markdavid Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) Ever find your cheapest bass has the best tone? Just wondering if anyone has experienced this. Was playing at a live event the other night and decided to take my nice but relatively inexpensive Vintage brand Violin bass as it is lighter than any of my other basses (even my other semi hollow basses), in terms of the bass itself it is a nice bass but its price point shows, the nut I have replaced as it looked like it was cut by a chimp, the fret work is a little patchy and there is some over-spray on parts of the neck. I always thought the tone of this was good when playing at home but I always thought this was just because the deep tone countered the middy tone of my Amplug. Anyway, brought this bass out and plugged it in, the tone blew me away, it was deep, punchy and with some definite growl and a big pair of balls, I even found myself playing a little harder to emphasise this, funny that a cheaper instrument could sound so good Edited May 17, 2018 by markdavid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 38 minutes ago, markdavid said: Ever find your cheapest bass has the best tone? Not yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Oh yes ... know this phenomenon all too well. Despite having owned some highly expensive boutique basses in my time I can't help but feel they are a bit 'Emperors new clothes' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 No, not ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 My new wrongo sounds way better than it should. Not the best but it is pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) I'm not sure I'm psychologically capable of allowing myself to believe that. Edited May 18, 2018 by Cato 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Both of my (inexpensive) Korean Spectors sound fantastic - the best? Not sure about that but they definitely punch above their weight.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mape Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Not necessarily cheapest the best but in general I don't think the price directly contributes to the sound anymore after, let's say 500-600£ price range. And sometimes the cheap ones sound just great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Hmm, most impressed with the two Bass Collection 335's that I had....the electronics have a great sound. I also have a really nice G&L L2500 with a really refined sound...especially passive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I love my Indonesian Squier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I love the sound of my Yamaha Bex4 with D'Addario half rounds on it and I have an Aria STB PBass with flats and foam mute I paid £40 for, roll off the tone and it's pure Motown/Stax heaven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I have been fighting with this very conundrum for some time. I have a Yamaha BB1100s which other musos have complimented and I must admit, gets taken to gigs quite often purely because of the badge snob in me. I by far prefer the tone and feel of my Vintage V4 P-bass, which I paid £82 for s/h and the V4 sounds better (to my ears) in a live situation with the band. If I know other musos (especially bass players) are going to be in the audience, I will take and play the Yamaha, otherwise it sits on it's stand as the back-up to the V4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 The answer from me is no, however my backup Vintage Tony Butler Sig Precision at (new) about a fifth of the price of my my US Standard Precision isn`t as far away as the price gap would suggest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The59Sound Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 My cheapest bass is a Sadowsky... so yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Not "best" maybe, but my J&D jazz sounds at least as good as many Fenders I have played and/or owned. Still a very giggable bass (admittedly with replacement Tonerider pickups). But as the best tone I've had was from my Status series II, no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 When I crank up my MIM Precision and hit it hard with a pick through my Markbass combo, it gives a dirtier sound than my more expensive basses do. I quite like it. No effects nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthaside Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 (edited) I have an eBay special Unbranded 70 quid Jazz I bought when drunk many years ago because I liked the white and maple, I upgraded the pickups with some Duncan's and a nice Ki0g0n loom, I would put money on it up against any fender passive Jazz bass in a blindfolded playing test. This bass for me kicks the living "profanity" out of my 70's Fender Jazz, I feel more comfortable with it at gigs and rehearsals than with my status and it produce's more volume, has more easily sculptable tones with lots of usable in between settings (I presume because of the better pots Ki0g0n uses ) I've had basses that the tone knob might as well have been a switch. It's naturally more " middy/brighter " because of the full maple neck and fingerboard, I find it it cuts through a mix better ... and because I've played it quite a bit the neck has worn to a nice satin from the high gloss. It could do with a hardware upgrade the unbranded tuners are bog standard but they stay in tune with no issues and the only issue with the bent bit of tin fender style bridge was a bit of saddle buzz which was i solved with a little bit of bluetack between the E and A saddles. At my last audition I was asked what it was .....by some rather guitar obsessed guys ... because it sounds huge, I just called it a self build , I got the gig ;-) Downside .... this bass has its own Gravity well ..... No idea what its made of probably butcher block or lead but it must be close to 12lbs Edited May 18, 2018 by synthaside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 (edited) 'Best', no (because there's no such thing) - 'Preferred', yes. Edited May 18, 2018 by Vinny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 21 hours ago, Pinball said: Hmm, most impressed with the Bass Collections that I had.... Most people who have owned/ do own a Bass Collection Nanyo will probably agree... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 (edited) I've never really bought an expensive bass so my experience is somewhat limited. The most expensive bass I've ever bought was a £400 Yamaha, it had the most uninspiring tone of all the basses I've ever owned. I like all 3 of my current basses, for different reasons. The cheapest was £150 s/h the most expensive was £280 brand new Edited May 18, 2018 by Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 I much prefer the sound/feel of my £70 Harley Benton PB-50s to my T-20 or Fury. Single coil P-bass with flats or tapes has been my thing for a good while now. Put flats on a Cirrus,to be expected it didn't sound remotely close to a SC P-bass with flats 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 11 hours ago, Conan said: Not "best" maybe, but my J&D jazz sounds at least as good as many Fenders I have played and/or owned. Still a very giggable bass (admittedly with replacement Tonerider pickups). Plus one for the J&D Jazz! I love mine and gig it regularly. My Fender Jazz Deluxe which cost ten times as much does sound better, but not ten times better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 My cheapest bass is my only fretless... But it sounds far more luxurious than its price tag would have ever suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binky_bass Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 I find this to be the case with acoustic guitars quote often... I recently bought a Vintage (brand) V300MH acoustic for £20 second hand and it genuinely sounds as good as a USA Martin I owned a year or so ago. A £20 acoustic vs a £1400 acoustic and being honest the £20 was at least as good! Solid mahogany with a fantasticly low action after a little fettling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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