Beedster

Having started this thread a year or so back, and since then seeing even madder price inflation despite the cost of living crisis, I suspect the question should be 'Is any electric bass - even a true vintage - ever worth over £1500?', or is it all simply a dopamine-driven ego trip eagerly capitalised on by the sellers and dealers? Mid 80's Fenders and even Squiers in the £2000 bracket, Wals that could be bought 10 years ago for around £1500 now selling at almost ten times that, Mex Fenders selling used for more than a new MIA a few years back....?

My three a few years back.... ....an '82, '64, and '71 (albeit modified with Jazz PUP and fretless board). A great gang, but collectively worth over £10,000. I love the idea of vintage Fenders, but in terms of value it's nothing more than an antiques market, you can build instruments of equal quality for significantly less than £1000 if you're patient. The magic is in the player not the instrument, despite what the dealers tell you 👍 PS those two rigs were also lovely, the Ampeg way better than should have been the case at the price - and so easy to hear on stage - and the Boogie/Bag End just glorious at any price

Which is what Eurovision is about, generating non-news

Give me a grass roots venue every time

That seems to be the most probable explanation 👍

Nicely presented @Belka, every day's a school day when it comes to vintage Fenders 👍

Ha ha, I forgot to mention the key fact; I found out a few months later when I bought my (real) June '64, that the bass in question most certainly wasn't a June '64 Precision, just a bitsa albeit built mostly of original '60's parts

Ha ha, there are far moore knowledgable people than me on this forum, but I've owned a few 60's Fenders, and have spent an embarrasing amount of time looking at them, trying them out, researching them, and talking about them! But to this bass; it could be 100% lewit but there are simply too many questions about the neck for me. When I saw the first photo my strong and immediate gut feel was 'Mmmm, neck's wrong'. OK, it might be a very unusual/rare board that's throwing me, although it looks rather unplayed even for a paler hardwood for a 60-year old board to my eye. But that the potentially rare board is part of a neck with at least two other potential signs of non-originality leaves me feeling suspicious. A couple of visits to dealers of vintage basses around 15 years ago made me realise that there's not only a lot of dodgy basses out there, but that the owners - not always as expert as they'd have you believe and often not as honest either - have all sorts of stories to cover for what in real terms were deal-breaking deviations from originality and even authenticity. A memorable comment from a London-based shop/dealer was something along the lines "If I took the neck off to show you the neck stamp it would devalue the instrument and i'm not prepared to do that just because you don't trust me. The person I bought it from - who I've known for years - assured me that it's a June 1964 instrument and that's good enough for me.....".

There’s a few things look less than authentic on that bass to be honest

Look wonderful, have a great couple of gigs Michael 👍

Thanks for posting, hope to update very soon…..

And Jazz 👍

That’s about the truth of it 👍

The orchestral music of Aaron Copland is also described by some experts (experts in orchestral music that is) as Americana, reinforcing the view that Americana is music that has one or more qualities that link it to America by which ever criterion the person making the link chooses to use. I guess a defining question re whether music does or does not meet the criterion might be 'Does it sound American?', which in my view much of the music of Copland certainly does.

I don't think it is, I think Americana is a broad category of music music that appeals to non-Americans who feel that it respresents something authentically American, I'm not sure many Americans would recognise it as a thing?

It's not a style or genre, it's a term that describes music influenced by the artist's or listener's idea of what American music is; The Band, Little Feat, Black Crowes, Wood Brothers, all fit into the Americana mould but all play very different styles of music. So not a style or genre, more a concept or idea 👍

He uses multiple techniques, that even in highly competent players usually sound deliberate and demarcated, and blends them all incredibly musically and skilfully. Two hours of listening to him and I feel renewed love for the instrument and motivation to practice 🙏

Asking what strings to use is like asking how you should sound. Totally up to you. Double bass players spend hundreds, sometimes thousands establishing which strings work for them (and unlike the norm with electric bass, that can require strings from different sets, manufacturers, and even materials at one and the same time). Given the value of your (lovely) bass, some experimentation is worth the cost, as well as being a journey in itself 👍