stingrayPete1977 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 It's all relative to what you class as a lot of cash IMO, Some people wouldn't want to gig my pre EB I guess but I'm happy to, yet I suppose it's no different to me thinking I wouldn't want to gig a £10k+ bass. The threshold just moves up and up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Thing is, would a £10k really be any better than a £1500 bass? Isn't is a bit like, say, a Rolex watch. The 'cheap' £2k ones are basically the same inside as the £20k ones, they're just not adorned with silver/gold/platinum/diamonds etc. Basically they are just a good watch instead of a bit of bling or a 'collectors item'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merello Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Most I've spent is probably around the £550-650 mark for a second hand bass. Cars and basses are best spent second hand - let some other bugger pay the depreciation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 [quote name='flyfisher' post='1350747' date='Aug 24 2011, 09:18 PM']Thing is, would a £10k really be any better than a £1500 bass? Isn't is a bit like, say, a Rolex watch. The 'cheap' £2k ones are basically the same inside as the £20k ones, they're just not adorned with silver/gold/platinum/diamonds etc. Basically they are just a good watch instead of a bit of bling or a 'collectors item'.[/quote] Does it matter if it makes the buyer happy? My dads a watch lover and is just like us with basses, he has expensive ones that he loves and is equally as happy to show off how good his cheaper ones are (like we praise new Squiers) his favourite watch was £20 from Tenerife in the 80's, when my mom dropped it in for a new battery for him the repair shop man said it would need to be sent to Rolex as he hadn't got the special tools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 [quote name='merello' post='1350761' date='Aug 24 2011, 09:29 PM']Most I've spent is probably around the £550-650 mark for a second hand bass. Cars and basses are best spent second hand - let some other bugger pay the depreciation![/quote] Tell that to the people who are still waiting for the depreciation on a 60's fender from the second hand market. Classic cars and vintage basses always go the other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnozzalee Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 I'd gig an £800 bass I reckon, I'd only be worried if it was fragile like a hofner. In my house £1600, for a doublebass i'd pay £2k because I find them more fun to play, they're super classy too. Definately agree on the £1500 bass versus a £10,000, once your up there, your up there the difference is not as vast as £200 versus £1500. The most i've spent is £1250 for a fantastic Marleaux bass but at current i'd need to jump to £700-£800 to recognise a difference from my £60 P bass copy. Great feedback guys, I can't pitch in about cars I literally know nothing haha i'd be interested if I lived where My Name is Earl lives but I wouldn't throw a penny at Cardiff's roads!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 If I could afford it, I'd pay up to 5000 quid for an Alembic Series II graphite with a deeply grained top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Bloody hell; £300 tops, even if I came into a bit of money (unless it was Lottery-win type money, and it was as an investment/conversation piece). I've never felt a significant enough improvement in terms of playability/feel between a well-set-up cheaper bass and a £1000+ beast to make it worthwhile, IMO most of a bass's tone is in the strings, the pickup(s), and predominently the amp, and at the end of the day most punters at a gig aren't going to have the slightest clue anyway. Spend the money on booze, drugs and women instead. I have, that's why I play cheap basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 [quote name='Ian Savage' post='1350947' date='Aug 25 2011, 02:33 AM']Spend the money on booze, drugs and women instead. I have, that's why I play cheap basses [/quote] Glad to see common sense still prevails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow_22 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 If money was no object id have a Rickenbacker 4005 in fireglo and play it everyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1350776' date='Aug 24 2011, 09:36 PM']Does it matter if it makes the buyer happy?[/quote] Of course not. What does matter is people thinking a £10k bass is 'better' than a £1500 bass or that it will make them a better player. It's just more expensive, that's all, and is often just a means to proclaim to the world how rich the buyer is. Like personalised number plates or 'designer' clothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I've owned (past tense) two basses worth just shy of £1600 and I was scared to play them out live too much. The £600 - £800 range seems to meet my needs in terms of quality verses not being too upset if they get knocked or dented. It's hard justifying the expensive ones when times get tight too I've always said owning an instrument is a hugely personal thing so whether you are rocking a sub £100 bass or spending £5k, so long as you are enjoying it, fair play to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I spent £680 on my new Precision when the exchange rate was in our favour a few years ago. I agonised like anything over spending £250 on my Retrovibe last year! I'd say about £700 is my top end. I could easily get something that would be well made, playable and would suit my needs for that. I like expensive and old basses but don't really have any desire to own them. If the lottery numbers came up it would probably be a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monckyman Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I`ve got a couple of very playable bitsas,a good quality Jap Hohner P copy and a decent Mexican jazz with Nordys. All bought this year for about £700 total. I could see myself going for an American Precision second hand at about the same outlay,as an xmas/b day thing because I`ve always wanted one, but I can`t see the point in spending anything more on a bass that`ll be used in covers bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT40Graham Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Technically I spent £2k on a Rickenbacker 4001V63 but in reality, I part-exed a Rickenbacker 330/12 to get it and I made a handsome profit on the 12-string. If it had come down to forking out £2k in cash it would probably have been a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Am I the only one thinking if you one real big it would be really fun to contact rickenbacker and ask them to make a thunderbird or precision for a ridiculous sum of money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 [quote name='charic' post='1351049' date='Aug 25 2011, 09:55 AM']Am I the only one thinking if you one real big it would be really fun to contact rickenbacker and ask them to make a thunderbird or precision for a ridiculous sum of money? [/quote] Or better yet ask Gibson or Fender to make you a 4001 copy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 £1600 has been my limit. It will probably stay that way until my career officially starts paying me proper money. I think in my head, £2500 would be my limit, but it would have to be absolutely mind blowing, otherwise, £1600 is the limit. The most ive spent was £1550 ish, on my 30th birthday bass, (very recently). I tend to spend a lot on gear anyway, but its coming to an end soon as I need to invest in golf equipment and a half decent Audi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) [quote name='flyfisher' post='1350996' date='Aug 25 2011, 08:42 AM']....What does matter is people thinking a £10k bass is 'better' than a £1500 bass or that it will make them a better player....[/quote] If that's what they think they are right. There are a lot of people here playing basses that, in my opinion, aren't worth the £500 they spent, but if they think it was money well spent..... it was. The same thing applies to £10k basses. Edited August 25, 2011 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I spent just under £600 on a new Fender Jaguar a couple of years ago and I doubt I would either a/ spend that much again or b/ buy a new bass again. I would rather have ten basses that cost £300 than one that cost £3000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelydanfan Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I'm tempted to bid on this Nash Precision Bass on Ebay. Probably go for £1.5k id imagine but looks a beauty [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BILL-NASH-PRECISION-BASS-BLACK-COUNTRY-COMMUNION-/390341186344?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item5ae225d328"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BILL-NASH-PRECIS...=item5ae225d328[/url] Oh hi all by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killerfridge Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I think my upper limit would be £3000, but that would have to be something spectacularly special. Realistically I can't see myself spending over £2500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 The most I've paid for a bass is just over £800 for a mint ric 4003 around 2002. I don't honestly think I'll ever pay any more than that for a bass again now as I haven't in the intervening years when I had the money to do it with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnDeereJack Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 (edited) I spent £1000 on my '75 RI Jazz a couple of years ago and I had Chris Larkin build me a fretless 4 in 1989 which cost me in the region of a grand. Not sure what that equates to in today's money but it'd be more than £1600. I want a '69 Jazz (my birth year) and all depending on the condition of it, I suppose I'd be willing to pay up to somewhere in the region of £3k Edited August 25, 2011 by johnDeereJack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 [quote name='flyfisher' post='1350996' date='Aug 25 2011, 08:42 AM']Of course not. What does matter is people thinking a £10k bass is 'better' than a £1500 bass or that it will make them a better player. It's just more expensive, that's all, and is often just a means to proclaim to the world how rich the buyer is. Like personalised number plates or 'designer' clothing.[/quote] I don't understand why this 'matters'? If someone wants to blow £10K on a bass because they 'think' it's better than a £1,500 one then surely this only 'matters' to the guy/girl who's spent the money? Why would the rest of us care what he/she thinks? I'm sure having a more expensive bass that a player really loves, appreciates and wants to simly pick up & play al the time [i]will[/i] make them a better player too. Also - I'm pretty sure that the rest of the world has no idea how much a bass costs and wouldn't think any more of a player with a £10K bass vs a £1.500 one. In fact, if the £10K one isn't a Fender a lot of people are going to think it's a cheaper alternative anyway My answer to the OP is 'whatever I can afford at the time' - if pushed for a figure then I'd say less than £10K but more than £5K. I guess that makes me a £7.5K kinda guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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