Why do we even buy these basses?

#23
Ah, the old 4mm into 3/16 hex head, or the 3/16 into the 5mm hex head trick.
That's a disaster in the making.
My favorite description in an ad is "the truss rod works as it should".
What does the really mean?
 
#24
Same boat. Too busy with kids and a job to gig, but do interstate recording & production at home, which I enjoy. One common thread I've noticed is that with 'rock music' I can get by 90% of the time with just a short scale played through a mic'd 1x12 or 15, it's true they sit in a mix well & are easy to deal with. I have 3 short scales now (out of ~10 basses total) but do I really need the extra 2? Or the other 7 for that matter? A couple have sentimental value, some are pretty off-beat and it would be hard to find another, the rest would just cost me a lot more today compared to what I bought them for. So they're all staying and will be part of the kids' inheritance. I just hope they keep them & play them.

At the end of the day I'm the only guy who cares how the bass sounds or sweats the details. Same deal whether gigging or recording. Nobody cares about the bass but the bass player is a cliché but it's fairly true.
 
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#26
Snert said:
I'm all for supporting small luthiers*, but off the shelf, I'm finding my Ibanez SRs and Cort A series to do well for me, whereas I hate FSOs and larger traditional shapes ergonomically. To my ears, almost all of the tone is in the electronics, so I can change that myself if need be, and as none of my baasses are particularly rare or valuable, I'm not afraid to get out the router of need be to put in the PUs I want; luckily the only one to need that so far was trivial and only a bass geek would know I'd done it.
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SR gang ;)
 
#30
J Wilson said:
As you've found out, more often than you'd think, basses that sound fine live just ain't all that when it comes to recording, and vice-versa.
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Most real studios have an inventory of instruments and amps that are free to use. They are tweaked as needed to be quiet…no hum or buzz…and properly intonated so they are going to record well. Name you poison, SVT, B15, P, J, Ric, Hofner, etc.
 
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#31
After 35 years, I have 6 of the 7 basses i ever bought, and I've been solid for a while. For me, buying a high end, lightweight cab killed my instrument GAS too. Not saying I would never buy anything else, if the right amp, pedal or jazz bass crossed my path. I almost liquidated all my non-bass instruments and gear when I moved last year, but I'm sure glad I didn't because I just bought a place with room for it all. So hoard I shall.
 
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#37
I’m going through a similar realization myself. Just getting back into bass after a very long break because of a left hand injury (right handed player) and mostly playing at home doing the home studio thing. So what do I do, drop a couple of grand on Warmoth parts when a stock MIM or MIA Fender bass would have more than enough to suit my current needs.
Only justification I can give myself is I don’t drink anymore, don’t go to bars, and expensive recreationals haven’t been a part of my life in a long time.

So I guess if I can chill with the purchases after this I should be able resolve my inner conflicts on my purchases.

Cheers.
 
#40
Neon Blues said:
Well, the initial post was really more around a few basses I already have not the Conway*. Particularly when it comes to more vintage styled basses that actually have terrible design flaws, body shapes but we (myself included) keep buying these.
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No, what I wondered was what characteristics you disliked with the classical designs ("but we (myself included) keep buying"; not me) vs the Conway that you do like? I'm genuinely curious as we're unlikely to meet in the flesh so I can try your basses, and you try mine to get the IRL perspective.
 
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