Are you good enough to play a Fodera?

[4000]

2 hours ago, Rayman said:

Here's a question.....

 

Have you ever felt guilty, or that you're really not good enough to own that expensive bass?

 

 

No. 

[SteveXFR]

6 minutes ago, martin8708 said:

Probably not .

When you turn up to gigs / auditions / jam nights with posh basses , people expect you to be some brilliant virtuoso .

If you take a cheap bass , you tend to exceed their expectations .

 

The reality is often the opposite. 

At the jam session I go to there's a couple people with expensive gear who are average at best and one gnarly looking old dude with a scruffy Squier P bass who absolutely blows them away 

[Grimalkin]

Expensive doesn't always mean good. I've learned that one by experience.

[Grimalkin]

2.12 - 2.28:

 

 

[ead]

In the cold light of day I expect that I am not 'good enough' to play a few of my basses however I enjoy trying to do them justice.

[Rayman]

2 minutes ago, ead said:

In the cold light of day I expect that I am not 'good enough' to play a few of my basses however I enjoy trying to do them justice.

I happen to know that you are good 

[ead]

Just now, Rayman said:

I happen to know that you are good 

 

Thank you, you are very kind or possibly/probably confusing me with someone else

[Pseudonym]

1 hour ago, fleabag said:

Spend YOUR money where it makes you happy.  There's no laws on that.

 

Tried that once. The Stipendiary Magistrate thought otherwise.

 

I have never felt guilty for owning instruments of a quality that far exceeds mine as a player. Like others here, I take it as an incentive to improve. But even that is optional.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Pseudonym

[gjones]

I remember I was playing at hastily set up bar, at the Edinburgh fringe with some friends, for a laugh. There was no money in it but I was playing it for the craic.

 

As I came off stage with my bass, which was a red Squier Precision, a fellow bass player ( I assume) approached me and accused me of taking a £4,000 Pino Paladino Precision to play in a shitty bar full of drunks. He seemed to think it was sacrilege.

 

If somebody had a £4000 bass and wanted to play it at a shitty pop up bar, I think they should should be allowed to. it's nobody's business but theirs.

 

 

[Bunion]

As with anything you buy it’s all relative to what you can afford. 
I like fine quality and appreciate the work that’s gone into a well built bass.

Plus buying used usually means you won’t lose anything if you do decide to move it on at a later date.

 

[Vin Venal]

Question is weird on many levels.

 

Apart from anything else, what even is "good"? Kim Deal is a better bassist than Jaco. I know this because you couldn't improve a single Pixies song by having Jaco play it. Obviously that's nonsense, but the point is, "good" is both subjective and situational.

 

If you hear someone making what you perceive to be an awful racket on a Fodera, it may be that that is exactly the kind of racket they want to make, and the fodera is the tool for the job.

 

Also, nobody actually "needs" expensive gear. In 2022, you could do a stadium tour with a Squier and a couple of cheap pedals. Even top professionals surely buy stuff because they want it and can afford it, the same as you?

[paul_5]

3 minutes ago, Vin Venal said:Even top professionals surely buy stuff because they want it and can afford it, the same as you?

Plus, as a professional, it’s tax-deductible…

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 16, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Bunion]

21 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

Plus, as a professional, it’s tax-deductible…

Or free

[funkypenguin]

4 hours ago, Rayman said:

Here's a question.....

 

Have you ever felt guilty, or that you're really not good enough to own that expensive bass?

 

I mean, I'm ok, I'm a decent player, but I'm no vertuosso.... and currently, after a handful of years away from playing anything at all, I've started to re-accumulate a modest collection of decent gear, but in the past I've owned Sadowsky, Overwaters etc, and wondered if

 

A: Do I really need a 2K bass?

 

Or

 

B: Am I good enough to justify it?

 

Am I really only worthy of sub 1K basses? Am I destined to stick with the Corts, Ibanez and Yamahas of this world? Or balls to it, I'll have what I want?

 

Thoughts?

 

My question in reply would be this. how exactly would you quantify being worthy of a Fodera? what do you have to be able to do on the instrument in order to have one?

 

When all is said and done, music isn't a sports event. its not about the numbers and presenting a rational justification for the gear you own. if you love the instrument and you can afford a Fodera/Alembic/et. al., that is all the justification you should need.  

 

Ben

[Bassman68]

It’s an instrument at the end of the day? Immaterial of what it costs to buy or the build quality, it’s there to be played?
Does it make a difference..

A quality instrument will play well, but a well set-up bass will play just as well in the right hands..

 

If it counts at all, I own an Alembic, Status & several German built Warwicks…..I tour with a couple of Squier’s

[AndyTravis]

If I were in a position…I’d eschew the fancy woods etc…

[40hz]

There is joy to be had in subverting  assumptions with types of basses.

 

"That guys playing a Fodera, I wonder what flavour of 16th note jazz fusion replete with double thumbing will be coming my way?!"

 

Bass player - Plays 'With or Without You' by U2.

 

If you can afford it, play what you like! They're only tools. You don't have to justify yourself to anyone.

Edited February 6, 2022 by 40hz

[Dad3353]

It could be advanced that, if it can be accepted that 'a bass is a bass is a bass', the difference in price could have been spent elsewhere to benefit some less-well-off person or persons on the planet. It's true that there's no legal law against spending on oneself, but... 

[funkypenguin]

8 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

It could be advanced that, if it can be accepted that 'a bass is a bass is a bass', the difference in price could have been spent elsewhere to benefit some less-well-off person or persons on the planet. It's true that there's no legal law against spending on oneself, but... 

 

You can apply this to virtually any item that isn't necessary in ones life, whether it be a car, a bass, a watch, a home..... That kind of thinking applies far more to the corporate giants who make enough money to end world poverty than the bass player that has worked to be able to afford a top end instrument.

 

Ben

[Boodang]

3 hours ago, visog said:

I think if the instrument improves your music, then go for it.

If the instrument improves how you feel about music, then go for it.

Definitely my answer is, balls to it and buy what makes you feel good.

[Boodang]

3 hours ago, TheLowDown said:

I don't measure things like that because a bass is just a tool. Unless it helps me to become a better player, then I will consider myself unworthy of a Fedora or Dingwall or 

 Even though it's just a tool, a bass can inspire you. It could be a cheap bass or an uber expensive boutique bass, either way if it achieves that then it's doing it job.

[Rayman]

Some great comments, and I agree with all of them. Let's just be clear, it was a hypothetical question and I'm definitely not in a position to buy a Fodera or similar, yet. I love hunting for more affordable but decent quality gear. I'm still hoping to get my hands on a couple more Hohner B basses, a Tune Maniac and a semi of some description, but certainly down the line I'll be looking for that expensive purchase, regardless of whether I'm worthy or not 😉

 

Don't get me started on amps.

[ead]

1 hour ago, Rayman said:

Some great comments, and I agree with all of them. Let's just be clear, it was a hypothetical question and I'm definitely not in a position to buy a Fodera or similar, yet. I love hunting for more affordable but decent quality gear. I'm still hoping to get my hands on a couple more Hohner B basses, a Tune Maniac and a semi of some description, but certainly down the line I'll be looking for that expensive purchase, regardless of whether I'm worthy or not 😉

 

Don't get me started on amps.

 

There is definitely joy to be found in uncovering a gem of a bass that cost not a lot.  There are a few other threads on this subject 

[Cato]

I've always really liked the aesthetics of Ritters.

 

But I also think I'd look utterly ridiculous playing one.

 

They look like they should be wielded by some sexy individual in one of Prince's backing bands, not some middle aged man in a pub.

 

No 0ffence to any middle aged men playing their Ritter down the Dog and Duck.