Bass Snobbery

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, NJE said:

I had exactly that with an Overwater Jazz 5 string. “What’s that then? Fenders a bit expensive for you”.

 

I could not be the bigger man at that point sadly and subtlety told the guitarist that it was custom built in the uk and how much it was….he went quiet very quickly and I felt good for about 10 seconds.

 

Only 10 seconds worth out of a proper schooling?  You're hard to please

 

[NJE]

4 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

Only 10 seconds worth out of a proper schooling?  You're hard to please

 

Thinking about it now I am smiling so definitely got more than 10 seconds. He deserved it (he was not a pleasant fellow) but I hate being the ‘my kit costs this much’ Guy.

[NJE]

I think I am more critical of the people with all the expensive kit these days. That’s no better though because I shouldn’t judge people on how much they spend on something they love.

 

I felt my most liberated as a player when I had a Squier 5 sting Precision. Didn’t give a monkeys if it fell over or got a ding, got compliments about its looks and sound and I just enjoyed it.

[Len_derby]

23 minutes ago, NJE said:

I had exactly that with an Overwater Jazz 5 string. “What’s that then? Fenders a bit expensive for you”.

 

My response is, “Well, it’d be a waste of money playing with/for* you lot”

Said with a deadpan face.  Not with an Overwater, but my Swift Lite made by our own @Andyjr1515. Just to add balance, I also gig with my Harley Benton short scale P. Similar comments  happen😆

 

*delete as appropriate 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

3 hours ago, Supernaut said:

How common is snobbery in the bass world?

Alive and well even on Basschat. I read a comment from a regular poster here just the other day which made me think ‘seriously, you’re making that point again about your special bass’. I just yawned and scrolled on. That person is by no means alone.

[Barking Spiders]

Music probably attracts more snobbery than any other form of entertainment especially from fans of niche/obscure bands or genres that turn their noses up at any artist that's gone mainstream. Metallica anyone? As for instruments, in my 20s and 30s the only basses I gigged were an EB short scale copy and a slightly battered Aria Pro II Integra. One band asked me to stand at the back  as they were embarrassed for me to be seen with them.  I slung my hook straight after that gig. I wouldn't consider spending more than around £500 on a bass or guitar and am perfectly happy with an instrument made in Indonesia. I have two Sterlings and two Corts - all made there -  and the quality is top notch.

[Supernaut]

One memory that sticks out is turning up to an audition for a rock band and I bought along my Spector Euro. 
 

The lead guitarist asked me what bass I was using and I told him Spector. 
 

The lead player turns to the rhythm guitarist and says "Are they any good?". 
 

💀

[Andyjr1515]

Shhhh! - it's to our great advantage to keep quiet about this. 

 

While ever the market thinks that the more expensive basses are better, then the prices of the GREAT affordable basses (Squier; Epiphone; Yamaha to name but three) stay affordable

 

 

In the guitar world, there is a fair bit of life-wisdom around that boils down to:  'If you want a Gibson Les Paul, then buy a Gibson.  If you want a quality Les Paul, then buy an Epiphone'

 

Oh - and I personally would always buy a Squier over a Fender for basses and guitars (much as I like Fenders including, actually, their build quality).

 

[thodrik]

In real-world scenarios I have never experienced gear snobbery at a gig, apart from a couple of players who have moaned about me bringing a 1999 Trace Elliot combo as shared backline on the basis that they had better setups at home which for some reason or other they could not bring to the gig. I mean, yeah it wasn't the best kit but at the time (2008) it was the only kit I had!

 

[Burns-bass]

I have several hobbies (cycling, playing music, camping and walking) and the one thing that unifies snobs in everything is that they’re joyless.

 

People who genuinely love what they do will be happy you’re enjoying it too.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Burns-bass

[jacko]

I only play Alembics and look down on the rest of you mere mortals. Does that count as snobbery? 

[BassTractor]

4 hours ago, Supernaut said:

How many of you scoff at someone who plays a Squier instead of a Fender?

OK then, I'll come out, put my head on the block and admit I'm one of those people.
I scoff at someone like me.

BTW, thanks for tomorrow's Wordle word to guess.

[Mykesbass]

I've lost out on a gig with a Feelgoods style r&b band as I turned up with a Cort. They wanted a Fender. 

 

Worked with Buddy Whittington (last Bluesbreakers guitarist) who always tells slightly coy owners of Mexican Fenders not to worry as Mexicans have been making the American ones for years.

[Dan Dare]

15 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

I've lost out on a gig with a Feelgoods style r&b band as I turned up with a Cort. They wanted a Fender. 

 

Worked with Buddy Whittington (last Bluesbreakers guitarist) who always tells slightly coy owners of Mexican Fenders not to worry as Mexicans have been making the American ones for years.

 

You worked with Buddy? I envy you. He's a tremendous player. I love his remark, too and it's spot on. I enjoy taking the p over branding. I made a Bitsa P bass and put a 'Dinky Toys' decal on the headstock. 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Dan Dare

[musicbassman]

3 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

I made a Bitsa P bass and put a 'Dinky Toys' decal on the headstock. 

 

That is the greatest thing ever !       😁👍

[rushbo]

I’ve reached a point in life where whenever I see someone with a superdeluxe bass, I cross my arms and say to myself, “OK bub – impress me.” I realise this is just as bad as snobbery, but I’m too far gone to change now (probably.)

 

I’m a lifelong user of cheap/midpriced/bitsa basses and I’ve always managed to coax decent tones out of them. I have had a couple of people comment on the sound from a P Bass I use, which is made from a tangle of odd Squier bits and rebranded with my trademark “Fedner Prescription” decal. I take a certain twisted amusement in watching people backpedalling furiously from, “You can’t beat a Fender” to “I’d never have guessed…”

 

I did once audition for a band and turned up with a fretless. The look on the bandleaders’ face was absolutely priceless. I’d imagine he’d have made a similar grimace if I’d relieved myself into his gigbag.

[FinnDave]

I have six Fender basses, four of which were made in Mexico. Last week I played two gigs on successive days with the same band, for the first one I took a US Precision, and for the second a MiM Precision. Both sounded the same, no one noticed the difference, including me.

 

I briefly played with a guitarist who at the time had over 70 guitars, all Fenders and Gibsons but he was a dreadful player. I actually had to take his guitar and tune it for him, he was that clueless. I have also played with an excellent guitarist who used a Woolworths Audition, and another I have played with for several years who often uses an unbranded Strat copy he found in a skip!

 

Doesn't matter what the decal on the headstock says, it's all down to the head & hands of the person playing the instrument.

[ern500evo]

5 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

Cuts both ways, dunnit?

 

I once turned up at a jam with an Alleva Coppolo KBP5 and someone asked if I couldn't afford a real Fender ...

 

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” 

[chris_b]

Gear is just stuff.

 

I listen to the player. If he's a good I don't care what he's playing.

[ern500evo]

I’ve had it a couple of times, in both directions. Had some older guy comment to me after a gig “why buy something which looks so much like a fender, just save up for a real one” when our singer pointed out that my Yamaha Attitude ltd was approximately £2.5k he literally waved his hand at me with a “pffft” expression and walked off! 😂 Was at a bar gig and a younger guy came up to me to talk about gear, was asking about the stuff I had with me, which was a Dingwall NG2, EBS TD650 and a Barefaced Big Twin 2. He asked about the prices of them and then said “if you’re using stuff that expensive for a pub gig, you’ve lost touch with reality”! When I told him that a friend of mine did pub gigs with a bass that cost more than my entire set up, he just rolled his eyes and said “then he’s an idiot” 

Edited June 9, 2022 by ern500evo

[uk_lefty]

I've had someone running the sound for a charity festival tell me: "sh!t bass" at my Japanese Fender P. I'm not sure if he was joking or not, you can't really tell with people you don't know. Some people hate Fender and it was a black and white Sid Vicious looking thing. It was minutes before we started playing and it just made me think he was a d!CK and (among other things) not mind at playing a twelve minute medley when we were told three minutes left.

 

I've made the same faux Pas, watching a band with a very young bassist I turned to my drummer and said with mock derision "I don't respect anyone who plays a Fender P copy!" The joke being I had played a Tanglewood P copy for ages until recently. The kids parents didn't see the joke, obviously, and I felt bad because the boy was really good. 

 

Safest to keep private jokes private.

[uk_lefty]

I've had the opposite too... People assuming my knackered and heavily modded Mexican Jazz was some kind of vintage masterpiece. Then they heard me play it and realised it was mostly Wilko wood filler and matchsticks.

[Nail Soup]

Honestly, I've never encountered a gear-snob who passes comment on someone else's gear.

They maybe exercise their snobbery with their wallet, but not their voice.

 

[Nail Soup]

Suggesting that someone else acquire a different bit of gear could be driven by genuine helpfulness (whether misguided or not).

For example one may say to a beginner bassist who is struggling to play a very badly constructed bass that they would benefit from an upgrade to a cheap Squier or Harley Benton. 

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

I've lost out on a gig with a Feelgoods style r&b band as I turned up with a Cort. They wanted a Fender. 

 

Worked with Buddy Whittington (last Bluesbreakers guitarist) who always tells slightly coy owners of Mexican Fenders not to worry as Mexicans have been making the American ones for years.

Mmm. I’m trying to wrap my head around whether it’s OK for a bandleader to be that prescriptive regarding the bass/sound of a genre specific band. I think in some cases it can be justified, but Laing out on a gig because you have a Cort is a bit harsh.