How Can You Justify Spending £5,350 on a New Bass??

[pete.young]

[quote name='Doddy' post='752046' date='Feb 20 2010, 06:48 PM']Even then is it worth spending 5k on an instrument?[/quote]

It's all relative. Check out the prices of professional-quality double basses. You don't get much for less than £20 grand. A professional quality Tuba will set you back 5k.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='silddx' post='752014' date='Feb 20 2010, 06:20 PM']I still think you would be totally wasting it on something providing so little extra benefit, and with two chrome saveloys attached to it.[/quote]


I wonder, though, how much the carbon-fibre "shrink-wrapping" process adds to the cost. Would that not be a right bugger of a manufacturing technique to perfect? And hence it would whack the price up?

Don't get me wrong -- I think it's crazy money. But don't forget that it's largely the work of one guy in Sussex, really pushing the boundaries of instrument design and construction. Sure, you could get a Shuker or an ACG for a quarter of the price or less... probably much less... but they're relatively "traditional" instruments in terms of design and manufacture, largely using hardware made by other people. Simon Farmer (from what I gleaned from the BGM review) makes most of the hardware himself too, so hats off to him.

I'll be sticking to the "traditional" designs, though.

[Toddy]

[quote name='pete.young' post='752305' date='Feb 20 2010, 10:53 PM']It's all relative. Check out the prices of professional-quality double basses. You don't get much for less than £20 grand. A professional quality Tuba will set you back 5k.[/quote]

Yeah,, agree with ya..its relative..

My Golden Strad Double Bass sounds ace and I just paid £50 for it from a clearout in Grimsby!

But a quality electric bass you can get for £500 ,,all day long.

[alanbass1]

If it calls out to me I could justify 5K on a bass...but it needs to be 'the one'.

[xilddx]

[quote name='alanbass1' post='752329' date='Feb 20 2010, 11:22 PM']If it calls out to me I could justify 5K on a bass...but it needs to be 'the one'.[/quote]
What if it's "the one" in April and not by October? You'll have lost three grand at least when you sell it.

[HMX]

I could never justify spending half of that amount on a bass, nevermind the full £5,350. Especially on a white kitchen appliance-based product.

[TenLetters]

Hmmm......


I dont think you can justify it unless, as others have said, you have serious money to burn.

There is no way that an average bass player would sound better on a bass costing £5K than somone who is seriously talented on a £250 squire....just as I am pretty sure that Lewis Hamilton would beat in me a race if I were in an F1 car and he in a Fiesta.

Therefore, I would not spend stupid ammounts of money on an F1 car.........nor on a bass.

Edited February 20, 2010 by TenLetters

[JMT3781]

I think everyone is raising great points in this forum, my own personal opinion has always been to play whatever you feel comfortable on.. but over £5000? When you put that into terms with the life of the semi professional or weekend warrior then i think a clear answer becomes apparent. For example, 5k would go a long way toward my university fees...

I think a great example of this is pedulla basses.. if you go on the pedulla website and spec up an instrument, you're gonna rack up 4k quicker than you can say "John paul jones..". Someone above mentioned the strength of the secondhand market.. but if you follow these instruments on ebay, they rarely meet reserve, often lingering around the 1100 mark

[ThomBassmonkey]

If we all wanted best VFM we'd all be playing sub £400 basses. Yes, a US Fender is better than a Squier, but is it 3x as good (as the price would suggest if it were linear)?

Is a £,2500 Warwick twice as good as one that costs £1,250?

Is a £,5000 bass better than a £,2500 bass?

Same with all things, bass prices aren't linear. The more you pay, the smaller the increase in quality through price ranges is. If you spend £300 instead of £150 you might get an instrument that's 50% better, but if you spent £3,000 instead of £1,500 it might only be 1-2% better.

[discreet]

But on the other hand if I [i]did[/i] have five big ones going spare... I might just...

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=76246"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=76246[/url]

[JTUK]

I don't like it...so I wouldn't even consider whether I would pay that money for it.

I think £2500 is reasonable for a custom bass so would be thinking where the other £2500 goes.. and in that, I just can't see it. at all.Not even off 1st bass... no pun.

[Musicman20]

Looks like Danelectro...

[elom]

I wouldn't criticise someone with pots of cash for buying a £5k bass just like I wouldn't criticise someone without much money for buying a £100 bass.

If you don't need the money for more important stuff and you enjoy it then go for it.

[thodrik]

Hmmmmm, its a tough one. If I had money to burn (which I dont) and I had complete control over every detail of the bass, I could maybe possibly see the point, but I'm not so fussy that I would be unable find a bass for less than half that I would be totally blown away by. I think I would maybe stretch in the future for a Vigier Arpege or NYC Sadowsky, Alleva Coppolo, Mike Lull etc, but I don't think they would even be 5 grand.

Also, although I have done loads of types of music over the years, I ultimately want to be in some kind of stoner/psychedelic band (With each passing year in Glasgow though, this goal seems to be getting less and less achievable.). I really wouldn't feel comfortable playing an ultra boutique coffee table bass. In fact, I just feel that I am too ordinary looking to play an ultra wacky bass design, as I just look too bland in comparison!

If people want it they will pay. I had the chance to buy a Mach III Wal for just under two grand but I didn't think it was worth it. Six months later I bought a Sadowsky Metro for a bit less than that. Yet some people are so into their Wals that they would find a way to pay £5350 and some people just don't like the Sadowsky vibe and wouldn't buy one even if it was the same price as a US Fender Deluxes. It pretty much turns into the old Fodera debate or if you really want it then you have to have one!

I used to think that I would spend loads on a vintage jazz bass, but for me a lot of times you are paying X amounts of money on a bass that might play like a dog, so you have to be ultra careful.

Still though, I have nothing against bass builders trying out strange designs and charging large sums of money for them, its just that they are not for me.

Sorry, long reply. Its been a long day though...

[discreet]

[quote name='thodrik' post='752427' date='Feb 21 2010, 12:59 AM']I just feel that I am too ordinary looking to play an ultra wacky bass design, as I just look too bland in comparison![/quote]

+1 - Apart from cost, this would be my main problem with it!

[xgsjx]

If I was earning a decent income just from bass playing then I'd have no problem spending £10k on a bass (one Ritter Royal comes to mind) as it's gonna earn it's money back & can be put thru as expenses for tax.

As for value-cost. If you buy a new corsa for @ £10k you'll be able to get to 100mph. To do 200mph is gonna cost more than double this, at least 10x this in reality & if it's something you really want & have the funds, then why not?

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='silddx' post='752014' date='Feb 20 2010, 06:20 PM']If you have money to burn, no problem.[/quote]

Maybe not a problem in a financial sense but there's still an issue for me. I hope if my 6 numbers ever come up I'll still find a better use for 3 and a half grand. I'm happy to say I have a couple of 'high end' basses but I can't ever see myself spending in excess of 12 or 1500 for a bass guitar unless it was a vintage Fender made on my birthday and then it would be for it's investment value rather than as an instrument.

But - if you've access to 5 grand plus and you want one - no problem - have it . The only person you (should) have to 'justify' that to is yourself.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='silddx' post='752285' date='Feb 20 2010, 10:13 PM']Mrs silddx asked if you brought it out at a children's party, could you, with a few twists, turn it into a daschund [/quote]



They're not my cup of tea (at all) but it's good that people are building weird stuff like this. As for the price, you'd have to really love the thing to pay such a lot of money for it, but I'm sure there are people out there who do love it.

I've always felt fairly well served by the more commonly-available basses on the market so I've never had to look at exotic stuff like this.

[chris_b]

I've been aware of these basses for several years so this guy is either a part time luthier or his business model works, even through a credit crunch!! Good luck to him.

If I had the cash I'd buy an Aston Martin instead of the Jag equivalent, so money isn't always the prime driver! I wouldn't buy one of these but the £5K + market already has several basses and will probably get more. Again, good luck to them!

[SteveK]

These basses would generally be aimed at the pro wanting something a little different, and I'm sure the manufacturer would expect it to be of limited appeal.

As for cost - I can see nothing wrong in spending that kind of money, or more, on a bass. In any case, it would be tax allowable, reducing the real cost.

[Spoombung]

I love the look of those GUS basses and did actually enquire about the price before the article came out. I was really [i]shocked [/i]at how expensive they were - so no, I wouldn't spend that on a bass.

[Gwilym]

i wonder what their resale value is? I suspect very low compared to the list price.

[The Burpster]

[quote name='silddx' post='752260' date='Feb 20 2010, 09:48 PM']Precisely. Another bass for an idiot from Staines with a management position at Netto.[/quote]

Because someone can afford to buy it doesnt make them an idiot - In the same way as not being able to afford to buy one makes you a f++kin genius......

Am I an idiot because I can afford to, and am going to spec and buy a 5 string Private Stock PRS that will be a complete 1 off.......?
Am I an idiot because I can afford to and WILL go to the factory to pick it up as part of a holiday.....?

Please tell me I am then that will make me feel much better.

Why do you find it necassary to judge people and then brand them.....? Please stop it.

[MB1]

[quote name='discreet' post='752172' date='Feb 20 2010, 08:29 PM']Agreed. And quite apart from the cost, would you honestly be seen in public playing it?
It looks like some kind of... appliance.

[/quote]

MB1.
Blimey!...i knew they weren't Cheap!... but are you sure that decimal points in the right place?

[skankdelvar]

"Would [i]I[/i] spend £5k on a Gus bass?" No. My most expensive bass cost me £250 in 1985. But that's just me.

"Would [i]you[/i] spend £5k on a Gus Bass" - entirely your choice, my old sausage. Whatever floats your cookie and suits your wallet.

"Is a pricey Gus worth it?" BigRedX is probably the only one here qualified to answer. And by comparison to the price multiple between a base model BMW and a Bugatti, the Gus seems a total bargain.

Edited February 21, 2010 by skankdelvar