Weekend Bass Search

kantkeepup · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 6:18 am Post subject: Weekend Bass Search

I went out of town this weekend, and finally got to go into a guitar center! Thank god, the place I live now only has tiny local shops (which really isn't bad), but there is no selection unfortunately. Anyways, I got to try out a Thunderbird, a Ernieball Sterling, a Ernieball S.U.B., a Spector (dont remember which one though), and got to test out a whole mess of different amps and cabs. Gib your gonna hate me for this, but I really wasn't impressed with the Thunderbird. Don't get me wrong, the sound was low as hell, I think I almost hit the "Pooh Noise" with it. But it didn't feel right, I didn't like what the neck was made out of. But I got the same feeling from the Sterling and the Spector. The best "feeling" bass was the S.U.B., and I didn't realize this, but the body almost feels like textured plastic, and the neck is made out of carbon or fiberglass or something like that. It played smooth and slapped smooth. Not to mention, it felt light as a feather. Just some of the impressions I got.
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gibson_thunder · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:10 am Post subject:

You gotta try VINTAGE Gibson basses to know whut fer, kant! Sounds like a fun weekend, though...Im still recovering from my 21st birthday yesterday...went to like 8 bars & got free shots at every one of em! I even saw some boobies! woohoo! hooray for boobies! Razz

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kantkeepup · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:31 am Post subject:

Holy Shiite, your only 21!?
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gibson_thunder · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:35 am Post subject:

Its not the age that counts, only the miles! Im due for a rebuild! Laughing

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kantkeepup · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:37 am Post subject:

Oh, and I'm hoping to get my hands on some vintage stuff... usually that's what I play on at Ye Local Music Shoppe. It's just nice to sit down in guitar center where you can kind of just put yourself in the corner of the massive place and just pick up as many basses as you feel like and fart around on them. The the local place I go to, it's really small, and the guys are standing right over you, so you can't exactly say, "yeah, i dont really want to buy anything right now, i just want to play on a two thousand dollar bass for a couple of hours."
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gibson_thunder · Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2003 11:42 am Post subject:

I know the feelin! large shops do kick *Horse's Patoot* for selection & the ability to explore relativly unnoticed...until you fire up that 1000watt G-K & rumble the block! Laughing

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Beowulf · Growing Lion Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 876

Gibby - for some reason, I thought you were a little older than 21 (that's not a bad thing, I'm just sayin). Anyway, Happy belated Birthday!

Kant - From my experience, hanging out at a local place is much better than hanging out in a major chain store. When I go into a major chain store, they're all standing around in uniform (literally) waiting to talk me into my next purchase like a pack of used-car salesmen. I have to PRETEND that I have money and I'm going to buy something. Don't they know I'm just there to goof off and have fun?! Man!

When I go to local places that know me to recognize me, however, they smile and say "hi" and show me what new axes they have in stock... it's great. Some mom-and-pop places have a great selection and some mom-and-pop places have crap. It depends where you go.

This place I used to go to all the time was really customer-friendly. I've had a couple times where I just hung out and BSed with the "sales rep" about bands and music we dug and stuff. They let me play a few guitars as loud as I wanted, too.

Rant: #Cussing out

Another issue I have with "playing in the store" - VOLUME. If I'm demoing a guitar, I'm gonna want to hear it loud. If I'm demoing an amp, I'm REALLY gonna want to hear it loud. I've actually almost been kicked out of guitar stores for playing stuff too loud. Can you believe that? You need to crank it to really tell what it sounds like... I'm not gonna buy an amp if I don't know how much air it can push. Plus, you need to hear it all the way up the dial and all the way down the dial to pick up on the subtleties and nuance. I've had jerk salesmen come up to me and say "Could you please turn that down.... I'm with a customer". I feel like saying "What the hell am I?!?" Oh, well, just a little rant. I'm done now.

kantkeepup · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 4:50 am Post subject:

I know exactly what your saying, and you definately have a point. It depends on what day you go into the larger stores actually. Like I went on a sunday, right near closing, so no one wanted to bother me, they just wanted to close up the store. Not to mention, there were a maybe 10 other people in the store, and I just snuck into the bass section, and no one bothered me.

But, that's definately not the vibe that I want to get from most places. And I definately wouldn't buy a bass from a place like that, unless if it was something really new and that I wouldn't be able to get anywhere else, like those new MM's SUBs. Also, you can go into the local music store and find people who are passionate about music, and are really into music and the underground and guitars and basses. It's like a love affair. Those guys seem to go to their jobs and have a blast. Like this place that I go to in Tallahassee, it's called Andy's Guitars. Vintage/local guitar store. They "close" at like 6 oclock usually on weekdays, and on weekends they close before i feel like going out anywhere. So when i get off work at 5, and i want to play on some basses, I jet over to that place, and just get to sit down and play stuff by like 5:30. But, they'll sit there and play with you and talk music until like 7 oclock at night if you merrit it. Unlike a large retail store where they'll kick your *Horse's Patoot* out faster than some kind of analogy that implies a really fast way to kick someones *Horse's Patoot* out of a place.

Yeah, volume is definately a big deal. But what are you gonna do, I like places with good return policies, so that I can go home, play this thing as loud as possible and just take it back when i'm finished if i dont like it.
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Beowulf · Growing Lion Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 876

You're right. I think my only real gripe is when salespersons act like total buttwipes. That and "NO STAIRWAY" signs....

DENIED!

kantkeepup · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 5:54 am Post subject:

if i played guitar i think the very first song i would play when i was testing out a new axe would be stairway.
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Beowulf · Growing Lion Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 876

That was a Wayne's World reference.

And you CAN'T play Stairway... it's just TOO cliche. Everyone will groan and roll their eyes. You owe it to yourself to find a different song than Stairway.

kantkeepup · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 10:59 am Post subject:

i caught the reference. But I still don't understand why everyones against playing stairway? If you play it well at least. Man... i dont get musicians sometimes.
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Beowulf · Growing Lion Joined: 18 Jun 2003 Posts: 876

I love playing Stairway, it's just that everyone (especially the dude in the store) has heard it TEN THOUSAND TIMES. Smile

It's nothing personal, but ANYTHING can get a little old after so long. Plus, we're a lot younger than most of the guys who work in those places. It could be nearly-new to someone who's just starting out on guitar, but a lot of the guys hanging around have heard that song nearly every day since 1971.

kantkeepup · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 11:05 am Post subject:

Thats true. I just think it's a pretty good song to try to test the range of a guitar, personally. Especially if your new and don't have a large repiteur of songs in your utility belt. BUT, there is definately nothing cooler than going into a music store with a guy whos in his fifties or later, whos probably been playing since he was five, just pick up an axe and go wailing on it.
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gibson_thunder · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2003 3:58 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I cranked some Sabbath the other day & my pops(another gibson freak) was hangin around, he started complaining that "The Wizard" was overplayed...*What the Heck*? But back in his day, I guess it was overplayed...
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