Doddy Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I've noticed a couple of posts lately which,to me,give the impression that there are some people who feel that gear is an important part of improvement as a player or more important than the player themselves. It's not just limited to this site or bass players in general...I've seen it with a lot of drummers and guitar players too. I love gear as much as anyone but I feel that the gear is somewhat secondary to the player and that everyone would benefit so much more from spending money and time on lessons and practice rather than spending thousands on gear. I understand that some people are collectors of instruments but I'm guessing that the vast majority of people on here are more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I was happy with the same bass for years until i "found" Basschat. But yes, i sound like me on whatever gear i use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 IMO the actual music you play to other people (whether recorded or live) is the most important thing. Practising and gear are simply means to that end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimefred Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I remember a radio interview with the guitar player Duane Eddy who wrote Rebel Rouser and he said something that struck a chord with me and i shall always go by what he said that day, He basically said that he gave one of his most famous guitars away to a young lad who was an aspiring guitar player but couldnt afford a decent guitar. Mr Eddie gave him this and a load of people questioned him about it as it was worth a lot of money and he said "its fine, i have squeezed all the good songs out of that guitar now and need a new one". I think that sometimes you hear a bit of kit or a new amp/bass whatever and it can inspire you to create new music you might not have written if not for that certain bit of kit. I changed my whole set up apart from my V4 amp when i left my old band and joined LBD mainly because i needed a fresh start and a new way of playing and the change of gear helped me get the inspiration and freshened me up for my new project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 (edited) Whatever makes you happy and comfortable playing music and communicating.... Some folk are performers, some folk are collectors.. I think it's a big world out there and there's room for everyone..... PS I've just noticed you endorse "gear", so perhaps you're part of the problem? Do spectraflex cables and elite strings help you communicate better? [quote name='BigRedX' post='1370473' date='Sep 12 2011, 02:26 PM']IMO the actual music you play to other people (whether recorded or live) is the most important thing. Practising and gear are simply means to that end.[/quote] Edited September 12, 2011 by markstuk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 [quote name='markstuk' post='1370478' date='Sep 12 2011, 02:33 PM']PS I've just noticed you endorse "gear", so perhaps you're part of the problem? Do spectraflex cables and elite strings help you communicate better? [/quote] Ha ha.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ern500evo Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 [quote name='markstuk' post='1370478' date='Sep 12 2011, 02:33 PM']PS I've just noticed you endorse "gear", so perhaps you're part of the problem? Do spectraflex cables and elite strings help you communicate better? [/quote] Meeeow!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I think the same is true for everything, be it a hobby or a job I know some who play football in £100 boots, who run around in circles and achieve nothing for the team and dont grow, and others with £20 sports world boots who can really play Golf gear is a great example to Nothing wrong with spending money if you have it, but yes, more time practicing/learning, less time GASing would surely help us all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I feel that in my free time, I play bass as much as I want to. I just don't have as much free time as I might like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I could play just as well using £500's worth of gear, and I did for many, many years. These days I'm trying to play better. I'm trying to improve my technique, timing, rhythm, melody and reading. Part of the general game plan is trying to sound good as I can and better than the next guy. This is no hobby. Sound and playing go hand in hand, but the playing will always be the priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 For me it started with the buzz of playing music I liked in front of people. But, like a lot of things, the interest has become multi-faceted - I find I have developed an interest way beyond 'just' the buzz of playing live, although that is the ultimate goal of it all. But the nuts and bolts of it all have become interesting. I am in the middle of a complete refurbishment of one of my basses - stripped the old finish, replacing the electrics - just because I find it interesting. Even just a couple of years ago I would never have imagined taking something like that on. I have too many basses already, have no need to do this or buy any more - but I find all the subtle variations in the instruments interesting. So I guess all the ancillary stuff has gained a life of it's own - possibly beyond even the life of my playing, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 "Bass players call from all over, wanting to know what type of equipment I use, what type of bass, what kind of strings-- things like that. I'll tell them, but that's not what's important; it's the feel. The strings don't make the sound, it's the feel. It's all in here, in the heart." - James Jamerson, 1979 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Of course he did have his own custom shop Fender JJ signature bass... :-) Back in 91 I believe..So perhaps understandable given he had been dead for a while ... [quote name='redstriper' post='1370533' date='Sep 12 2011, 03:11 PM']"Bass players call from all over, wanting to know what type of equipment I use, what type of bass, what kind of strings-- things like that. I'll tell them, but that's not what's important; it's the feel. The strings don't make the sound, it's the feel. It's all in here, in the heart." - James Jamerson, 1979[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Some of it's just a natural progression - over the years various replacement kit is bought and each time round, a little extra is spent as it's a long term 'hobby' that (generally) brings in a few £s and is therefore seen as a justified expenditure. Up to a certain point, better equipment will allow greater flexibility in developing a playing style or learning techniques, but the difference between a £500 bass and a £1000 bass is far less than the difference between a £99 bass and a £500 bass. It's just not going to make you a better player. I think the oddest thing I've seen on here are a few bedroom players who insist on dismantling everything in sight to perform upgrades that are either impractical, doomed to failure or pointless at this point in their life as a player because, at least for now, nobody ever hears what they actually do. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious Jedi, the majority of playing comes from within. The instrument itself is just a tool to express that - copying your idolised bass players gear, spending hundreds of hours 'upgrading' it and spending thousands of £s on kit is never going to make you the same as them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I was speaking about this to a mate the other day. I have more basses (which cost more) than my talents are worth. That's a cold, hard fact. I do like to collect instruments which please me (mostly Gibsons it would seem). If we're playing guessing games then I guess the admission that at present my talents do not justify the gear I have must mean that I'm more collector than player and as such worthy of the contempt of some (the vast majority?) around here (like the OP [i]peut-être[/i]?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Interesting thread, but I would certainly say that my perception has changed. I used to be all about playing originals live, and I did like equipment, but I didnt go crazy. Now Ive started collecting, and set a goal. I do play and practice more, but to me the gear is part and parcel of the fun. Same with a car enthusiast. Something to feel good. We all have ways of enjoying ourselves, and buying new gear is part of that for me. What people must remember is the majority of us don't do this as a living. I imagine once its your day job, the whole thing changes, as you must be much more on the ball in terms of practice/skill. Gear becomes less important id imagine. I do love playing, and Id like to play more, but I think doing it as a job (unless it was a fantastic band, original material, commercial success) would be a little odd for me. I wouldnt want to teach, unless it was basics, and I wouldnt want to just be a session player, and not have my career. That's me though...I like separation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 [quote name='redstriper' post='1370533' date='Sep 12 2011, 03:11 PM']"Bass players call from all over, wanting to know what type of equipment I use, what type of bass, what kind of strings-- things like that. I'll tell them, but that's not what's important; it's the feel. The strings don't make the sound, it's the feel. It's all in here, in the heart." - James Jamerson, 1979[/quote] IMO that was relevant when the bass track you laid down was recorded through a tin can, copied onto a terrible music format and played through a crap hi-fi. These days, where everyone has access to some seriously high quality audio, and many like myself invest hundreds of pounds in precision engineered devices to listen to it through, if the bassist was playing on a rusty stringed piece of crap through a cardboard box amp, with all of the 'feel' in the world, it'd sound like crap and you'd laugh at the record, let alone ever buy it. Therefore I think that statement is completely irrelevant to today's world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I know also, that we always just sound like 'ourselves'. BUT, I still think gear ALWAYS gets you closer to a tone goal. Eg, if you want an aggressive jazz tone, no other bass gets you an agressive jazz tone, other than a Jazz! Ok, there are thousands of variants, but a P will never be a J. I always chased the Stingray H tone from my early years of playing. Nothing, IMO, sounds the same as a Stingray, no matter WHAT the pickup/pre-amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 nonsense... Every song, scale, arpeggio I play with my gear is constant practice make perfect to me, gear or no gear, be it a £25 bass or a £4000 one (not that I have one that cost that much) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 [quote name='dc2009' post='1370556' date='Sep 12 2011, 03:27 PM']....Therefore I think that statement is completely irrelevant to today's world....[/quote] "It's all in here, in the heart." JJ's comment is as relevant today as it was when Bach and Mozart were gigging. It's always the person that makes the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 [quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1370566' date='Sep 12 2011, 03:32 PM']nonsense... Every song, scale, arpeggio I play with my gear is constant practice make perfect to me, gear or no gear, be it a £25 bass or a £4000 one (not that I have one that cost that much)[/quote] :Looks at pictures in sig: :Takes one large pinch of salt: Only kidding! But I pretty much guarantee that any body who poo-poos* the quest for gear will have a sig packed full of stuff worth more than my car. It would be nice hear from someone who has played a £50 P copy for the last thirty years though. * That's right. I said poo-poos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 We only get one shot at life, so why not enjoy it and spend it on things you enjoy? You could easily play a £65 Sue Ryder P for a few years with no worries, but if you can afford more, and want to, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambo Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 If you're a builder, do you want to go to work in a clapped out transit van or a plush mercedes van? I have no idea what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I like playing on my gear. I have nice gear I hope I have nice playing /Ramble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 [quote name='BigRedX' post='1370473' date='Sep 12 2011, 02:26 PM']IMO the actual music you play to other people (whether recorded or live) is the most important thing. Practising and gear are simply means to that end.[/quote] Wholeheartedly agree - all the gear, practice and technique and even musical style to a certain extent means very little to me if you can't get out there and make some people happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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