Your most indulgent bass purchase?

[ChunkyMunky]

I'm sitting here on payday to annihilate approximately 96% of my paycheque on a bass. Costs until the next payday are covered but it's so tempting to plunge into it. Anyone else done this before?

[bubinga5]

Yeah bought a Sadowsky from there shop. Got some inheritance. Think it was £1750.00 for an RV5 with import duty. Amazing instrument and loved splashing that sort of money at the time. I think I went on to spend £ 20000 on basses of the next 2 years. Wouldn't do that now.

Edited September 26, 2016 by bubinga5

[leschirons]

Not any more these days but it does feel great to do it at some point if you can so go for it if it doesn't impact on your family finances.

[Pinball]

Yes I splashed out on a Fretless Stingray 5 and it was an inspired purchase.
I had tried and failed to play fretless bass before. I tried this bass at a time when I couldn't afford it. When it later dropped £500 in a sale and I went in with 3 guitars and a handful of cash and negotiated the purchase.
I can now play it pretty well and although I have never played in at a gig I absolutely love the thing.

Edited September 26, 2016 by Pinball

[Iain]

Second hand Dingwall Z3.

Then again, everything bought since could be seen as indulgent!

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 22, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[RockfordStone]

Last year I bought a sandblasted fender jazz in blue. Had to search Europe for it and dropped a grand on it purely because I thought it looked cool. Beyond that I've not spent more than 600 quid on anything

[blue]

Gibson Custom Shop ES -335 Bass,$2,200.

Blue

Edited September 26, 2016 by blue

[Staggering on]

Yamaha SLB200 EUB bought used from a pawn shop for $1600(Canadian) plus tax(almost $200) and it changed my life.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Bob Palt's (and previously 4000's) Sei Flamboyant headless. My Mrs. actually encouraged me to buy it when I was at Bob's place buying something else... I've never spent anything approaching that on any music gear.

[jacko]

Three times I've splashed out on new Alembic basses. The first was 1995 in the Bass centre in Birmingham after a few weeks trying every 5 string I could find - it beat a pre Gibson Tobias and several Warwick instruments into the dirt.
Second was my fretless which was a custom order so I spent quite some time on the phone to the Wickershams discussing wood choices and hardware.
Third was an early 50th ( I was 48) present I bought through Bass central,orlando and again involved some interesting discussions with the Wickersham family and Beaver Felton. (I've since been out to the workshop in Santa Rosa to meet the family - nicest people on earth IMO).

[toneknob]

John Giblin's Takamine TB-10 (used on Kate Bush's Before The Dawn shows)

[jazzyvee]

Hi Jacko I got my first one, Stanley Clarke Signature 4, from there. My most indulgent purchase was a Series II alembic 5 string bass from a collector in the States. A bass I had lusted over for a few years and the seller contacted me and said he wanted me to be the next ower. A deal was done and I flew out to the states to collect it from the Alembic factory where he had it delivered to. I had a visit to the workshop, met the Wickershams and their staff and went to the annual gathering for that year and met a load of the guys from the Alembic forum. That would be this one.


Pure indulgence but sonic heaven.

[Barking Spiders]

I live in Leamington Spa at weekends and often nip into Bass Direct. I'm always tempted but sense always prevails. I've yet to spend more than £500 on any baas or electric guitar.

[bassbiscuits]

My Mike Lull PJ4 from Bass Direct, which was £2,250 last month.

Pricewise it was by a country mile the most i've ever spent on anything other than my car and my house.

I had no intention of spending so much, but it ticked all the boxes i needed from a bass.

[BigRedX]

My Sei 5-string fretless.

I spent over a year researching luthiers and playing as many fretless basses as I could to work out exactly what I wanted. And then another 18 months waiting while Martin Petersen actually built it.

The band it was made to use in split up 2 gigs after I took delivery. Fretless bass hasn't really been suitable for any of the bands I've played with since (although it did get used on the recording of one track for the "SnakeOil For Snakes" album), so it's hardly been used for anything other than noodling about at home.

Having said that I've spend far more on studio equipment most of which is completely worthless now.

[Ghost_Bass]

Yes, over and over again. Every bass i bought since my TRB5PII were indulgent purchases as i allways come back and gig the TRB. I got it in 2010 and after it i would guess that something between 10 and 20 basses gone through my hands. I'm putting all basses before it as upgrades towards finding "the one".

Thankfully i think i've seen the light some time ago and my last bass purchase was a Uke bass last christmas (again indulgent as i really don't have a use to justify it but it's cool and i love noodling with it). No bass GAS in the near future for me.

[Number6]

The most i've spent on a bass is 500 quid, i have a couple of those. I'm not saying i wouldn't spend more but in reality i cannot justify it.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Number6

[thebrig]

In 1967 I bought a s/h Burns Sonic bass for £15, this was more than THREE times my weekly wage, which was £4/10/0d (£4.50p to all you younger people).
I borrowed the money from my older sister and payed her back in weekly instalments of 10/- (50P) for the next 30 weeks.

Today the cost of that bass compared to how much I earned would be the equivalent of about £1400/1500 I guess, although today, £1500 would buy you a much better bass than that Burns Sonic for sure!

[kodiakblair]

Been lusting for a fretless Tune Bass Maniac since I saw one in Guitarist mag way back in 84. A rare beast,only ever heard from 3 folk who had one,
Danny over at Bass Japan said he'd seen one go for £850. Course my limit was £500.

A good friend being told he had terminal cancer caused a rethink on making the most of life.

Today's his funeral and I'm just back from the Parcelforce depot. RIP Chick

[attachment=228733:Maniac (2).jpg]
.

[TheGreek]

I have a copper jar/silver jar/ 50p/ £1 and £2 jars - I once emptied the £1/£2 jar with over £500 in it and bought a 5 string Warwick - bit disappointed with the bass TBH but it was nice to be able to impulse buy it..

[Bobthedog]

My Roscoe Century Signature V from BD. It is an ex NAMM 2014 exhibition model and is now my daily player. Great everything about it.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1474974387' post='3141908']
In 1967 I bought a s/h Burns Sonic bass for £15, this was more than THREE times my weekly wage, which was £4/10/0d (£4.50p to all you younger people).
I borrowed the money from my older sister and payed her back in weekly instalments of 10/- (50P) for the next 30 weeks.

Today the cost of that bass compared to how much I earned would be the equivalent of about £1400/1500 I guess, although today, £1500 would buy you a much better bass than that Burns Sonic for sure!
[/quote]

Thinking about it my secondhand Burns Sonic Bass bought for £60 in 1981 was far more indulgent in terms of what it cost against what I could afford to spend than any that I have bought since.

Certainly nothing I've bought in the last 20 years has required me to cut back on what I spent on food so that I could buy it.

Edited September 27, 2016 by BigRedX

[thebrig]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1474979565' post='3141989']
Thinking about it my secondhand Burns Sonic Bass bought for £60 in 1981 was far more indulgent in terms of what it cost against what I could afford to spend than any that I have bought since.

Certainly nothing I've bought in the last 20 years has required me to cut back on what I spent on food so that I could buy it.
[/quote]I think everything cost a lot more in real terms than they do now, for example, my first ever VHS player was about £750 in the mid-eighties, and I also remember paying nearly £300 for a standard microwave oven, but my greatest memory was of reading the "Bells of Surbiton" music catalogue night after night around in the mid 60's and drooling over the guitars which ranged from about £15 right through to about £150 which was a heck of a lot of money in those days.
The one instrument that always sticks in my mind was the Hofner Violin bass that was 55 guineas (£57/15/0d) or £57.75p, and I think that Strats, Jazzes and P's were between £80 - £120, I used to read that book in bed more than my stash of alternative mags that most teenage boys had hidden away in those days.

[BigRedX]

There used to be a card tucked into the back on International Musician that allowed you to get more information from their advertisers simply by ticking the boxes of the manufacturers your were interested in. Then many weeks after you'd sent it off and complete forgotten about it, catalogues would start to arrive in the post. I think I ticked every single guitar and synthesiser manufacturer, and as a result had a whole stack of brochures for gear I could only dream about affording one day. I think my favourite was the John Birch catalogue full of photos of weirdly shaped guitars.