I think if you are a soloist, sustain might be an important quality to a bass. For example when playing clear ringing sustained harmonics, chords, and maybe even vibrato.
2 Likes
Just buy a cheap sustain pedal if that’s what you want /need in your playing.
1 Like
Why start with bad foundation and rely on cheap anything? I would start with the right instrument and buy quality gear to supplement.
1 Like
Agreed. Chording, tapping, and playing melodic lines incorporate sustain. That said, if a given player uses none of these techniques, a bass’s sustain is of no interest or use. But to deride anyone for appreciating the instrument’s capability to sustain just because one doesn’t use that particular capability is silly.
2 Likes
Cheap doesn’t preclude quality. Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean better.
3 Likes
I have yet to have played an instrument unable of nicely holding a note for several bars. I begin to wonder what kind of shit instruments others have been playing where this is an issue.
Basically as a selection criteria it seems like winesnobbing to me, more or less. I’d like to see an instrument that someone considers to have inadequate sustain. Can anyone produce an example?
Because I kind of doubt they exist.
Seems like a straw man argument in this discussion.
I just described my subjective opinion of a practice as it being winesnobbing. You’re going to have to explain to me how someone’s subjective opinion can be a strawman.
Also, I didn’t realize this was an argument 
Simply that no one in this discussion has cited a bass’s sustain as a selection criterion.
The snobbery reference seems aimed at, for lack of a better term, a straw man.
But that’s just my subjective opinion. 
1 Like
Ahh, sorry if that wasn’t obvious. A common derision of light basses is that the lighter tonewoods lack sustain. So when @Barney posted the photo of the cool bass with the wood cut away, then joked about worrying because of the tonewood being missing - that was initially in reference to that.
2 Likes
1 Like
I fixed it for you! 
1 Like
Not always, but more often than not, cheap = poor quality.
Hence the saying : “You get what you pay for”.
1 Like
I’m going to politely disagree. It’s important to not confuse price with value.
Tech 21 BDDI Pre amp - Well regarded as a quality Bass pre amp $249
Behringer BDI21 - Behringer clone of the same pre amp $39
I’ve watched a video doing a direct comparison between them. I preferred the Tech 21 however was it 6.4 times better than the clone?
Cheap / inexpensive doesn’t mean garbage, if you know what you’re looking at.
Conversely a Custom Shop Fender Bass is 5 times more expensive than a MIM Fender Bass. Is it 5 times better? I have no idea but my Mexican P Bass is much cheaper but i love it.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BassDriverPgm--tech-21-sansamp-programmable-bass-driver-di
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BDI21--behringer-bdi21-v-tone-bass-driver-di-pedal
2 Likes
That’s absolutely true. Low price doesn’t necessarily equate to low quality. Not necessarily, anyway.
When it comes to instruments, there are many that are factory-made that deliver good-to-excellent value, regardless of price. Some, not so much. It takes research, shopping around, trying out several candidates of the one of interest, etc. to find the best of the crop. But those amazing ones are out there.
On the other hand, small specialty shops and individual luthiers can and do create handmade, made-to-order works of art that can and do deliver unparalleled craftsmanship, components, electronics, fit and finishes that cost a mint but deliver stunningly great sounding and playing instruments. In short, they cost a lot, but they also deliver beaucoup value to the players willing to pay.
Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone or even anyone should shell out the long green for a handmade, custom bass. Neither am I suggesting that factory-made guitars are junk. Far from both sentiments.
What I am saying is that there are instruments of real and/or perceived value, at every price point, for every player. And that’s a good thing.
So, when someone says, “You get what you pay for,” that is a correct statement. It just depends on what you’re expecting to get out of an instrument and what you’re willing and able to pay for it.
The best part of all this is that, at the end of the day, everyone ends up with something that puts a smile on the kisser.
1 Like
“It’s possible you may get what you pay for if you know what you are doing” might be a more accurate way to put it.
In the end, the intrinsic value of an item is what it is capable of, and the extrinsic value of an item is what someone is willing to pay for it and how it makes them feel. Both are value. And it turns out there’s a whole lot of inexpensive gear out there with high intrinsic value, usually expressed as “excellent price/performance ratio.” As for extrinsic value, I think @JT put it well when he pointed out that “brands have value on their own.”
3 Likes
The actual value of a product is determined by the estimation of its worth by the consumer who pays for it.
But the quality of craftsmanship, materials and artistry of any product exists regardless of whatever a non-consumer might think or say about it.
1 Like
Dave Sustaine.
6 Likes
2 Likes
2 Likes