Bass Snobbery

[Muzz]

16 hours ago, Mastodon2 said:

In the ultra-conservative world of bass guitar, you're more likely to face snobbery if you're playing something high-end. More than 4 strings, exotic woods, luxury appointments etc, the more you have the more likely you'll be to draw the ire of the "P Bass is all you need" crowd.

This is one of the issues when I finally get my Shuker JJB P...I'll have to set time aside to loathe myself...on the upside, it'll confuse the other lot... 😕😁

[neepheid]

16 hours ago, Mastodon2 said:

In the ultra-conservative world of bass guitar, you're more likely to face snobbery if you're playing something high-end. More than 4 strings, exotic woods, luxury appointments etc, the more you have the more likely you'll be to draw the ire of the "P Bass is all you need" crowd.

 

Maybe that's why I've been left alone for much of my playing career:

 

"He's playing a Gibson bass - he isn't even worth engaging in conversation, even I can't talk that far down to someone"

 

or more recently

 

"G&L?" - followed by the sound of the obnoxious Fenderhead's brain melting under the strain of processing the visible proof that even Leo didn't think that Leo got it right the first (second) time

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by neepheid

[Supernaut]

I suggest the men having issues with jeans retake their measurements and try on multiple pairs in the shop. Well fitted jeans don't have to be designer. 

[FinnDave]

5 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

"He's playing a Gibson bass - he isn't even worth engaging in conversation, even I can't talk that far down to someone"

 

I played a Gibson Thunderbird for a while - people did comment on it, but all the comments were positive. I no longer have it, but it was at least as good as my Fenders, though perhaps suited a narrower range of styles than a Precision & Jazz can cover. Wasn't exactly a lightweight, but it did sound good.

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

I played a Gibson Thunderbird for a while - people did comment on it, but all the comments were positive. I no longer have it, but it was at least as good as my Fenders, though perhaps suited a narrower range of styles than a Precision & Jazz can cover. Wasn't exactly a lightweight, but it did sound good.

 

I had a taste for the, shall we say, less well known/regarded/remembered of Gibson's outputs - G-3, Ripper, RD, Victory, SG-Z, Les Paul Double Cut, Non-Reverse Thunderbird, etc.

 

The regular reverse body Thunderbird is grudgingly accepted into the bass pantheon, I think

[Stub Mandrel]

Well... I  have two fenders, but I'm taking a Squier Jaguar to my next gig.

 

I also happily gig an Epiphone and now a Harley Benton.

[merello]

I am jealous when I watch a player with a 'cheap' bass. Is it because of the bass? No - it is usually because they are a better player than me!😇

[merello]

22 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

If your instrument cables aren't made from molecular aligned isotope 198 gold insulated with atomically pure silicone hand woven by virgins then you are a peasant.

Molecular gold  - 🙁
198 as an isotope - 2 days later it would decay to mercury 🙁
Silicone can't be atomically pure as it isn't an element. 🙁
Virgins - it's Basschat!😇
This place has gone to the scientific dogs!😄

 

(ps - get your drift. Once had a pal who AB'd his set up to show us all the difference in gold plated leads v Copper....not one person could hear the difference, meanwhile, he was pulling mega orgasm faces at every click!)
 

[SteveXFR]

13 minutes ago, merello said:

Molecular gold  - 🙁
198 as an isotope - 2 days later it would decay to mercury 🙁
Silicone can't be atomically pure as it isn't an element. 🙁
Virgins - it's Basschat!😇
This place has gone to the scientific dogs!😄

 

(ps - get your drift. Once had a pal who AB'd his set up to show us all the difference in gold plated leads v Copper....not one person could hear the difference, meanwhile, he was pulling mega orgasm faces at every click!)
 

 

I'm a mechanical engineer. I do physics, not chemistry. I didn't do all that great in material science at uni.

[Rib13Bass]

4 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

I had a taste for the, shall we say, less well known/regarded/remembered of Gibson's outputs - G-3,

I love fresh new rounds on basses and The G.3 with brand spanking new rounds is an amazing sounding instrument..........(Sidenote: One of my earliest influences, Kelly Groucutt of ELO, used a G.3 a lot although he had more of a tapewounds/worn-flats kind of sound)

Edited June 11, 2022 by Rib13Bass

[jimmyb625]

I think a lot of the perceptions around Fender/Gibson being the best you can get, dates back to the 60's, where the quality of instruments available wasn't great on the whole. 

If you look at interviews of people like The Shadows, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones etc, they always talk with reverance about getting their first Fender. If you also look at what the big groups were using, so many of them were using Fender or Gibson, there was an association that they were the best.

[drTStingray]

2 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

I think a lot of the perceptions around Fender/Gibson being the best you can get, dates back to the 60's, where the quality of instruments available wasn't great on the whole. 

If you look at interviews of people like The Shadows, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones etc, they always talk with reverance about getting their first Fender. If you also look at what the big groups were using, so many of them were using Fender or Gibson, there was an association that they were the best.

To an extent, I think this is true (and we shouldn’t forget the impact Jet Harris and the Shadows had on 60s musicians). However Rickenbacker was also there in the mix. But the 60s blues guitarists were also strongly influenced by blues musicians like Buddy Guy and rock and rollers like Chuck Berry - hence the number of players of 335s - the Gibson/Marshall combination was a v popular choice. 
 

What’s really weird is the very best bass sounds coming out of that era included the likes of Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser and Glenn Cornick - all of whom played Gibson basses - they were heroes of mine. However I have personally never had any great desire to play a Gibson bass and until I played one, my heart’s desire was actually a Fender Precision - the only people I actually liked at that time that played them (that I knew about) were Larry Taylor and Alan Spenner, and the latter changed up to a Wal by the later 70s (and immediately sounded even better and certainly more audible and articulate than before). I really can’t explain the lack of desire for a Gibson (and the desire for a Precision) - maybe I was seduced by the marketing/advertising!!! 

Edited June 11, 2022 by drTStingray

[MrCrane]

 

Silicon (Si) is an element. 

Edited June 12, 2022 by MrCrane

[Paul S]

21 minutes ago, MrCrane said:

 

Silicon (Si) is an element. 

 

Indeed.  And silicone, which is what the OP wrote, is a polymer of silicon and oxygen.  But I suspect it was a typo.

[Paul S]

My favourite bass to play is a Precision but I don't own a Fender.  I have a JV Squier, an Antoria, a Peavey Fury and a HB Shorty.  In fact I only have one 'big brand' bass and that is a Gibson LP Jnr DC.  I have a TBird that is an Epiphone, a Rick that is a Retrovibe faker.  I look pretty tall but my heels are high...  

[Grassie]

Nearly all of the basses I’ve owned have been just above entry level or mid level instruments, apart from a ‘96 US Fender deluxe Jazz 5er, but I’ve never had anyone sneer “urgh a Squier?”. In fact whenever people talk to me about my gear (ie about twice a year) they always compliment me on my sound, which I put down to my Gallien Krueger rig. Fenders/Squiers have an inherent sound which doesn’t really differ (to my ears anyway) between Affinity’s up to American made basses - that is to say a Precision will always sound like a Precision and the same with their jazz basses. I’ve moved on to G&Ls (tribute series) and I’m still getting people say that they sound great.

 

I noticed a while back that American musicians seem to play decent high quality instruments that aren’t Fenders or Gibsons ie Spector/Warwick/Ernie Ball/Ibanez/Yamaha, and aren’t swayed by what looks “cool” or appropriate for a particular kind of music, whereas most UK bands have bassists and guitarists that will play vintage Fenders or Gibsons and there’s very little variation between bands. Now, whether these bands choose these instruments based on their looks is not for me to say, but maybe that’s a kind of snobbery there…

[Dan Dare]

 

6 minutes ago, Grassie said:

I noticed a while back that American musicians seem to play decent high quality instruments that aren’t Fenders or Gibsons ie Spector/Warwick/Ernie Ball/Ibanez/Yamaha, and aren’t swayed by what looks “cool” or appropriate for a particular kind of music, whereas most UK bands have bassists and guitarists that will play vintage Fenders or Gibsons and there’s very little variation between bands. Now, whether these bands choose these instruments based on their looks is not for me to say, but maybe that’s a kind of snobbery there…

 

I think it could be more a case of the other man's grass being greener. Fenders and Gibsons are the common or garden home grown US brands, so they hanker for something different. We have traditionally looked to the US for inspiration when it comes to pop music and that includes their instruments.

[Nicko]

18 hours ago, Supernaut said:

I suggest the men having issues with jeans retake their measurements and try on multiple pairs in the shop. Well fitted jeans don't have to be designer. 

Equally, I suggest all those thinking expensive basses are required try all the basses in the shop before deciding.  A great bass doesn't have to be expensive/a desirable brand.

 

WRT jeans it's taken me until I was approaching 50 to finally find jeans that fit.  I think I've tried on a lot of jeans and I'm more than happy to pay more for ones that I actually want to wear.

[ubit]

I used to be a bass snob. Before I could afford a decent bass I thought I had to strive to get a decent one. I heard that Guy Pratt used a Status bass so I saved for one of those and used it for years. I finally got an American Std Precision and thought I've made it now. I scoffed at Japanese or Mexican or even worse Squire copies. Now after seeing professional players using Squires and my own experience in trying copies I realise how wrong I was. Basically play whatever you feel comfortable with. I still love my American P the best right enough.

[FinnDave]

I don't consider myself a bass snob, and certainly never look down on other people's choices of instrument, but I have six basses at the moment and all are Fenders - four Precisions (two US, two Mexican) and two Jazz basses (both Mexican). 

When I was starting out on bass in the mid seventies, just about every bass player I admired played a Fender, usually a Precision, so I graduated from no-name cheap plywood basses through copies of Fenders and finally was able to have a real Fender, or two… Owning a Fender wasn't a case of being one up on anyone else, it was just a natural aspiration for a young player growing up in that era.

[Lozz196]

18 hours ago, Supernaut said:

I suggest the men having issues with jeans retake their measurements and try on multiple pairs in the shop. Well fitted jeans don't have to be designer. 

 

13 minutes ago, Nicko said:

WRT jeans it's taken me until I was approaching 50 to finally find jeans that fit.  I think I've tried on a lot of jeans and I'm more than happy to pay more for ones that I actually want to wear.

After years of putting up with Levi’s I’ve found that Next do the best jeans for me. So a win situation as they’re about a third of the price. But it wouldn’t have bothered me if they were twice the price, they just fit so much better.

[Geek99]

4 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

 

After years of putting up with Levi’s I’ve found that Next do the best jeans for me. So a win situation as they’re about a third of the price. But it wouldn’t have bothered me if they were twice the price, they just fit so much better.

I wear them too, and the taper fit are excellent 

mind you, I do get employee discount 

If you want a lot of stuff, or something big from Home, let me know 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Geek99

[FinnDave]

1 minute ago, Lozz196 said:

 

After years of putting up with Levi’s I’ve found that Next do the best jeans for me. So a win situation as they’re about a third of the price. But it wouldn’t have bothered me if they were twice the price, they just fit so much better.

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).

[Nicko]

2 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.

I like my socks to have holes in when I buy them so I can get my feet into them.

[FinnDave]

Just now, Nicko said:

I like my socks to have holes in when I buy them so I can get my feet into them.

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.