Bass Snobbery

[Mykesbass]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

 

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. 

Didn't play with him, that was @mybasshonour. I worked with him in a record company capacity. Great musician and lovely person ( oh and he had plenty of quips along those lines).

[mr4stringz]

5 hours ago, knirirr said:

Most recently it's been a guitarist; asking when I'm going to get a "proper bass" and then when I eventually find a nice one and space to keep it telling me that I wasted too much money when I could have just had a beginner one from Thomann for much less.

Wow. What an absolute throbber. Said guitarist was lucky to not have you crack either the “improper” or “proper” bass off his bonce. 

[Muzz]

It does happen, both ways, and from uninformed punters and some musicians, but usually not from bassists, IME; from the fairly common punter "What's that?" "It's a Shuker" "Tell you what you want, you want a Fender, my mate's got one" and the punter who definitively told me my Fenderbird was 'Wrong', and no-one played them (I did mention John Entwistle, but that apparently cut no ice), to the other side of the coin: my Shukerbird started out as an Epiphone, the only two bits of it that still remain are the body wood and the neckplate, which proudly reads 'Epiphone' - our old guitarist said to me "You should change that, Epiphones are cheap". Nope, I like it that way... :0)

 

I was delighted to play the biggest gig of last year with my £150 BB414, and there was a kinda reverse joy in playing a corporate gig a few years ago at OT Cricket Ground with a Harley Benton bass that cost me (brand new, delivered) a fifth of the cost of a ticket...and I told everyone, too... 😀

[TheLowDown]

I would be more likely to scoff at someone who has a Fender rather than a Squier. Their money I suppose.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

2 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

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. 

Upgrade to a Harley Benton? Is that even possible? 🤣

[BassTractor]

BTW, and in all seriousness this time, I've had quite some bass players play my Squiers, StingRays and Bongos, and they unanimously were very enthusiastic about the Squiers - probably because they were pleasantly surprised.
At any rate: never any scoffing.

Personally, as a keyboard player I've always tried to coerce good sound out of cheap gear, whilst at the same time advising pupils to get better gear, as they could not expect themselves to be able to coerce likewise.
IME the same goes for string and wind instruments (not being a pro in this, mind).

[Barking Spiders]

Quite few name guitarists who were known to play budget/cheap guitars. Derek Trucks plays a Silvertone Tuxedo and Randy California also played a Silvertone guitar. Not quite in the Kay league but still <£500. Prince had a Hohner Telecaster which was a bit of a fave by all accounts.

 

As with my basses, my electric guitars are all sub-500 including an Epiphone Sheraton II, with the other two both under 300; an Ibanez RG421 and this beaut  

   

They all play lovely!

[Rib13Bass]

I have a Harley Benton Enhanced MP-4 in my bizarre collection of basses..........with the exception of the pickups/electronics (and, while not great, they really arent that bad either) and the weight, it is actually a very decent instrument...I personally would have no issue gigging it out as an option to my usual Fender, Stingray, or G&L ASAT that I normally take (if I ever decide to start gigging out again lol - Im currently taking a break from gigging)

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

3 minutes ago, Rib13Bass said:

I have a Harley Benton Enhanced MP-4 in my bizarre collection of basses..........with the exception of the pickups/electronics (and, while not great, they really arent that bad either) and the weight, it is actually a very decent instrument...I personally would have no issue gigging it out as an option to my usual Fender, Stingray, or G&L ASAT that I normally take (if I ever decide to start gigging out again lol - Im currently taking a break from gigging)

So, the strings are OK then? I've seen a few videos of people taking delivery of HB basses and the first thing they do is go about trying to fix the several things that's not to like about them.

It's possibly me, but that doesn't compute in my head. Why would you buy something with known issues that you have to fix to make it playable - well, at least the way you want it.

I'm given to understand that after the work it can still come out a good bass at a decent price point, but the whole process is not for me.

 

Apologies for the derail.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

At my next gig I'll probably be proudly playing a Harley benton PB50 that I bought for £50.

 

I have customised it a little, but the neck, body, and pickup are the original parts 😉

 

 

[neepheid]

22 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Upgrade to a Harley Benton? Is that even possible? 🤣

 

From a Glarry maybe? Not tried any of these instruments so I'm merely commenting on the increase in cost from Glarry -> HB

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

2 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

From a Glarry maybe? Not tried any of these instruments so I'm merely commenting on the increase in cost from Glarry -> HB

I'll take your word for it. I've heard the name Glarry, but have no knowledge of the product.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

3 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

At my next gig I'll probably be proudly playing a Harley benton PB50 that I bought for £50.

 

I have customised it a little, but the neck, body, and pickup are the original parts 😉

 

 

 

No offence intended, but the string spacing and position in relation to the mid-line of the fretboard is er....well, not great.

[dudewheresmybass]

I've always loved shaped instruments. Equally I've always loved traditionally shaped ones too

 

I showed up at a jam night with a 'pointy' for a few times, and saw some eyebrows raised, but the next time, I took my USA p for a change, and I heard the comment  - "I see he's decided to grow up"

 

Now, on the rare occasion I do go to a Jam night, I take pointies just for sheer spite lol

 

[dclaassen]

I have seen enough of this to know…

     - never judge another person’s instrument before you hear/play it.

     - never get too proud of your good bass..most musicians don’t recognise my Pedulla, and that’s fine with me.

     - play what you want, but always keep an open mind.

[Rib13Bass]

27 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

So, the strings are OK then? I've seen a few videos of people taking delivery of HB basses and the first thing they do is go about trying to fix the several things that's not to like about them.

It's possibly me, but that doesn't compute in my head. Why would you buy something with known issues that you have to fix to make it playable - well, at least the way you want it.

I'm given to understand that after the work it can still come out a good bass at a decent price point, but the whole process is not for me.

 

Apologies for the derail.

Im a "new strings" player - I like the sound and rich piano wire structure of fresh strings and change them as soon as they start losing brightness - usually what folks call the "broken in" period is when Im ready to take them off (I spend a lot of money on strings lol)...Needless to say, the first thing I do when acquiring any bass is put new strings on it so I couldnt tell you what the set that came with it sounded like (besides not being my gauge, usually budget basses come with budget questionable strings - and Ive had output issues with cheap strings before)....as stated earlier, the pickups/electronics arent great but they dont suck either and I have no issue gigging this bass out as is (the pickups/electronics are good enough that Im not going to swap them out)

Edited June 9, 2022 by Rib13Bass

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

2 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

No offence intended, but the string spacing and position in relation to the mid-line of the fretboard is er....well, not great.

The photo was taken with the bass at an angle that makes it look a lot worse than it is.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

13 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

So, the strings are OK then? I've seen a few videos of people taking delivery of HB basses and the first thing they do is go about trying to fix the several things that's not to like about them.

It's possibly me, but that doesn't compute in my head. Why would you buy something with known issues that you have to fix to make it playable - well, at least the way you want it.

I'm given to understand that after the work it can still come out a good bass at a decent price point, but the whole process is not for me.

 

Apologies for the derail.

Some of us like to tinker. Its less risky to customise a sub-£100 instrument than something considerably more expensive.

[Rib13Bass]

25 minutes ago, dudewheresmybass said:

I've always loved shaped instruments. Equally I've always loved traditionally shaped ones too

 

I showed up at a jam night with a 'pointy' for a few times, and saw some eyebrows raised, but the next time, I took my USA p for a change, and I heard the comment  - "I see he's decided to grow up"

 

Now, on the rare occasion I do go to a Jam night, I take pointies just for sheer spite lol

 

 

Ive taken my pointys to blues jams

 

[jazzyvee]

4 hours ago, jacko said:

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

Yes it does if you are already a snob. But if not, then playing an alembic is not a sign of snobbery just a sign of different taste in basses. 🤣

Play on my alembic buddy. 🙂

[jazzyvee]

53 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

Quite few name guitarists who were known to play budget/cheap guitars. Derek Trucks plays a Silvertone Tuxedo and Randy California also played a Silvertone guitar. Not quite in the Kay league but still <£500. Prince had a Hohner Telecaster which was a bit of a fave by all accounts.

 

As with my basses, my electric guitars are all sub-500 including an Epiphone Sheraton II, with the other two both under 300; an Ibanez RG421 and this beaut  

   

They all play lovely!

I've just started rehearsing with a band as a dep and the guitarist has one of these guitars. Sounds Lovely!!!!

 

[Oomo]

Definitely goes both ways... Many many years ago I played in an alternative/indie/goth band.

 

I was mocked for my Fender MIM for being a dad rock bass (it sounded fastastic).

 

They loved the look of my awful £40 2nd hand Dean Edge bass in black though...there was nothing good about that bass.

 

[jazzyvee]

From what I read on bass forums, I think there is more bass envy than bass snobbery.🥱

[jazzyvee]

4 hours ago, rushbo said:

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.

HAHAH I had the same look when I turned up for an audition with my fretless electric guitar. Didn't get the gig though because the drummer thought my playing was too jazzy. Which to me was a compliment, as jazz guitar is something I have always struggled with. 🙂

A few years later we were in the same touring band for about 4 years, he still had the same attitude so I deliberately brought the same guitar to some of the early gigs and played as jazzy/bluesy as I could since he, like me, was also a hired as a session player and played to order.

Edited June 9, 2022 by jazzyvee

[LukeFRC]

What percentage of these stories are other bassists, guitarists, other musicians or non musicians do you think?