Expensive Gear Guilt

[Al Krow]

27 minutes ago, M@23 said:

No interest in having a collection of basses anymore, though, but there's worse things to throw your hard earned at! 

There most certainly are! 😎 

[Al Krow]

3 hours ago, adamg67 said:

I wrote a pointless post that said nothing, so I've deleted it all.

I was trying to follow in your footsteps and come up with something pointless, but failed miserably. 

[fiatcoupe432]

2 hours ago, itu said:

OK. I play a 5-stringer that has 19 mm string spacing and 35" scale. My next bass is probably a similar fretless. What are my choices? It is not very easy to set a strict budget, if the offering happens to be very limited. 17 mm just does not work for me: I played one since early 90's. And then I found THE neck last year.

How about a certain neck profile, that seriously differs from basic p or j? Options available? Shall I start from the price? Yes sure, there has to be some bugdet, but I am not always able to set it unrealistically low. I just want to play necks that suit me ergonomically. The instrument is always a certain type of compromise, but I cannot compromise certain details, because of my hands.

What is your budget? Pm me 😜

[Mickyk]

If i was to use the Fishing Gear analogy here,this also applies to  Guitars.With fishing Tackle a large segment of the gear is designed to catch the angler as well as the fish,I think to a certain degree the same could be said about Guitars and music gear in general,but then you knew that already didn't you. 

 

[itu]

27 minutes ago, fiatcoupe432 said:

What is your budget? Pm me 😜

Thank you sir, but I am in the middle of a negotiation with a skilled luthier.

[NancyJohnson]

Having nice gear is nice.  There's zero guilt on my part; it's just nice to have a bit of variety and I've worked damn hard at getting a handful of basses that are keepers, I'm equally as content with things ampside too. 

I have a tiny bubble of gas for a Hamer Cruisebass, but I can live with that.

[Deedee]

2 hours ago, ped said:

Conversely if I have an off day and I’m playing a 3K bass I kind of feel like I’m not good enough for the bass! 

I accepted and learned to live with that feeling a good while ago! 😂

[Wilco]

20 hours ago, Machines said:

21 hours ago, Al Krow said:

But I know that ALL of my gear gives me immensely more pleasure than cash sitting in a building society account earning virtually no interest. So any guilt? None.

Whilst I have a bit in the savings

Same here. I’m in the fortunate position to be able to own a few half decent basses & I like owning them.

Also guilt free;-

They are all an asset worth something, so if I need to generate some cash for whatever reason I could sell.

The cash return from gigging over a year is at least as good as the paltry interest being paid on my savings, so my basses earn their keep!

[FinnDave]

I recently took the Sandberg I bought on impulse in January out on its first gig. it was only then that I realised why I had bought it - very comfortable to play. We play long-ish sets and I often find my left hand gets cramp during the gig -  this didn't happened with the Sandberg. 

My back-up MiMI Jazz stayed in its gig bag, and I am sure it would have done the job almost, but not quite, as well as the Sandberg.

[Kiwi]

I have two basses which I find interesting but I wouldn't use them on a gig.  Another which wasn't intended for live use but I guess could be.  Apart from that the others are for gigging if I should ever find myself doing that again.  Ironically those giggable basses were all less than 1300 quid. One of them was 600 quid and replaced my main Smith bass.  I remember being paranoid that the Smiths would be nicked.  I actually turned down an opportunity to buy a preCBS jazz bass at lower than market value because I wasn't comfortable having that much cash tied up in something so portable (says him before eventually sinking five times the sum into a collectable classic car 6 years later after selling most of his bass collection). 

These days, I'd probably make something that gave me what I wanted.  Although I'd still hanker for a Wal Mach II 5 string and a Celinder J Update 5 even so.

[pbasspecial]

21 hours ago, Machines said:

I guess personal circumstances are relevant too. I made most of the big purchases when I was living on my own and had the spare cash following redundancy/divorce/house sale. Since then i've got remarried and my priorities are quite different to then. 

Whilst I have a bit in the savings, i'd feel immensely reckless and irresponsible to have the same mindset now as a couple of years ago. Yes I do work hard and deserve some fruits of that labour, but I see my resources as collective and the potential of it not solely my own.

I'm finding i'm changing my mindset generally away from 'collecting' anything to a more efficient and minimalist lifestyle. The whole concept with expensive things I've applied to my car as well, going from a 2016 Skoda Octavia (cost £22k) now to a 2008 Mini (£3k). No more £300 a month on 'renting' a car you don't own. Also moved from a large 3 bed bungalow to a 4 bed terraced house saving a bit per month. I am earning the same amount of money as before (if not more) but just ensuring it is spent more effectively.

I'm guessing you're a fan of Dave Ramsay's money makeover then. 

[Krysbass]

I agree with the original post here.

But I must add that I also only play pub/club gigs and frankly; taking £2k or more of bass exotica to some of those joints would scare me silly or at least feel like overkill.

So each of my 5 basses is worth under £1,000 and most of them hugely under it.  They are all good quality basses - but just not bass-bling.

If I was a pro bassist, I’d probably have a completely different view.

[chris_b]

8 minutes ago, Krysbass said:

. . . . . . . .  I also only play pub/club gigs and frankly; taking £2k or more of bass exotica to some of those joints would scare me silly or at least feel like overkill.

I understand why people choose gear depending on their budget, but why would a more expensive (and presumably better sounding and playing) bass be "overkill" on any gig? If anything I'd consider an expensive bass just being played at home as "overkill".

If you feel a bass is the best one you've found, why not play it. If I did any gig where I would be worried about my gear being damaged or stolen, I'd worry even more about my own safety!! IMO if you bought the bass you need to gig it. 

[bassix]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I've owned US Fenders and a Shuker in the past but I always feel unworthy of them, like I'm trying to compensate for a lack of talent. 

I'm currently using a player precision and feel much more comfortable using it.  

[BigRedX]

As I have said many times before in threads like this, I have no idea why you would be worried about taking expensive equipment to a "dodgy" pub, but not worried about your person?

If my equipment gets damaged or stolen it is replaceable. If my body got damaged it might well be game over for my playing yet no one seems to consider this. 

[Al Krow]

23 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

As I have said many times before in threads like this, I have no idea why you would be worried about taking expensive equipment to a "dodgy" pub, but not worried about your person?

If my equipment gets damaged or stolen it is replaceable. If my body got damaged it might well be game over for my playing yet no one seems to consider this. 

Lol! Someone falling over and spilling beer over a bass / pups / EQ or expensive amp & cab is going to do a lot more lasting damage than beer on my cheap t-shirt and jeans. 

IMO any of my basses, immobile on a stand during set breaks, find it much harder to move out of the way of a falling drunk, than I do. Yours, of course, may be more nimble. 

[BigRedX]

6 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Lol! Someone falling over and spilling beer over a bass / pups / EQ or expensive amp & cab is going to do a lot more lasting damage than beer on my cheap t-shirt and jeans. 

IMO any of my basses, immobile on a stand during set breaks, find it much harder to move out of the way of a falling drunk, than I do. Yours, of course, may be more nimble. 

I was thinking more of the potential for serious physical violence against myself or my fellow band members.

I've played some "dubious" places in front of "scary" looking audiences, but because it's been originals and the people are there primarily to see the bands and listen to the music, rather than us being a distraction after the football, or a soundtrack to drunken posturing, there has never been any real problems. However I've been to see friends play in covers bands and the amount of violent knobheads that seem to use the presence of alcohol and loud live music as an excuse to kick off is staggering, even in pubs that don't normally have a dodgy reputation. Makes me glad I'm not involved in the covers scene.

[Rich]

I've been 'involved in the covers scene' for many many years. Here is an exhaustive list of all^** the violence I have witnessed at my gigs in that time:

** There were a couple of skirmishes after one gig last year, as we were clearing the stage. One was in the car park and consisted of two blokes shoving each other going "Yeah? come on then", "no, you come on then", "no, YOU come on then" (etc.), the other was inside the pub and consisted of two blokes on opposite sides of the pub both shouting "C**T!" as loudly as possible at each other whilst being feebly restrained by their mates. Blindingly obvious that none of them actually wanted to fight.

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by Rich

[DoubleOhStephan]

4 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I've played some "dubious" places in front of "scary" looking audiences

You've just taken me right back to our first ever gig at the local pub, where the local hardman stood right at the front of the (very modest) crowd, just staring at us. Things got a bit heated when our guitarist (from a nearby town) was headbutted and had his nose broken during the mid-set break for not being a local boy. 

Ironically, the hardman was really whizzed off with the lad who nutted our guitarist as he was really enjoying the gig and took him outside for a "chat". 

Things settled down after that and we carried on with the 2nd half. Fair play to our guitarist, he just stuck some tissue up his nose and got on with it. 

Fun times in a small Welsh town. 

[uk_lefty]

3 minutes ago, Rich said:

I've been 'involved in the covers scene' for many many years. Here is an exhaustive list of all^** the violence I have witnessed at my gigs in that time:

One of our favourite places to play has some characters who you think could go too far sometimes. Then once our singer lost track of his lyrics as he watched a fight in the smoking area. I think we need to learn the Benny Hill theme tune or something equally daft for such an occasion if it would ever happen again! 

I have the "Sid Vicious" white precision and am confident my Yorkshire genes mean I can deliver a swift cricket shot to the balls of anyone who might try to skirmish with my band... Fortunately, never have had to, and hope never to! 

[chris_b]

48 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

IMO any of my basses, immobile on a stand during set breaks,. . . . . . . .

There's a logical solution. Never mind the audience, you have to protect your gear from the rest of the band, mostly the drummer!! Put your bass in the gig bag when you're not playing it. I haven't used my bass stand in over 10 years and my basses are in as good condition as the day I bought them.

[Lozz196]

31 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I was thinking more of the potential for serious physical violence against myself or my fellow band members.

I've played some "dubious" places in front of "scary" looking audiences, but because it's been originals and the people are there primarily to see the bands and listen to the music, rather than us being a distraction after the football, or a soundtrack to drunken posturing, there has never been any real problems. However I've been to see friends play in covers bands and the amount of violent knobheads that seem to use the presence of alcohol and loud live music as an excuse to kick off is staggering, even in pubs that don't normally have a dodgy reputation. Makes me glad I'm not involved in the covers scene.

Same experiences with my originals band v old covers bands. Originals audience full of serious customers, top-boy football hooligans yet not a bad word (aside from the lyrics). Covers audiences usually made up of the local hard man and his friends doing their best to keep various South American cartels in business. The usual disparity between those who are hard and those that think they are.

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

However I've been to see friends play in covers bands and the amount of violent knobheads that seem to use the presence of alcohol and loud live music as an excuse to kick off is staggering, even in pubs that don't normally have a dodgy reputation. Makes me glad I'm not involved in the covers scene.

In the last 200 gigs I have seen two fights, one where some security people just jumped on them (the only place I have even been to with security so i guess they expected it) and one drunk guy who just wanted to have a go at anyone and was promptly dragged outside.

The more likely the pub was to have dodgy people in it, the more likely the landlord / landlady was good at getting rid of dodgy people.

A lot of irritating people sure, no real violent ones.

[Kiwi]

I've had plenty of requests to let cousin/best mate/son-in-law 'have a go' and sit in with the band on bass but I've turned them down flat every single time.

[casapete]

24 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

In the last 200 gigs I have seen two fights, one where some security people just jumped on them (the only place I have even been to with security so i guess they expected it) and one drunk guy who just wanted to have a go at anyone and was promptly dragged outside.

The more likely the pub was to have dodgy people in it, the more likely the landlord / landlady was good at getting rid of dodgy people.

A lot of irritating people sure, no real violent ones.

I think I've seen more fights at weddings and functions than I have in pubs over the last 40 odd years! Seen a lot of coked up hooray henrys being silly, and always found I could keep them off the stage with the well placed neck of my Precision.

One of the worst I remember was during a function at a Park Lane hotel in London, where the wife of a well known soap opera star allegedly tried to glass someone in the ladies loos. Made the front page of the red tops the next day too. 

Maybe it was just our band that incited such antics....🤣