Is this the end for the boutique bass?

[tauzero]

12 minutes ago, cetera said:

Scott's Bass Lessons next vid:

 

"Why Boutique Basses Crush Everything!"

 

The one after that:

 

"Why You Shouldn't Buy a Boutique Bass!"

[Mykesbass]

59 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Bass number 5 will SHOCK you.

Need a @KiOgon loom in that 😏

[Mrbigstuff]

1 hour ago, cetera said:

Scott's Bass Lessons next vid:

 

"Why Boutique Basses Crush Everything!"

The video two weeks before: “Pro bass player has huge gear revelation”.
Scott gives away boutique basses in charity giveaway.

2 weeks later, big shipment of boutique basses arrive at Chateau de Scott and your video drops. 

[Len_derby]

Thanks for this thread. It’s prompted me to take out my custom build by our own @Andyjr1515. Boutique? Maybe, but if so it’s the only boutique thing I have in my universe. Suit courtesy of Oxfam.

 

 

Edited Friday at 16:25 by Len_derby

[Jackroadkill]

6 hours ago, tegs07 said:

does it include the 10 most difficult bass lines ever on a boutique bass 

and come with an AI photo of a lady in a very tiny bikini?

 

I'm in.

[tegs07]

31 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

I'm in.

the bikini!

[LowB_FTW]

Betteridge's law of headlines applied to forum threads … 

Is this the end for the boutique bass?

"No"

 

Mark

[Jackroadkill]

2 hours ago, tegs07 said:

the bikini!

 

Well, it's the weekend, after all!

[dave_bass5]

I always equate boutique bass to people that have to have that bass because cheaper basses dont offer everything they 'need', but they also play much cheaper basses most of the time because they dont want to take the expensive one out, even though these offer so much less as far as playability goes 😎

[binky_bass]

11 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

I always equate boutique bass to people that have to have that bass because cheaper basses dont offer everything they 'need', but they also play much cheaper basses most of the time because they dont want to take the expensive one out, even though these offer so much less as far as playability goes 😎

Maybe for some... 

 

I'll confess I have a collection of 'boutique' basses. The collection as a whole, as well as each of them individually do bring me joy. I enjoy playing them at band practice, I enjoy switching between them, I sometimes just enjoy holding them and spending time marvelling at the skill of the person who made it, I also enjoy them as playable 'art' hung on my studio wall. I play them at home and each of them has been gigged more than once. A few I've had made specifically for me (Binky and a few ACGs) and some I've picked up here and elsewhere for a 'good price', so should I ever need to liquidate them, I could. It's each to their own, but I very much enjoy my basses, and I don't consider them purchases due to me 'needing' them. Though my personal 'wants' in a bass are:

 

• 6 string (7, 8, 9, 10 also fine!)

• Active

• 24 frets

• Through neck

• Wood top

 

There isn't a HUGE number of basses that offer those specs and are genuinely 'good' from my experience (Cort A6 is perhaps an exception) so I've found my sweet spot within the boutique basses world. 

 

Nowt wrong at all with a 4 string Harley Benton P-Bass, they're great for the price point, but they don't meet my personal bass 'wants'. There'

are definitely others in my camp, don't write us all off as pretentious just because we like something different! 😋

Edited yesterday at 08:32 by binky_bass

[Hellzero]

You are not alone @binky_bass... 😉

 

Instead of speaking of boutique basses, I prefer the term luthier basses, because this is what are my basses and if I've gone that path, it's because I couldn't find what I was looking for in mass produced instruments when I started playing fretless bass 40+ years ago, yes I really started with a fretless as it's the bass tone I hear in my head.

 

Before the first fretless I had an awful Maya EB-2, then a way better Ibanez SoundGear SDGR 800, but I was simply noodling, and then came the first fretless, a now long gone Aria Diamond Violin that had been defretted by Christophe Leduc to my request and fitted with EMG pickups including a piezo pickup: It sounded ace and made me want to take lessons to learn music, but I was attracted by the fretless ERB, hence these luthier made basses that started my love for these instruments, because I had no other option available back then.

 

That said, I like some vintage instruments too for what they are, and even if I'm a vintage Fender expert (some mates here can confirm this), I don't own any Fender vintage instruments anymore, because they don't meet my requirements at all.

 

It's all about tone, nothing more, and, yes, I fancy coffee table fretless basses as well as ultra well thought instruments designed around efficiency and tone.

 

So, please, accept that we don't all like the same stuff. 😉

[dave_bass5]

14 hours ago, binky_bass said:

Maybe for some... 

 

I'll confess I have a collection of 'boutique' basses. The collection as a whole, as well as each of them individually do bring me joy. I enjoy playing them at band practice, I enjoy switching between them, I sometimes just enjoy holding them and spending time marvelling at the skill of the person who made it, I also enjoy them as playable 'art' hung on my studio wall. I play them at home and each of them has been gigged more than once. A few I've had made specifically for me (Binky and a few ACGs) and some I've picked up here and elsewhere for a 'good price', so should I ever need to liquidate them, I could. It's each to their own, but I very much enjoy my basses, and I don't consider them purchases due to me 'needing' them. Though my personal 'wants' in a bass are:

 

Yeah, I was a bit harsh. For those that want them and enjoy playing them then I can see that. it's a hobby and with a hobby you dont have to justify anything. 

Its just that ive read how some have to have a custom build because they cant play anything else (talking about 4-5 strings, not those silly things with so many strings that you cant pass as a bass player), which always strikes me as funny. 

Edited 13 hours ago by dave_bass5

[Woodinblack]

2 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Its just that ive read how some have to have a custom build because they cant play anything else (talking about 4-5 strings, not those silly things with so many strings that you cant pass as a bass player), which always strikes me as funny. 

 

I had a custom build made because it was what I wanted, and I couldn't get what I wanted off the shelf. It plays more gigs that most of the others, but not all because I don't believe on having a bass that I don't gig (except a 4 string, but I have had it so long), so the others get used as well.

[Mrbigstuff]

34 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yeah, I was a bit harsh. For those that want them and enjoy playing them then I can see that. it's a hobby and with a hobby you dont have to justify anything. 

Its just that ive read how some have to have a custom build because they cant play anything else (talking about 4-5 strings, not those silly things with so many strings that you cant pass as a bass player), which always strikes me as funny. 

My overwater cost only 10% more than the equivalent fender artist bass at the time, yet it was handmade in England and had a few little extras I could choose over the fender. In that scenario, with the money in my pocket, I would have been insane to pick the Fender. 

[HeadlessBassist]

58 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yeah, I was a bit harsh. For those that want them and enjoy playing them then I can see that. it's a hobby and with a hobby you dont have to justify anything. 

Its just that ive read how some have to have a custom build because they cant play anything else (talking about 4-5 strings, not those silly things with so many strings that you cant pass as a bass player), which always strikes me as funny. 

 

I'd hope that most players take a more balanced approach.

 

Professionally, I use mainly Fender Jazz basses - not custom shop fare, but ordinary run of the mill production ones, yet they are instruments that are special to my hands & my ears, and do the job I need them to do over thirty-forty live tribute shows a year. (2018 American Original & 2016 American Elite.)

 

I still have my boutique basses, mainly by Status, because I've been with the brand for 35 years, the instruments fit me like a glove, and I love the peerless quality control that comes from every bass going through the hands of one man, not to mention the snap and howl and how they cut through any mix. They are something I will hopefully always have, and are usually played on highly  technical trio gigs where I can really stretch my stuff. They have their place, basically.

 

So I don't think there is any snobbery as such. Just a case of the right tool for the right job. And remember, it's not just a 'hobby' for some of us - It's our livelihood.  

[binky_bass]

7 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

(talking about 4-5 strings, not those silly things with so many strings that you cant pass as a bass player)

I think we may need to have a few rounds of bare knuckle boxing (over arm style of course) to resolve this, given that I do also play 7, 8, 9 and 10 string basses which I expect would classify as "one of those silly things with so many strings that you can't pass cant pass as a bass player".

 

In my band I play a lot of two hand tap, which is close to impossible on a 4 string bass. With some songs its much easier to play the piece on an 8 string. If you play standard songs that only require a 4 string bass, then I can partially see your point, but I play and write songs that can't be played on a 4 string as they simply don't have the range. Having somewhere between 6-10 strings available is great fun and opens up the bass way beyond that of its 4 string brothers. It becomes a true instrument for composition and exploration. 

 

If ever you're in Essex, swing by and have a go on Binky the 10 string bass, most people hold it for the first time and think its utterly ridiculous (which it is a bit!) but after 10 minutes or so, they understand why it exists and how much it opens up bass as an instrument.

Edited 6 hours ago by binky_bass

[dave_bass5]

3 hours ago, binky_bass said:

I think we may need to have a few rounds of bare knuckle boxing (over arm style of course) to resolve this, given that I do also play 7, 8, 9 and 10 string basses which I expect would classify as "one of those silly things with so many strings that you can't pass cant pass as a bass player".

 

In my band I play a lot of two hand tap, which is close to impossible on a 4 string bass. With some songs its much easier to play the piece on an 8 string. If you play standard songs that only require a 4 string bass, then I can partially see your point, but I play and write songs that can't be played on a 4 string as they simply don't have the range. Having somewhere between 6-10 strings available is great fun and opens up the bass way beyond that of its 4 string brothers. It becomes a true instrument for composition and exploration. 

 

If ever you're in Essex, swing by and have a go on Binky the 10 string bass, most people hold it for the first time and think its utterly ridiculous (which it is a bit!) but after 10 minutes or so, they understand why it exists and how much it opens up bass as an instrument.

I meant no office, but those are my thoughts. It's not so much the strings that I think look silly, they just seem to have such weird body shapes. I feel the same about single cutaway basses/guitar's. 

 

I appreciate sometimes you do need a certain tool to do a certain job, so I get that you need those type of instruments to do what you do, although I will ask who's holding down the low end while you are doing it 😎

 

[dave_bass5]

9 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

I'd hope that most players take a more balanced approach.

 

Professionally, I use mainly Fender Jazz basses - not custom shop fare, but ordinary run of the mill production ones, yet they are instruments that are special to my hands & my ears, and do the job I need them to do over thirty-forty live tribute shows a year. (2018 American Original & 2016 American Elite.)

 

I still have my boutique basses, mainly by Status, because I've been with the brand for 35 years, the instruments fit me like a glove, and I love the peerless quality control that comes from every bass going through the hands of one man, not to mention the snap and howl and how they cut through any mix. They are something I will hopefully always have, and are usually played on highly  technical trio gigs where I can really stretch my stuff. They have their place, basically.

 

So I don't think there is any snobbery as such. Just a case of the right tool for the right job. And remember, it's not just a 'hobby' for some of us - It's our livelihood.  

Id love a Status. Ive had headless basses over the years (still got a spirit), but never owed a real Status or Steinberger. 

To me those aren't custom or boutique basses, as there were loads of them around back in the day.

 

I still get the impression that its more the hobbyist that likes to spend shed loads of money on boutique, rather than the working bass player. obviously that's a blanket statement but im just going by things ive read on here. Ive also never seen a bass player playing anything more than 5 in a live situation. Then again I dont go to see many bands these days. 

[itu]

2 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

...they just seem to have such weird body shapes. I feel the same about single cutaway basses/guitar's. 

And I feel the same about those ancient surf basses. Sure here we talk about taste: a friend of mine hates the shape of the headstock of my Vigier.