People who buy the latest stuff then flog it 3 months later

[far0n]

C'mon then own up... Have you done it ????
I do move gear round a bit myself, but always second hand... that way you don't lose money.
Surprising the number of TC electronic bass rigs that are springing up at the moment. Maybe they're sh*t ? Who knows ?

[Muzz]

I think part of the problem is access to the higher end gear to try it - very often people have to buy without trying themselves, perhaps influenced by the opinions of folk on places like this (I know I have), and opinions, as we all know, are like... well, let's just say the only thing you can ultimately trust is your own ears.

It's all part of the fun, though.

Oh, and I've moved [i]to[/i] a TC head, having, for a change, actually tried one first...

[skej21]

[quote name='Muzz' post='1019244' date='Nov 10 2010, 07:38 PM']I think part of the problem is access to the higher end gear to try it - very often people have to buy without trying themselves, perhaps influenced by the opinions of folk on places like this (I know I have), and opinions, as we all know, are like... well, let's just say the only thing you can ultimately trust is your own ears.

It's all part of the fun, though.

Oh, and I've moved [i]to[/i] a TC head, having, for a change, actually tried one first... [/quote]

Is it bad that I actually think NOT trying gear before buying it, makes the whole thing more fun?

Especially if you finally try it and it is WAY better than you thought was possible?!

[charic]

I just moved onto the TC myself. Because of sales on here. I love it and wont be moving it for a loooong time.

But i do this with most of my stuff!

[steve-soar]

[quote name='far0n' post='1019235' date='Nov 10 2010, 07:28 PM']C'mon then own up... Have you done it ????
I do move gear round a bit myself, but always second hand... that way you don't lose money.
Surprising the number of TC electronic bass rigs that are springing up at the moment. Maybe they're sh*t ? Who knows ?

[/quote]Marketing works!

Believe in nothing, try before you buy.

[neepheid]

I'm sure I've sold stuff in that time frame. Up here, it's the only way to try stuff.

[flyfisher]

I used to be an 'early adopter'.

In the past 10 years I've been through four Palm PDAs, umpteen mobile phones, four iPods, three shuffles, three Canon Digital Ixus cameras (the first one costing £600 for a massive 2MP !), two camcorders, three Sony Vaio laptops including a rather nice TR1 sub-notebook, half a dozen PCs, a DSLR and four lenses.

Fortunately, I didn't have to buy them all myself. I'm also not good at selling stuff, so still have most of the above items, which is a constant reminder about the futility of chasing the latest and greatest bits of new technology all the time.

These days, I find it very hard to get particularly excited about brand new stuff that will probably not work properly until it's had a couple of software upgrades and, by the time it does, will be superseded by something else.

These days, I think I've grown out of my gadget-envy phase and it's saving me a small fortune.

Consequently, there's something rather nice and reassuring about my simple, reliable 21 year-old P-Bass and Ampeg combo.

[xilddx]

[quote name='far0n' post='1019235' date='Nov 10 2010, 07:28 PM']C'mon then own up... Have you done it ????
I do move gear round a bit myself, but always second hand... that way you don't lose money.
Surprising the number of TC electronic bass rigs that are springing up at the moment. Maybe they're sh*t ? Who knows ?

[/quote]
Jeesus, far0n, where have you been? Haven't seen you around for ages.

[Dood]

[quote name='Muzz' post='1019244' date='Nov 10 2010, 07:38 PM']I think part of the problem is access to the higher end gear to try it - very often people have to buy without trying themselves, perhaps influenced by the opinions of folk on places like this (I know I have[/quote]

Hammer>Nail head - I live in one of the few cities not to be directly connected to the national motorway network and the kinda gear I want up just doesn't get in to the local shops. So BassChat really is the best place to try gear out!

[AndyTravis]

I've done it with gear loads, part of the fun buyers remorse, innit?

Or in my mose recent case, Saving for a Wal purely on hearsay, bought a Ken Smith wiping out the Wal fund, then tried a Wal and found a neck profile made for me...

Love the Ken Smith - Wal is just more for me!

I know what you mean though, i'm a bugger for buying new pedals, and then realising I've never really used effects on bass. Flog them on after a week.

[Cat Burrito]

I nearly started a thread like this a few months ago... we had a stage over the summer of people posting "My new purchase is the best thing in ages" threads only for the star of that thread to wind up in the For Sale section inside a few weeks.

It's partly about the search for tone, one sympton is buying half way decent gear rather than holding out for the real deal. I bought a lot of £300 - £500 basses a few years ago and what eased my problem was buying what I [b]really[/b] wanted - suddenly everything else was redundant. I also agree the ease of sharing gear on this site has probably inspired a lot of purchases. I've had some great trades and I never gig without gear acquired from Basschat.

Stuff tends to hang around for at least a year before I move it on generally but I can't pretend I hold a record to be proud of.

[4 candles]

i beleived the hype about the t.c

brought it, It was a load of sh*te, no headroom what so ever, sold it at a great loss financially !!!

its a good job i'm loaded

[Owen]

Buying and selling 2nd here is more or less cost neutral. Taking a loss of £20 or £30 is certainly cheaper than a day trip to London or wherever both in time and money.

There is also the thrill of the chase

[BigRedX]

For a lot of gear the only way to tell if it's going to really suit you is to use it for a couple of rehearsals and a gig.

It's unlikely that the headroom problem that 4 candles encountered with the TC amp would have shown up at the sorts of volumes that music shop playing allows.

[steve-soar]

[quote name='owen' post='1019378' date='Nov 10 2010, 09:31 PM']Buying and selling 2nd here is more or less cost neutral. Taking a loss of £20 or £30 is certainly cheaper than a day trip to London or wherever both in time and money.

There is also the thrill of the chase [/quote]Amen.
I bought Accugroove Tri 112 cabs, not good. Bergantino IP 310 Cabs, sounded unbelievable, but no umph. Ashdown, please!

On the up side, Techsoundsystems 6X10, yes, Glockenklang 2x12, best cab per size ever, Aguilar DB680 Preamp, unreal.
All from Basschat for much cheapness.

Like Owen said, I haven't lost much buying from the for sales threads.

[Delberthot]

A few years ago when GAS first hit I would buy stuff brand new and then sell it at a loss.

Since then I've got much shrewder and lookout for bargains. That way when I do go to sell I either break even or sometimes make money.

I've resigned myself to the fact that this kind of buying and selling gear regularly has become the norm for me and I actually enjoy it.

[Chris2112]

It usually depends on my needs at the time.

With regards to TC, I found them to be great amps and if I were after a head+cab setup I'd go straight after a TC rig. However, I downsized because I stopped playing live and now I just play in my bedroom or in the studio with friends. A small, portable amp with excellent tone is what I needed so I went for an Ashdown MK500 Mark King combo. It suits my needs perfectly, as I chase tone, not volume and it will certainly provide enough volume to work brilliantly in a studio jam. I could gig with it as even then I tend to DI into the board and use the amp for stage monitoring.

With the basses I get, I find Basschat is an excellent place to find exotic items at a great price. For instance, I got my Alembic fretless for £600 here and I loved it. I'd have kept it had I not generally moved away from fretless playing. However, things tend to go in circles - I've now discovered ACG basses thanks to this forum. I feel particularly honoured to own the first Harlot Singlecut made by Alan at ACG. However, owning an ACG has made me think of ordering a fretless ACG!

[thisnameistaken]

I think a lot of people with money get sucked into the big brands and will buy whatever they put out, just in case it happens to be the best thing ever made.

Best bass sound I've heard recently - live - was a guy playing an '80s precision through a ton of pedals into an Ampeg head and an Ashdown 4x10. It looked like he'd ended up with whatever gear had survived a tour. He was a great player though. I don't see the point in going hi-fi with bass gear, unless your only bass gig is in your bedroom to the audience of YouTube. Otherwise use whatever you can hear clearly on stage and you can load in and out on your own without requiring spine replacement surgery.

I can understand the DB players having to try a lot of gear because they are trying to amplify an acoustic instrument, sometimes an acoustic instrument that cost tens of thousands of pounds and sounds achingly beautiful before you try to amplify it. But making the same effort with a bass guitar seems pretty futile to me.

Talkbass is much worse for new toy GAS than this forum though, from what I've seen.

[lojo]

When I got back into playing a few years back I brought some naff ashdown gear, thinking I didn't need anything that great as I was only aiming to do pubs/functions covers, after the first gig I hated it and traded it at a loss, since then I've been able to buy and sell 2nd hand with only minor loss, until the start of this year when I brought a TC rig, which I am pleased with and hope I use until it is retro itself

I intend soon to sell a bass I've not had for long, and indeed brought a Rick last year and sold it this year, but 2nd hand value you don't lose much so I am happy trying different things out

If I knew exactly what bass I would be totally happy with, I would happily spend on it, I have no other vises that cost money

But I do see myself getting a top spec or vintage P bass or classic stingray that will become my ultimate instrument for the next 20 years, but for now I am enjoy trying a few lower budget ones out

I see friends lose loads more on sports cars and stuff like that, obviously no one should throw money away, but if you are living within your means, its what makes the world go round, or at least the 1st world

Edited November 11, 2010 by lojo

[Musicman20]

I fell for marketing a few times, eg that Ampeg is the best brand for every player. Im not saying it isnt great gear, but I wouldnt buy any of their new gear unless it was the Heritage series. The 8x10? Not really all that unless you drive it with a massive amount of volume.

Certain brands do bring an amount of hype with it, and this will soon be moved on I guess. Are these boutique cabinets any better than a old school 4x10 + 1x15 stack? Who knows...the science that comes along with it may say it is, but your ears might not.

Since around May 2009, Ive decided to try all amps/cabs before buying, and thats what worked for me with the TC gear. I dont know who thinks there isnt headroom in the amps, but you must be playing stadiums. Its probably the loudest 'small/light' amp Ive heard, although Ive not tested the Markbass SD1200.

Again, with my Orange stack, id moved on from thinking of getting an Ampeg, and A/Bing a SVT-CL and AD200b Mk3 in the store made the decision so much easier. The Orange won out, obviously.

[Low End Bee]

I've only done it with a Trace combo. Sounded great in the shop. Sounded average in the band.

Very happy with my flavour of the month Terror Bass that replaced it.

If I want to try any gear out I just need to wait until Happy Jack or Clarky have bought it and have a go on theirs.....

[waynepunkdude]

I buy loads of stuff but I always find it never sounds as good as my Jazz though my SVT but I still buy it, I'm a c***.

[farmer61]

Me.

Spent ages gassing for an 09 Fender Jazz, bought one new, played it live once, moved it on within about 3 months and lost about £40 on the deal, but bought my T-bird on the back of that sale, so not too bad.

Trouble is I get caught up in reading about other people's gas attacks, strictly second hand for me from now on!

[Clarky]

Unfortunately my several pages of feedback on BC speaks volumes

Most recently I went for the TC hype and bought a TC 450 Classic head for £540. Its a good head but doesn't quite do it for me (I think an Orange Bass Terror would be better for my meat-and-potatoes bass playing and musical tastes). However, I've seen people struggling to sell nearly-new TC heads on BC for £400-ish and I just can't face taking a big hit again! (Unless someone wants to trade )

[JTUK]

I always keep my gear for a long time until I get around to getting something that suits better.

It takes me ages to get to know what I want and I keep it because I made a good decision at that time.
I just make sure I know what I like.

The last 'punt' I took worked out really well though but it was only a punt in terms of me liking the feel of the bass.
I am very picky buying things but knew that punt had to be done. It is now my favourite bass.