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What's the most over-rated bass, or bass related product???


silverfoxnik
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This really is the best thread to read if you're wanting to snub GAS in the bud. After reading this... i don't actually want to buy anything.

I think people over rate how much other people care (okay, not entirely bass related). However, there is something programmed into my brain that tricks me into thinking my penis gets bigger when i have a piece of gear that other people would salivate over. I would save so much more time, and energy if i acted upon my own accord in life, rather than be influenced by what i think other people would think. Who am i kidding when i go into a shop and pretend i'm some sort of connoisseur of bass-related products. All i know is tidbits of information i've somehow gathered from trawling the internet when i should be proactive, playing bass and actually getting better. (read good)

I think i over rate the word subjective as well, and my distinction between sounds. If i'm brutally honest with myself (which is all i ever try to be) then i can happily admit that most of the time i can't tell the difference between, say one type of amp/cab combo than i can another. I tend to just agree with people, to give the impression that i have commendable taste and know my sonic pedigree.

Anyway, i think most of the material things that are over rated have already been mentioned, so i think i'll just leave you my confession father.

Edit: I'll continue to act to the contrary of what i've said above, because i'm mercilessly hypocritical and ultimately its enjoyable. How sad would life be if i was [i]that[/i] pensive all the time - it would just be inanely superficial of me to think i could behave that true to myself.

Happy days, thats off my chest.. :)

[size=1] Now... to check the bank balance to see if i can afford that Hiwatt 200, before sourcing the best supplier of Eventide effects... .. [/size]

Edited by TheButler
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[quote name='TheButler' post='547225' date='Jul 22 2009, 02:03 AM']If i'm brutally honest with myself (which is all i ever try to be) then i can happily admit that most of the time i can't tell the difference between, say one type of amp/cab combo than i can another. I tend to just agree with people, to give the impression that i have commendable taste and know my sonic pedigree.[/quote]

Your honesty is very refreshing. :)

My main amp is a Hartke LH500 - it was cheap and it sounds ace to me.

My main cab is a Schroeder 1212L. Not because I bought into any hype but because it's conveniently light and I am inconveniently weedy and pathetic. It sounds as good as any cab I recall using in the past. Is that good enough?

My main bass is a Warwick Thumb which I wanted because Norwood Fisher used to play them. It just so happens to be a really nice bass but honestly, when I'm playing my Squier Jazz for extended periods I don't really notice the fact that I'm playing a bass I paid £110 for, but when I'm playing the Thumb I do appreciate how slick it feels.

In short: I'm definitely no connoisseur, but that's cool, it saves me money. :rolleyes:

Oh, must add an over-rated bass thingy: The SansAmp Bass Driver DI. Everybody but me seems to have one and I just don't get it.

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[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='547232' date='Jul 22 2009, 03:06 AM']Your honesty is very refreshing. :)

My main amp is a Hartke LH500 - it was cheap and it sounds ace to me.

My main cab is a Schroeder 1212L. Not because I bought into any hype but because it's conveniently light and I am inconveniently weedy and pathetic. It sounds as good as any cab I recall using in the past. Is that good enough?

My main bass is a Warwick Thumb which I wanted because Norwood Fisher used to play them. It just so happens to be a really nice bass but honestly, when I'm playing my Squier Jazz for extended periods I don't really notice the fact that I'm playing a bass I paid £110 for, but when I'm playing the Thumb I do appreciate how slick it feels.

In short: I'm definitely no connoisseur, but that's cool, it saves me money. :rolleyes:

Oh, must add an over-rated bass thingy: The SansAmp Bass Driver DI. Everybody but me seems to have one and I just don't get it.[/quote]

I bought the MXR M80 for the sole purpose of it not being the BDDI. Only time will tell if i'm a right tool.

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[quote name='TheButler' post='547233' date='Jul 22 2009, 03:09 AM']I bought the MXR M80 for the sole purpose of it not being the BDDI. Only time will tell if i'm a right tool.[/quote]

I'm torn over MXR gear. I love the fact that their pedals are always really quiet and well-built, but they just don't sound very exciting. I mean, EHX's pedals generally behave quite badly, they're either cheaply constructed or have weird power requirements or the bypass sounds awful, but when you switch them on they usually do something batshit-insane. You've got to admire that.

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  • 1 month later...

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='547235' date='Jul 22 2009, 03:17 AM']I'm torn over MXR gear. I love the fact that their pedals are always really quiet and well-built, but they just don't sound very exciting. I mean, EHX's pedals generally behave quite badly, they're either cheaply constructed or have weird power requirements or the bypass sounds awful, but when you switch them on they usually do something batshit-insane. You've got to admire that.[/quote]
Oh the joy I had many moons back when, as a foolish youth, I had hair, a Ric 4001 (still got it in fact), and a Bass Balls. I loved it to bits but oh how the band lamented when my foot approached the little silver box...

Yeah I'm with you on this one. I don't use effects anymore, but if I did: 'batshit-insane' is exactly what I'd be looking for. Preferably completely random and quite beyond my control.

EDIT

oh crap - i just realised, this thread is about stuff we hate and i've just been waxing all fond and positive... errr... well, I'm pissed off that my bass-wheel broke after not even 4 months use! Grrr! (how's that? angry enough?)

Edited by teej
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[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='273617' date='Aug 31 2008, 11:45 AM']2. Ashdown amps & cabs; wooly sound, pointless retro design, not easy to get a decent sound out of and definitely a case of 'style over substance'.[/quote]

+1 on the above although i get the feeling they aren't over rated as i see more people not liking them anyway.

For me the No 1. is Boutique basses that seem to cost a fortune. Nice if you can afford it but i cant believe people cant find a good, playable bass or a hell of a lot less.
To me these things are just a luxury and owning one is more a status symbol that anything else.
No one in the audience cares or can tell what wood has been used or how much it costs. I see so many people loving cheap basses that i just dont see the point in spending £2000+ on a bass. Really, i dont.

And vintage basses for all the same reasons.

IMHO of course.

Edited by dave_bass5
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Lots of interesting points being made here. It's healthy that everyone has different tastes in everything, not just basses. I have to agree with folk on the Fender argument though.

I was in a well known Edinburgh guitar shop recently and heard a young guy say to his mate a bit too loudly, "ignore Fender basses they're sh*te". Initially I was a bit miffed, however I can see his point. The prices have gone up and up to the point where they can't really justify it. The competition are ahead of them. I'm not even biased 'cos i own two fenders and love them.

As for hates: fretless basses with maple fretboards. Why....?

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[quote name='kets' post='578114' date='Aug 23 2009, 11:27 AM']I was in a well known Edinburgh guitar shop recently and heard a young guy say to his mate a bit too loudly, "ignore Fender basses they're sh*te". Initially I was a bit miffed, however I can see his point. The prices have gone up and up to the point where they can't really justify it. The competition are ahead of them. I'm not even biased 'cos i own two fenders and love them.[/quote]

Damn, i guess me and the other Fender players all round the world got the worng make ;-) I wish we had asked the twat in the guitar shop first ;-)

Thats another thing thats overated, people who think they speak for the whole world when its obvious they are talking out of thier bums.

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[quote]I was in a well known Edinburgh guitar shop recently and heard a young guy say to his mate a bit too loudly, "ignore Fender basses they're sh*te". Initially I was a bit miffed, however I can see his point. The prices have gone up and up to the point where they can't really justify it.[/quote]
Disagree on the price question (which is partly due to sterling's weakness and affects all US-sourced and Euro-sourced instruments). The 09 Precisions and Jazzes IMHO stand up to the competition - not just my opinion, though, ask Beedster who has owned countless Fenders and two Sadowskys and yet says his 09 Jazz is probably the nicest fretted bass he has ever owned

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[quote name='teej' post='577984' date='Aug 23 2009, 01:26 AM']oh crap - i just realised, this thread is about stuff we hate and i've just been waxing all fond and positive... errr... well, I'm pissed off that my bass-wheel broke after not even 4 months use! Grrr! (how's that? angry enough?)[/quote]

Do you want to name n'shame the broken bass wheel? I'm curious as to which sort it was and how it broke...

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[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='578160' date='Aug 23 2009, 12:39 PM']Do you want to name n'shame the broken bass wheel? I'm curious as to which sort it was and how it broke...[/quote]
Well, it was the £34 wheel on the vivaceviolins website (I'd pay more for a better wheel, but this is the only one I can find with an 8mm shaft) - it's the one that you posted in my bass wheel thread on a German website, made by Dick.

The guys behind vivaceviolins have agreed that it should perform better and I've sent it back to them so they can talk to the manufacturer.

The shaft itself broke, not the welding.

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[quote name='Kev' post='578879' date='Aug 24 2009, 11:09 AM']this thread seems to have got lost a bit, majority of what people are saying now are just what they don't like, rated or not.[/quote]

57' Modified Vintage Icon V4
Line 6 Bass Pod

Goddam awful...

:)

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I think i've got a good one! Well, Sort of.

And i feel guilty that its so close to home! I've felt let down by every piece of DHA gear ive used so far. Thats three pedals (2 overdrive/fuzz's and a preamp thing) and a studio pre. While they where all very good i think they where just so hyped that i expected them all to morph into Jamerson and play for me! As it was i found it very hard to coax a tone i liked out of any of them.

Having said that, Its not stopped me hankering after the compressor thats on ebay atm! :)

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[quote name='EBS_freak' post='578901' date='Aug 24 2009, 11:42 AM']Line 6 Bass Pod[/quote]
I hear ya. I had a Pod Pro for a while, back when they were fairly new. It was arse, to be honest.
Couldn't understand the fuss.

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