All the gear and no idea....

[Waddo Soqable]

9 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

Does she come with the original case and paperwork, hang-tags, etc.?

@fleabag should try the old trouble & strife in this..

[iconic]

I quite like paintings but I can't paint. 

 

I'm an engineer by trade and for me a big part of a basses attraction is the build, fit, finish and looks....I also prefer to hang them off my walls instead of paintings.😉

 

But, if you buy wisely they don't loose value, so, are in fact, free😎

Edited May 13, 2023 by iconic

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, iconic said:

I quite like paintings but I can't paint. 

 

I'm an engineer by trade and for me a big part of a basses attraction is the build, fit, finish and looks....I also prefer to hang them off my walls instead of paintings.😉

 

But, if you buy wisely they don't loose value, so, are in fact, free😎

 

I write off small losses as bass rent.

[tauzero]

14 hours ago, fleabag said:

I stuffed my kids in an orphanage, saved a fortune,  and managed to score  2 x one off custom built basses to my specs.

 

Happy days

 

Couldn't you have got more from an adoption agency or a particularly specialist butcher?

[tauzero]

14 hours ago, fleabag said:

 

Oh i tried.  They're 'orrible bu$$ers. Couldn't get anything for 'em

 

Specialist butcher?

[Waddo Soqable]

1 minute ago, tauzero said:

 

Specialist butcher?

I can recommend "Long Pigs of Little Eaton".. 

(... contact details by private message  ) 

[MM Stingray 62]

I would love a Bentley GT but it wouldn’t make me a better driver. I say if you can afford it do it your money isn’t making anything in the bank anyway. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by MM Stingray 62

[nilorius]

There is no A or Z. You choose what and when !

[miles'tone]

12 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

I write off small losses as bass rent.

I blame big losses on the Torys

[Jackroadkill]

On 13/05/2023 at 09:21, Waddo Soqable said:

I remember auditioning a Gitwrist and our thoughts were, 

.... "well, his gear has got the job, shame about him" .. 

 

 

My band's just had the polar opposite; nice lad, decent enough player but never been in a band before.  That's okay, we can get him up to speed, but the gear?  Nasty pointy things and 'orrible amps.  He's reporting at 1000 hrs for political re-education.

[Waddo Soqable]

1 hour ago, nilorius said:

There is no A or Z. You choose what and when !

Shurely you mean  "you choose wht nd when"  then..? 

 We could lose the Z but the A might be awkward... 

[BigRedX]

I've definitely got (almost) all the the gear and plenty of ideas, but probably not a lot of technical ability compared with the typical Basschatter.

 

However I'm sufficiently competent to be able to play the music I want to play and I'm able to play the songs in time and in tune and get to the end of each one without causing any problems that would be immediately noticeable by the majority of the audience. And while I have goals for improvement, and I am slowly working towards them and have been doing so for the past 50 years, mine are probably slightly different to there typical musician - rather than learning any new techniques I'd like to be able to execute those I can already do whist being able to throw some serious shapes and poses on stage and not miss a note.

 

I also like to have nice things (or at least nice things that I am interested in) and for me the musical equipment goes with the band image. Of course "nice" is totally subjective and in the world of bass guitars not always an indication of the instrument's worth. So I have some interesting looking guitars and basses that cost me quite a bit of money. But it's money that I had available at the time of purchase and money that I wanted to spend on musical instruments. Also bear in mind that there are plenty of people on hear with vintage Fenders that (IMO) look like stinky poo but are worth considerably more than my flashy looking basses. No-one would ever give them any crap about "All the gear..."

 

So don't worry about it. You're probably already a "better" bass player than me, and if you can afford it there's no shame in having nice instruments and other musical equipment. Also even for someone like me a good musical instrument does make you play better. I know that for a fact, whether it is because it's easier to play or because you can no longer use your gear as an excuse - a bit of both in my case.

[Beedster]

14 hours ago, iconic said:

 

But, if you buy wisely they don't loose value, so, are in fact, free😎

This is the truth of it, I’ve spent a lot of money on a lot of gear most of which I don’t need, but If I had to sell the lot tomorrow I’d get all that money back, there or thereabouts 👍

[Beedster]

7 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I've definitely got (almost) all the the gear and plenty of ideas, but probably not a lot of technical ability compared with the typical Basschatter.

 

However I'm sufficiently competent to be able to play the music I want to play and I'm able to play the songs in time and in tune and get to the end of each one without causing any problems that would be immediately noticeable by the majority of the audience. And while I have goals for improvement, and I am slowly working towards them and have been doing so for the past 50 years, mine are probably slightly different to there typical musician - rather than learning any new techniques I'd like to be able to execute those I can already do whist being able to throw some serious shapes and poses on stage and not miss a note.

 

I also like to have nice things (or at least nice things that I am interested in) and for me the musical equipment goes with the band image. Of course "nice" is totally subjective and in the world of bass guitars not always an indication of the instrument's worth. So I have some interesting looking guitars and basses that cost me quite a bit of money. But it's money that I had available at the time of purchase and money that I wanted to spend on musical instruments. Also bear in mind that there are plenty of people on hear with vintage Fenders that (IMO) look like stinky poo but are worth considerably more than my flashy looking basses. No-one would ever give them any crap about "All the gear..."

 

So don't worry about it. You're probably already a "better" bass player than me, and if you can afford it there's no shame in having nice instruments and other musical equipment. Also even for someone like me a good musical instrument does make you play better. I know that for a fact, whether it is because it's easier to play or because you can no longer use your gear as an excuse - a bit of both in my case.

Nicely put @BigRedX 👍

[Mickyk]

Right well ill use the fishing analogy for you.A couple of weeks ago i went Fishing with a mate who's Loaded,a couple of days before we went he went out and bought a 3 Grand Pole,he was chuffed to bits that he had this top of the range dangler.WE both rocked up  at the venue, he pulled out this shinny new 3 grand  exquisite pole , i pulled out my £250 one,I caught  154LB of Carp over a Six hour session,he caught 63ilb.Iv'e been a Fisherman all my life ,he only started about 3Years ago.I rest my case. 

[nilorius]

1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Shurely you mean  "you choose wht nd when"  then..? 

 We could lose the Z but the A might be awkward... 

Then - if You got the money, You buy it - what and when You have time.

[Oomo]

I don't really think skill level of the player has anything to do with it. If you like something and it makes you happy, then I don't think there's any harm in doing whatever you like as long as you can afford it.

 

Though I do think there's a difference between getting caught up in having to have all the latest gear that's pushed on you by advertising (same as people do with new phones etc.) vs. buying something that you really wanted.

 

I'm also in favour of supporting independent builders (so that we don't end up with nothing but mass produced factory made instruments in the world) - not because I think they'll make some magic bass that makes me a better player, but instead they'll make me something unique/interesting that makes me happy (and happens to be a bass ).

 

It's similar for me with computers for work/home. My work computer is a piece of junk, but I don't care, it gets the job done and gets me paid. My home computer on the other hand is something I use for fun (games, music production, coding etc.), so I spent time getting a nice monitor and keyboard, spent time tweaking things to my liking, upgrade memory, etc. None of those things let me do things I couldn't before, but just made for a nicer experience.

 

 

[Elfrasho]

On 13/05/2023 at 08:07, lownote said:

 

Of course. I learned early on (12 years ago) that I would be a rubbish bass player.  So I focused on what I was good at and enjoyed - packing, sending and receiving cardboard boxes and selling gear at a loss.  I could probably be as happy just sending myself empty boxes to open.

 Post of the year!

[chris_b]

On 13/05/2023 at 07:13, Lozz196 said:

Doesn’t matter imo, there are no rules that beginners have to have cheap equipment and only experienced players can have the expensive stuff. 

 

This.

 

In fact if a beginner plays a good bass rather than a "beginner" model they might find they learn faster and easier.

[tauzero]

3 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

My band's just had the polar opposite; nice lad, decent enough player but never been in a band before.  That's okay, we can get him up to speed, but the gear?  Nasty pointy things and 'orrible amps.  He's reporting at 1000 hrs for political re-education.

 

Our band started out as a five-piece. One of the guitarists, who was at least in his 50s, had decent gear and could play certain songs but had never been in a band before. As it turned out, he was completely incapable of learning other songs, and played the worst intro to "Paranoid" that I have ever heard. We persevered for a little while and then dumped him encouraged him to leave.

[snorkie635]

17 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Our band started out as a five-piece. One of the guitarists, who was at least in his 50s, had decent gear and could play certain songs but had never been in a band before. As it turned out, he was completely incapable of learning other songs, and played the worst intro to "Paranoid" that I have ever heard. We persevered for a little while and then dumped him encouraged him to leave.

He told me this during our endless counselling sessions. (In best Frankie Howerd voice , "Poor Soul!")

[Pseudonym]

6 hours ago, nilorius said:

There is no A or Z. You choose what and when !

This why the J bass was perhaps misconceived.

[Jackroadkill]

6 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

My band's just had the polar opposite; nice lad, decent enough player but never been in a band before.  That's okay, we can get him up to speed, but the gear?  Nasty pointy things and 'orrible amps.  He's reporting at 1000 hrs for political re-education.

 

2 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Our band started out as a five-piece. One of the guitarists, who was at least in his 50s, had decent gear and could play certain songs but had never been in a band before. As it turned out, he was completely incapable of learning other songs, and played the worst intro to "Paranoid" that I have ever heard. We persevered for a little while and then dumped him encouraged him to leave.

 

I'm happy to report that the young chap concerned had comprehensively done his homework, brought a guitar more suited to the music with him, and learned fast from our existing guitarist about amp positions (and how they affect the band dynamic), volume, fitting into arrangements etc.  We might keep him!

[Pseudonym]

17 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

I'm happy to report that the young chap concerned had comprehensively done his homework, brought a guitar more suited to the music with him, and learned fast from our existing guitarist about amp positions (and how they affect the band dynamic), volume, fitting into arrangements etc.  We might keep him!

 

Pleasant personality, diligent, competent, cooperative and a quick learner? Why on earth would you keep someone like that? How will you fill your tell-all memoir with the appropriate tales of dysfunction and conflict?

[Jackroadkill]

Pleasant personality, diligent, competent, cooperative and a quick learner? Why on earth would you keep someone like that? How will you fill your tell-all memoir with the appropriate tales of dysfunction and conflict?

 

Hmmm, I hadn't though of that.  Right, screw him , he's oot!