How to buy a Bass guitar?

[Bidd]

Right, so I think I've decided on the guitar that I want, a Yamaha BB614 (or BB414). I was going to buy A fender Jazz, but I thought the extra £300ish could go to a BOSS GT-6B and beer money. Anyway I want to buy a Yammy but I'm a student so I want to pay as little as possible, but still want to buy new.

So how do I go about this then. Do I just buy one from say GAK.co.uk or similar websites to get one cheap, yet may face a several week wait and then disappointment, or do I ring around all the guitar shops in my local area and try to haggle the best deal, and play them off each other?

Since I have little experience, what percentage off the list price is a good deal (10%?, 20%?, more!?) Are big shops (Dawsons, Sound Control) more likely to offer lower prices than smaller independent shops?

If you don't mind, could you experienced lot share me your tales of purchasing and your advice, because it would be much appreciated

[The Funk]

Some shops (including GAK - I think) offer student discounts. Definitely look into that!

[john_the_bass]

There's a BB615 on here somewhere for about 200 quid if you want an extra string

[Bidd]

I tried to play a 5 string once whilst drunk. That extra string confused too much, so I will pass on a 5 string, but thanks for the info

[misrule]

I'd find a store that has one, play it, then haggle if you are ready to buy.

I doubt stores will haggle over the phone. They're more likely to if you're there with cash in hand.

And you get a bass you like without waiting for online firms to find and deliver it.

As to percentage, I don't know. I doubt you'd get more than 10 per cent off.

Cheers

Mark

[theosd]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/index.html"]Thomann[/url]. For everything cheap.

[simon1964]

[quote name='theosd' post='59420' date='Sep 12 2007, 06:18 PM'][url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/index.html"]Thomann[/url]. For everything cheap.[/quote]

Its certainly worth haggling in my experience. Sound Control knocked £150 of the marked price on my Warwick $$ - I told them the internet price, offered the cash there and then, and they matched the price straight away.

I'm pretty sure they didn't sell it to me at a loss, which does beg the question why it was marked so high in the first place.....

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='Bidd' post='59370' date='Sep 12 2007, 04:56 PM']Right, so I think I've decided on the guitar that I want, a Yamaha BB614 (or BB414).[/quote]
How about [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1992&pid=54579&st=0&#entry54579"]this one for £180 delivered?[/url]

[charic]

My method is try in store buy online lol

[Mr. Foxen]

Its the not buying basses that I have trouble with.

[Veils]

Find a nice cheap source online then most of the money grabbing bar stewards like Sound Control will match without any hassle.