There are many aspects to gear identity but "brandism" most often it is more of pride than outright snobbery. There is a lot of "Brand Identity" with the value of some brands exceeding their actual quality or value, others having a much lower perceived value than they deserve.

Personally I don't fret those issues and use gear that I can afford and am most comfortable with. Most of my gear choices are far from the norm and I prefer it that way. I am more than happy with what are considered budget basses I play, they do what I need feel good and sound good. I have owned many upper end basses and used to sell them so am familiar with their features, in some cases they are worth the added expense but more often the differences didn't mean much to me.

I prefer to have several basses that cover a lot of ground as opposed to one fancy expensive bass.

Some morons over on Talkbass have knocked Fender custom shop basses insisting that Sadowskys are much better...which I really don't get. At the end of the day, all basses are made of wood and metal components.

You can find some gems out there, and I've read that some players have been fortunate enough to find $300 Squiers with quartersawn necks, which usually is a $100-200 upcharge with many manufacturers.

My problem is that I try and buy USA made...but it's a personal preference, but never knock fellow bass players for buying foreign made.

Admittedly there are some rather opinionated folks over at TB but I take it all with a grain of salt, ;earn who to avoid and who to trust.

There is a lot of Brandism and overly popular brand myths mostly about Fender and Ampeg which is fine by me, keeps the idiots away from the truly cool and the value down on such respectable gear like Peavey & Carvin, not that I'll be getting much new gear used or new except for recording.

Now I've had a little time to chew on this post and I have to say that I'm confused as to why people even consider gear as a huge "snob" issue.

So I don't have the best gear, I know. I have a 13 pound slab of wood that I think sounds great (my T40) and plays like a dream. It isn't a US Spector, Alembic, Fodera, or whatever but it makes me happy.

I do have a Spector, but it is a licensed Spector. Made under contract with a Korean manufacturer as per Spector's specs. I think it sounds great too since I've made some mods.

People like what they like--it's that simple. Todd Ingram is a Fender/Ampeg man and no one has the right to criticize his gear choice. It has worked for him for years. As long as I've been on this site, Dave Magaro has used his Sunn stack and the same BC Rich Bich bass the whole time in Steel as far as I know. I've heard Dave's work and I can say without a doubt he's a fine bass player.

These pr!x you may have seen on here that bash another person's choice of gear can shove it right up their output jack for all I care. To be that way toward another player is just an attempt to assert a self-induced state of superiority over another. It's actually very sad to me when I see a player bash any brand of bass from SX (starting at $109) all the way up to Warrior (I've seen and held a $20,000 bass of theirs) in an attempt to make another player feel inferior.

No one should feel inferior at their choice of gear but I also believe that if a player is serious about being a player, that player should make any reasonable attempt to improve the gear situation as cash flow allows . Some can and some can't. That's the way it is. Heck, someday maybe I'll get my crap together enough to get my dream bass. Until then, it is what it is. I've got bigger issues than worrying about dropping $4000 on a bass that will likely never pay for itself. My current gear set up has already paid for itself through just a couple of years of steady gigging so I've got zero complaints.

So Al, enjoy what you have. Play the hell out of it and rock on because one day (God forbid) any of us could end up with a reason we can't play anymore. Lesa can tell you all about life getting in the way of being able to play. No point in worrying ourselves about it. :-)

Anyway, sorry about the rant but after some thought you really got me going.

--Bo

Love your rant, Bo! I've really not noticed any such snobbery here.

Neither have I but Al seems to have come across some. Of course, I don't check back any farther than a couple of days on postings here anyway.

...and thank you, sir.

--Bo

Sorry guys, i have maybe not said the right thing. There is no snob value on this site, i am talking about other forums where all the rage seems to be the latest zipperdidooda whatever money can buy.

The guys on this forum seem pretty genuine to me and thats why i chose this one. I got sick and tired of wankers on other forums raving about the mortgage they spent on guitars.

I have some cheap guitars and basses and just dont see the need to spend money i can ill afford on stuff that wont sound any better.
I have found buying the most expensive does not make you a better player and to me thats what counts. I love the bass and practice everyday just to get better, i dont buy gear i cant afford and i just get really pissed at some of the comments on other forums where all they think of is how much they spent.

Sorry if you guys thought i meant this site, im new and i was just trying to express my feelings.

No worries Al
:)
Cheers
Peace Ed

Don't worry about a thing bro. No need to make any apologies. This has been a good discussion.

--Bo

great rant Bo. one of the reasons i have always loved this site is nobody here cares what bass you play as long as you play BASS. we are all brothers and students of our craft.