retroman Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Hi Peeps, I always read peoples reviews of different basses on this forum with interest. Quite often I have read comments along the lines of "I tried this bass, was really excited, tone was poor, not worth the £2K price tag" My main concern is perhaps it would be an idea to post up what amp you tried the bass through? We all have huge preferences of Amplifier manufacturers, and types, and, to be honest, £6K worth of Alembic could sound rubbish if put through a little 10W practice combo Also, might be an idea to post up how you played it, Slap, Fingers, Pick, etc, as this also effects the tone. Just a thought, as a lot of people read this forum, and I feel it would allow people to draw a broader opinion of the comments made about the bass. Whats Ya Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golchen Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 It's all so subjective anyway. The bottom line is either someone bonded with the bass or they didn't. I'm not saying that it isn't a useful idea though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Heeley Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) It's a valid point and i guess I agree to some extent, but even thru a cheap amp you should be able to tell a better quality tone of a well-built quality instrument from a poor ply chinese copy. It really depends what the personal benchmark is that you are comparing against, then it less depends on playing style, but of course the over-riding thing is personal tastes as well as expectations. When I was 14 and went into a guitar shop to have a strum on a real Strat for the first time I was disappointed as I expected to be able to play and sound like Ritchie Blackmore. What a letdown! Never got on with strats from that point! Edited September 5, 2009 by Al Heeley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 If it is playable... ie set-up, feel, neck etc etc I wouldn't have thought a shop trying to sell a top line bass would put it through rubbish..more fool them if they do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Not sure it's that scientific. Everyone's got their own difference likes and dislikes and sometimes you pick up a bass, play it and just think, "Nah..." Also with tone; one man's meat.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Both Dave at Electro Music & Alex at the Gallery usually plug you into something decent like a MarkBass rig. Only place I've ever had issues with a crap amp for demoing a bass has been the Music Inn in Nottingham where they always plug you into £25 worth of amp to play £2k worth of bass, LOL! Apart from that, I've always been pleasantly surprised. Especially at Pooles in Grimsby near me where they always find the best amp in the place to plug you into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 I never plug a bass in when I'm trying one in a shop. If I still like the feel of it after 10 mins I'll ask for an amp then. I probably have less than a 10% "plug in" rate. I wish more players didn't make such a racket in shops!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='590431' date='Sep 5 2009, 10:06 AM']I never plug a bass in when I'm trying one in a shop. If I still like the feel of it after 10 mins I'll ask for an amp then. I probably have less than a 10% "plug in" rate. I wish more players didn't make such a racket in shops!![/quote] I'd say that's a very good approach. If it's no good to you unplugged it's probably no good at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 It can be risky testing an expensive bass through an expensive amp because you end up buying the bass and the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s_u_y_* Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='590431' date='Sep 5 2009, 10:06 AM']I never plug a bass in when I'm trying one in a shop. If I still like the feel of it after 10 mins I'll ask for an amp then. I probably have less than a 10% "plug in" rate. I wish more players didn't make such a racket in shops!![/quote] +1. As soon as I "plug in" I turn the volume knob all the way down, so I can concentrate on how it feels and listen out of any possible setup problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 you need time to get used to a bass unless its one you are playing and are doing an A/B as for price comparison versus playability look to see why the price is high could be nothing to do with your ability to play...or lack of it and the comment on the amp played through etc nothing sounds like a recording studio except a recording studio... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 It really is a little bit of both, I was plugged into a mesa head in the gallery and trying out various basses. The Sei although lovely to play sounded a bit polite, the status sound great but lacked... grunt I suppose (I wasnt playing with the amp at all). At this point I thought that the amp was a bit of a letdown. Then I plugged In the 5 string dingwall jazz. Omg what a sound.... Lesson learned, make sure YOUR bass sounds good through the amp your considering! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 If I'm amp shopping I use a bass like one of mine - most likely a Precision. If I'm bass shopping I try and use an amp like mine or one I'm familiar with. Not rocket science. If you get serious about a bit of gear - expensive or not - a decent shop will let you bring your own bass/amp to try it with. Quite frankly if I were trying a 2k bass in a shop and they'd only let me use a cheap little practise combo I'd be out of the door having imparted that timeless phrase that sounds like 'go pluck yourself'. Having said that - it would be an idea for folk reporting on gear shop try outs to say a little about what else they were using and what sounds they expected of it. It's all so subjective anyway - someone earlier said his shop always let him use something good like a Mark Bass - last thing I'd ever use!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroman Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='590440' date='Sep 5 2009, 10:16 AM']It can be risky testing an expensive bass through an expensive amp because you end up buying the bass and the amp. [/quote] LOL Thanks chaps, some good replies. I've been using Electro for years, on and off, and they are good about letting you take your time, and try as much stuff as you want. I must have been in there 2 hours at least, trying amps out. I just thought it would be handy to know what other gear everyone had tried at the same time, to let people make a better opinion. After all, if you try an EB2, slap the hell out of it through a little combo, you're going to be very disappointed at the result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) so many times iv wanted to try basses in shops, and the little bass guy comes over and plugs me into an ashdown..... Thing is, im too nice to tell him i might as well play through a shoe Edited September 5, 2009 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 I'm surprised anyone one here with any experience would go into a shop and be put off playing a bass, because it did not produce the tone they expected plugged in to an amp in the shop. Go into the shop, inspect if for defects, quality, workmanship and feel by all means - but never tone.....! Is the shop likely to have the same set up as you have....? Strings, set-up, intonation, Amp, pedals, leads? I very much doubt it, these are all very personal to each and every one of us. To expect anything from the bass in the shop is a big ask. Knowing what I know now, go and look at it. decide if its tactilely correct, buy a ste of your normal strings then take it home and set i up with new strings and then play it plugged in. You should be able to tell in the shop what it sounds like accoustically or through a Tascam or similar (preferably your own one). There is always likely to be slight variances between to rigs using the same components so imagine the variables involved with all of the elements I mentined above..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 It's a crapshoot.... what a bass sounds like in the shop is nothing whatsoever to do with the real world - unless it's an obvious total dog. But shops are - mostly - lazy. Why they don't give instruments a basic tweak before hanging them up is a mystery to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDM Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 When I try instruments I pretty much decide in the first 30 seconds whether I will like it or not. Small quirks may need "getting used to" but if something big doesn't feel right the moment you pick it up, it probably never will! IMHO tone is a entirely different matter though, as there are far more other aspects that will affect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='590821' date='Sep 5 2009, 05:30 PM']I refer you to the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58401"]Ashdown. Crap?[/url] thread where this issue has already been dealt with at length.[/quote] Why did you refer me to that thread? I am not saying they break, i am just saying i dislike Ashdown amps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='590870' date='Sep 5 2009, 06:30 PM']That's in the thread too.[/quote] Right..but this is this thread I am saying a might dislike a shop bass because i have been forced to play it through an Ashdown, very much relevant to this thread, not the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 But saying ashdown is rubbish is relavant to both threads. Personally I've played good 'uns and bad 'uns. If you dont like them, great but dont say theyre rubbish Now behringer on the other hand...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 [quote name='Kev' post='590894' date='Sep 5 2009, 06:51 PM']Right..but this is this thread I am saying a might dislike a shop bass because i have been forced to play it through an Ashdown, very much relevant to this thread, not the other.[/quote] OK, I didn't realise it was a problem. My lightheartedness often offends. I'll delete it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroman Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 OOPS! Hope I haven't started something there To me, I would be interested if you tried the bass through an Ashdown. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against their gear, it's just not my cuppa. Sounded too compressed, and lacked any balls to my ears. I have an all valve Ampeg SVT Classic, which I dare say there are a few out there thinking "oh, one of those horrible vintage sounding things", but it's the sound I like If someone posted, for example "I tried bass "X" through an SVT, and the tone was huge" that would tempt me to try out the same bass......(and then get a GAS attack ) I too agree about the lazy shop comment......I recently ordered a Tbird brand new, and when I collected it, it had a neck like Robin Hood's bow, and the intonation wasn't that clever either. All sorted now though I have tried several new basses, and the set up on them has been shocking, as if they have just been taken out the box, and hung on the wall. Not very clever if you are trying to sell the thing...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 [quote name='retroman' post='591350' date='Sep 6 2009, 12:56 PM']OOPS! Hope I haven't started something there [i][b]To me, I would be interested if you tried the bass through an Ashdown. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against their gear, it's just not my cuppa.[/b][/i] Sounded too compressed, and lacked any balls to my ears. I have an all valve Ampeg SVT Classic, which I dare say there are a few out there thinking "oh, one of those horrible vintage sounding things", but it's the sound I like If someone posted, for example "I tried bass "X" through an SVT, and the tone was huge" that would tempt me to try out the same bass......(and then get a GAS attack ) I too agree about the lazy shop comment......I recently ordered a Tbird brand new, and when I collected it, it had a neck like Robin Hood's bow, and the intonation wasn't that clever either. All sorted now though I have tried several new basses, and the set up on them has been shocking, as if they have just been taken out the box, and hung on the wall. Not very clever if you are trying to sell the thing...... [/quote] Do you mean 'would [i]not[/i] be interested'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroman Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='591360' date='Sep 6 2009, 01:09 PM']Do you mean 'would [i]not[/i] be interested'?[/quote] LOL I did mean interested, in order to form a decent, and fair opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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