krispn Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Like other posters have said play basses of diffreing price ranges againt cheaper models and try and disdern if the £600 or whatever differnece in price is in the fit & finish, pick ups/hardware or actual playability. Pick ups and that can be changed but if the basic feel and playability are right thats the best measure or a good bass. I replace a lovely jazz bass with some Dimarzio Model J's(which were a steal at £98 new!) and that bass was rockin'! I currently have two laklands, a 4 and a 5 and the playability of each is what swayed me over the other options available to me at the time. £500 budget for a decent 2nd hand bass, especially off the BC classifieds is the way forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1404369640' post='2491893'] I own/have owned, a 'few' ( ) basses that cost quite a few thousand (I bought them used so didn't pay the eye-watering prices they were new). However, the 2 basses that I play the most,[i] through choice[/i], cost me less than £500. That is despite the fact that I have other basses that I own that would still cost you in excess of your £1000 budget. [b]Why do I not sell the other more expensive basses[/b]... that's likely a whole new thread. [/quote] I thought you had?! Are they coming in as quick as they go out? [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1404379990' post='2492014'] I don't think so, not on the second hand market anyway, both times I've spent a lot on a bass I've been disappointed. My current stable consists of a Lakland Skyline Bob glaub, 2 old peavey T-40s and an old Ibanez blazer, [b]and all 4 are pretty spot on[/b]. The Lakland was the most expensive and that was £550 and it's the best P-bass and maybe even bass in general I've ever owned. [/quote] This is the main thing - it's what fits for you - not the price that's important. I've done a fair bit of buying and selling, I've tried most the things I want to bass wise, one of the basses I sold the quickest as I didn't get on would have a new price over £2000, and the one I should never have sold as I was a bit in love with it I found in a junk shop in the west end of Glasgow for £70. I've currently got 3 basses - and for various reasons they are spot on to the point that I couldn't improve them at all. One of them cost £900 odd but the other two cost far far less. They are right for me. Even righter when I can afford 3 new sets of strings but that's another story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damonjames Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 I think I have opened a can of worms! At least it is Nice to know that the majority are of the same mind set as me. I just look at the quality and variety in the sub 1k mark and can't imagine straying outside that. For those of you who have/do good luck and I hope you enjoy your basses as much as I enjoy mine. I also have a passion for old cars, particularly hot rods from the 50's, at a hot rod rally in Australia (my homeland up until 2 yrs ago) I was with my mate in his model A roadster pickup, which was flat black with flames or what is also known as a "rat rod", which didn't stop cruising the while long weekend. As we slowed to talk to some friends, we were passed by a guy in a 1955 Chevy that had easily had $200k spent on it, and the guys just looked envious and said "you've got one really fun ride there mate!" I think that really sums up everything in life, it doesn't matter what you have, if you enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 [quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1404422647' post='2492594'] I think I have opened a can of worms! At least it is Nice to know that the majority are of the same mind set as me. I just look at the quality and variety in the sub 1k mark and can't imagine straying outside that. For those of you who have/do good luck and I hope you enjoy your basses as much as I enjoy mine. I also have a passion for old cars, particularly hot rods from the 50's, at a hot rod rally in Australia (my homeland up until 2 yrs ago) I was with my mate in his model A roadster pickup, which was flat black with flames or what is also known as a "rat rod", which didn't stop cruising the while long weekend. As we slowed to talk to some friends, we were passed by a guy in a 1955 Chevy that had easily had $200k spent on it, and the guys just looked envious and said "you've got one really fun ride there mate!" I think that really sums up everything in life, it doesn't matter what you have, if you enjoy it! [/quote] Agreed. I'd be scared to use something that valuable incase I broke it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattmit Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I don't think I would ever spend a grand on a bass, there are just sooo many great basses under a grand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planer Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1404413119' post='2492467'] I think for under a grand you'd probably get a nice-sounding bass, a combo and a noisy car to cart it round in... [/quote]Yeah you've got a point there - and I've had my share of £300 cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1404373903' post='2491930'] Money is the necessary counter-weight to talent. The more talented a player is, the less money he spends on equipment[/quote] Have you been secretly spying on me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1404407406' post='2492397'] One of my work colleagues dropped down dead last week, he was 52, I have no concept of religion or afterlife etc, I came home that day and booked a holiday, I dont need a holiday as ive just been, I dont need 3 stingrays either. [/quote] My thoughts exactly Pete. It may seems a rather daft way to look at life to some people, but why shouldn't you spend and enjoy it??? If you've earnt it, spend it, whichever way you please! I mean, who wants to get to 70 (if we get that far) and have a stack of cash in the bank....and not be able to use it how you would in your 20s/30s/40s/50s etc. Just spend it. It's not selfish to spend your own money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 (edited) To get back to the OP: [quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1404340312' post='2491823'] But from what I have seen, and played within availability, the question I ask of you all is, do you really NEED to spend over a grand on a bass to get the job done? [/quote] Surely it all depends on what you mean by "the job"? If the job is hammering out Ramones covers, then clearly not - a Squier Affinity P-bass will do very nicely, and will cost you less than £200 brand new. But if you play a very wide range of styles and/or put more twiddly bits into your playing, then it might not be so simple. Maybe it's better to think about it in terms of how many different kinds of sound you want to make, i.e. maybe think in terms of pickup configurations rather than basses per se. As CamdenRob says (post #9 above), a P, a J and a Ray and you are pretty much covered for almost anything (although some would want to add the modern 'Hi-Fi' soapbar sound and/or the Rick sound to this list). So the question is whether you can get all 3 of these signature sounds for under a grand. The J bridge pup can stand in for the P sound, although it's not quite the same thing, and a PJ bass gets you the P sound and the J bridge sound, and something like the J-with-both-pups-on sound, although again not exactly the same. As for the Ray sound, only a Ray sounds like a Ray, but the SUB is a good sub, and these go quite cheap second hand, so on balance, yeah, you can probably cover all your bases (pun intended … ok I'll get me coat) for £1k, as long as you are prepared to make a few compromises here and there. But none of this will stop me yearning for an MTD 535-24 ... Edited July 4, 2014 by GrammeFriday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I don't buy into the idea of fancy gear being used by poor players, most people I know first hand with high end gear are great players, plenty more sh*t players playing sh*t gear out there IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattmit Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I think we can all buy whatever we want, I don't think anyone needs to earn the right to play an expensive bass and you dont outgrow an inexpensive bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 £1000 is no given that you'll get a good bass. You can do it for that..certainly second hand, but you have to be careful. No way would I spend £1k online without seeing and playing it... so I'd trawl the specialist bass shops like the Gallery and BassGear and also keep an eye on what shops like GAK do on trade-ins. I'd be on a few mailing lists if you have anything specific in mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 [quote name='Mattmit' timestamp='1404496388' post='2493275'] I think we can all buy whatever we want, I don't think anyone needs to earn the right to play an expensive bass and you dont outgrow an inexpensive bass. [/quote] I know a few players that would not be able to pull off their best licks even on my Rays, id disagree that you cant outgrow an inexpensive bass, thankfully for my wallet my own skills are more Encore P bass than Fodera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damonjames Posted July 4, 2014 Author Share Posted July 4, 2014 Just for the record, I wasn't after a 1k bass that can do everything! I was more after opinions on a fender jazz/or active vs the like of the boutique "super jazz" basses that are about, or builders who use the wood equivalent of baby seal eyes to build their basses out if on account of their "exceptional" tone quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Ah, well, in that case just read this thread (and probably dozens of similar threads before it): http://basschat.co.uk/topic/236623-when-is-a-bass-considered-a-high-end-bass More opinions on this topic than you can shake a stick at there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Wasn't Scott Whitley using a £130 Richwood(with some mods) as his main bass for a good while - the discussion [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/128886-bass-poll-your-opinion-greatly-appreciated/page__hl__richwood"]in this thread[/url] about it is interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Well, I'm more than happy with my £250 Squier VM Precision. Neck swap, new tuners and pickups, say another 75 squids. Sounds great, looks good, weighs 6.9lbs. Job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 [quote name='Mattmit' timestamp='1404496388' post='2493275'] I think we can all buy whatever we want, I don't think anyone needs to earn the right to play an expensive bass and you dont outgrow an inexpensive bass. [/quote] I think they do need to earn the right... but then nobody can tell anyone h6w to spend their money. And I think the point is more about how capable the bass is as to how easy it is to outgrow one... Too many cheaper basses are firewood, but that is not to say you wont find a decent one... or that it does all it needs to do. By the same token it is not impossible to find poor firewood basses at £1000-1500 either... but you'd hope they would be able to be set-up well enough to negate this to a degree...otherwise, I can't for the life of me seeing that they are charging those prices for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattmit Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1404644052' post='2494341'] I think they do need to earn the right... but then nobody can tell anyone h6w to spend their money. And I think the point is more about how capable the bass is as to how easy it is to outgrow one... Too many cheaper basses are firewood, but that is not to say you wont find a decent one... or that it does all it needs to do. By the same token it is not impossible to find poor firewood basses at £1000-1500 either... but you'd hope they would be able to be set-up well enough to negate this to a degree...otherwise, I can't for the life of me seeing that they are charging those prices for... [/quote] I guess my view is that if your bass is good enough it's good enough right? And good enough should be pretty nice, but beyond that, it's just about Gas. We all get GAS for things we don't need so who can judge... Well we all can, and we all do, but we should acknowledge that we're being unreasonable before we continue doing it anyway:) (when I say we, I mean me) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) Not sure about earning the right to play a top end bass, who decides who's eligible?.... but you would look like a bit of a wally on stage with a 12K fodera if you were rubbish. Edited July 7, 2014 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1404723083' post='2494944'] ...you would look like a bit of a wally on stage with a 12K fodera if you were rubbish. [/quote] Or an eighty-quid Affinity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1404724365' post='2494970'] Or an eighty-quid Affinity... [/quote] I could look like a wally with either option.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerley Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 If using a simple passive bass then the number of parts involved is pretty low and it is very easy to get a very nice sounding and great to play bass for very little money. They don't normally arrive like that but the fact that a few tweaks and low cost changes can make a £150 bass great to play proves the point. After that what are you paying for that is really required? More expensive woods - debatable whether that makes it any better Better level of finish - looks nicer but doesn't play or sound better Made in a country with higher labour rates - makes no difference at all Electronics - £10 of pots and wire in whatever bass you pick Pickup - just put the pickup from the £1000 bass into the £150 bass So unless there is actually something technically wrong with the lower cost bass, i.e. the frets are not positioned correctly, then no you do not need to spend anywhere near £1000 for any purpose besides looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 [quote name='kerley' timestamp='1404725952' post='2494998'] If using a simple passive bass then the number of parts involved is pretty low and it is very easy to get a very nice sounding and great to play bass for very little money. They don't normally arrive like that but the fact that a few tweaks and low cost changes can make a £150 bass great to play proves the point. After that what are you paying for that is really required? More expensive woods - debatable whether that makes it any better Better level of finish - looks nicer but doesn't play or sound better Made in a country with higher labour rates - makes no difference at all Electronics - £10 of pots and wire in whatever bass you pick Pickup - just put the pickup from the £1000 bass into the £150 bass So unless there is actually something technically wrong with the lower cost bass, i.e. the frets are not positioned correctly, then no you do not need to spend anywhere near £1000 for any purpose besides looks. [/quote] Well, this chimes with the Herts Bash P Bass test thread - the winner turned out to be the only bass with non-standard pickups... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1404373903' post='2491930'] Money is the necessary counter-weight to talent. The more talented a player is, the less money he spends on equipment (see McCartney, Jamerson, Pastorius, etc.). The less talented a player is, the more money he spends on equipment (have you seen my gear?). [/quote] Mark King? And surely with your Entwistle counter-wossname, he didn't lose his talent when he started spending loadsamoney on equipment? Edited July 7, 2014 by tauzero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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