Vibrating G String Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='lojo' post='1112803' date='Feb 2 2011, 10:47 AM']I was wondering what the cheapest bass we could confirm was, being used in an expensive situation I mean, in a famous band or a backing band playing in a venue that seats 10s of 1000s etc[/quote] When you consider the whole point of Fender was to make cheap disposable substitutes for real instruments like acoustic basses the field really opens up. Didn't Jaco pay something like $90 for one of his? Quote
Vibrating G String Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 Abe Laboriel has a super cheap Goya fretless that's seen tons of gigs and recordings. On guitar Jimmy Page used some cheap Sears catalog stuff. Quote
Musky Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1113402' date='Feb 3 2011, 07:08 AM']Abe Laboriel has a super cheap Goya fretless that's seen tons of gigs and recordings. On guitar Jimmy Page used some cheap Sears catalog stuff.[/quote] Yeah, Page uses a Danelectro for slide. Talking of which, Fat Mike (NOFX) uses a Danelectro as well. Quote
razze06 Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 Kim Deal used an aria pro II cardinal for much of her time with the pixies Quote
Beer of the Bass Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 There were some pictures on Talkbass of Herbie Flowers at the O2 arena playing a Squier affinity... Quote
Low End Bee Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 Last gig I was playing the Retrovibe Rickenfaker at £249 and the guitarist had his Alden Bluesline at £125. A proper Tele and Precision were on stage as back ups though . Quote
lettsguitars Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 gotta be brian may. oh sorry, thought you said ass player. Quote
Ghost_Bass Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 Didn't Roger Waters recently bought a Sue Ryder P-Bass? Quote
lettsguitars Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' post='1113604' date='Feb 3 2011, 10:41 AM']Didn't Roger Waters recently bought a Sue Ryder P-Bass? [/quote] yea. he's on here looking for a jazz neck. Quote
Bassassin Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 There's this bloke called Squire who sometimes plays some old bit of 70s JapCrap - an Electra, I think... J. Quote
jakenewmanbass Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 I played an MIM jazz to 8000 people in a German tennis stadium does that count? Quote
merello Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='jakesbass' post='1113633' date='Feb 3 2011, 11:02 AM']I played an MIM jazz to 8000 people in a German tennis stadium does that count? [/quote] 6-0; 6-0 ...you should have used a racquet! Quote
MacDaddy Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='Doddy' post='1113354' date='Feb 3 2011, 01:39 AM']Yeah I know about the EB1,but I seem to remember an old interview where he says that Fenders were too expensive, and that was why he went for the Hofner,because he wouldn't buy it on tick.[/quote] I remember reading the same but about the Gibson IIRC he liked the Gibby because there were no left hand basses available and the EB1 wouldn't look too bad played left handed. Sir Paul, if you are out there and are one of the 'famous bass players on BC' can you please set us straight? Quote
Bilbo Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 All this does prove something, doesn't it? I am not altogehter sure what but something. I would surmise that this confirms that, when all is said and done, the music is bigger than the gear we play it on. We all obsess about the nuts and bolts of the gear; which wood, which era at Fender, hand made or machine, passive or active etc. But, when you throw in the individual player, personal taste and preferences, personal skills and talent, strings, pick ups, effects pedals, amps, speakers, cables, different mics and DI boxes, a studio engineer, a desk, various monitor speakers, the cutting or copying processes, the hi fi we play stuff on, the venue we see bands at, the live mixing engineer, the size of the audience and on and on and on we are left with the fact that the bass that is played is about 1% of the overall effect achieved. One of the things that YouTube has taught me is that the ability to buy a Fodera/Alembic/any other top brand does not turn a crap palyer into a good one. It also means that a good player who can only afford a cheap bass is still a contender. My kid brother owns a Harley shop in Chepstow and tells me that the motorcycle world is very similar. Most of the people who can afford an 'off the peg' Harley are middle aged 'mid-life crisis' cases who are attracted to the glamour of the brand. Is it the same for top end basses? Quote
razze06 Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Bilbo' post='1113956' date='Feb 3 2011, 03:06 PM']All this does prove something, doesn't it? I am not altogehter sure what but something. I would surmise that this confirms that, when all is said and done, the music is bigger than the gear we play it on. We all obsess about the nuts and bolts of the gear; which wood, which era at Fender, hand made or machine, passive or active etc. But, when you throw in the individual player, personal taste and preferences, personal skills and talent, strings, pick ups, effects pedals, amps, speakers, cables, different mics and DI boxes, a studio engineer, a desk, various monitor speakers, the cutting or copying processes, the hi fi we play stuff on, the venue we see bands at, the live mixing engineer, the size of the audience and on and on and on we are left with the fact that the bass that is played is about 1% of the overall effect achieved. One of the things that YouTube has taught me is that the ability to buy a Fodera/Alembic/any other top brand does not turn a crap palyer into a good one. It also means that a good player who can only afford a cheap bass is still a contender. My kid brother owns a Harley shop in Chepstow and tells me that the motorcycle world is very similar. Most of the people who can afford an 'off the peg' Harley are middle aged 'mid-life crisis' cases who are attracted to the glamour of the brand. Is it the same for top end basses?[/quote] Seems to be that way for certain brands, especially guitars IMO. I will stick my neck out and say that Gibson are top offenders in this. The mid-life crisis market is a very lucrative one, especially for aspirational items such as motorbikes, sport cars, and musical instruments (rock and roll ones, can't see anyone splash out on a top of the range flame maple veneered bassoon to cure their crisis). People are cashing in on that! Edited February 3, 2011 by razze06 Quote
leroybasslines Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='razze06' post='1113989' date='Feb 3 2011, 03:25 PM']Seems to be that way for certain brands, especially guitars IMO. I will stick my neck out and say that Gibson are top offenders in this. The mid-life crisis market is a very lucrative one, especially for aspirational items such as motorbikes, sport cars, and musical instruments (rock and roll ones, can't see anyone splash out on a top of the range flame maple veneered bassoon to cure their crisis). People are cashing in on that![/quote] Yup! It's all about the mid life crisis and that fact that many players are men, and as such born with a mild case of Asperger's! Collecting is part of the fun really. Owning a good bass don't make you a good player... Quote
risingson Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 I'll never forget the day I saw one particular bass player from a band using an incredibly expensive Spector live, and it sounded terrible. Really terrible. The next band that came on after them had a bass player with this crappy Tanglewood that looked like it had seen better days. They were a reggae band and had the same soundguy as the band beforehand, and they sounded just incredible, the bass sounded massive, well defined but really huge, miles better than a bass that I'd wager cost 10 times more. I don't put too much stock into buying the best gear. I like pricey basses: Sadowskys, Laklands, Pensas and F-Basses have all really appealed to me in the past but I'd be happy playing my beaten up U.S Jazz for the rest of my life if I was never allowed to own another bass again. Quote
robocorpse Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='BurritoBass' post='1112939' date='Feb 2 2011, 08:15 PM']Most of the top players are using endorsements....which are free! [/quote] Yes I know, but the thread is "cheapest bass in most expensive situation" and it seems odd that such high profile players as Bernie and John are not only using £100 axes at live shows, they are endorsed too. Quote
MB1 Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='razze06' post='1113989' date='Feb 3 2011, 03:25 PM']Seems to be that way for certain brands, especially guitars IMO. I will stick my neck out and say that Gibson are top offenders in this. The mid-life crisis market is a very lucrative one, especially for aspirational items such as motorbikes, sport cars, and musical instruments (rock and roll ones, can't see anyone splash out on a top of the range flame maple veneered bassoon to cure their crisis). People are cashing in on that![/quote] MB1. Would buying a Sue Ryder Precision be a Charitable Midlife Crisis ? Quote
Cygnus x-1 Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='robocorpse' post='1114213' date='Feb 3 2011, 05:51 PM']Yes I know, but the thread is "cheapest bass in most expensive situation" and it seems odd that such high profile players as Bernie and John are not only using £100 axes at live shows, they are endorsed too.[/quote] just curious, do you think these will be the bog standard ones that are in the shops or pimped up Vintage axes? Quote
MacDaddy Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 [quote name='Cygnus x-1' post='1114225' date='Feb 3 2011, 05:56 PM']just curious, do you think these will be the bog standard ones that are in the shops or pimped up Vintage axes?[/quote] any bass will benefit from a proper set up, and I'm guessing these guys have their own techs - at least on tours? So IMO if they are the bog standard ones they probably play and sound that little bit better. Quote
lojo Posted February 3, 2011 Author Posted February 3, 2011 (edited) [quote name='razze06' post='1113989' date='Feb 3 2011, 03:25 PM']The mid-life crisis market is a very lucrative one, especially for aspirational items such as motorbikes, sport cars, and musical instruments (rock and roll ones, can't see anyone splash out on a top of the range flame maple veneered bassoon to cure their crisis). People are cashing in on that![/quote] A few years ago I brought a Ric, on the turn of 40 years old, for me that was an expensive non essential purchase, so obviously friends close to me started making jokes about midlife crisis My wife bumped into one of these friends, who made the comment to her about the guitar purchase in reference to my mid life crisis She replied "well if thats all he is going to do, he can buy 3" Edited February 3, 2011 by lojo Quote
Vibrating G String Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 [quote name='Bilbo' post='1113956' date='Feb 3 2011, 07:06 AM']My kid brother owns a Harley shop in Chepstow and tells me that the motorcycle world is very similar. Most of the people who can afford an 'off the peg' Harley are middle aged 'mid-life crisis' cases who are attracted to the glamour of the brand. Is it the same for top end basses?[/quote] I think so. And Les Claypool with the Whamola for the win in cheapest bass, biggest crowd. Not counting washtub players Thought he Whamola is still probably cheaper than a good washtub. Quote
TransistorBassMan Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) If I remember rightly, Joe Hubbard used Tokai and/or Squier Jazzes when playing with Gary Numan in 83. Edited February 4, 2011 by TransistorBassMan Quote
dave_bass5 Posted February 4, 2011 Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='1113511' date='Feb 3 2011, 09:46 AM']There were some pictures on Talkbass of Herbie Flowers at the O2 arena playing a Squier affinity...[/quote] Yep, that was me posting about that. He kept the blue Jazz in its stand all night. Edited February 4, 2011 by dave_bass5 Quote
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