tauzero Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1404422647' post='2492594'] I think I have opened a can of worms! At least it is Nice to know that the majority are of the same mind set as me. I just look at the quality and variety in the sub 1k mark and can't imagine straying outside that. For those of you who have/do good luck and I hope you enjoy your basses as much as I enjoy mine. [/quote] Back in 1987, having paid about £125 for a rather tatty second-hand P (before reli[ck]ing was fashionable) a year before, I happened to pick up and play a £950 Warwick Thumb. Before doing that, I couldn't imagine anyone paying that much money for a bass. After doing that, I had to trade in my P and Hohner B2 and stump up another £600 to buy it. So it can happen. That's not to say that the same thing would ever happen to you - and, given the ever-expanding range of sub-1k basses, if it did, it's as likely to happen with something costing £220 as something costing £2200 (which is apparently the current equivalent of the £900 I finished up paying). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1404731937' post='2495091'] .... £2200 (which is apparently the current equivalent of the £900 I finished up paying). [/quote] Scary, innit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='kerley' timestamp='1404725952' post='2494998'] If using a simple passive bass then the number of parts involved is pretty low and it is very easy to get a very nice sounding and great to play bass for very little money. They don't normally arrive like that but the fact that a few tweaks and low cost changes can make a £150 bass great to play proves the point. After that what are you paying for that is really required? More expensive woods - debatable whether that makes it any better Better level of finish - looks nicer but doesn't play or sound better Made in a country with higher labour rates - makes no difference at all Electronics - £10 of pots and wire in whatever bass you pick Pickup - just put the pickup from the £1000 bass into the £150 bass So unless there is actually something technically wrong with the lower cost bass, i.e. the frets are not positioned correctly, then no you do not need to spend anywhere near £1000 for any purpose besides looks. [/quote] This is Bollards mate Ok so your average over price fender copy might fall into that camp but the electronics in the back of a GB rumour will be hundreds of pounds, graphite twin truss rods of a custom bass to enable super low action takes time and skill to create, graphite or carbon fibre necks enable a bass to be used in unstable climates without truss rod trouble ( flea went to modulus to get a graphite neck stingray because they would not make one), the people who design and build their own or custom designs need to make a decent living compared to some one throwing mighty mite bits together with a fender logo to finish it off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muttley Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 ^ I think you are comparing apples with pears and have missed kerley's point. Besides, I don't suppose GB produces anything that costs as [i]little[/i] as £1000... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) Sometimes what your after isn't available in another instrument. If I could get the Wal pickups and preamp in a bass that wasn't costing me as much as a new Wal, I would have done... I've heard the ACG multi coils and filter preamp and they are excellent... but for me have a different sound to the Wal, a little more synthetic, although I do think that the ACGs are nicer aesthetically. Edited July 7, 2014 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='kerley' timestamp='1404725952' post='2494998'] After that what are you paying for that is really required? Made in a country with higher labour rates - makes no difference at all Electronics - £10 of pots and wire in whatever bass you pick ... [/quote] Have to disagree a bit with these two.. Not so much [u]where [/u]it's made, but by whom - a really skilled maker will make a difference it sounds like you've not yet experienced. I agree the actual country is immaterial. Electronics; even if you can't so much hear the difference, there are better and worse parts even just considering passive circuits. Case in point, we did a guitar show a year or two back on Merseyside, and a guy came along looking at the replacement parts. Good quality Japanese Strat 5-way switch at about 7 quid. 'I'm not paying any more than two quid for a switch, cos I wear them out half a dozen a year.' Well, durrr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 If we are talking standard p bases then I agree a grand tops then but as other bases are mentioned I stand by it that some players require a better bass. what's the saying " fender Mexico, made in Mexico by Mexicans, fender USA made by Mexicans in the USA" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerley Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1404737169' post='2495185'] Have to disagree a bit with these two.. Not so much [u]where [/u]it's made, but by whom - a really skilled maker will make a difference it sounds like you've not yet experienced. I agree the actual country is immaterial. Electronics; even if you can't so much hear the difference, there are better and worse parts even just considering passive circuits. Case in point, we did a guitar show a year or two back on Merseyside, and a guy came along looking at the replacement parts. Good quality Japanese Strat 5-way switch at about 7 quid. 'I'm not paying any more than two quid for a switch, cos I wear them out half a dozen a year.' Well, durrr! [/quote] Exactly, I will have a bass made by a skilled worker in Indonesia please. I have no bias towards USA for example so why pay $100 per hour when I can pay $5 for the same thing. As for passive electronics, agree there are better and worse parts but even the very best pots, capacitor and wiring are still cheap. Of course if you need the exact sound of an Alembic then my point doesn't work, but if you only need the sound of a passive instrument (which majority probably do) then the extra money if not a neccessity in getting a nice sounding and very playable bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Sure, you can outsource everything... then nobody works local anymore. Go too far with that and nobody can afford anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Is £1000 enough? Only the OP can answer that. Sometimes something sub £100 can tick all the boxes and only thing "wrong" is that it is missing that important brand name from the headstock. Other times if you've found that you need a particular combination of features, sounds, playability and looks it may be that £1000 is nowhere near enough. Just get out there and play even bass you see that takes your fancy and you'll soon enough find out if it's true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1404504239' post='2493378'] Just for the record, I wasn't after a 1k bass that can do everything! I was more after opinions on a fender jazz/or active vs the like of the boutique "super jazz" basses that are about, or builders who use the wood equivalent of baby seal eyes to build their basses out if on account of their "exceptional" tone quality. [/quote] I have two jazz basses – one is an American Std that I bought s/h for £650 (although I spent another £350 to put in an active circuit, new pickups & bridge) and the other is a ‘boutique super jazz’ bass that cost me £1,600 (s/h of course). Both sound and look great, but the super jazz is lighter and plays much better – not all basses are created equal and there is a reason why some are more expensive than others! Some people here may not like that but it is true. In answer to the OP, I would suggest that £700 is about the optimal amount for a quality 4 string bass that you could use in pretty much any band setting, i.e. s/h stingray or Am Std Fender… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 [quote name='kerley' timestamp='1404725952' post='2494998'] If using a simple passive bass then the number of parts involved is pretty low and it is very easy to get a very nice sounding and great to play bass for very little money. They don't normally arrive like that but the fact that a few tweaks and low cost changes can make a £150 bass great to play proves the point. After that what are you paying for that is really required? More expensive woods - debatable whether that makes it any better Better level of finish - looks nicer but doesn't play or sound better Made in a country with higher labour rates - makes no difference at all Electronics - £10 of pots and wire in whatever bass you pick Pickup - just put the pickup from the £1000 bass into the £150 bass So unless there is actually something technically wrong with the lower cost bass, i.e. the frets are not positioned correctly, then no you do not need to spend anywhere near £1000 for any purpose besides looks. [/quote] the one thing I would add here is the quality of the metal parts used - I don't mean tuners and bridges here but the actual screws - threaded heads of cheaper screws is worth paying a bit more for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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