Musical snobs?

[ras52]

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1324403895' post='1473916']
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......
[/quote]
Loving my Squier P/J! And only this weekend my 8-year-old daughter declared it the coolest of my basses :-)

[leftyhook]

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1324414592' post='1474059']
Loving my Squier P/J! And only this weekend my 8-year-old daughter declared it the coolest of my basses :-)
[/quote]
If your daughter says so, then that's good enough for me!

[flyfisher]

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1324341930' post='1473320']
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?
[/quote]
Not at all, it probably matches your fake Rolex and personalised number plate.

[leftyhook]

I am the least materialistic person when it comes to such things.

. No Watch and an X reg Fiat Punto.

Perhaps I should draw a Rolex watch on my wrist and wash my car 'til it blings to the max...

Edited December 21, 2011 by leftyhook

[Grassie]

The thing is, the muso's in your audience will probably be more impressed if you can get a nice sound out of a supposedly "inferior" bass, than getting a nice sound out of a re-badged bass that's supposed to sound nice anyway because it's got the right logo on it. If that makes sense...

[ficelles]

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1324490627' post='1474931']
... and wash my car 'til it blings to the max...
[/quote]

Bling bling, me babber!

(that will mean something to one or two in here )

ficelles

[xilddx]

I'm a bit of a snob on stage I suppose. I wouldn't want to go out with a Squier. It's daft, but I feel more professional if I'm playing with professional gear. This has only happened since joining Basschat. I've been out with Squiers, over ten years ago, but when I got a Hohner Jack Bass my drummer said it sounded so much better, a much bigger deeper tone. Also, I want good quality pickups, electronics, and hardware. I don't want to go out on a sh*t solder joint or a crap strap button, or get mullered by the rest of the instruments because I've got weak pickups. Also, I like the Fender logo and feel good with it on my Strat's headstock, it is total quality and I completely trust it. Like I do with Warwick on my basses, not Rock Bass.

[JTUK]

I guess I would be in that I think you get what you pay for a lot of the time...
The trick is to know what you pay is worth it

A Rolex is a very nice watch, just as BMW can make very good cars.
I wouldn't go for names for names sake... but I'd pay a premium for a premier craftsman.

[leftyhook]

Thing is, when it comes to impressing the crowd by getting a good sound, it can be out of our hands.
What I mean is, you might have a great sound on stage with your TC Electronics rig, but if the guy on the desk out front is losing you in the mix...

actually that sounds like an interesting thread waiting to be started...

How many times have you been told " we can't hear your bass"? and has the sound man kept his cool when you mentioned it to him?

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='3rdUncle' timestamp='1324382048' post='1473552']
I'm always [i]far[/i] more impressed when I see a good musician on a budget instrument.[/quote]

Same here. @OP it's your bass, you do what you want

[Clarky]

Here's the great Larry Taylor (Tom Waits and Canned Heat bass player) playing a $200 Jay Turner Jazz copy. Its good enough for him

[attachment=95714:5845573338_82e3fa1b59_z.jpg]

[leschirons]

I regularly gig with a passive Aria 6 string. Total outlay, £155. Okay, it doesn't have the tonal qualities of the Spector but its half the weight, stays in tune and does the job. It also doesn't matter that much if some idiot knocks it over. If I need fretless, the OLP comes out too. I do use my expensive basses but have no issues using a cheapy. If there's a snobby bass player in the audience, I'll happily hand them the Aria and ask if they'd like to do a number with us. A quick count of the strings usually shuts them up although no doubt one day I'll come unstuck

[BottomE]

It makes no difference what it says on the headstock to me but it might to others. What really matters though is what you and your band think. I sometimes watch a guy with a £100 Jazz copy that sounds fantastic.

[JTUK]

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1324511204' post='1475188']
It makes no difference what it says on the headstock to me but it might to others. What really matters though is what you and your band think. I sometimes watch a guy with a £100 Jazz copy that sounds fantastic.
[/quote]

But I'll notice the sound before I'll notice the bass... and sometimes that cheapo bass and rig sounds f**** awful....and vv, that Markbass rig is too plummy and wallowy etc etc etc...
I don't argue it is always the case as I've heard some stinking Overwaters and the like...but having whatever gear is no indication that they guy has a clue what he is doing with it. IMO.

As far as soundmen go... all the bass can do is give him as good a signal as possible so I'll go clean and if he stuffs that up..he really shouldn't be on sound..but then we know they can be...!!!!

The number of times recently where the band has had to EQ the kit...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! does not fill you with confidence ....
Having said that..no one has told us the sound was poor..far from it...so..??

[mckendrick]

[quote name='jojoagogo234' timestamp='1324344113' post='1473333']
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 )
[/quote]
Get a Tokai, man. Apart from being really f****** good, they also have oo[i]dles of cred[/i] and [i]loads of cach[/i]é. Much cooler than a Gibson, and those in the know will flick you the knowing wink.

[thisnameistaken]

Also FWIW I once took a pair of basses to a recording session - a stock Squier Jazz strung with flats and a '91 Thumb bass with Rotos on it. I tracked everything on the Squier because I'd decided that was the sound I wanted and I'd only taken the Warwick as a backup.

When the engineer saw the Warwick lying in the corner he looked worried as if someone else had left it there, and when I told him it was mine he asked me to re-track everything with that.

In the end we used the Warwick track for one song and the Squier tracks for everything else. The engineer was pushing to use the Warwick tracks for everything but everybody in the band thought the Squier sounded more appropriate in most cases. I guess we weren't as swayed by the price tag as the engineer was.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1324545470' post='1475327']
Also FWIW I once took a pair of basses to a recording session - a stock Squier Jazz strung with flats and a '91 Thumb bass with Rotos on it. I tracked everything on the Squier because I'd decided that was the sound I wanted and I'd only taken the Warwick as a backup.

When the engineer saw the Warwick lying in the corner he looked worried as if someone else had left it there, and when I told him it was mine he asked me to re-track everything with that.

In the end we used the Warwick track for one song and the Squier tracks for everything else. The engineer was pushing to use the Warwick tracks for everything but everybody in the band thought the Squier sounded more appropriate in most cases. I guess we weren't as swayed by the price tag as the engineer was.
[/quote]

sounds like a good argument for keeping the engineers in a room where they cant actually see what is going on in the studio - it would sort out the ones with good ears and good ideas from the brands bitches who just parrot fashion dial in the same old tones again and again

[Jayben]

My two best basses are my Squier Jazzes.. I suffer from snobbery from a few people on my course, who've at one stage asked me to do some session work for them, then abruptly got someone else the second they saw that I use Squier gear.. One person ended up doing the bass work themselves and it sounded like... Words don't even describe :|

But I don't have a problem using my twins. They're far better to me than any other bass I've tried, including a lot of US Fender stuff... Meh. What works best I guess.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1324490627' post='1474931']
I am the least materialistic person when it comes to such things.
[/quote]
Perhaps not the [u]least[/u] materialistic if you're concerned enough about a logo to want to change it?

But my slight 'dig' was meant in good humour (not always easy to convey in text), albeit at the expense of those types who feel it's important to favour style over substance.

As for what the audience may think, do we really believe that anyone goes to see a band purely for what the bass player is currently using and to listen to their 'tone'? I suppose there might be a few such people but I rather suspect most go for the overall music and the performance.

[ROConnell]

I have a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz. And I love it! I don't care about the price or brand name. As long as it creates a non crackly sound, I'm fine.

Though a nice Custom Shop Jazz would do me well...

[the_skezz]

Never bothered me. I've got a lovely Fender P five feet away from me, but I always gig with my Squier VM Jazz when I can - I prefer the neck and the sound suits our material better.

That said, it's a punk band...I'm sure there's people who'd look down on me for using the more expensive instrument to bash out Dead Kennedys covers

[Low End Bee]

I'm happy with my Retrovibe over a Rickenbacker. Doesn't phase me at all.
However..... There's still a bit of me that is the teenage gear-stalker who went all weak at the knees over the sight of that almost mythical object. The 'real' American Fender Precision. 4 years ago and a weaker dollar. Bob's yer uncle. I have one. I tried loads before I found it and it's a good one too. There may be Squier's out there as good. They will certainly be better value. But I would know they're not the one I've always wanted. Logic is brushed aside and it makes me feel more confident on stage.

[EmmettC]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1324545470' post='1475327']
I guess we weren't as swayed by the price tag as the engineer was.
[/quote]

I was in the studio with my Fender P, and Stingray a few years ago, I used the Stingray for just one song as the P bass sound was more suitable to the singer/song writer I was playing for, but the engineer was well pi$$ed off. He wanted the Stingray on everything because he thinks "active is better".

[4 Strings]

Although the title is 'Musical Snobs?" this is really 'Brand Snobs'. My in-laws used to put 'own brand' tissues in a Kleenex box. Isn't this is same sort of thing? Boy racers putting 'Turbo' badges on their 1.1 Fiestas?

Love the story regarding the Squier and the Warwick.

However, I have to say, a bass with a "Fender' transfer is always going to look more cool than one with 'Squier'. I am a troubled sort, I even look for 'MZ' on serial numbers before I like the sound of any Fender but know I'm doing wrong.