Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Holden
I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree. A good bass player is not one that can take $100,000 worth of instrument and make it sound great. It's a person who can take any instrument and make it sound great. I agree with you, the key is to buy the best gear you can afford and keep it in good repair. But I do disagree with your previous statement.
I heard a great statement on another bass forum. "The bass is the canvas and the bow is the brush... you decide which is more important." Well give a 3 yr old a $10k canvas... then a $3,000 brush... let's see him do his best, then go to walmart.. by a $5 brush and $7 paint sketch book, and give it to DaVinci... let's see who's painting you'd rather have.
Now back to my point, if daVinci felt better painting with a $5 brush, would he be less of an artist? what if the expensive brush didn't "fit" him as well as the cheap one... would he not have been the artist that he was? Mr. Smith I don't know you, so I cannot point fingers, but I know string players who when shopping for a bow, will not touch a bow under $3,000. I disagree with their idea of bow quality, because they may like a $1,000 bow better then their current $3k... My opinion is... if your budget is $3k... try every bow from $600 - $3k that you can... the lesser priced ones may surprise you.
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Well, I don't know you either except your 23 and playing only a short time. I have played for over 40 years and know the Bass and the Bass business better than most.
Dealers will price Bows according to name and quality. A good Bow as good as a 3k Bow will not sell for $600, sry. If it's good, it will be priced for what the maker will bare. If it's a name maker, it will be priced according to the maker and quality combined. Sartory can go from 10-15k on average. That will vary in a single Shop by the individual Bow but different Shops in different parts of the world may sell them higher or lower. Some dealers ship Instruments and Bows to other dealers where they will being more money. This is called networking. Did you know that networking exists in this business too?
The Bultitude Bow I sold was on consignment with me from a London Shop. I sold the Bow for them as I could sell it here and they couldn't sell it there at the time.
I don't know what you are getting at with your brush thing but better Basses are just that and will sound better no mater who plays them and the same goes for Bows. Yes, the better player can get more out of it but why would he play on a lesser instrument?
Find me a Bow exactly like the one Edgar has and get it for $10. I dare you! His claim of using a $10 Bow is more of a figure of speech as even the cheapest Chinese Bows that sell for $50-$100 are barely usable by any Pro player. His Bow is more like an older German stick he picked up somewhere at a bargain price a long time ago. That doesn't make it a $10 Bow because he got it for $10.
If I find and English Bass for 5k broken and fix it and can get 60k for it, does that make it a 5k Bass if I haven't yet sold it? What you pay is not necessarily the value of what you have.
I just sold a $20 Prescott for almost 50k? Do you believe me? In 1820, it sold new for $20. I have the Prescott records from 1808-1828 with all his sales figures so I know this. But, 186 years later, the price just happens to be a little higher? Does that mean I played in a Symphony with a $20 Bass because that's what it first cost?
Just because a good player can make crap sound better than a beginner can, don't think that's what they would rather play. Also, don't think a better player sounds the same on a 100K as he does on a cheap plywood Bass either.
There is a reason why people pay the prices they do for good Basses and Bows. One day, you will understand this further than just the written word.