How to raise cash for a better bass? Is it even possible?

[CongBass]

Ok, so I'm trying to save for a Mayones bass and I'm trying to think up novel ways to raise funds for example I created a lottery where people can win a Lego set - worthwhile or a waste of time?

Edited June 1, 2023 by cgull
reduced fluff from message

[deepbass5]

try and avoid GAS at all times  it will eat you up

far better to spend the money on lessons and be a better player on a shoddy old bass than a poor one on a boutique bass.

I am you 30 years on, lots of nice basses but still average on all of them.

The only + to you not listening to me is that new gear does get you practicing again 😀

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by deepbass5
bad spelling

[CamdenRob]

In all honest I think it’s highly unlikely you’ll raise the required funds going down that route. 

You don’t mention how old you are and your work situation?
 

Unfortunately stuff costs money and unless you’ve vast inherited family wealth going to work for it is the only viable option 😕

Edited March 8, 2020 by CamdenRob

[NJE]

I can’t do it personally, but a friend of mine has the ability to strip out everything apart from bare essentials from his life when he needs to save. No money is spent of coffees, lunch, snacks etc and when he goes food shopping it’s real basics, but always healthy stuff, I’m not saying go and eat super noodles for six months.

It’s amazing how much you can save by cutting out the coffees etc and getting rid of things like Sky TV, Netflix etc.

Saying that, as deepbass5 says, I am always far more impressed by good players on cheap gear, a superb bass isn’t going to do nearly as much for playing as you think.

[Graham]

I don't know how old you are and at what stage you are with your career and family, but don't forget the average age of people in this forum is 40s-60s - I'm reminded of Steve Lawson's comment at the SE Bass Bash a couple of years ago that he was looking at a room full of "white men of a certain age".

That's a demographic who, on average, have more disposable income, so maybe makes it look easier to buy instruments regularly than it would for a more representative sample of the population.

[nige1968]

56 minutes ago, cgull said:

Ok, so I'm trying to scrimp and save for a better bass (a Mayones Viking I tried at the awesome bassdirect.co.uk) , but that final figure is just so out of reach.  I don't want to wait years so I'm trying to think up novel ways to raise what I need before my savings shrink with time.

I created  a lottery where people can win a cool Lego set ( my bass lego lottery ) and then I created  web fund-raising site ( my bass fundraising site ).  But after setting those up I discovered I had no idea how to get people to find my sites as I am clueless about marketing and social media and maybe they are deluded pursuits.  I hope it's ok to even post about it here within rules and such, but the main point of this posting is this:

Do any of you people have some better ideas on how I can get a step closer to my goal ?  I'm looking for some creative ideas.  What do you think of the two ideas I had above - worthwhile or a waste of time?

You don't say how old you are, but for under-16s there's an interest-free loan scheme which bassdirect take part in: https://takeitaway.org.uk/

Otherwise, you're down to one of the following:

* Bank loan / other credit
* Sell a lot of / some expensive stuff
* Upgrade your current bass, one piece at a time
* Accept that it's a long-term (10+ years) goal and start saving.
* Train in financial services, law or data analysis, then get a high-paid job and go buy the bass for cash. In your Ferrari.

In all seriousness, it's way cooler to see someone who can really play on a ghetto instrument than it is to watch someone get by on an expensive one. Some of my favourite musicians make a point of spending as little as possible on their instruments.

 

[tedmanzie]

1 hour ago, cgull said:

Ok, so I'm trying to scrimp and save for a better bass (a Mayones Viking I tried at the awesome bassdirect.co.uk) , but that final figure is just so out of reach.  I don't want to wait years so I'm trying to think up novel ways to raise what I need before my savings shrink with time.

I created  a lottery where people can win a cool Lego set ( my bass lego lottery ) and then I created  web fund-raising site ( my bass fundraising site ).  But after setting those up I discovered I had no idea how to get people to find my sites as I am clueless about marketing and social media and maybe they are deluded pursuits.  I hope it's ok to even post about it here within rules and such, but the main point of this posting is this:

Do any of you people have some better ideas on how I can get a step closer to my goal ?  I'm looking for some creative ideas.  What do you think of the two ideas I had above - worthwhile or a waste of time?

Lego set lottery... I thought you might be 12 years old in which case I was about to admire your entrepreneurial spirit but the other link says you are 50. So in that case I'll be honest with you - that idea is truly ridiculous 😂 Do you honestly think 2000 people are going to enter a raffle at £2 a pop with the grand prize being a lego set that is worth £63 new?!  And the raffle doesn't end until all 2000 tickets are sold? Which is likely to be in the next decade. 😬

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by tedmanzie

[Lozz196]

I’m going to go against the trend here and say do all you can to get the best instrument that’s achievable within your means, nothing like playing on an instrument that you really love and gel with. 

[nige1968]

Also, there's Private Eye classifieds:

http://www.eyeads.co.uk/

[chris_b]

What are you playing now?

If the Viking has really grabbed your attention, you could use BD's finance schemes, or even get a bank loan. The bass will probably be sold by the time you've made the required amount out of the Lego lottery.

[mike257]

1 hour ago, cgull said:

Ok, so I'm trying to scrimp and save for a better bass (a Mayones Viking I tried at the awesome bassdirect.co.uk) , but that final figure is just so out of reach.  I don't want to wait years so I'm trying to think up novel ways to raise what I need before my savings shrink with time.

I created  a lottery where people can win a cool Lego set ( my bass lego lottery ) and then I created  web fund-raising site ( my bass fundraising site ).  But after setting those up I discovered I had no idea how to get people to find my sites as I am clueless about marketing and social media and maybe they are deluded pursuits.  I hope it's ok to even post about it here within rules and such, but the main point of this posting is this:

Do any of you people have some better ideas on how I can get a step closer to my goal ?  I'm looking for some creative ideas.  What do you think of the two ideas I had above - worthwhile or a waste of time?

Honestly, when you look at all the charitable fundraising causes on those sites, I think it's a bit of a stretch to expect people to throw in for a grown adult to replace the nice non-essential luxury hobby item he already owns with an even nicer non-essential luxury hobby item. 

Owning a better bass won't further your playing, won't get you more gig opportunities or more bands. I bought my nice expensive instruments when I was in my late teens, working three jobs and playing in bands. The reality is I couldn't afford to do it now at 35 with kids to feed and a mortgage. 

Very few bassists will ever own an instrument as pricey as the Mayones you're looking at. I tour as a sound engineer and guitar tech and can tell you with certainty that very few of the professional working players I've come across, even those doing massive shows with household name artists, own and gig anything like that. 

Honestly, if that's what you really want - save for it, cut out non-essential spending, sell off other things that you don't need/use, put any money you earn from gigging in a pot. Expecting other people to chip in on a fundraiser for you to own an incredible luxury item that most people could never dream of buying is a bit of a stretch though. 

[deepbass5]

NJE is quite right

My Dad always used to say "its not what you save that will make you rich its what you spend"

[paul_c2]

How much is a Mayones Viking?

[mike257]

4 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

How much is a Mayones Viking?

A cool £2.5k

[linear]

Here's what I'm going to do:

• Set up a savings account separate from my current account.
• Install a time logging app on my phone and use it to log my bass practice time.

At the end of the week, for every hour I've spent practising I transfer £1 into the savings account.  This will be the only money I am allowed to spend on gear.

Money earned from gigging or busking could also go into this fund, if you wished.

Edited March 8, 2020 by linear

[Paul S]

Start a sideline as a sex worker?  There is always a market for sex - always has been, always will be.  If you're young and god looking you'll soon gather funds.  If you're old and ugly you'll still gather the funds, just might take longer.   

[paul_c2]

There is a diminishing return with guitars. Buy a guitar for £200 and its probably perfectly playable. Spend £600 and it will be better to play (but the average person, or even a bass player, will struggle to hear the difference). Spending £2500 doesn't really get you much more than the £600 guitar.

Its so far off the scale of what's considered charitable, I can't see the gogetfunding page working - mind you, a fool and their cash are easily parted, so you never know.

Its a "luxury" and at least £1900 of that amount is completely frivolous, so common sense says it MUST come from your disposable income ie after rent/mortgage, food, utility bills etc. If your financial situation doesn't allow you to spend/save that amount, then the only option would be to go into debt eg buy it on the credit card or something like that? It would be daft to, though.

[DaveFry]

https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/youngest-buskers-story-plucks-heartstrings/#.XmTTb8qnyhB
 

Busk with the one you already have , and by the time you have made enough money you’ll have a better idea . 

[paul_c2]

ETA I suspect you're under 18 (I'm going to guess 12, from the Lego set?) which will restrict your access to credit. If you're over 18, less so...

[mike257]

6 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

ETA I suspect you're under 18 (I'm going to guess 12, from the Lego set?) which will restrict your access to credit. If you're over 18, less so...

He's 50. Starting a gofundme and expecting strangers to buy him a £2.5k bass is bonkers!

[tedmanzie]

This thread is so bonkers I'm wondering if it's even real 🤡 however - here's an idea: Replace the £60 Lego set with the £2000 bass as first prize.  Not wanting to put the dampners on the bold idea of the lego set lottery, but in my experience people prefer to shell out on lottery tickets if there is, er, something worth winning at the end of it.

2000 tickets at £2 = £4000, buy two basses, give one away, keep one. Job done. 🤪

Regards
Alan Sugar

[Happy Jack]

Gosh, you're all so negative. Don't trample on his dreams. If you want something badly enough then it's bound to happen - I've seen it in loads of Hollywood documentaries. If you build it, they will come. They may fall about laughing, but at least they'll come. 

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

By the way, has he got the Lego Pirate Ship set?

 

[chris_b]

20 minutes ago, deepbass5 said:

My Dad always used to say "its not what you save that will make you rich its what you spend"

A wise Dad.

We should all buy the instruments that make us feel happy when we pick them up. If you start a practice session or lesson feeling happy you'll learn and achieve more, and that is what will get you the gigs.

I've never joined a band because of my gear or sound. Only because they thought my playing would be a good fit. From my experience I know it's easier to play better when your confidence is pumped up because you bought the "right" gear.

[NancyJohnson]

When all this were fields, I used to get the Bell catalogue and dream about Fender Jazz basses, but the reality was I kept within the bounds of reality and played sub-£75.00 Columbus copies.  It was all I could afford on my paper-round and Saturday-boy earnings.  I wouldn't actually dare ask my dad for a loan or shake a cup, begging for money.

Fast forward to 2020, let's set up a funding website and get people to pay towards a bass.  I'm sorry, but that's insane and it's a forking disgrace that you should expect anyone to pay for something you want, but hey, we live in strange times.  We all want something, but most of us just suck up that we're never going to get it or we have to do a hard save to get to it.  I was raised to believe that you'll appreciate the good things more if you actually put in the graft to pay for it yourself.

Right, I'm off to set up a go fund me as I need a holiday.  Nowhere cheap, mind.  Five star, all inclusive.  Somewhere warm.  Oh, I want to fly there business class at the very least.  Some sucker will fund it.

[andrew_actium]

I would buy an ernie ball stingray 5 ( I have one I bought from ebay a little while ago)1989 one with worn frets. £600.00

I got the neck refretted and levelled £145.00 and replaced the alnico pick up with a used ceramic seymour duncan basslines.

That was a work swap for the pickup. Total £745.00.

Practise practise and now amazing tone.

Also try and get some electronic/wiring skills you can save a packet. Leave wood working to a good Luthier though.

I wouldnt swap it for anything despite having funds to buy much more expensive. (I am in the 50-60s bracket.)

I think early Stingray 5s are going to appreciate too as they are better than the later ones in my humble opinion. They are certainly becoming less common.

Edited March 8, 2020 by andrew_actium