Damonjames Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Hey all, this may seem like a nonsense topic, but Its something I have been considering for a a while now. After taking up playing again a bit later in life, and having a "proper" job does afford you the luxury of being able to afford quality gear. But from what I have seen, and played within availability, the question I ask of you all is, do you really NEED to spend over a grand on a bass to get the job done? Please don't think that if I was a full time musician earning millions that I wouldn't have sheds full of basses, but in reality, (used prices of coarse because the mark up on some new basses is just obscene) when I look at what's available I really can't justify spending more. For that budget, you can get a used US stingray, 4 or 5 with or without frets, most used warwicks and spectors of any persuasion, most recent and some vintage fenders and pretty much anything that has credibility. Am I ignorant? But why would you spend more? I know wal and some of the other "boutique" builders make exceptional quality instruments From gorgeous peices of wood, and Sadowsky make amazing fender knock offs that are probably a millions times better than the orifginal (ducking for cover!!), but I just don't get it. Maybe I'll understand it one day when I have loads of spare cash at my disposal! Not trying to incite a riot, lol, just really interested in what makes those of you who have, open up the cheque book and dump 4 figures (maybe more) on what a fellow basschatter referred to as a "poxy lump of wood"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I don't think you [i]have[/i] to spend 4 figures on a bass to get the right one for you. My current squeeze was put together for less than £400, and it's perfect. For me. Western society ingrains in us the idea of aspirational purchasing - this x will make you better/faster/thinner/happy/sexually alluring/whatever because that's just the way it's been set up. Ultimately If you find an instrument that you can't walk past without picking it up then (regardless of cost) that is the instrument for you. The cost of something doesn't necessarily represent its value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weststarx Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 (edited) I think the price of a bass should have absolutely no influence on purchasing a bass. You should buy a bass on: - Playability - Tone - Style If you like all of those then you've found your bass, it doesn't matter what label is on the front, thats the bass you should buy - the one you're comfortable with. Just because you've spent 4 figures on a bass it won't make you a better player! OBVIOUSLY price range does come into it to an extent, as most people cant afford to start spending hundreds of pounds on whatever it is but regardless of budget the above still applies. Edited July 2, 2014 by Weststarx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Generally, yes. But I'd go a little higher, so I could get a Dingwall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Once you get much above £500, what you get is generally "different" rather than "better" in terms of playability and tone. So, yes, I think a grand is a very decent and reasonable budget to get a superb bass. If you look around and/or are handy with modding you can spend considerably less than £500 and still get an incredible bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairobill Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 For that price you can get a used Stingray [i]Classic [/i]- which is all you will ever need! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I own/have owned, a 'few' ( [size=4]) basses that cost quite a few thousand (I bought them used so didn't pay the eye-watering prices they were new). However, the 2 basses that I play the most,[i] through choice[/i], cost me less than £500. That is despite the fact that I have other basses that I own that would still cost you in excess of your £1000 budget. Why do I not sell the other more expensive basses... that's likely a whole new thread. [/size] [size=4]Yes £1000 is a great budget... for TWO good basses![/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Daveo Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1404341001' post='2491832'] I don't think you [i]have[/i] to spend 4 figures on a bass to get the right one for you. My current squeeze was put together for less than £400, and it's perfect. For me. Western society ingrains in us the idea of aspirational purchasing - this x will make you better/faster/thinner/happy/sexually alluring/whatever because that's just the way it's been set up. Ultimately If you find an instrument that you can't walk past without picking it up then (regardless of cost) that is the instrument for you. The cost of something doesn't necessarily represent its value. [/quote] +1 on this Its all about what you like and the sound you are after, yeah its nice to spend cash on new toys but play before you pay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I think the Fender P & J and the Stingray are still the benchmark by which other instruments are judged, all are regularly available on here for under a grand and are the basic instruments that others have improved/butchered depending on your take on things. There are not many genres you couldn't cover with a P, a J or a Stingray, so you could do a lot worse than choosing which ever is appropriate for the style you are playing and you'd have a bass for life. Personally I've craved the Wal sound since I first heard one and that is the tone I have in my head that I want my bass to sound like. I've tried several combinations of bass and amp to get there but in the end I have bitten the bullet and ordered a Wal... Will it make me a better player? No of course it won't but it will give me the sound I want and that will make playing more enjoyable, which for me is what it's all about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 'Need' and 'Want' are two very different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 [quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1404372095' post='2491917'] 'Need' and 'Want' are two very different things. [/quote] Well yes... but using that logic I don't really need any bass at all, it's not like my life depends on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Money is the necessary counter-weight to talent. The more talented a player is, the less money he spends on equipment (see McCartney, Jamerson, Pastorius, etc.). The less talented a player is, the more money he spends on equipment (have you seen my gear?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1404373903' post='2491930'] Money is the necessary counter-weight to talent. The more talented a player is, the less money he spends on equipment (see McCartney, Jamerson, Pastorius, etc.). The less talented a player is, the more money he spends on equipment (have you seen my gear?). [/quote] John Entwistle? Edited July 3, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) I know people who play in very in demand function bands and play basses that cost under 200 quid... I have had two basses that cost over a grand (well three if you include my Warwick that was 1200 new but I only paid 400 second hand) which were my Stingray and my current USA Std P. The Stingray was bought for me and when it was sold the money was used to buy my USA P at staff discount... It's horses for courses, if someone wants to spend 10k on a Ritter good luck to them, does it make them a better player?........ Edited July 3, 2014 by throwoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 £60-70 would have bought you a Sue Ryder P bass, and I gigged one of those just to see how it would stand up to gigging. It did, and it sounded like a P bass. Upto £1000 will buy you a nice (USED) American Standard Fender or (USED) Musicman Stingray 4 H. The reality is, prices are bumping fairly significantly at the moment, and have done for the past 3-4 years (more than I've seen for a fair while). New Fenders are reaching £1150+, and Musicman basses are around £1400 for a normal 2 or 3EQ Stingray H. Stingray 5s are £1500+. Yes, I keep seeing the same old argument that you can buy one used for half price, and you can in some respects, but it depends on age, condition, model, and whether the seller just wants to get rid quick. The market will change as new prices continue to rise. But yes, basses under £1000 are of course very good if you find a nice one, as is the same with a higher price bracket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I don't think so, not on the second hand market anyway, both times I've spent a lot on a bass I've been disappointed. My current stable consists of a Lakland Skyline Bob glaub, 2 old peavey T-40s and an old Ibanez blazer, and all 4 are pretty spot on. The Lakland was the most expensive and that was £550 and it's the best P-bass and maybe even bass in general I've ever owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Oddly enugh this was the arbitrary number I came up with years ago for my limit. I don't know why, I just thought 'I'm never spending more than a grand on a bass' and so far I've had some very good instruments under that budget. In fact as I'v enever had to buy afull PA I've nver spent more than a grand on any piece of musical kit. Incidentally if the OP wants a [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/228759-usa-fender-deluxe-precision/page__p__2484637__hl__deluxe%20usa__fromsearch__1#entry2484637"]USA P Deluxe [/url]active in mint condition he can have one from me for well under £1000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1404375177' post='2491942'] John Entwistle? [/quote] He earned his money playing a pretty standard bass. He spent it collecting loads (and loads and loads) of expensive ones ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 At risk of rattling on and over-exposing myself (missus)... *Cries of 'Surely not!?' and 'No, do carry on!!'* My Limelight Jazz was around £1000 and in my humble opinion represents extremely good value for money. Yes, it looks 'manky' I know, and it's a replica I know, but irrespective of whether you're into that or not it plays and sounds just... lush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Limelight? RABBLE!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1404380167' post='2492016'] He earned his money playing a pretty standard bass. He spent it collecting loads (and loads and loads) of expensive ones... [/quote] S'pose... The 1966 Slab Precision featured highly, but of course it didn't have quite the cachet that it does now... It certainly wouldn't have cost the equivalent of £1000. [quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1404380329' post='2492022'] Limelight? RABBLE!!! [/quote] [color=#000000][font=Arial][size=4][b]rab·ble[sup] 1[/sup][/b][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial][size=3](rbl)[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Arial][size=3][i]n.[/i][/size][/font][/color] [indent=1][b]1. [/b]A tumultuous crowd; a mob.[/indent] [indent=1][b]2. [/b]The lowest or coarsest class of people. Often used with [i]the.[/i][/indent] [indent=1][b]3. [/b]A group of persons regarded with contempt: [color=#226699][i]"After subsisting on the invisible margins of the art scene ... he was'discovered' in the mid-80's, along with a crowd of like-minded rabble from the East Village"[/i][/color] [color=#226699][i](Richard B. Woodward).[/i][/color][/indent] I resemble that remark! Edited July 3, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1404380542' post='2492025'] S'pose... The 1966 Slab Precision featured highly, but of course it didn't have quite the cachet that it does now... It certainly wouldn't have cost the equivalent of £1000. [color=#000000][font=Arial][b]rab·ble[sup] 1[/sup][/b][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial][size=3](rbl)[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Arial][size=3][i]n.[/i][/size][/font][/color] [indent=1][b]1. [/b]A tumultuous crowd; a mob.[/indent] [/quote] That's the one I was going for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) [quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1404380714' post='2492027'] That's the one I was going for! [/quote] I'll take that over the other two definitions. Edited July 3, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 AFAIK the [i]cachet [/i]of the slab-body is down to its association with Mr. Entwistle, rather than the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 I honestly don't see any issue with the Squier CV basses. More than adequate in terms of looks, sound and feel once they've been setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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