The pleasure of cheap basses

[BrunoBass]

My band have got a gig in a small rowdy bar this weekend, discussed in another thread elsewhere. One of the pieces of advice kindly offered was to use 'an expendable bass'.
My main bass is a EBMM Stingray which is the only bass I play, and has been since I got it. In preparation for Saturday we practised last night, and as I'm planning to use my old unloved and unused Squier for this gig I thought it made sense to rehearse with it.
It's by no means expendable, but it is a budget instrument that would be less of a loss should it get nicked or damaged. I'd forgotten what a great bass it is. My Stingray love has consigned it to a life in a gig bag behind the sofa, but playing it last night I was reminded how good it felt, how great it sounded and what fun it was to play.
I think the fact that the Stingray is a much more expensive instrument compells me to favour it over the cheaper Squier, but it doesn't diminish how much I enjoyed playing it last night. In fact I might just start gigging with it on a more regular basis.

[discreet]

I've decided to gig with my Hayman 4040 instead of letting it languish in a cupboard. It is a relatively rare and expensive bass however, so I've completely missed the point of the thread. I suppose my point is, you can only play one bass at a time...

Edited June 8, 2016 by discreet

[NJE]

I absolutely love playing budget instruments, I have no idea why but I just seem to grin ear to ear when a cheap bass plays and sounds way above its price point. It almost gives me more pleasure than playing my more expensive instruments.

I have a £150 Squier 5 string which is incredibly good and sounds superb, yes a little neck heavy but still so much fun to play. I had a £200 Squier Precision 5 string which was superb as well and I used that above my Roscoe Beck for a while. I have also just bought a Harley Benton Fretless for £115 and I LOVE it so much, its mind blowing how well made and how good it sounds.

Yes expensive basses are nice, but it doesn't mean to say you can't really enjoy the cheap ones that often get left in cases as backups.

[BigRedX]

At the sort of venue where there was a real risk to my musical equipment I would be far more worried about my own personal safety.

Instruments can be repaired or replaced, that what you have insurance for - you do have insurance don't you?

Human body parts aren't so easy to repair and replace, at least not to the standard where I would be able to carry on doing my job and enjoy playing in a band.

[discreet]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1465382944' post='3067659']
I would be far more worried about my own personal safety.
[/quote]

Ah, but if you're playing a cheap bass you can hit a potential assailant over the head with it. [JOKE].

[BrunoBass]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1465382944' post='3067659']
At the sort of venue where there was a real risk to my musical equipment I would be far more worried about my own personal safety.

Instruments can be repaired or replaced, that what you have insurance for - you do have insurance don't you?

Human body parts aren't so easy to repair and replace, at least not to the standard where I would be able to carry on doing my job and enjoy playing in a band.
[/quote]

I'm not expecting chicken wire over the stage (a la Blues Brothers)... if there was any concern about our personal safety we wouldn't be playing there.

I'm thinking more of spilt beer, playing eyeball to eyeball with the crowd, and the inevitable 'can I have a go on your bass mate?' (We all know the answer to that one...)

Edited June 8, 2016 by PaulGibsonBass

[casapete]

Love a good cheap bass. There's something great about it not costing the earth that makes it
so enjoyable for me. My Dano Longhorn is just that, wouldn't part with it.
Also got a P-bass replica which is fantastic and probably didn't cost as much as the case it's kept in.

[lefrash]

Playing a decent cheapo bass is definitely a pleasure, but I've played a lot of absolute shockers over the years which have really knocked the stuffin' out me! I dont know whether its just because I'm a better player now, or if the companies have upped their game, but I find that the new cheapo ones I've tried are generally very playable! Just recently picked up a harley benton Jazz for £120 and its a great player! So much so I'll be using it at my next gig.

[neepheid]

I do derive a certain satisfaction from playing a great gig with a less expensive bass - only because it's one in the eye for gear snobbery.

[troubadour]

Funnily enough I have the perfect example for sale at the moment, and can I generate any interest?! I guess we must all have one already.

[chris_b]

I wouldn't do any gig where the band or me and my gear was at any risk from the audience.

[BrunoBass]

It's just a gig with a rowdy (but good natured, non threatening) young crowd eyeball to eyeball with us in a hot, cramped, low ceiling bar! Beer can get spilt, machine heads can get knocked, leads can get stood on and pulled out. No one's going to get hurt, nothing is at risk, I would just rather take a £200 bass into that kind of environment than a £1000 one!
It's going to a blast and I can't wait.

[Conan]

My "main" bass only cost £120 brand new, and less than £250 with all the mods i made to it. I would have no problem playing any gig with it as it is cheap enough to replace, but also good enough to be proud of. A win-win really!

It is (based on) a J&D "Vintage 1975" J bass.

[discreet]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1465391761' post='3067775']
...cheap enough to replace, but also good enough to be proud of.
[/quote]

It's a balance. I've quite happily gigged Squier basses, but would be worried about a pre-CBS Fender to the point where it would affect my enjoyment of the gig. Unless it was a big venue with dressing rooms and security, etc. But it hardly ever is.

Edited June 8, 2016 by discreet

[BigRedX]

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1465389699' post='3067753']
It's just a gig with a rowdy (but good natured, non threatening) young crowd eyeball to eyeball with us in a hot, cramped, low ceiling bar! Beer can get spilt, machine heads can get knocked, leads can get stood on and pulled out. No one's going to get hurt, nothing is at risk, I would just rather take a £200 bass into that kind of environment than a £1000 one!
It's going to a blast and I can't wait.
[/quote]

Well then there's no need to worry. I'd be happy to take one of my £5k+ basses to a gig like that.

[dave_bass5]

I cant see the point of spending a load of money on a bass that you are worried about taking out. I appreciate the theme of the thread, but if you have to spend a lot on a bass to be happy, but are happy to play a cheap bass, then maybe you dont need the expensive one lol.

[Muzz]

I played a gig at Manchester Cricket Ground last year with a Harley Benton bass which cost less than half the price of a ticket to get in, just for the feck of it. It made a nice story, but if I'm honest, it's nowhere near the bass to play that my others are. Cheap basses are fun, but they're just that: cheap basses. If I found one that played like any of my main basses, it would get used all the time...but I won't.

And I've never hesitated to take any bass to any gig: it's what they're for.

[jonnythenotes]

The two bases I take to gigs now are a Fender roadworn jazz, and a MIM precision. I paid £650 For the jazz and £350 for the Precision,(second hand values,) and they play and sound better than any of the other basses I have. They are a pleasure to play, and unless something really special comes along, they will remain as my gigging basses. It looks like my other, and perhaps what should be better basses according to current values, are going to be spending a lot of time in mothballs.

[BrunoBass]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1465393978' post='3067812']
I cant see the point of spending a load of money on a bass that you are worried about taking out. I appreciate the theme of the thread, but if you have to spend a lot on a bass to be happy, but are happy to play a cheap bass, then maybe you dont need the expensive one lol.
[/quote]

This whole scenario has got me thinking the same thing actually.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1465393978' post='3067812']
I cant see the point of spending a load of money on a bass that you are worried about taking out. I appreciate the theme of the thread, but if you have to spend a lot on a bass to be happy, but are happy to play a cheap bass, then maybe you dont need the expensive one lol.
[/quote]

Conversely, if you've spent a lot of money to get a bass that you really like, isn't that the one that you should be playing?

Great if your cheap bass is a perfect substitute for it, but IME it rarely is.

[bassbiscuits]

I had a SGC Nanyo that i used for either rough and ready gigs, or when i was knackered and fancied a lightweight bass.

Cheap ish (£200 IIRC) and very very cheerful!

[mrtcat]

I'd take any of my basses anywhere. They're tools and that's what they're for. That said, my most valuable is worth about £900 so it's not in the boutique class or anything. I don't get emotionally attached to instruments but I do look after them but it's no different to the way I see my work tools. Some of which cost a lot more than £900 but I use them because they are quality and much more enjoyable to use than cheap ones. They get looked after but used wherever I'm working. One of my basses is a Yamaha BBN5 that cost me £120. It's a joy to play so i use that as often as the other two but I wouldn't choose on the basis of the venue. If a £900 bass gets damaged then so be it. That's why I insure my gear the way I insure tools.

[ribbetingfrog]

I got a Harley Benton pb50 last year.
Not a patch on my £1800 Warwick, but for some reason, a hell of a lot more fun to play!

I'm never going to be good enough to need a bass as good as that Warwick, I'm a mediocre bassist in a covers band.

Actually sold my Warwick.

Cheap bases are genuinely more fun.

[Roger2611]

I love gigging with cheap basses, once set up and maintained properly they are perfectly up to the job......




if you stick a dodgy decal on the end of the neck you can fool everyone, including yourself into believing it's a more expensive bass

[BigRedX]

[quote name='ribbetingfrog' timestamp='1465402618' post='3067947']
I got a Harley Benton pb50 last year.
Not a patch on my £1800 Warwick, but for some reason, a hell of a lot more fun to play!

I'm never going to be good enough to need a bass as good as that Warwick, I'm a mediocre bassist in a covers band.

Actually sold my Warwick.

Cheap bases are genuinely more fun.
[/quote]

I'm also a mediocre player - in fact I'm probably less able then most people on here when it comes to playing bass.

But... I also know that my expensive basses (Gus, Sei Warwick) are far easier to play than the cheap basses I've owned and therefore I sound less crap than I would if all I had was a cheap bass.

On the whole cheap basses are only fun if you are into self-flagellation.