£12,000(+) Peavey Bass

[warwickhunt]

Certainly looks like a humble Peavey to me but it is endorsed by Flea & Damien Hirst...

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/bonhams/catalogue-id-bonham10133/lot-cfc2a627-1d2a-4e97-913f-ac3e013f23e8

[40hz]

That's one of Flea's own brand 'Fleabasses' 

[warwickhunt]

5 minutes ago, 40hz said:

That's one of Flea's own brand 'Fleabasses' 

Is it 'made in the same factory' as Peavey basses? 

[tvickey]

Do the knob settings come fixed in place with official Flea duct-tape?

 

[thodrik]

Its a cool finish and if I was dropping that kind of cash on a bass I would rather it be this than the Fender Custom Shop Phil Lynott version which was retailing at about £11k, though to be fair I would probably want both for the sake of variety. 

[Lfalex v1.1]

*Cheaper Ritters are available. 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Maybe I'm misremembering, but weren't those flea basses generally regarded as overpriced and disappointing when they first came out?

[warwickhunt]

32 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Maybe I'm misremembering, but weren't those flea basses generally regarded as overpriced and disappointing when they first came out?

...and that was at a couple of hundred pounds!  

[thodrik]

36 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

Maybe I'm misremembering, but weren't those flea basses generally regarded as overpriced and disappointing when they first came out?

Yes, and Flea pretty much ended the venture after about 18 months or so. 

[AndyTravis]

Were the Damien Hurst finished ones not built by flea’s bass tech?

I think the prototypes were luthier made jobs, and had LP musicman style pickups and Aguilar pre’s.

The mass produced ones were made (I think) in the same factory as AXL/Johnson branded basses...and weren’t great.

[AndyTravis]

This is the one I’m thinking of...

[warwickhunt]

The one in the Bonham's auction has a surface mount output, cheap pup (not LanePoor) and 2 controls rather than 3... it looks like a mass produced jobbie to me.    

[AndyTravis]

1 minute ago, warwickhunt said:

The one in the Bonham's auction has a surface mount output, cheap pup (not LanePoor) and 2 controls rather than 3... it looks like a mass produced jobbie to me.    

So it’s down to the Damian Hurst paint swirl...think they were originally done as a series to auction off for The Silverlake Music School Flea set up. 

[warwickhunt]

I'm not knocking the sentiment of the original idea but it certainly moves these basses away from being expensive instruments to cheap works of DH art!  

[AndyTravis]

He had an original 60’s jazz with dead butterflies encased in the lacquer done by DH too.

madness. Oh to be rich.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Wouldn’t pay that even it was a Modulus.