"Professional grade" basses?

[Ajoten]

I was reading a thread about how in terms of the SR range, Ibanez consider any model with a number over SR1000 to be pro grade.

What does that mean? And how do I compare that to other brands? Is any Warwick that isn't a Rockbass pro level? Is any Mexican Fender not pro? Is any instrument under £1000 or other arbitrary price still not pro?

Yesyesyes, I know that "what you do with it" is the important thing... but wtvr, it sounds like there's a threshold between inferior and what you'd rock up with to your West End pit gig or Van Morrison recording session etc.

[EliasMooseblaster]

I'd hazard a guess that Ibanez's marketing department decided that "Professional" was a more sellable term to use that "Premium"!

Didn't Fender recently do something similar, with the "American Standard" line of guitars morphing into the "American Professional" series?

[Earbrass]

They're just trying to make you spend more money by implying that if you don't, you're not a 'pro' (and won't be seen as such by others). Don't fall for the hype, especially as you already

29 minutes ago, Ajoten said:

 know that "what you do with it" is the important thing

Marketing is marketing, and it's all b/s.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Earbrass

[hooky_lowdown]

1 minute ago, Earbrass said:

Marketing is marketing, and it's all b/s.

This is true. I used to work in advertising and marketing, and we make things up (called being creative) to entice people to desire something or value it higher than its true worth.

[Newfoundfreedom]

Anything above a Diddley Bow is more than ample. 

[Ajoten]

To be fair it's not Ibanez using the word "professional" in this context, that's from punters, although obviously they do use a Japanese-models-are-the-real-thing strategy.

I always buy based on my hands and ears and hope I'd not allow marketers to pull the wool over my eyes, but this is my observation: My lower-mid-range (?) Ibanez SR is superb. I find it nicer to play than any of the superior Fenders I tried in an actual shop tuther day, and I can't be the only one. Yet I've never seen anyone playing an Ibanez SR at gigs/festivals/on telly*, and I bet they shift them in their thousands (and I bet their Prestige ones are awesome).

That's only loosely connected with my post here, and to be honest I don't know what point I'm making, if any. 

*Or a Washburn, Peavey, Schecter etc.

 

[Jack]

It is my experience that most professional musicians have extremely well-maintained and perfectly set up, but ultimately dreary and average, equipment. It's the lawyers and doctors playing pub gigs to 12 people that have Foderas and Sadowskys.

 

As for famous professionals, that's a mixture of things IMO. Firstly, being a gear nerd and being a good musician are not correlated. You need only look at some PG Rig Rundowns to prove that. Tom Araya and Glen Danzig spring to mind as people who don't even understand their own live rig. Secondly, once one reaches a certain level of fame companies start knocking on your door making sponsorship offers and Fender and Gibson have more money to spend on you than Schecter or Ibanez. The end result is the same, Fender after Fender after Ampeg after Gibson after Marshall on a festival stage.

 

Look at some of the sidemen though and you'll see gear nerds who aren't famous enough to get mainstream sponsorship deals. I remember seeing a bassist play with Tom Jones using a Sadowsky into a Thunderfunk/Accugroove rig. The house bassist with Jools Holland uses Aquilar. They exist, they're just not that dude from Biffy Clyro, who will invariably use a Fender and Ashdown.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Jack

[Lozz196]

In purely bass terms I`ve been amazed by the amount of pro bassists I`ve seen who use Mex Fenders and Squiers. Also seen a lot of the same re guitars, plus a lot of Epiphones. It seems that people who tour regularly play gear that isn`t either difficult to source if it breaks, or to replace if stolen.

[NJE]

I have a very close friend who is a ‘pro’ musician/writer/session musician, and he uses Harley Benton Jazz 60% of the time.

Companies need to make money and they will feed off your insecurities and bombard you with cow poop, to make you part with more money.

There are times when it may not be appropriate to do a session for someone with a £100 bass (mainly down to other people’s preconceived ideas and ignorance) but using one for other applications doesn’t make you an amateur.

Use your ears, if it sounds good it is good.

[Bridgehouse]

You have to earn at least the value of the bass in paid gig/session work or they come round and take it back off you..

 

They must have a full repossessions shed somewhere 😂

[ped]

20 minutes ago, NJE said:

I have a very close friend who is a ‘pro’ musician/writer/session musician, and he uses Harley Benton Jazz 60% of the time.

Companies need to make money and they will feed off your insecurities and bombard you with cow poop, to make you part with more money.

There are times when it may not be appropriate to do a session for someone with a £100 bass (mainly down to other people’s preconceived ideas and ignorance) but using one for other applications doesn’t make you an amateur.

Use your ears, if it sounds good it is good.

I’m the opposite - amazing bass and Harley Benton talent

[T-Bay]

One of our local recording studios has a battered old Precision in there. Plays sooooooo nice but the Fender sticker looked wrong so I asked the owner. He confirmed that it was a Squier but said it was the best sounding bass he had and he only put the sticker on after people complained that they didn’t want him using a cheap bass. He got it second hand for pennies and it may have been set up/ messed with by a genius, or it may just sound nice like that out the box.

[Grahambythesea]

Stuart Spector classifies his output from the Korean factory, Legends and Spectorcores, as professional quality instruments. I’m inclined to agree with him, they are just not ludicrously overpriced.