1 x 1.2k Versus 6 x 200

[stewblack]

Lately I seem to be collecting second hand basses around the £200 mark - give or take £20.

It occurred to me that if I'd held on to the cash spent on a half dozen of these I could have bought a serious bit of wood, strings and wiring. 

But actually I prefer it this way. Each bass gives me joy in its own way. Six lots of joy up against one. 

What would you prefer? One 1200 quid bass or six more affordable ones?

Why? 

[Kiwi]

Price below what I can afford is less relevant than feel and sound.  My fave sounding bass is a basschat ho and cost 600 quid in 2009. But in my experience its the exception rather than the rule.

[Skybone]

Or 2 or 3 basses at around the £400 to £600 mark.

[Doctor J]

80’s and 90’s MIJ, sub-€500, that’s where you’ll find me at my happiest 🙂

i do my own fretwork, electronics and setups so, no matter how they arrive, they all end up playing like yankee buttaaah. These cost less than £1200 collectively.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Doctor J

[mikel]

There is probably a law of diminishing returns regarding basses. Could a £1200 bass be 6 times better than a £200 instrument? If we are talking about sound and playability I very much doubt it, given the subjective nature of the beast. I have a two basses, one about £300 and one just over £700. Is the more expensive one twice as good? No its not, no where near. It wasnt supposed to be, it simply has a different sound. 

[Cuzzie]

All parts basses popped together, routed, one finished, electrics, set ups etc by me for about the £1.2k mark in total for all 3 combined.

I’d pop any against a £1.2k bass either new or that value second hand having been more expensive any day.

Plus, it was fun

[MacDaddy]

there are many basses that have a singular feature I like, but only my Shukers have them all on one bass.

So for me it's a question of having one bass that does it all, rather than having several basses that each do a bit.

[thebassist]

At one point I had 12 basses... which was actually a bit ridiculous... even more so considering 9 or 10 of them were Fender Jazz Basses

I've just got one bass nowadays - it was quite expensive but I think it was worth it and don't envisage getting another bass anytime soon.

Edited March 12, 2020 by thebassist

[Al Krow]

After an in depth review of several variables including cost, storage, not pis*ing off the other half etc and over 500 contributions from fellow BC'ers, it was evident from calibrated regression analysis that the optimum number of basses to maximise bass player utility, bragging rights and general well being is NINE. Anything that anyone else has to say on the subject is balderdash. Fact.

 

[EliasMooseblaster]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

After an in depth review of several variables including cost, storage, not pis*ing off the other half etc and over 500 contributions from fellow BC'ers, it was evident from calibrated regression analysis that the optimum number of basses to maximise bass player utility, bragging rights and general well being is NINE. Anything that anyone else has to say on the subject is balderdash. Fact.

God bless you, Al: this means I need to buy another bass.

[Muzz]

Finally, someone talking sense...

[stewblack]

11 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Finally, someone talking sense...

But who? 

[neepheid]

Burn the witch?

[Muzz]

1 minute ago, stewblack said:

But who? 

Al. Not always the case, I'll admit, but it had to happen sooner or later... 😁

[Al Krow]

13 minutes ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

God bless you, Al: this means I need to buy another bass.

Pleasure. And I think I need to sell one following an inadvertent acquisition this week that somehow happened whilst I wasn't looking (I don't recall alcohol being involved). 

It would appear there may be a commercial transaction to be done between us to get us both the universal optimum of NINE basses...😁

[Monkey Steve]

I take a slightly different view, which is always go for the best you can afford, so the £1,200 bass doesn't need to be "£1,000 better" than the £200 bass (whatever that means to you and however you measure it), just that for you it's a" better" bass (again, whatever that means to you and however you measure it). 

Clearly if the £200 bass is just as good as the £1,200 bass by whatever your measure is then you'd be an idiot to spend the extra £1,000.  Unless it's really pretty