Bassists of the world, help me out!

[bongolation]

Re: your right

everything you said is right about MIM fenders.....if your business is buying and selling guitars. I play them....

I hear this response a lot, but it doesn't really ring true to me. Of all the musicians I've known and worked with over the decades, very few of them (a) didn't buy/trade/sell instruments as their tastes changed, nor (b) had money to waste. When I was first playing, I always had better guitars and more of them than other guys with more money (I had almost no dough) because I never made a dumb move in this horse-trading. I have never lost money on an instrument in my entire life, and I've been through a _lot_ of them. I made a profit on _every_ one when I resold it.

There were always dumb, impulsive guys who spent too much on guitars they couldn't get out from under, especially after they'd dumped even more money on them trying to re-make them into something they weren't.

Maybe you don't consider yourself a dealer, but unless you have money to burn (I never did) or never expect to change instruments, it pays to think like a dealer.

and the american strats i played didn't impress me, the MIM strat played better.....

You're talking about a subjective take on a group of individual instruments, among which there will always be wide variations. I've seen a lot of crummy MIA Fenders, too. I'm rarely impressed with an American-made guitar's quality if it isn't a custom piece. I've seen crappy MIMs, too, and they were already starting at a disadvantage in terms of parts and materials.

and there was very little difference in the sound

Whether you noticed it or not, there should have been, as the pickups are different and cheaper.

and as far as retaining its value.....you can buy one for 320 bucks and wear it slap out and still get 200 for it
i can live with that a used american sure don't bring 800 (look at the deal you got)

Re-read it: This was a _new_ Telecaster. I can definitely sell it at a profit, and no doubt will eventually.

If you buy a new MIA Fender on long sale, you'll hardly ever lose money on it if you resell it. Getting a MIM Fender on long sale is something I haven't been able to do.

It's your money and your guitar, and you're the guy who has to live with your decisions, so do what you want. When people ask me my take on these things, what I've said here is what I give them. I don't recall anyone ever coming back and telling me afterwards that they wish they wouldn't have listened to me.

 

[Scooter B]

Frank 1,

Just getting in on this but from what I have gathered from this website most of the players have been very happy with the Pilot basses for the price But I have read there have been some inconsistancy problems (especially after the announced closing of production and clearing out all the parts inventory).

It may be possible that there is some poor setup and or wiring that could be fixed or tweaked for good results. I would check pick up height, batteries etc.

My experience in home recording bass unless it is a $3,000 or $4,000 bass keep the onboard EQ fairly flat and use good outboard gear for you gain and EQ. Also use a light touch (fingered or picked) on the strings and set the pickups a close to the strings as you can without the strings hitting them. If you have passive pickups though their magnetic strength is stronger and getting too close to the strings can kill sustain. I am big on tweaking and setup before giving up on a particular instrument. It may be a proverbial diamond in the rough.

I personally would favor the Fenders because of 1) History of good recording results for 50+ years now. This is the 50th year of the P-Bass! 2) Better resale value. 3) More ready made upgrades pick up wise. If you have a good MIM neck and body ($200); upgrade pickups ($100-$200 tops) with a good set up should get you the same results sound wise as an topline American Series ($800+).

Ask around and see if any bass players you know are comfortable doing setup work. I have done them for friends for free becuase I enjoy tinkering nad have read up on it.

 

[jimistone]

profit

i agree that its good to make a profit when you sell a guitar...i've only owned 5 electric guitars in my life. my 1st electric guitar that my grandad gave me for my 15th birthday (a no namebrand SG copy). i traded that guitar to a kid in school even for a '57 gretch contry gentleman with a blonde finish (his uncle left it to him)...i didn't know a damn thing about gretch, except it was a better name brand than "made in japan" . a year later in 1976 i found a '66 strat for 150 bucks....its been my main guitar ever since. then in 1985, when the local radio shack was getting out of the guitar business i picked up a 1973 les paul for 100 bucks (it needed a nut and one of the pickups was out)
lets see... i sold the gretch to a friend of mine for 1000 bucks (its got to be worth 5 times that much now). i sold the les paul for 500 bucks.....pretty damn good profit
the strat i hung onto....cause it plays like a dream (the new ones don't play like those vintage axes). i've had so many people try and buy that guitar.. but i won't sell it....even though in the last 10 years it has soared in value.
there are no guarantees that the new line of american strats will appreiciate in value. they are close to 1000 bucks retail and i see used ones in the 550 to 650 range all the time....wheres the profit? when i bought my '66 strat for 150 bucks it was 10 years old...it probably sold new for at least 600 or 700....wheres the profit? true, its worth a couple of grand now...but....are you gonna have to wait 30 years to find out IF your new strat will appreciate?
the frets have been filed on my strat so much that a re-fret is next in order...so i retired it to the studio and bought the MIM strat for my gigs
i don't have money to burn...but 319 bucks for a strat....i don't consider that a major investment, but, 1000 bucks for an american strat IS!
don't even get me started on les paul prices (gibson is nuts) 8000 bucks for the dicky betts les paul (they've just gone plumb crazy)

 

[BBB]

I hear where you're coming from with the active pickups and the SansAmp. I have an EMG-81 in my ESP MIII. The p/u sounds great through my (tube) Boogie Quad, but pushes my PSA-1 too hard. I usually roll off the volume a bit or use another axe with passive p/u's with the PSA-1.

Matt