Musical snobs?

[leftyhook]

I have a Squier VM Jazz. It's a good 2nd bass. But, it had the [b]Squire logo[/b] on the headstock. of course if we are decent enough players we should'nt worry about displaying the fact that what we are playing isn't a top-dog instrument.
But, my pride, I have to say, got the better of me when I saw an ebay job-lot that included a "fender jazz" decal.
I won the bid for under £4 and have had the decal put on my bass.

Snob?

I play function gigs, clubs etc where most punters don't know what a Fender bass is let alone a Squier,
Pubs? You bet your life there will be at least half a dozen of the audience who know the whole range of Gibson and Fender models.
But even then, should it matter? Shouldn't we have more pride if we can get a great grooving feel/sound out of an 'inferior'
(and I use that word very cautiously!)

BTW It may say Fender on my headstock, but the plate on the back still says Squier, as I would never try to fool a musician who asks about the bass, because we lovers of the the bottom-end, just [i]know![/i]

[jojoagogo234]

iv never thought of other musicians personally judging you just because of your instrument O.o
more the things you do on stage.

if you good, then they would see how much of an awesome bassist you are..... as a lot of bassists say " its not the instrument, its the player"

but anyway, have pride because your a lefty !!!!!! thats more then enough to take over the pride you would be loosing because the squier

[leftyhook]

[quote name='jojoagogo234' timestamp='1324343027' post='1473326']
iv never thought of other musicians personally judging you just because of your instrument O.o
more the things you do on stage.

if you good, then they would see how much of an awesome bassist you are..... as a lot of bassists say " its not the instrument, its the player"

but anyway, have pride because your a lefty !!!!!! thats more then enough to take over the pride you would be loosing because the squier
[/quote]

Ha! well put mate.
I actually play a right handed Westfield bass for a few songs with the strings wrong way around ( belongs to the guitarist and he won't let me swap strings around) and sure, that gets noticed more than the fact that I have the word 'Fender' on my own bass.

[jojoagogo234]

being leftys such a bitch some time though i started playing hoping that one day i would be able to get a thunderbird...... but sadly
id have to be a paying member of the gibson fan club for 6 years (thats about 800 out of pocket) then for the bass its self id have to pay...."drum roll please" dadadadadadadadadadaaaaa DA £6000 for a bass, you dont know how much that killed my soul...... i know i can get a TOKai one ( i think thats how you spell it )

[jojoagogo234]

well now i do xD i didnt about 5 years ago lol

[leftybassman392]

There's plans afoot to have a lefty bass bash in the New Year, where you'll get a chance to play some top notch instruments belonging to other members.

Watch this space. Well... not THIS space, but you know what I mean.

[Nibody]

I have the VM Jazz and I am dead proud of it, its a lovelly bass. Like it how it is.

When I started playing again I had to realise that I wasn't going to be able to afford to replace the 76 Precision/300w Trace Elliot Combo I used to have, so I decided to build.

I ended up with 2 precisions - both have quality internals now (Wizzard Pickups, Cloth Wire/Orangedrop/CTS and Switchcraft stuff.). Thge bodies were no names from ebay, the necks unbranded from a seller called seco guitars. Have no idea where they are made, but I ended up with 2, 1 r/w and 1 maple - gloss laquer, nice fat classic Precision "C" profiles. I decided to put headstock decals on both.

Thought briefly about sticking a Fender decal on them (then if I sold them on, I have no doubt they would later appear on ebay "found" in someones loft...") but I thought sod it. Saw a guy selling joke decals in a fender style - Fecker Jizz bass/Pretender Bass/Partsocaster/Testicaster etc. and whent down that route. Looks like a fender logo from a distance but get within a couple of meters and you can read the joke. They both play realy nice (if you're into the P Bass thing as I am) and sound as good as if not better than some fenders.

I had an ex girlfriend who couldnt play a note but was a spoiled b****, so her grandmother bought her a top of the line Jackson 6 string when she wanted to learn to play guitar. It sat at the back of her wardrobe for 3 years and gathered dust. And it only takes a few minutes on youtube or watching some local bands with more money than sense failing to play some really nice instruments. If they can afford it thats great. By the same measure a good player can make the most god awful plank sound half decent.

I dont consider meself a snob - I like a nice bass, particularly 70's Ps and J's but I do have a soft spot for most things with 4 strings and do love an interesting Cheapo (have owned many in the past, encores, Marlins, some I dont even know what make they were!). After all, you could hand a chimp a 70's Jazz, and he isnt going to play like John Paul Jones. But you could hand JPJ a cheap jazz copy and he would.

[Lozz196]

I`m not that fussed about "lables/names". I`ve just found that for me, the US Standard Precision is the bass that works best. My backup bass however is a Squier CV 60s Precision, and whilst it`s not as good as my US Precisions, it`s a darn good instrument, for a fraction of the price. Doesn`t bother me taking a Squier out with a Fender.

[Ed_S]

The reason I was very wary about the new breed of Squier basses when they started getting good press was my own past experience of the brand in its bad old mid-90s plywood days. Having heard of their return to favour I bought a VM Precision for a conversion job and was very pleased to find it was well finished and made of real wood. If I hadn't 'heard the news' and subsequently seen for myself the change in quality, I admit I'd probably still have a downer on that decal. As it is, I'm more than happy to gig my VM under its original name (although with a new pickup better suited to its C,F,Bb,Eb tuning) and explain to anybody who has enough knowledge to question it but not enough to join a community like BC, that they're quite acceptable instruments these days.

[Paul S]

I'm not remotely interested in what the headstock says. I have a couple of Fenders that I gig with because I like them and they are comfortable. But that also applies to others - I regularly use a Westone and, if my back is bad or space is short, a Hohner B2A which people will generally take the piss out of. I just enjoy using different basses.

[neepheid]

I play Gibson basses, I'm surprised I don't get bricks thrown at me

[KK Jale]

^Well, they used to be MORE than acceptable. Tons of pros used Squiers in the '80s. A really well-sorted Squier/Tokai was an inverse badge of pride... a kind of "my other bass is pre-CBS but I'm on tour with this and doesn't it sound fecking great" kind of label.

It's always sad finding a badly re-logo'ed Squier. People should have more confidence in their playing. Label consciousness is for amateurs. #justsayin'

[thisnameistaken]

I would rather have the Squier logo to be honest. I would rather my gear looks less valuable, not more - I might have to leave it unattended in the car at some point and the car park is probably dark and has random drunks in it 24/7.

[Jerry_B]

'Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!' If it's nice to play and you like how it sounds, a tiny transfer on the headstock which isn't all that visible over 20 feet shouldn't matter.

[andydye]

The logo means nothing to me, nor the cost of the instrument...it must feel good, play good and sound right, that is all!

I've had expensive warwicks, USA fenders, stingrays 4 & 5 and currently I have a Lakland 55-01 which costs hundreds less than the cheapest of my historic basses, it sounds great, looks great and plays great!

No-one I play to has ever heard of Lakland so who cares! I love it!

[3rdUncle]

I'm always [i]far[/i] more impressed when I see a good musician on a budget instrument.

Definitely makes you feel a bit of an imposter.

[ras52]

I don't think the OP is a snob, more that he's worried about the opinion of snobs...

[leftyhook]

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1324382449' post='1473559']
I don't think the OP is a snob, more that he's worried about the opinion of snobs...
[/quote]

Probably true. My profile pic to the left is my Warwick Streamer Rockbass fretless which cost me £179.
It has a lovely feel and sound, but looked bloody awful. As you can see I have given it a total makeover almost
Bootsy-esque. I also blacked out the Rockbass logo on the headstock because it felt like a 'my first bass kit' for a school kid. Awful name!
I have to say, the bass just feels better to play with the personalised look. ?!!
You can live in a £1,000000 mansion but if the walls are just whitewashed throughout you probably won't feel comfortable in there!

But yes, I must worry about people's opinions. We all do in life, otherwise we would be walking around naked!!

Edited December 20, 2011 by leftyhook

[Jerry_B]

But as only snobs are the only people who are going to care what name is on the headstock, why pander to them? My old knackered-looking Maya fretless has become my 'go to' bass now because to me it's simply nicer to play than the more 'refined' Fender Jazz fretless I have. All it needed was some better pups, but once that was easily sorted. At the end of the day it boils down to what you yourself like playing in terms of feel and tone. If you get that from a famous brand name, fine - if you get it from some other make, that's fine too.

No-one in the audience will give a monkey's unless the tone is crappy

Edited December 20, 2011 by Jerry_B

[steve-bbb]

bugger the VM's - ive got an affinity - its even cheaper - and its the nuts

[MusicJunkie]

To be fair, we've got both the Vintage Modified and the Affinity series in store and they both play really well. Up with Squier!

[mike257]

I'd never part with my Affinity - my first bass, now well and truly pimped out, and I've occasionally used it on stage and happily left my Stingray/Sandberg on a stand at the back. The 'nicer' basses are my go-to, but the Squier does the job and holds its own perfectly well against the other, far more expensive basses.

I did used to have a Weezer sticker over the headstock logo, but I destickered it with pride!

[Twigman]

I was really proud of my fiesta red Squier JV - P until Squier released the CV.......as now my JV just looks like a knackered CV (albeit with a 4 ply plate and threaded saddles and a JV serial).

[leftyhook]

Well, I've just paid fora left-handed s/h Squier Standard P Bass Special (jazz neck and additional jazz pu, well I didn't know!) having been convinced by all of your posts on this topic
Will let you know what it's like and if I see anyone pointing and laughing from the back of the room......

[Jerry_B]

They're good basses!