a nerdy kid coming of age in the 2000's, I looked up to Flea, Wooten, Marcus, Jaco, and Geddy. I became a HUGE Rush fan and wanted to achieve Geddy's tone and would save and gather the gear to get there (ric, sansamp, etc). It started with a mild guitar overdrive pedal and an Ibanez to achieve what my untrained 15 year old ears considered to be Geddy's "Ric" tone. I went through many periods of trying to get Geddy tones, Wooten tones, Marcus tones, Jaco tones, etc... I didn't really have a musical identity of my own, so it was my duty to emulate the greats and sort of take a ride of their coat tails for a short ride. As one gains musical confidence and starts to develop a more "original" (read as mashup of others styles combined with your own quirks) style, one strays from the emulation phase of learning and starts down the path of musical self discovery. However, as one grows and gets exposed to other great players, the struggle between emulation and originality persists, however not in the sense of idolizing others but instead connecting tone and play style to success and musical cohesion within the group.
So basically, I don't think that folks are typically overspending to achieve simplistic tones, but I do think that long time players or experienced players prefer higher end and exotic basses because it offers the tonal flexibility to come close to several desired tones while offering comfort and playability that the "original" instruments didn't really offer. A lot of folks love to hear and attempt to emulate some of the old school players' tones like Jamerson... However some of his tone probably had to do with the mile high action of those early basses (and I guess he was notorious for never getting his basses setup) and some players originally coming from upright bass. No modern bass players wants that.
So basically, I don't think that folks are typically overspending to achieve simplistic tones, but I do think that long time players or experienced players prefer higher end and exotic basses because it offers the tonal flexibility to come close to several desired tones while offering comfort and playability that the "original" instruments didn't really offer. A lot of folks love to hear and attempt to emulate some of the old school players' tones like Jamerson... However some of his tone probably had to do with the mile high action of those early basses (and I guess he was notorious for never getting his basses setup) and some players originally coming from upright bass. No modern bass players wants that.
I still do not have an orange translucent custom P. It makes me a little sick think about it. It's beyond GAS. How can I get down with red, black, blue, amber, and natural oil finish? I am not an animal. Can any of you give me one solid reason to not pull the trigger?
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