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Does it really matter what gear you have??


discreet

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19 hours ago, Muzz said:

Playing bass in a band makes me happy, bottom line. If I don't like how I sound, I'm not happy, and that leaks into how I play. When I use backline, the amp and cab are a practical compromise between how I want to sound and what is practical for me to gig with (I'm never gonna own another 810 or 70lb all-valve head, for example) and yeah, I've bought lots of gear to get to this point, but then again I've sold anything which didn't work.

Basses are a completely different thing to me: they're things of beauty in the eye of the beholder, and I'll pay whatever I can afford for something I consider beautiful in look and feel. Like Shukers.

Everyone else can, in the words of Bungedit Din: Fakir. Off. 😀

Absolutely, music is ultimately about emotion, and emotion isn't in just the sound, it's in the feel of the gear, the response, the anticipation, the band and their gear, the audience, everything. Different components are more or less important to different people and elicit different emotional responses accordingly.

For me, my own gear on stage, as well as that of bands I watch, is a big part of the emotion of live music. Am I going to try to explain it or justify it. Hell no :)

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Well that is a simple question without a short answer. To me it matters in the same way that "Does it matter what car you drive?" matters.

If the gear meets the basic requirements that it can be used to produce/reproduce the sound of a bass, then that is all that should matter.

However what sits on top of that is whether I/we want to have more than that basic requirement, refinements, ergonomics that suit us, practicalities of one bit of gear over another etc etc. If we do then what gear we have matters to us.

Same as we can go on auto trader or whatever and find for example a basic Ford car that will get us from A to B, and some will want more than just that and so choose a different model or manufacturer's model with all options bells whistles but it still just a tool to get us from A to B just a bit nicer. Though some may find a really nice old Austin allegro that is great to drive even though a bit beat up and dubious reliability. 🙂 ( not offence meant to anyone driving a ford or Austin car).  

I have never been into changing gear a lot or swapping bits in and out and I tend to do a lot of procrastinating before buying any of my gear and rarely buy on impulse. I also accept that my experience with bass gear is severely limited to a few brands.

 I have settled on one brand of bass now and have amps and cabs that I love and get me what I want. It's not that they are better or worse than any other gear but they work for me. Whether the sound the audience hears or understand is as different from any other bass sound doesn't really matter to me as long as I can hear what I want and they hear a bass that sounds like it fits with the rest of the music. 

 

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Absolutely it matters!! I have spent a while searching for 'the sound' I have and I am absolutely 100% happy with what I have (no GAS yet). Nice 68 P bass through a pedalboard to my Aguilar DB751 and Barefaced 6x10. Cost me a few quid but after the gig last week a guy came up to me and said ' Man, what a beautiful sound you have, the tone is amazing...' etc... THAT makes it worthwhile to me for the money invested and the time I have spent to get it right in the house and the band situation. I'm sure I could get away with other/cheaper gear but this works for me, so the investment and outcome are worth it.

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45 minutes ago, walshy said:

Absolutely it matters!! I have spent a while searching for 'the sound' I have and I am absolutely 100% happy with what I have (no GAS yet). Nice 68 P bass through a pedalboard to my Aguilar DB751 and Barefaced 6x10. Cost me a few quid but after the gig last week a guy came up to me and said ' Man, what a beautiful sound you have, the tone is amazing...' etc... THAT makes it worthwhile to me for the money invested and the time I have spent to get it right in the house and the band situation. I'm sure I could get away with other/cheaper gear but this works for me, so the investment and outcome are worth it.

Yep I totally agree, although we buy for ourselves it does feel good when you get feedback like that because you know they are really listening to how you sound as well as what you are playing. 

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1 hour ago, walshy said:

Absolutely it matters!! I have spent a while searching for 'the sound' I have and I am absolutely 100% happy with what I have (no GAS yet). Nice 68 P bass through a pedalboard to my Aguilar DB751 and Barefaced 6x10. Cost me a few quid but after the gig last week a guy came up to me and said ' Man, what a beautiful sound you have, the tone is amazing...' etc... THAT makes it worthwhile to me for the money invested and the time I have spent to get it right in the house and the band situation. I'm sure I could get away with other/cheaper gear but this works for me, so the investment and outcome are worth it.

Nobody has ever, ever complemented me on my tone. Or playing. It must be my face. Or my lack of talent. It's probably my face. Hopefully.

They have, however, complemented me on the quality of the band(s), and that's what counts to me. 😀

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In a word... No.


Firstly how do you define "better gear" ?  
In my experience there is no such thing as "better gear" only different gear. Yes, You can play Top Trumps forever, but in reality it makes zero difference. 

Context is everything, and what matters most is YOUR ability to be musical and creative. 


It reminds me of the story about Dave Davies of the Kinks sat on a plane next to Jimi Hendrix, Hendrix said to Davies.. The sound he had on "You really got me" was a milestone, which really inspired Hendrix.  Davies explained.. that sound was achieved by shredding a speaker cone with a razor blade.  better gear?  wonder what BFM would make of the specs lol.

 
I've said it before, there are many people who cannot see past there chosen instrument into the realms of music and creativity, and no amount of gear can ever fix this.
There will be always be someone with more ability than you, and who sounds better than you on 'cheaper gear'.   its something you cannot buy folks!!!!     
 

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30 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Nobody has ever, ever complemented me on my tone. They have however, complemented me on the quality of the band, and that's what counts to me. 

That's more important. I've had lots of compliments on my playing and tone, inevitably from other musicians. Which is nice, but I'd much rather get compliments about the band as a whole, from non-musicians.

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7 minutes ago, Tobe said:

Context is everything, and what matters most is YOUR ability to be musical and creative.

I've said it before, there are many people who cannot see past their chosen instrument into the realms of music and creativity, and no amount of gear can ever fix this.

There will be always be someone with more ability than you, and who sounds better than you on 'cheaper gear'.  It's something you cannot buy, folks!!!!

This, times about a billion. :)

Edited by discreet
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10 minutes ago, discreet said:

That's more important. I've had lots of compliments on my playing and tone, inevitably from other musicians. Which is nice, but I'd much rather get compliments about the band as a whole, from non-musicians.

Well, although we've established it's either my face or my talent, there might be a third reason: T'Th'Implacable North;

"That Jimmy Henricks fella..."
"Yeah?"
"He's not too bad, is he?"
"S'pose not. D'you want another slice of whippet?"
"Aye, grand"

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Let me come at this from another perspective, one that dials out EQ and a bunch of other factors. An instrument that is just it and you. Sax... SAX, I said.

My first sax was a respectable Trevor James alto with a Yamaha mouthpiece.  It was a beginner combo, but not cheap, nasty or penny pinching - universal respectable beginner fare.  Then I had a bit of a PPI windfall and after asking various grownups I bought an intermediate/pro level Yamaha sax with a pro level mouthpiece, both of which will see out my few remaining years. In bass terms it was like moving from a Squier Affinity to a good Fender P bass.  Instantly things that had been hard before became much easier.  And yes, I'm getting better but the pro kit has moved me on further than the slow growth in experience would allow - linear v exponential, you know. 

So kit matters, I would suggest... and indeed have bored with this viewpoint before.  

Edited by lownote12
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13 minutes ago, Muzz said:

"That Jimmy Henricks fella..."
"Yeah?"
"He's not too bad, is he?"
"S'pose not. D'you want another slice of whippet?"
"Aye, grand"

I keep going to the foot of our stairs, but I'm still a southerner. Maybe if I went to Fleetwood on a tram?

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3 minutes ago, discreet said:

I keep going to the foot of our stairs, but I'm still a southerner. Maybe if I went to Fleetwood on a tram?

I've lived in the North for nearly 80% of my time on earth and I'm still a southerner...! Just one of those things... 

Edited by peteb
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The way I see it is with bass gear, if you buy second hand, you generally don't lose much money, so really it's actually a relatively cheap hobby! 

 

But as others have said, if it makes you happy, then that enjoyment will come through in your playing! As long as you're living within your means, I say go for it! 

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33 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

 so people spend a fortune on watches , cars, and basses, why? it makes them feel good why? because they want to impress other people, it's in our DNA, some more than others

I can't speak for anyone else but I have never, ever bought anything - bass, car, stuff for the home - with impressing other people in mind.  I get stuff for my own gratification.  

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36 minutes ago, Paul S said:

I can't speak for anyone else but I have never, ever bought anything - bass, car, stuff for the home - with impressing other people in mind.  I get stuff for my own gratification.  

Nope me either! If I want it and can afford it then it’s for me, no bugger else!

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Totally agree. I've found that in a live situation, best instant bass sound upgrade is when everyone's levels are spot on, especially the edrums. 

Having said that, I own four basses and up to recently had four sets of very decent genz/pjb/gk/bf amps and cabs! 

Edited by mingsta
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I think nowadays for weekend warriors such as me (and I guess many others here) gear only matters up to a point.

As has already been said, years ago cheap basses were almost unplayable whereas nowadays there are plenty of budget brands that play and sound great.

Same with amps/cabs. I think that provided you've met the basics i.e. it's loud enough for what you're doing and has at least the useful bells and whistles that you particularly need, there's not a lot in it. I remember playing through some old buzzing kit that sounded like you'd stacked a pile of duvets in front of the cab. Today there's a vast array of 'cheap' kit that does the job perfectly well. Let's admit it, the average crowd down the Dog & Duck on a Saturday night don't care whether you're playing through a £2k Aguilar rig or an old combo.

I'm one of the worst for chopping and changing gear as I'm now in a position where I can, but does it make me sound or play any better? Not really. Throughout the 90's I played lots of gigs and the vast majority were played using an Encore P through a Peavey 160TNT combo. I did on occasion buy other kit such as a Mk1 Wal Custom (for £565 in 1993) but I didn't have it long as I was skint plus I was the first to admit that it was completely wasted on me.

The Basschat marketplace does have a lot to answer for. In the past I didn't even have a spare bass! However I do like the fact that on here we have the opportunity to try a whole new range of different kit, then if we fancy something else we can move it on to the next guy/gal for the same price you paid for it. I've been in the fortunate position to try lots of kit that I would never have had the opportunity to try, many items that I lusted after years ago when I wasn't able to buy them. My wife has a theory that there is just a finite amount of kit floating around Basschat that we all keep moving around between each other!

One thing I do know is that if I spent as much time practicing as I spend on BC, I'd be a hell of a better player than I am.

But back to the OP. In my book if your kit is reliable, playable and loud enough for the job, it's good enough.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Rich said:

As long as it plays, looks and sounds how you want it to, no I don't think it really matters two hoots. Doesn't matter if it's a Stagg or a Fodera, a Behringer or an Aguilar.

Totally this. 

If you want an expensive bass or amp or whatever then go for it, similary if you're happy with a cheap gear then crack on. 

Whatever you do though don't think anyone but yourself will really care as long as you sound good. 

I have a £40 Aria P copy with a 1/4 pounder in it, I could use that bass for the first set and then use a matching coloured Fender Custom shop P for the second set and nobody would know or care. If some geek did notice I would probably get more praise for getting such a good sound from the cheap bass, it would be expected from the Fender. 

Buy for yourself, play for the audience. 

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23 minutes ago, Deedee said:

Throughout the 90's I played an Encore P through a Peavey 160TNT combo.

I still have a Peavey 160TNT combo! It genuinely sounds great and I'd gladly use it on a regular basis were it not for the fact it's bit noisy. Maybe I should get it fixed...

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