Misdee

I remember blokes doing that dance at heavy rock discos in the late 1970's. It was definitely a thing. Probably much safer than headbanging, too. Not that anyone bothered about anything like that in those days, though.

Yes, but in a good way. To be fair, I don't think John Entwistle was searching for the perfect tone when he was amassing his bass collection. He just liked buying stuff.

Funnily enough, this thread has had me thinking about how for so long I had to sell my main bass to replace it with another one, and never had more than two basses at a time. I was always looking to get a "better" more expensive bass than the one I had and that was the only way I could afford it. That was probably true for the first twenty years of me playing the bass. I expect lots of folk have followed the same route with similarly mixed results. Nowadays I just like a bass that I can have fun playing, and that could be at any price point. The problem is I'm one of those people who has been cursed with good (expensive) taste, but I've also got a Sire and a Harley Benton that I do most of my day-to-day practising on and they are both very satisfying basses and amazing for the money. I think when I reached the stage in life where I could comfortably afford more expensive basses it took away the imperative to "upgrade" before I missed the chance. That realisation helped me concentrate more on practising playing bass rather than putting time and energy into trading up to endless,"upgrade" basses and then discovering their strengths and weaknesses. Most of the time I was just swapping one dissatisfaction for another. If you've got a relatively inexpensive bass that has certain things about it that annoys you it's easier to live with than if you have paid upwards of three grand in pursuit of perfection only to find disappointment.

Another belter...

I remember that dance that people did to Mud records, putting their thumbs in their belts and moving their shoulders ect. It was a dance that blokes could do after drinking lots of beer Little-known fact: Despite being from Surrey, Mud front man Les Gray was a lifelong fanatical Leeds United supporter.

I'm actually so old that I remember my friends older sister coming home and furiously whacking him with her wooden sandal as punishment for playing her Mud records without permission while she was out at youth club. That young girls in those days gravitated towards a group of blokes who looked, dressed and sounded like Mud says a lot about what a macabre time the mid-1970's was in Britain.

Another good one gone. One of those artists who we all took for granted, but now he's no longer with us I can't think of any equivalent singer-songwriter to replace him. I remember hearing an interview with Chris Rea once where he spoke about wanting to be like Joni Mitchell, where each album was a progression of his style regardless of commercial appeal or fashion trends. Well, I think he achieved that, so rest peacefully Chris.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of wish-fulfilment if you can afford it. I really don't go for the idea that anyone has to justify their purchases in terms of how and where they are going to use them. If it's your own money to spend, do as you please and enjoy it how you like.

Yes, that's a phenomena that mainly didn't exist back in the 1980's, except for things like JV Squiers and NJ Series BC Rich.

Some things are more expensive, but probably some things are less expensive. I don't think that bass makers have become greedy or rapacious as such, more that there has been a cultural shift in how they market their goods and present their worth. If people will pay, who can blame them? The big question is whether despite the proportionate price increases British people are more able to buy luxury items like high-end basses than they were 40 years ago because they are better-off overall. That's a difficult thing to quantify, but my instinct is that we are better-off, generally speaking.

Yes, exactly my point. I could go on forever with examples...so why not! In 1984 (such a great year for bass, not least of all because the Bass Centre at Wapping opened its doors and a generation of British bass players emptied their pockets) a new pre-EB Stingray was £525. That's £1725 in today's money. That's half of what a Pino Signature Stingray will cost you now. High-end bass prices have gone up in real terms when most other luxury goods have become more attainable, generally speaking. The reasons for that are probably very complicated, but to a certain extent I think the reason is that manufacturers of luxury products have discovered that a big part of what gives whatever they are selling value in the eyes of the public is a high price tag. The price confirms that what you are buying is superior quality. Warwick can probably make a Thumb Bass more economically now than in the 1980's and their profit margin on each unit will be greater, but by pricing a proper German-made Warwick bass at £7775 they are making a statement about where they consider their basses to be in terms of marketplace position. They are saying we are up there with Fodera, Wal, F Bass et al. Some people might even believe them.

More articulate flats like Thomastiks might be the way to go.

When I got my first Stingray in the '80's a pre-EB 2 band, I always felt that in a band mix I was inaudible due to the big scoop in the midrange frequencies that is one of the defining characteristics of that bass. I was used to more mid-forward tones like a Jaydee or Status ect. Tastes change though, and now I really appreciate the idiosyncrasies of that Stingray sound. It's both punchy and understated at the same time, if that makes sense. More recently, I especially like a 'Ray with flats. It never occurred to me back in the day that Bernard Edwards might have used flats. I thought everybody had ditched them asap when rounds became popular. Nowadays we know better.

I'm in complete agreement with you Pete. Under normal circumstances I play a P-style Bass 90 percent of the time. My personal experience is that I have a couple of boutique P Basses and an ordinary USA Fender P Bass and in terms of sound and overall usability there's no real reason to get a boutique P except I could get the spec I wanted. I love them all, but in terms of playability and tone the Fender at about half the price does just a good a job in its own way. The boutique basses were an expensive and unnecessary indulgence (but I don't regret it). When I see people paying upwards of five grand for a new boutique Precision Bass I just hope whoever buys it realises they will end up with something which at the end of the day is essentially very similar to a much less expensive example. P Basses are so much in vogue it's easy for some folks to get carried away with the mythology and lose sight of the practicalities.

I've got a Stingray Special and for me it's the best Stingray ever. It's light, comfortable to play and sounds incredibly punchy. It's definitely different to the vintage Stingray basses of my youth, but for my taste all the differences are improvements. The overall tone is a bit richer and less harsh in the treble whilst still being 100 percent Stingray, the ergonomics are much better and the reduced weight is essential for my aging back and shoulder.