What is the most you'd personally pay for a new bass?

[40hz]

With the massive rises in prices in recent years on basses across the board, I don't buy new anymore - it's not financially viable. I'd do it for a new Wal, but that's a one-off, very special instrument.

 

I guess, at a push, maybe £1000-1200 at the absolute max, if something came along that I *had* to have new, but I'd probably just still wait to find one used.

 

I think pricing within the industry is rising at an completely unsustainable rate (in line with the average wage and what people can afford). A Musicman Stingray is a shade off £3000 now. Boggo Warwick GPS series (that are nothing like the OG ones) are £2000+. An American Jazz bass is knocking on for £2000. People just don't have this kind of money to spare in today's climate. 

 

I know there's the argument to be had for import lines, but even then, for example, Sterling by Musicman are over £1000, Mexican Fenders are now going for over £1000.

 

Conversely, though, budget instruments nowadays, are phenomenal in quality, playability and sound, so I guess there's still a lot of value to be had in that sense - but if you want 'the real deal' going forward, the prices will be laughably astronomic within 5 years, and closed to all but the most wealthy of us.

Edited December 21, 2022 by 40hz

[KingBollock]

All this money people are throwing about and I am gassing really badly for a bass for sale on BassChat that’s less than £300. I don’t know if I am hoping he’ll sell it or if he doesn’t sell it and I can talk myself into it in the new year…

 

And I don’t mean it in a bad way, I just find it quite humorous!

[Sparky Mark]

2 minutes ago, KingBollock said:

All this money people are throwing about and I am gassing really badly for a bass for sale on BassChat that’s less than £300. I don’t know if I am hoping he’ll sell it or if he doesn’t sell it and I can talk myself into it in the new year…

 

And I don’t mean it in a bad way, I just find it quite humorous!

Oooh! Which bass? Someone might help you out by buying it. 

[Skybone]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

Around £1500.  Beyond that, I don't see the point, and my bass skills and frequency of my playing barely justifies the figure I have postulated.

 

Can't argue with this really.

 

As much as I'd like to spend more, I can't justify it. If I can't justify it, it's not worth doing. And as others have said, if you did spend over that, you'd be too paranoid to take it out of the house anyway, so what's the point in having it?

[KingBollock]

9 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

Oooh! Which bass? Someone might help you out by buying it. 

I hope not… My wife has just told me I can have it!

 

Only now, because, as little as it is, it is still a not insignificant amount of money for me, I am nervous because I have never bought anything from BassChat before. I have only bought anything bass related, used online once before, and that was well dodgy and only really seemed to work out by a fluke!

[LukeFRC]

7 minutes ago, KingBollock said:

I hope not… My wife has just told me I can have it!

 

Only now, because, as little as it is, it is still a not insignificant amount of money for me, I am nervous because I have never bought anything from BassChat before. I have only bought anything bass related, used online once before, and that was well dodgy and only really seemed to work out by a fluke!

is it from someone who's been around a bit? you'll be alright

[Beedster]

Most expensive new bass I've bought was a 2007 Modulus Flea at around £1700 at the time IIRC 👍

[Newfoundfreedom]

33 minutes ago, KingBollock said:

All this money people are throwing about and I am gassing really badly for a bass for sale on BassChat that’s less than £300. I don’t know if I am hoping he’ll sell it or if he doesn’t sell it and I can talk myself into it in the new year…

 

And I don’t mean it in a bad way, I just find it quite humorous!

 

I'm exactly the same. I often see basses around the £300 mark that I would really like to buy, but simply can't justify the outlay. 

[Sparky Mark]

28 minutes ago, KingBollock said:

I hope not… My wife has just told me I can have it!

 

Only now, because, as little as it is, it is still a not insignificant amount of money for me, I am nervous because I have never bought anything from BassChat before. I have only bought anything bass related, used online once before, and that was well dodgy and only really seemed to work out by a fluke!

Always check the seller's feedback in the Marketplace Feedback forum. If there's no feedback proceed with sensible precautions. I think payment on collection in person is always best for both parties.

Edited December 20, 2022 by Sparky Mark

[KingBollock]

2 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

Always check the seller's feedback in the Marketplace Feedback forum. If there's no feedback proceed with sensible precautions. I think payment on collection in person is always best for both parties.

They seem to have good feedback. Collection in person can’t happen, they’re about 250 miles away. We’ll see. I don’t even know if the bass is still definitely for sale.

[Bassybert]

43 minutes ago, KingBollock said:

All this money people are throwing about and I am gassing really badly for a bass for sale on BassChat that’s less than £300. I don’t know if I am hoping he’ll sell it or if he doesn’t sell it and I can talk myself into it in the new year…

 

And I don’t mean it in a bad way, I just find it quite humorous!

I'm in the same boat where I don't have a lot of disposable income to splash out on gear, but to me that's a pretty good leveller for a couple of reasons...

 

1 - It makes me concentrate on enjoying the things I do have and means I spend more time playing rather than GASing.

2 - You can get a ridiculous amount of bass for £300 these days, even more if you're buying a well looked after used instrument.

 

I'd say embrace the restriction, I can be a challenge but it's all relative value wise.

[binky_bass]

Binky cost me somewhere around £4000 18 odd years ago. Today, I can't see you getting change out of closer to £8000 for a similar build. I bought a few ACGs from Alan, I think the dearest was £3300, but (IMHO) that was arguably the nicest 6 he's built! 

 

I won't be spending anywhere near that on basses these days as frankly I'm in the very fortunate position of now owning basses I never ever dreamed I'd own when I first started playing. 

 

I'll still buy the odd bass here and there if its something I fancy, is priced at a point where I won't loose money and, I happen to have that amount of disposable income to hand. 

 

So, it's a very subjective question that is based on a myriad of personal circumstances.

 

My personal equation now is:

 

Can I Afford It + Will I loose Money If I Sell It + Will I Enjoy Owning It. If the answers are Yes/No/Yes, then I'll probably buy it! 

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, WinterMute said:

some of those Alembics look fabulous, but at £20K+ seem overpriced given how good the ACG is.

 

But an Alembic is not an ACG. 

 

IMO once you step outside of the Fender and Fender copy (and I include high-end as well as cheap copies in that description) market, you're not simply buying a musical instrument for playing bass lines - there's a whole other range of factors at play some of which might seem completely irrational to the average bassist who is completely happy with their factory made mass-produced bass.

[mario_buoninfante]

the only thing about the monetary value of basses (and other products too), I do understand prices go up and something you paid 10 bucks 10y ago now is worth 100 bucks, but there is something be said about all that:

• value can go down as well as up, based on demand, trends, availability, market, parts cost, etc. - see analogue synthesiser in the 90s, they were throwing them at people for few hundred bucks, things that now go for 1-2-3k
• the fact that a bass is now worth 3x more than when it got bought doesn't mean anything until (and if) one sells it
• when saying that a bass is now worth 3x times more than 10y ago, are we accounting for inflation? 1000£ even only 3y ago is not the same as 1000£ now - 1y of gas now it costs more than a good Fender instrument
• there's a difference between buying basses to collect them and buying basses to use them (eg I need 1 P-bass and 1 J-bass because I'm a studio musician) - just to be clear, I don't think there's anything wrong with collecting basses
• when buying a bass is one getting any return of investment? is the person making money with it? I suppose it's "easier" for a pro musician (who earns money using their bass) to justify something more expensive, since it's the tool they use to work, not an "extra commodity"
• if prices go too high, the likelihood of selling the bass goes down

 

Edited December 20, 2022 by mario_buoninfante

[WinterMute]

11 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

But an Alembic is not an ACG. 

 

IMO once you step outside of the Fender and Fender copy (and I include high-end as well as cheap copies in that description) market, you're not simply buying a musical instrument for playing bass lines - there's a whole other range of factors at play some of which might seem completely irrational to the average bassist who is completely happy with their factory made mass-produced bass.

Yes, but you have to buy into the design and brand of that kind of high end instrument, hence my point about the limits of materials and workmanship. 

 

Once the luthier is competent enough to build a functional and good sounding bass, where does the money go? Materials, finish, design, after that it's all brand IMO.

 

As I said, you pays your money, you takes your choice.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

34 minutes ago, WinterMute said:

Once the luthier is competent enough to build a functional and good sounding bass, where does the money go? Materials, finish, design, after that it's all brand IMO.

 

In the case of Fodera....rent, marketing, electricity, web design/promotion, plus they actually look after their employees.

[chris_b]

Depends on the bass. As the price goes up so do my expectations. I'm usually looking in the £1 - 2k range. Right now I think I'm at a point where, within my budget, my basses are pretty much unbeatable.

 

I've owned one bass for 12 years and the other for 8 years. I'm still keeping abreast of the bass market but I may have already bought my last bass.

[LukeFRC]

58 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

 

In the case of Fodera....rent, marketing, electricity, web design/promotion, plus they actually look after their employees.

I think someone like Overwater will pay rent, marketing, electricity, web design and actually look after their employees too.

the difference is Fodera use it as a point of their marketing and other companies don’t 

[mattbass6]

I’m the same as @LewisK1975 If I really, really wanted something and the funds were there, and I wasn’t putting it on a credit card, I’d happily buy what it was I wanted. 

[lidl e]

3 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

 
I don’t own any Skylines.

I understand.  I love lakland as a company and they obviously make gorgeous basses. The fella seems super sound as well.

 

But.

 

If you were blindfolded and someone handed you a shop made Joe Osborne and a Skyline, do you think you could tell the difference?

 

 

[LukeFRC]

7 minutes ago, lidl e said:

I understand.  I love lakland as a company and they obviously make gorgeous basses. The fella seems super sound as well.

 

But.

 

If you were blindfolded and someone handed you a shop made Joe Osborne and a Skyline, do you think you could tell the difference?

 

 

I’ve played a handful of each and I would say Yes, easily

 

is the difference worth the difference a different question (and we may differ on the answer)

[lidl e]

1 minute ago, LukeFRC said:

I’ve played a handful of each and I would say Yes, easily

 

is the difference worth the difference a different question (and we may differ on the answer)

To me, it's odd because i dont like when these high end companies put out lower end models, so if i wanted a lakland, it would have to be a "real one" so i guess i would answer yes.

[Bigwan]

£1.8k. Never popped that limit and don't intend to unless I found "the one"... 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

39 minutes ago, lidl e said:

To me, it's odd because i dont like when these high end companies put out lower end models, so if i wanted a lakland, it would have to be a "real one" so i guess i would answer yes.

Now I'm confused. You suggested I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a USA and a Skyline and now your acknowledging there is a difference.

[joe_geezer]

4 hours ago, 40hz said:

With the massive rises in prices in recent years on basses across the board, I don't buy new anymore. It's not financially viable. I'd do it for a new Wal, but that's a one-off, very special instrument.

 

I guess at a push, maybe £1000-1200 at the absolute max, if something came along that I *had* to have new, but I'd probably just still wait to find one used.

 

I think pricing in the industry is rising at an completely unsustainable rate (in line with the average wage and what people can afford). A Musicman Stingray is a shade off £3000 now. Boggo Warwicks GPS(that are nothing like the OG ones) are £2000+. An American Jazz bass is knocking on for £2000. People just don't have this kind of money to spare in today's climate. 

I know there's the argument to be had for import lines, but even then, Sterling by Musicman are over £1000, Mexican Fenders are now going for over £1000.

Conversely, though, budget instruments nowadays, are phenomenal in quality, playability and sound, so I guess there's still a lot of value to be had in that sense - but if you want 'the real deal' going forward, the prices will be laughably astronomic in 5 years, and closed to all but the most wealthy of us.

How much is a new Wal these days? I'm actually down on the waiting list for one. Paul emailed me back a few months ago stating he would let me know what time frame i would be looking at. I'm going to sell a few basses to at take a 3rd off the price and then i have plenty of time to save up for the final payment ...