Are Expensive Basses Worth It?

So they may or may not be depending on your budget😅

My bass teacher is a tried and true musician and he exclusively uses Squiers. He replaces the pickups and sands down the necks, and that’s it. Sound amazing when he plays them. Everytime I bring my Fender I feel stupid

The great thing about cheap basses is you can learn to work on them and improve them slowly over time. I have an SX PJ that cost $150 and I've put another $300 or so replacing the pickups, tuning machines, bridge, even the pick guard screws. Spent some time sanding the neck to remove the tacky finish. It now plays and sounds fantastic and I gig it regularly. My most expensive bass (Fender MIA active Jazz), I bought when I totaled a car and got an insurance settlement. I bought a cheap car and and expensive bass

When i was in a garage band early in my teens i played a some $150-$250 Ibanez bass and it fuckin rocked. Though, eventually i went back to guitar because the person who owned the bass sold it. It really did teach me how cool and practical playing bass is, and i've taken those few years with me for playing bass and really appreciate it as guitar player. I get upset when i can't hear the bass on an album

Haven't watched this all yet but expecting Sire to be part of the curve optimization discussion. Best bang for buck.

I have an Ibanez SR305E i bought for a little less than $500 I did a custom set up myself and it sounds great, one thing that blows me away is This Thing keeps its tuning so so well I take it from my Basement studio to a friends house whose room is upstairs and even after playing for an hour or so I check the tuning and 90% of the time its still PERFECTLY in tune It blows me away.

The Yamaha BB's are fantastic. My collection counts 42 basses at the moment and 12 are Yamaha's from 1974 up to the 2000's.

I love the Sterling low end models because they have the jazz bass thin neck at the nut.

Nice 'warm-up' to a Fodera ad! ;-)

Superb video AMP, like legitimately top shelf shit. I love seeing Denson on the channel as someone who doubles on electric and upright bass so it's always cool to see his perspective especially on these kinds of instruments!

QC and fretwork is where I see most of the $500-$1500 instruments fall, particularly with MIM Fenders. They are to a point where the components are good enough but they just don't spend any time on fit and finish it seems. I would definitely try before I buy in that range just like the budget basses because they will be hit or miss. The good thing about the middle tier though, is that you're probably at worst just going to just need a good setup and a fret job.

I watched Jim Lill's video on "Tested: Where Does The Tone Come From In An Electric Guitar?" which changed my entire perspective on bass/guitar gear. Based on the video, buying a cheap nice feeling bass/guitar and just change the pickups and get it setup by a professional.

Thank you very much for this video! As a new bassist, you've answered several questions that have been on mind. Price points, hardware, what you get and the whole tone wood thing... As someone coming to bass from drums, you've helped me not to feel like an uncouth knuckle-dragger. Much appreciated!!

You can never go wrong a mid to pro level bass from a pawn shop for half off, never be turned off by basses that have "wear and tear" you just gotta find the right signs of wear, on the back of the body if see discoloration from "belly" rash or belt buckle scratches that means the previous owner/owners played it very often maybe was an active musician or a hired gun also cigarette burns on the headstock is a good sign they definitely were gigged and most of those basses will usually be properly set up or not far from being ready to go 👌

i've been working as a tech for guitar center for a little less than a year and a half and i will say that basses in the $300-$500 range are honestly great if you put a little bit of extra money into them to get the kinks in the fretboard worked out. if you get your fretboard leveled or even just have the guitar itself set up, it makes a world of a difference

Great video! I particularly enjoyed the mini-documentary with Dr Fodera. :)

Started on a Ibanez Gio GSR180 for 220€. The bass was decent for the price tag. I think one of the most important lessons that I've learned is that always take a new cheap bass to a luthier for a professionel setup. I played for like half a year before a friend of mine gave me that tip and it changed my playing a lot. Setup on cheap basses are often crap and even if they are showcased in shops, the setup might not be perfect.

I own a Gould and I'm not a super great player! I'm a regular dude that works a regular warehouse job and I think it's 100% worth it to buy a high end bass. It took ages to save up for and while it might not be a huge one, I still count it as a genuine milestone. I set a goal, I worked towards it, and I achieved it!

I enjoyed this video. Dr. D. spoke about his journey, choices and opportunities, respect to that, no need for negative comments from anyone. Ultimately, we can take something from this video. Own, play, choose, something that inspires you, motivates you, and brings you satisfaction. Cost is your business, taste is your business, brands are your business. Let’s not go with ‘better than’ or ‘worth it, not worth it’ , instead, choose and big up what works for you, and respect other people’s choices and views respectfully. Peace folks, play with inspiration and share what inspires you whenever you can, someone may be blessed by it.

Great video as always I will say this in similar comparison, instruments are no different than cars or motorcycles when it comes to the cheap to the ludicrously expensive. The cheap vehicle will be as basic as basic comes but in real world turns it’s all anyone will ever need, the expensive however will have a lot of bells and whistles and the luxuries that you think you can’t live with out. Fundamentally they all serve the same purpose just like instruments they all do the same thing, some just “feel” better than others.