Provenance. Poll! We love a poll!

[fretmeister]

No.

Not unless the celeb bass price was actually way lower than I could flip it for.

[josie]

As said, depends who the previous owner was. I bottled out of buying a Jack Bruce Aria at Sotheby's last year (was last-but-one bidder) and bitterly regret it. Can't think who else I'd pay that much over the odds for. Possibly Carmine Rojas.

Gruhns in Nashville have lots of guitars and basses at premium prices certified to previous owners I don't care about. No.

[BrunoBass]

No. It's about what you can do with it, not what someone else has done with it.

[Painy]

I would probably stretch to £1500 for the bass of doom.

Apparently my amp and cabs used to belong to Paul Turner but I'd already agreed to buy it before I was told and it was a good price anyway. I wouldn't see it as adding any monetary value at all but it's still a nice, interesting thing to know.

[octatonic]

I'm not getting burned again, I still have a genuine Rolf Harris wobble board from the '82 tour.

[TrevorR]

Of course, you can do it the other way round too. Didn't the Wal Pro Bass that Nick Beggs used to record Too Shy rattle around here being sold on for a reasonable market price and all the while no one realised it was a bass with provenance.

[Funky Dunky]

Maybe. If it belonged to a hero of mine and I was flush to afford it, yeah. But it would have to be a real influence of mine, someone who had made me want to play and shaped my playing. Like if it was Paul Turner's 1966 Fender Jazz? Or one of Flea's, or 'Nards? Yeah, I'd spring for that if I could spare the change.

[discreet]

It really depends if you're buying a bass as a collector or a player. If I were a collector, then maybe (depending on the 'name' and with proof), but as a player it matters not a jot who the previous owner was. The bass is what it is and it's going to be me playing it, situation normal.

[kusee pee]

I did. Bought one of Derek Forbes' basses from him. Didn't pay a huge premium but I was certainly willing to pay a fair chunk more as it was used by one of my bass heroes in my favourite band. Very pleased to own such a thing. I would only do it again if it were from a name who really meant something to me, not just because it was someone famous. So, yes for emotional reasons of attachment, no from a commercial or bragging rights point of view.

[Roland Rock]

Maybe 10% if I was a big fan.

Cabs are a different matter. I saw a 'Ex Mani Stone Roses' cab in a shop in Leeds once. Who would buy a cab that had taken that much punishment?

[Twigman]

Why isn't everyone answering along the lines of "Buy a bass with provenance? I give basses their provenance" ?

There's too much low self esteem around here.

[discreet]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1474008981' post='3134822']
Why isn't everyone answering along the lines of "Buy a bass with provenance? I give basses their provenance" ?
There's too much low self esteem around here.
[/quote]

Er... all well and good, but I doubt anyone would pay a premium for a bass that I've owned. The response is likely to be, 'who??'

[Twigman]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1474014264' post='3134866']
Er... all well and good, but I doubt anyone would pay a premium for a bass that I've owned. The response is likely to be, 'who??'
[/quote]

Oh same here...I was joking

Anyway I'm not selling

[discreet]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1474014614' post='3134871']
Oh same here... I was joking. Anyway I'm not selling
[/quote]

I'm probably on the autism scale, I need a great big grinning smiley to get the point.
I'm not selling either, my current Road Worn P is the one for me. I want to get back to having one bass and resist GAS.*

* Yes, I know.

[ras52]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1473987071' post='3134793']
It really depends if you're buying a bass as a collector or a player. If I were a collector, then maybe (depending on the 'name' and with proof), but as a player it matters not a jot who the previous owner was. The bass is what it is and it's going to be me playing it, situation normal.
[/quote]

Yep, if money were considerably less of an object than it is, I would consider the bass-with-provenance as a collector or investor. Any bass I buy with the intention of actually playing it is likely to depreciate heavily through my association!

[spongebob]

I wouldn't.

My Ricky has a little bit of 'prestige' - it was owned and played by the bassist of an early 80's indie band, the bass appeared on their 2 singles, Peel Session, and also was on 'The Tube'!

It doesn't add to the value (obviously), but it's a nice story to tell. He certainly hadn't looked after it - and after a bit of work, I make sure it sees regular live action.

[tredders]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1473961669' post='3134587']
If I were a big fan of them/their work then yes. Other than that, no, wouldn`t matter to me if it were once owned by a very famous, high-street-known name, wouldn`t be interested.
[/quote]

This. It would have to be a bassist I really liked. I've already got a couple from one of my bass heroes, but he's a mate so I suppose that doesn't count! I noticed that the all the exhibits from the Jam: About a Young Idea exhibition in Liverpool are being auctioned off at the end of the residence there, and apparently 4 of Bruce Foxton's basses are part of the auction. I'll be keeping a careful eye on those, although I suspect they'll go for far more than I can afford. Especially since the article says that they're expecting Rick Buckler's drum kit to fetch £20-25,000....

[paul_5]

No I wouldn't. The simple reason is if a 'big name' player has had it, then they'll have used up most of the notes.

[JoeEvans]

I would almost have an anti-preference for provenance - if any instrument was advertised as having been played by someone famous, I would assume that it was over-priced and look elsewhere.

[CamdenRob]

A bass being owned by a name player would actually put me off buying it... I don't even like the idea of owning a signature bass.

I don't want my playing associated with imitating or trying to sound / look like anyone else.

Only exception obviously would be if I saw a bass for sale from a big name player at a bargain price... Then I'd buy it and sell it on.

[joeystrange]

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1473954224' post='3134494']
It would depend on who the previous owner was.

If one of Dee Dee Ramone's basses came up & I had the cash, I'd be very tempted, although with regards to any other player, no matter how famous, probably not.
[/quote]

This.

[steve-bbb]

i would normally say no but i do recall many moons ago seeing a rather old Les Paul in a shop down Tin Pan Alley claiming it had provenance to Mick Ronson - assuming the provenance to be genuine and all that I might have been tempted beyond all temptation so decided it was for the best to not even go into the shop otherwise as soon as i had set foot over the threshold my mind would be mentally filling out the loan application form and hurrying down to the bank with it

Edited September 17, 2016 by steve-bbb

[42Hz]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1473955261' post='3134508']
Provenance isn't just about who has previously owned a bass; I'd probably be more likely to pay more for a bass if it came with original receipt, tags & all the serial numbers/year codes in the correct places than I would for a bass that had none of that stuff, especially for brands that people have been known to fake/bolt random bits together.

But would I pay more for a celebrity owned/played bass? Absolutely not.
[/quote]
Same thing here. Seeing a too-good-to-be-true deal I often suspect it might be stolen.

[Norris]

Personally I wouldn't buy a provenance bass for a player and only have giggable basses in the stable. Plus I certainly wouldn't pay twice the price in those circumstances - and would stick to budget (I have a wife you know). I can see that the bass might be worth the extra to a collector but probably not to most people that would want to gig it

[ras52]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1474058294' post='3135384']
No I wouldn't. The simple reason is if a 'big name' player has had it, then they'll have used up most of the notes.
[/quote]

What if it was one of Adam Clayton's?

Edited September 17, 2016 by ras52