Im going off flashy basses..

[bubinga5]

Im getting into my 11th year of playing bass.. ive had a few boutique-ish basses.. i adored the Sei i had.. but i really cant see me playing a bass with a sexy wood top now.. im talking spaltedmapleburlishroseofthemountain... im getting more and more interested in cheaper basses and what i can do with them mod wise and musically...my SR5 is the bomb..ok its a little flashy but nothing brash.. not expensive but is possibly the best 5 on the planet..

im not knocking the boutique basses but personally, and this is just me, i would feel like a posh kid who has spent too much money..

if i had £5000 to spend on only bass..., i would prob buy basses under £1000, and mod them to my liking.. i feel i have enough knowledge to mod a bass that could keep up with any £2000 + instrument.. but lets face it, most can its just personal...

[Muzz]

+1 to all of the above - sold my Overwater, Goodfellow, etc and, while they were undoubtedly fine instruments and a privilege to own, I don't miss them at all. I'm having miles more fun modding.

[redstriper]

I've never had an expensive bass, but I've played a few without being greatly impressed.
There are a few people on here who have sold their high end basses and replaced them with Squiers or similar.
I don't think you have to spend lots of money to get a good playable instrument that you can get to know, (and modify if necessary) that will last a lifetime.

Maybe even one of [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb1975_na.htm"]these[/url]

[bubinga5]

you can get such an incredible instrument for way sub £1000.. ive learned to mod/set up a bass over the years.. it was learned from Bass Chat really..then experimenting, and knowing what you like... of course the knowledge costs alot of money in the end..

[Jimmyp28]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1167587' date='Mar 18 2011, 08:13 PM']Im getting into my 11th year of playing bass.. ive had a few boutique-ish basses.. i adored the Sei i had.. but i really cant see me playing a bass with a sexy wood top now.. im talking spaltedmapleburlishroseofthemountain... im getting more and more interested in cheaper basses and what i can do with them mod wise and musically...my SR5 is the bomb..ok its a little flashy but nothing brash.. not expensive but is possibly the best 5 on the planet..

im not knocking the boutique basses but personally, and this is just me, i would feel like a posh kid who has spent too much money..

if i had £5000 to spend on only bass..., i would prob buy basses under £1000, and mod them to my liking.. i feel i have enough knowledge to mod a bass that could keep up with any £2000 + instrument.. but lets face it, most can its just personal...[/quote]

So i take it from this you will not be ordering a ritter bass any time soon then

Edited March 18, 2011 by Jimmyp28

[ThomBassmonkey]

Machines are so advanced no, they should be able to knock out instruments to a decent quality without having the prices sky high.

IME the price comes from having very high quality control (so you're paying for wastage) or having them hand built (which means better attention to detail, though not specifically anything better overall). Neither make the end instruments better, they just make it less likely you'll get a duff one. Brands like Westfield show that you can make cheap basses that are way above their price point in quality, but dogs can get through the QC.

I don't think I could bring myself to buy a boutique bass (new) when I could have 2-3 great factory basses for the same price and upgrade the hardware to my tastes.

[MythSte]

Sue Who?

[Kiwi]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1167680' date='Mar 18 2011, 10:37 PM']Machines are so advanced no, they should be able to knock out instruments to a decent quality without having the prices sky high.

IME the price comes from having very high quality control (so you're paying for wastage) or having them hand built (which means better attention to detail, though not specifically anything better overall). Neither make the end instruments better, they just make it less likely you'll get a duff one. Brands like Westfield show that you can make cheap basses that are way above their price point in quality, but dogs can get through the QC.[/quote]
The main difference I'd pay for is having wood that has a specific tonal character. There are far fewer luthiers out there who can guarantee with any certainty what an instrument will sound like than many would have you believe...apart from well worn ash or alder or mahogany bodies are used with maple necks...especially when complicated combinations of wood are being used in one instrument. If anything I've found lots of different woods tend to make the instruments sound more generic. A bit like having too many ingredients in a dish.

I don't think its a question of boutique or not, more a question of construction. Better sounding instruments to my ears tend to have fewer woods used.

[molan]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1167587' date='Mar 18 2011, 08:13 PM']if i had £5000 to spend on only bass...[/quote]

I'd use it to put towards an even more expensive boutique bass, £5K would just about cover the deposit of what I'd really like to buy, lol.

Horses for courses eh

[Delberthot]

Read this earlier today - very interesting:

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/scrap-lumber-bass-vs-alder-bass-can-you-tell-difference-743932/"]Scrap bass V Alder Jazz Bass[/url]


I've had expensive and cheap basses and no longer feel that it is necessary to spend more than £200 on a gigging bass given the quality of the lower end stuff.

The last time I played the venue I'm at tomorrow I had a Warwick Thumb NT5 and a Modulus Flea bass which have a combined new cost of around £5000. Tomorrow I will be gigging an Epiphone Gothic Thunderbird and one of the slightly older Saein made Epiphone Les Paul basses with the mahogany body and carved top which would've set me back about £400 if I'd bought them new.

I've not gigged the les Paul yet so cannot comment on that but so far have had the Thunderbird much longer than I had either of the other basses and am much happier than i ever was the others.

There will, however, always be a place for everything from the Sue Ryder basses of the world to the coffee table snake oil ones (my personal opinion) as everyone is different and for some, only a bass made from 25000 year old lumber pulled from a swamp in the everglades and hand carved by Scooby Doo will do. do (heh heh - do do)

[bubinga5]

[quote name='molan' post='1167762' date='Mar 18 2011, 10:56 PM']I'd use it to put towards an even more expensive boutique bass, £5K would just about cover the deposit of what I'd really like to buy, lol.

Horses for courses eh [/quote]
Jeeeez Barrie.. forget this thread..what you Gassin for?

most of your boutique basses, are not that flashy, but very expensive.. i always loved that Louis J bass you had..

i can only think of 2 bass companies that may have a deposit of that sort of money..Alembic and Fodera... i dont think your an Alembic man, so im guessing Fodera... i bet my pants on its a Fodera.. you should really branch out and try a Sukop or STR.. and let me know how the Sukop went...

Edited March 19, 2011 by bubinga5

[icastle]

[quote name='MythSte' post='1167685' date='Mar 18 2011, 09:44 PM']Sue Who? [/quote]

Not me!
I'm skint until tomorrow night...

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='1167718' date='Mar 18 2011, 10:04 PM']The main difference I'd pay for is having wood that has a specific tonal character.[/quote]

I suppose it depends on the application. If you're doing something where you're up front a lot and soloing then it's worth having a bass with a recognisable character. I mean I keep my Thumb because I love its sound and it is a very distinguished sound (although IMO it's mostly the electronics and not the insanely dense wood that creates that sound) and I love to play it and I've always wanted one but I don't have a gig for it at the moment so it doesn't get gigged.

I think for most people a bass that plays well with a solid core sound that works well in a band mix is enough, and you can get that for under two hundred quid. You just can. There's no argument.

Edited March 19, 2011 by thisnameistaken

[tommorichards]

I agree. Pretty much all my basses are cheap things which i have enhanced through various electronic modifications. They all sound awesome in their own way. I could ever imagine a need to go boutique.

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1167587' date='Mar 18 2011, 08:13 PM']Im getting into my 11th year of playing bass..[/quote]

First of all congratulation for your 11th year of playing bass!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1167587' date='Mar 18 2011, 08:13 PM']...my SR5 is the bomb..ok its a little flashy but nothing brash.. not expensive but is possibly the best 5 on the planet..[/quote]

Stingray are great basses, I have had two for over 12 years, I repeat great basses but not the best 5 strings on the planet, even I believed that up to a certain point in my life... but I don't need to boast about the bass that made me change that perspective, most people already know what I have found to be the ultimate 5 strings bass. (my Avatar is a give-away )

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1167587' date='Mar 18 2011, 08:13 PM']i feel i have enough knowledge to mod a bass that could keep up with any £2000 + instrument.. but lets face it, most can its just personal...[/quote]

I agree wholehartedly: you can get any low entry bass provided its not really really dirt cheap that it falls apart, something like a Squire CV makes for a fantastic platform and you can have great fun modding it to your heart content, with whatever part takes your fancy, you can get a new neck, get some sh|t hot pickups, bridge, tuners, you can have one neck fretted and get a spare one fretless, but let me tell you even changing a pickguard to something you like and find to really enhance the look of your bass is the greatest satisfation. You did it your way and the reward is great.

[bubinga5]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1167901' date='Mar 19 2011, 02:53 AM']First of all congratulation for your 11th year of playing bass!



Stingray are great basses, I have had two for over 12 years, I repeat great basses but not the best 5 strings on the planet, even I believed that up to a certain point in my life... but I don't need to boast about the bass that made me change that perspective, most people already know what I have found to be the ultimate 5 strings bass. (my Avatar is a give-away )



I agree wholehartedly: you can get any low entry bass provided its not really really dirt cheap that it falls apart, something like a Squire CV makes for a fantastic platform and you can have great fun modding it to your heart content, with whatever part takes your fancy, you can get a new neck, get some sh|t hot pickups, bridge, tuners, you can have one neck fretted and get a spare one fretless, but let me tell you even changing a pickguard to something you like and find to really enhance the look of your bass is the greatest satisfation. You did it your way and the reward is great.[/quote]thankyou.. well i should really have said...."the best mass produced 5 string on the planet.. that i will stand by.. cant really compete with a Dinger.. but thats just physics and a bass making master... your Jazz is wonderful by the way.. the GAS is all mine.. that really has to sound fantastic....

whats it like by the way... ive always been curious... smooth tone, polite, agressive?

Edited March 19, 2011 by bubinga5

[chrismuzz]

I'd hate to have a super flashy looking bass... I'd get too upset if i knocked it! I stick to budget basses, maybe with upgraded pickups if I'm feeling extravagant. It would be the cheapest option, but I make up for it with expensive amps and pedals!

[Kiwi]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1167889' date='Mar 19 2011, 02:19 AM']I suppose it depends on the application. If you're doing something where you're up front a lot and soloing then it's worth having a bass with a recognisable character.[/quote]
That wasn't what I meant.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1167889' date='Mar 19 2011, 02:19 AM']I think for most people a bass that plays well with a solid core sound that works well in a band mix is enough, and you can get that for under two hundred quid. You just can. There's no argument.[/quote]
I'd argue against that. I went for something that cost 650 quid instead and it does the job better than any other bass I've played.

[Gunsfreddy2003]

I am a posh kid who has spent too much money!!

I'll throw in my two pence worth here, I have a GB Rumour which was built for me a couple of years ago and has a fantastic feel, look and sound. Great as it is I am having a lot of fun with my beat up old 74 jazz bass at the moment which yes you could say is still an expensive bass because it is old but at time of manufacture would have been seen as cheap compared to a custom built bass from a bespoke luthier.

To compound this I have also just bought a 1977 Musicman Stingray and I bet that will get some serious use when it arrives next week.

So I can see where you are are coming from, mass produced basses can give the bespoke lot a good run for their money but ultimately it depends what you are really after, great sound and feel or that and a stunning looker too!! If you want all three then you have to go bespoke and spend big!!


[quote name='bubinga5' post='1167587' date='Mar 18 2011, 08:13 PM']Im getting into my 11th year of playing bass.. ive had a few boutique-ish basses.. i adored the Sei i had.. but i really cant see me playing a bass with a sexy wood top now.. im talking spaltedmapleburlishroseofthemountain... im getting more and more interested in cheaper basses and what i can do with them mod wise and musically...my SR5 is the bomb..ok its a little flashy but nothing brash.. not expensive but is possibly the best 5 on the planet..

im not knocking the boutique basses but personally, and this is just me, i would feel like a posh kid who has spent too much money..

if i had £5000 to spend on only bass..., i would prob buy basses under £1000, and mod them to my liking.. i feel i have enough knowledge to mod a bass that could keep up with any £2000 + instrument.. but lets face it, most can its just personal...[/quote]

[karlfer]

Glad you are still enjoying the old girl (so to speak ).

[hillbilly deluxe]

If only there was a cheap Alembic or Wal copy.

delberthot,that was unreal.

[Gunsfreddy2003]

One of the best basses that I have ever bought Karl!! Love it

[quote name='karlfer' post='1167924' date='Mar 19 2011, 06:39 AM']Glad you are still enjoying the old girl (so to speak ).[/quote]

[luckman67]

I agree you can have just as much fun on a cheaper bass, last week I got hold of a Frankenfender. A MIJ or CIJ body & a MIM neck it needs a bit of work doing to it,I'm going to return it to a P bass instead of the PJ it is now. Not sure a who made the P pickup but it sounds great all of this for around £150, can't put it down at the moment a great Fender bass.

[Raslee]

A good thread from the OP : I have to say i've come full circle having tried LOTS of basses over the last few years, some expensive, in a search for 'the one' & 'my sound'. I'm now settling on building my own which so far has been the most satisying and dare i say the most 'settling'. My bitsa jazz has a nice 70's thick Allparts neck & some Lindy Fralins...i've built it out of bits and have been hard pushed to find a better playing or sounding jazz IMO.

My recent project is a P bass which started life as a Sue Ryder bass, with the mods totalling around £200 i've struggled to find a better playing P (apart from expensive old ones)...but the point is you can be happy on a budget i guess. Although i have found since i've been getting into 'bitsa' basses my collection is building again from 3 to 6 with 2 more potensial bitsas on their way I can here the wifey now "you only have one pair of hands etc etc....yawn yawn yawn"

Edited March 19, 2011 by Rasta

[BigRedX]

I thinks it's all down to what you want out of a bass.

If you like the look of the traditional designs, there's hundreds of options at every price point out there, and one of those will be the right bass for you whether it's a £59 Sue Ryder or a boutique J-style bass costing 100 time that.

I you want something a bit different from a sound/ergonomics/aesthetic PoV then your options are significantly reduced.

For instance I love the look sound and feel of some vintage/classic basses such as the Ovation Magnum, Gibson EB3 and Travis Bean TB2000, but these days I only play 5-string basses, so if I want one to actually play rather than just part of a collection, I've going to have to have it custom made for me which will cost.

Get a cheap bass or an expensive bass. It doesn't matter so long as it's the right bass for you.