Bass Snobbery

[Cato]

8 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I have only shopped in Next once - bought a pack of socks. Most of them had holes in after the second time on. If that's typical of their quality, then I won't be going back. 

I still fit Levis that are just 2 inches (or 160 millipedes) bigger round the waste than I used to wear when I was 18 (a mere 46 years ago).

 

I think you may have been a bit unlucky there, or quality has improved.

 

I've been very impressed with a pack of Next trainer socks I bought early last year.

 

I mainly wear them down the gym and most of my gym socks have a pretty short life span before they get worn through but these have just kept on going despite my corrosive sweat.

[FinnDave]

2 minutes ago, Cato said:

 

I think you may have been a bit unlucky there, or quality has improved.

 

I bought them about two months ago, and I was most definitely underwhelmed. I get far longer out of the cheap socks from Sainsbury's.

 

Can't quite work out how we got to complaining about socks on a thread about bass snobbery, but that's the joy of this forum, never what you expect!

[Geek99]

14 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

To be strictly accurate, after wearing them once or twice, the socks I bought from Next had at least two holes in most of them - one to put my feet in and one to let my heel get a better view of the world. Some had a third hole, as the toes were jealous of the heels' ability to admire the view.

They’re pretty hot on this. There’s a “wear” department onsite. You must have got a bad pair

[Geek99]

4 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I bought them about two months ago, and I was most definitely underwhelmed. I get far longer out of the cheap socks from Sainsbury's.

 

Can't quite work out how we got to complaining about socks on a thread about bass snobbery, but that's the joy of this forum, never what you expect!

Take them back and complain 

[FinnDave]

2 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Take them back and complain 

Too late, they were thrown away one at a time as the holes appeared. By the time it was obvious that there was something wrong with the pack it was too late to retrieve them.

I did look on the Next website and found some reviews for the same packs of socks that I had bought - most of the reviews said the socks developed holes after wearing them once, so I wasn't the only one to be 'unlucky'.

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by FinnDave

[Richard R]

16 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

To be strictly accurate, after wearing them once or twice, the socks I bought from Next had at least two holes in most of them - one to put my feet in and one to let my heel get a better view of the world. Some had a third hole, as the toes were jealous of the heels' ability to admire the view.

To be mind-numbingly pedantic and tedious, a normal new sock is topologically identical to a flat sheet, is has just been pressed into a shape. Same topology as a tumbler, a bowl, or a vase. So it has no hole. Once it has (one) hole then it's the same as a doughnut.

 

The important question is: cotton or bamboo for the best tone on a folk gig?

[Geek99]

Just now, FinnDave said:

Too late, they were thrown away one at a time as the holes appeared. By the time it was obvious that there was something wrong with the pack it was too late to retrieve them.

If you buy using the app or website (deliver or order into store) you can prove your purchase even if you lost/chucked  the receipt or POS tags 

you’d have got your money back 

[FinnDave]

1 minute ago, Geek99 said:

If you buy using the app or website (deliver or order into store) you can prove your purchase even if you lost/chucked  the receipt or POS tags 

you’d have got your money back 

I bought them from the Next store in Witney as a walk in customer, the receipt would have been chucked out within hours. Lesson learnt!

[peteb]

Many years ago, I made the mistake of buying a suit from Next. The worst fitting suit I have ever worn, never bought anything from there since. 

 

Shall we get back to why cheap basses are better than more expensive ones now?? 

 

[Paul S]

35 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

 

I still fit Levis that are just 2 inches (or 160 millipedes) bigger round the waste than I used to wear when I was 18 (a mere 46 years ago).

 

Yeah, I was a fat kid too.  

[ezbass]

11 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

 

Shall we get back to why cheap basses are better than more expensive ones now?? 

 

What, whilst we've gone down the usual BC rabbit warren of straying off topic? This is the way of things, as well you know   

11 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

 

Shall we get back to why cheap basses are better than more expensive ones now?? 

 

They're cheaper for a start! 

[ezbass]

Since embracing short scales during the height of the pandemic and now hoping to get back out gigging, I wonder if long scale over short scale snobbery is a thing? 

[Lozz196]

40 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Since embracing short scales during the height of the pandemic and now hoping to get back out gigging, I wonder if long scale over short scale snobbery is a thing? 

Not for me. At our last gig one of the bassists was playing a Fender Mustang bass and for one it sounded great, plus secondly on gigs where we all go in one car I can really see the practicality of them. I like the look of the JMJ one and can see me buckling under pressure (of GAS) at some point.

[martthebass]

6 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Not for me. At our last gig one of the bassists was playing a Fender Mustang bass and for one it sounded great, plus secondly on gigs where we all go in one car I can really see the practicality of them. I like the look of the JMJ one and can see me buckling under pressure (of GAS) at some point.

The JMJ is a bit special.

[neepheid]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

Since embracing short scales during the height of the pandemic and now hoping to get back out gigging, I wonder if long scale over short scale snobbery is a thing? 

 

If a person can be snobby about something, that snobbery will exist. Not from this writer, mind. I don't like playing short scales, and it's not from a want of trying (Squier Bronco, Epiphone EB-0, DeArmond Starfire, Fender Starcaster are the ones I remember) and I just can't shake that toy-like feeling when I play them and I don't get the fun element of that some people report, it just feels off to me. But I won't look down my nose at someone playing one of them, if they're grooving then I'm happy to listen.

[Bilbo]

Here is a video of a trio I did as we were coming out of lock down the first time. I chose to use a £150 Harley Benton bass because I was looking for a certain vibe. I left the £2000 double bass and £5000 Wal at home. Nobody gave a s***. 

 

 

In my experience, gear snobbery is a sign of an amateur. Anyone who really understands what being a musician means will wait until they hear a player before judging them and will pretty much never comment on their gear. A poor player is a poor player, whatever instrument they are playing and a great player is a great player. This is not genre specific and applies to all settings including classical, jazz and everything else. It's the music that matters not the instruments. 

[prowla]

I find the Squier/Fender thing is more a case of reverse snobbery "My Squire JV beats any Fendre US" ever made and so-on.

Me, I like my Rickenbackers and Warwick bolt-ons and I've no desire to go up-market from them.

[Franticsmurf]

For years my criteria for a bass guitar were that it had to be affordable and versatile, i.e. suitable for a range of genres as the band I was in played all sorts of songs and all sorts of gigs. We were mostly in pubs to start with and the acoustics were almost always dodgy, so the sound was secondary. For the first 12 years of my bass gigging 'career', I didn't own any new basses and hadn't paid more than about £250 for the ones I had. As the gigs got better (and as I improved as a bass player) I started to invest in the sound aspect; better amp and speakers and a new Epiphone EB0. Finally I decided to buy a 'decent' instrument (a Sterling Ray34HH).

 

I've never experienced bass snobbery although I've seen guitar snobbery aimed at our guitarist and on one occasion a case of band snobbery - we were gigging in a pub and another band was watching. Halfway through the set they decided to critique our backline for some reason. After a while our singer engaged with them along the lines of 'what's the matter guys'? to which the response was something like 'we'd never gig with that old kit'. So he asked them where they were gigging tonight. And where they were gigging tomorrow night. And next week. They walked off and later the landlord explained that they rehearsed in the pub but never actually played any gigs. 

 

 

[Staggering on]

I know the O.P. referred to EB's , and other than clothing, it seems all of the posts are about EB's but I wonder what the snob factor is in the DB world. From my somewhat limited experience, for most DB players it is mostly about getting the right bass/set up/amp for the job, whatever bass works for you in that situation is the right bass. In many situations a high end carved bass would be overkill for a lot of gigs and a cheap ply bass will not cut it in major symphony orchestras so DB players just get the bass they need and while there may be serious GAS for a better bass I think most players respect the choices other DB players make and there is less snobbery than in the EB and guitar worlds. Perhaps in the high end orchestral bass world there is some snobbery but for most of us I don't think it is much of an issue. Any comments?

 

[LukeFRC]

8 hours ago, Staggering on said:

I know the O.P. referred to EB's , and other than clothing, it seems all of the posts are about EB's but I wonder what the snob factor is in the DB world. From my somewhat limited experience, for most DB players it is mostly about getting the right bass/set up/amp for the job, whatever bass works for you in that situation is the right bass. In many situations a high end carved bass would be overkill for a lot of gigs and a cheap ply bass will not cut it in major symphony orchestras so DB players just get the bass they need and while there may be serious GAS for a better bass I think most players respect the choices other DB players make and there is less snobbery than in the EB and guitar worlds. Perhaps in the high end orchestral bass world there is some snobbery but for most of us I don't think it is much of an issue. Any comments?

 

I wonder if the Is there snobbery in other orchestral instruments at all? 
 

like cheap mass produced instruments like electric basses and guitar seem to be sold on brand a lot which invited snobbery… when I see a DB player I tend to think 1) nice playing, I couldn’t do that, 2) kudos for transporting that thing and what kind of bass it is is completely impossible for me to tell or care

[Dad3353]

2 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

I wonder if the Is there snobbery in other orchestral instruments at all? 
 

like cheap mass produced instruments like electric basses and guitar seem to be sold on brand a lot which invited snobbery… when I see a DB player I tend to think 1) nice playing, I couldn’t do that, 2) kudos for transporting that thing and what kind of bass it is is completely impossible for me to tell or care

 

Woe betide the concert flautist deigning to present him or herself wielding a vulgar Boosey & Hawkes. A solid-silver Kessler & Sons, however, would pass muster without a further glance. Yes, people are people the World over. 

[Nail Soup]

23 hours ago, Richard R said:

To be mind-numbingly pedantic and tedious, a normal new sock is topologically identical to a flat sheet, is has just been pressed into a shape. Same topology as a tumbler, a bowl, or a vase. So it has no hole. Once it has (one) hole then it's the same as a doughnut.

Time to pull out my topology joke:

Q: Why did the topology student get fired from the cafe?

A: kept mixing up the coffee cups and doughnuts.

[jazzmanb]

On 09/06/2022 at 09:51, Newfoundfreedom said:

It seems to be common running through this thread that the snobbery is against anything other than Fenders. In that case I'm more than happy to be looked down on. I'd rather plan an elastic band than a Fender. 

I find it more the other way ,anti Fender stuff .On the topic in general i find it more on pages like this than in real life 

I'm on the rickenbacker,spector,sadowksy facebook pages and they are just so fixed in their view nothing but that brand etc 

At pub gigs i know how i sound etc so if people were to say why this and why that or you need this i'd just politely ignore them 

All basses have their faults ,i just like to work with them ,part of the fun 

[Linus27]

I don't actually mind or care what other people are playing because at the end of the day, if they are out playing music and being creative and if that's all they can afford or it works for them or they are happy playing it then crack on. However, similar to Lozz196's comment on Page 1, I do have my own standards that I set myself. I've played for 35 years, had quite a bit of success and got to a standard of musicianship that I feel justifies me spending a certain amount of money or at least, treating myself to certain grade of instrument. Plus, having been pro, semi pro and a weekend warrior, I'm out there using the instrument rather than it sitting in my house looking pretty. I don't like expensive boutique basses and there is a limit on what I will spend but if I am going to buy a bass, then chances are its a Fender Jazz or Precision so it will be a US model or a US signature/re-issue. If its a Stingray then it will be a US model, a Warwick will be a German model. Saying that, a lot of my good basses I've bought second hand, be it my AVRI 75 Jazz bass, US Standard Precision and Jazz and all my Stingrays. My current good bass, a Stingray SR4 fretless was also secondhand. I also prefer Japanese Fender's and would sooner play one of them over a dearer US Fender. So I have my own personal standard that I feel I can justify owning but what others play then I couldn't care less.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Linus27

[jazzmanb]

On 09/06/2022 at 14:47, ern500evo said:

Friend of mine went along to a jam night with his beautiful Sadowsky bass, and the guy running the night referred to him as “that guy with the cheap jazz bass copy” 

Yeah,i get that a bit ,not so much "copy" but like i couldnt afford a Fender 

To be fair they aren't a big name out there to the average gig pundit . Your band mates and soundman like them though