Why buy an expensive bass?

[3V17C]

peanuts and monkeys!

i guess it depends on your personal preference - i've played cheaper basses and these days alot of budget basses are of a reasonable quality but to me at least there is a difference - I've had high end basses and admittedly all of mine these days are kinda 'midrange' but as you get to be a more experienced player you know more what you want from an instrument and for most (funds permitting) that means spending a bit. Its the same with many things - a few years ago I thought i'd take up mountain biking as a hobby and to start with bought myself a cheapo Raliegh from Halfords, but after a while I upgraded to a much nicer, more specialist bike. Same thing really. I am a bit of a brand snob though whether its basses or bikes or whatever!

I also think that in certain professional situations you'll not be taken as seriously if you turn up with cheap and cheerful gear, regardless of what you can do with it.

Having said that after giving my beaten up old MIM Jazz a set up etc recently my other basses haven't been touched!

peace

c

[Doddy]

[quote name='3V17C' post='595734' date='Sep 11 2009, 02:59 PM']I also think that in certain professional situations you'll not be taken as seriously if you turn up with cheap and cheerful gear, regardless of what you can do with it.[/quote]

Maybe in a snobby band situation,but I did a show fairly recently where I split the Bass chair with Paul Westwood,who is arguably one of the
UK's most successful session players,and he was using a 5 string Hohner Steinberger copy-and played and sounded great.

[thisnameistaken]

I've gone out and tried the current crop of super-cheap basses (Wesley, Vintage, Stagg, etc.) just on the off chance that I found a nice one, but they were all horrible. You must've dropped lucky on yours.

But there are cheap basses I wish I still had. My old Yamaha BB was great, and I had a Tanglewood P fretless for a while that was really good.

[Hot Tub]

My personal view is, as someone posted earlier, simply that it's nice to own nice things. It's a sort of "thank-you" to yourself for all the hard work and long hours, when you come home and plug in that gorgeous bass. You love the look of it, the feel of it, the sound of it, and just the sheer pleasure of owning it. Whether or not you can actually play it is, I believe, secondary.

It's a bit like buying a modern sportsbike. Very few people (dare I say, practically no one?) can actually ride these things to anything like their potential, but owning it, looking after it, even just gazing at it in the garage on a cold, wet, winter's day, and riding it to the best of your own personal ability, is a very great pleasure.

If I can ever afford it, I am going to buy one of these "boutique" basses. And I only play in my spare bedroom.

[purpleblob]

In all honesty I doubt I have anything to add to what's aleady been said. It ultimately is horses for courses...

Most people tend to aspire to something whether it's a high end bass, fast cars, big house or whatever - in some cases it can difficult to justify why one thing is better to have at the price than another at a lower price. All that really matters at the end of the day is what you are happy with, whether it cost £150 or £4500.

When it comes down to it, it is simply personal taste.

[Deep Thought]

I'm a Precision nut, with very little desire to own much else-however my US P is about as much money as I'd want to spend on a bass. I can't look after them-no matter how hard I try they end up getting dinged and scratched. I can live with doing that to a Fender, but a £1000+ custom job is a different kettle of [i]poisson[/i]. I've had cheaper basses and didn't get on with 'em-probably because they weren't Precisions and that's what I wanted. I don't look after basses well enough to justify spending big money. That having been said, there's just a chance of something in the pipeline....

[Crikey!]

because its fun.

I can't speak for basses because i only have cheap basses but it works across all aspects of life.

I could get by with a transit van (and i do) but id love a Merc Sprinter. I could get by with a 1 bedroom basement flat, but i want a big nice cosy house.

If you can have a nice bass then get it, enjoy it, realise it's not for you and get another nice bass.

All the while holding on to your Squire P that you just can't bring yourself to shift.

[Orphius]

[quote name='purpleblob' post='595769' date='Sep 11 2009, 03:50 PM']In all honesty I doubt I have anything to add to what's aleady been said. It ultimately is horses for courses...

Most people tend to aspire to something whether it's a high end bass, fast cars, big house or whatever - in some cases it can difficult to justify why one thing is better to have at the price than another at a lower price. All that really matters at the end of the day is what you are happy with, whether it cost £150 or £4500.

When it comes down to it, it is simply personal taste.[/quote]

Totally agree

IMHO as with most gear the manufacturers can throw money into the design and assembly, but as equipment gets better and better it actually becomes harder to improve and therefore the cost goes up exponentially. I have had experience with this on Pro Studio speakers where the jump from OK monitors to good monitors could be Hundreds of £. To go from good monitors to superb was Thousands and the next step up was purely down to personal taste and is way beyond anything a normal musician could afford!!!

[EssentialTension]

I buy what I can afford that I like and can use.

'Expensive' would be what I can't afford. I don't buy that.

[MB1]

[quote name='PaulWarning' post='595694' date='Sep 11 2009, 02:09 PM']I've got a MIJ Hondo professional which I got for £40, and I really like the tone, better than my stingray, but, when gigging I use the stingray because it's got a tighter sound and it cuts through the mix so much better, the Hondo is just that little bit more flabby and tends to get lost in gig situations.[/quote]


MB1.
....And you'll always find it in the kitchen at Parties!....

[Shockwave]

I used to love Mid priced gear, never thought as to why anyone would pay for a custom instrument.

Then i tried a Pedulla..... :blush:

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='henry norton' post='595642' date='Sep 11 2009, 01:20 PM']I like cheap(er) basses 'cos I like to tinker with them. Most pre CBS Fender owners would give up playing before they let anyone near them with a replacement pickup - especially if it required a rout [/quote]

True that. I got a really cheap bass that i had no worries about sticking a stingray pickup in my cheapo bass and now it sounds pretty good. Having said that, I think no matter how good a bass might play or sound, there is always that feeling of "quality" that might be lacking on a cheaper bass. For example the paintwork, quality of fittings and parts etc... Some people simply aren't bothered about it but others can't stand a bass that is cheap because of this.

Edited September 11, 2009 by EdwardHimself

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Shockwave' post='596000' date='Sep 11 2009, 07:54 PM']I used to love Mid priced gear, never thought as to why anyone would pay for a custom instrument.

Then i tried a Pedulla..... :blush:[/quote]
I used to love cheap gear. Then I bought your fretless StingRay 5.

Things will never be the same again.

[doctor_of_the_bass]

Great thread!

Speaking from experience, there are:

1. Crap cheap basses
2. Outstanding cheap basses
3. Crap expensive basses
4. Outstanding expensive basses

If you can find a cheapo that does it for you, then great! I love brand new boutique basses and yet, my overall favourite is my Vigier which could still be classed as boutique but if most of you saw it would perhaps compare it to the Millenium Falcon - beaten up and tired looking but its still a fantastic bass and covers all the sound requirements I have as a pro bassist. Obviously, each and everyone of us has their own taste and again, if we all played the same type of bass it would be a very dull world!

Nick

[Porkpie]

Just taken delivery of my new Pedulla rapture j2 fretless, awsome, will be gigging it this weekend cos I bought it to play it, not hang it on the wall and look at it. Never spent this much on an instrument before but I knew i'd get exactly what I wanted, and just as I thought, it delivers. I'm hoping this will see me through till I can no longer carry on playing, but you never know when the next attack of gas might creep up on you!

[EvilSmile]

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='596109' date='Sep 11 2009, 10:27 PM']Speaking from experience, there are:

1. Crap cheap basses
2. Outstanding cheap basses
3. Crap expensive basses
4. Outstanding expensive basses[/quote]

+1

For me it comes down to build quality and in general the better the build quality the more you pay. I'd never get something that is or feels badly or really cheaply made. I want some quality to my basses. By quality i don't mean basses with loads of bells and whistles and all fancy wood - they fall in the 'it's nice to own nice things bit' imo. If its built well and sounds good and i like the look (i'm a shallow person!) its a bass i'd consider buying. Its only then i'd factor in the cost and if its within my budget. Now i've found to satisfy this i need a mid level to upper mid ranged bass.

[GremlinAndy]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='595751' date='Sep 11 2009, 03:16 PM']My personal view is, as someone posted earlier, simply that it's nice to own nice things. It's a sort of "thank-you" to yourself for all the hard work and long hours, when you come home and plug in that gorgeous bass. You love the look of it, the feel of it, the sound of it, and just the sheer pleasure of owning it. Whether or not you can actually play it is, I believe, secondary.

It's a bit like buying a modern sportsbike. Very few people (dare I say, practically no one?) can actually ride these things to anything like their potential, but owning it, looking after it, even just gazing at it in the garage on a cold, wet, winter's day, and riding it to the best of your own personal ability, is a very great pleasure.

If I can ever afford it, I am going to buy one of these "boutique" basses. And I only play in my spare bedroom.

[/quote]

That's a very perceptive point you have there... that just about cuts to the nub of it.
(I just sold a Hayabusa 1300 bike (200mph plus) ...In 3 years I did about 70 miles and never went above 110mph... Lost about £3000. But feck! *what* a 70 miles that was!)

I work hard. At 49 my goal isn't to make it as a rock star... But I do earn a good wage, I have no wife to moan, ...and my tastes in instruments are purely self indulgent.
So it might not come as a surprise that regardless of my playing ability, I want the best instrument my money can buy.

My current whim is a Zon Hyperbass VII which I ordered a couple of days ago... $8700. I told you I have a good job right? Joe Zon is even going to try to arrange a leeson with Mr Manring if I go to San Fran to collect it...
Sweet Jeesus, god bless those boutique basses!



Which is better Fishcake and chips, or Caviar? I guess it depends on whether you're starving hungry, or holding a party for the King of Gondwanaland.

[Shockwave]

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='596190' date='Sep 12 2009, 12:10 AM']That's a very perceptive point you have there... that just about cuts to the nub of it.[/quote]

Hmm not 100% true, I take my Pedulla Fretless to every practice, every gig. I will also take the Fretted one to everything as well. Some people even at the grassroots level like playing them all the time as well! Sure i could play a mexi Fender at the gig no problems. But.... well i prefer my Pedulla As long as i have the money to keep it from falling apart i'll keep using it.

EG: The fretted that is arriving is well used.






My theory is, if a custom made bass has been well used, it means that it must of been one damn good bass to play to wear it down so much!

[Ou7shined]

I agree with the OP.
I suspect that there is a curved graph that represents the advancements and desirability against the value of a bass (or any object for that matter). It would start out very steep then gradually curve over until it is perfectly flat - at which point no matter how much money you throw at it the bass can't be improved at all.

We all find our respective places along the curve governed by 2 factors (I haven't thought this through so there might be more).
I have a couple of mid to good basses which are at my limit budget wise and I suppose they'd sit highish up on the steep part of the graph. However, I once played this one particular bass and I instantly felt at one with it. It just felt right. I suppose it would sit somewhere where the line starts to curve around. I'll never be able to afford that bass. It's exclusivity commands a price that I'd personally find hard to justify paying.

Lastly, I think we'd all love to have a perfect sounding bass but something I've noticed is (and this excludes vintage priced basses) as the value increases the craftsmanship and sound quality of a bass increases too but as the clarity of sound is achieved the less you can get away with regarding sloppy technique. As your technique improves you reach a point where your playing allows you to go to the next level of instrument - because that instrument allows you to be more expressive. So again you gravitate to your desired point along the curve, this time governed by skill level rather than the thickness of your wallet.

Although there is the school of thought that says that if you play instruments that are beyond your ability then it forces you to get better so as not to sound like a twat.
Isn't there some sort of business idiom that states that when people get promoted they are always promoted to one position above their ability but one day you stop getting promoted - at which point everything is run by incompetents.

I'm rambling now - I'm too tired to edit out the waffle - I hope I made my point.

Peace out.


edit : corrected the spelling but left the waffle in.

Edited September 12, 2009 by Ou7shined

[Raving_camel]

I'm not that bothered about basses really, if it works then i'm happy. Do you think your judgement on a bass is clouded by it's price? As in, you'd be ashamed to admit your £1k bass doesn't sound as good as you imagined? And my last question to those with 'expensive' basses, after using these basses do you think the price you payed was the correct one? For the materials, the outcome and the sound. I can understand people saying 'feel' justifies the price, but on a more practical level i'm interested to hear the results.

I also never understood this idea most people have about "Moving up" a bass, I can understand from a financial point of view, but when people move from a Squier Jazz to a MIM Jazz, I only see it being influenced by advertising. I completely disagree about this idea that moving up helps your bass playing.

[retroman]

IMHO, the cheap end of the bass market has really moved up a notch in the last few years. With us now being well into the age of CNC machining, and the ability to source parts from countries that can make them at a mind blowing low price, I'm not that surprised.

I have some cheapy P-basses, an Aria Legend, Squier Precision Special, and another, possibly an ancient Ibanez.

The Legend is your typical first bass (and is my first) plywood body and all. I must have owned it 20 years now, and I have to admit, plug it into the SVT, and it sounds really good. I've been tweaking the set up for years, and it plays really well.

The Squier is a good case in point for this thread. Bought new, with plenty of change from £200, afew tweaks here and there, and loaded it with SD 1/4 pounders. I've had a go on several "Proper" fender P's, and IMHO, they don't sound any better.

The possibly Ibanez P bass I have has a really growly tone, although the neck is a bit of a dog. It's got a proper solid body as well. It gets used and abused! Recently I attacked the nut with a file, strung it with steel ropes, and tuned it ADAD. It rose to the challenge really well.

I have to admit, I did get a GAS attack many, many years ago.....It was hung on a shop wall, battered to hell and back, and had a huge price tag..... I had to have a play, and WOW!! I'm not a huge Fender fan, but it blew me away with how gorgeous it was to play. It was a mid 60's Precision.

IMHO, I think that Ibanez offer really good VFM.

Thing is though, I have four budget basses, and when I'm jamming at home, I'm more likely to pick up the Thunderbird, or the Rickenbacker, so I guess that must say something

[blazer3]

It all depends on where you see yourself bass wise in a few years time.
If you join a band then i suppose you would want a nice instrument and gear, something that sounds good and plays well (who wouldn"t).
Considering i am new to bass playing, i know exactly what i want and it doesn"t involve joining a band, in all honesty i"m quite happy jamming with a guitar player friend of mine (usually drunk but what the hell ) as its a great laugh and because were both beginners its fun as well, were both 41 years old so were not kids.
All in all i really couldn"t justify spending money on a squire let alone a fender because in my eyes it would be a waste of money as it wouldnt get the usage.
My jazz copy plays and sounds fine to me (probably sound garbage to someone else) it was cheap and i dont mind if it gets knocked about, i"ve learned how to set it up and i just love picking it up and playing.
Everyones opinions will be different and i wouldn"t regard anyone has a gear snob just because they wouldn"t entertain a cheap bass, its just that thier future plans may be completely different to mine.

[OutToPlayJazz]

The previous comments about production methods are very true indeed. At the end of the day it's not down to the price. I was recently at the Gallery where a 'lowly' Squier Classic Vibe jazz bass blew away all of the Sadowsky basses I tried out. At the end of the day it's down to what fits you, as opposed to the price.

As for my relationship with Status-Graphite which has been on-going for the last twenty years, I can absolutely guarantee the quality there, as every bass goes through one man's hands for final assembly and setup. Some things are worth paying for

Rich.

[BigRedX]

It's not about price, but about finding the right instrument for you.

[jakenewmanbass]

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='596109' date='Sep 11 2009, 10:27 PM']Great thread!

Speaking from experience, there are:[/quote]

Pah, you speaking from experience, all you've got is 65 basses