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

[Marvin]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='754080' date='Feb 22 2010, 05:14 PM']Before I get seriously involved in this discussion can someone confirm that the bass in question is this one:



Rather than the one that's been posted previously in this thread.[/quote]
well it's either that one or one very similar

[xilddx]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='754080' date='Feb 22 2010, 05:14 PM']Before I get seriously involved in this discussion can someone confirm that the bass in question is this one:



Rather than the one that's been posted previously in this thread.[/quote]
Correct

[bassbloke]

[quote name='silddx' post='752014' date='Feb 20 2010, 06:20 PM']I've just read the Gus G3 review in this month's Bass Guitar Magazine.

I simply can not understand that its aesthetics and the minor advances in ergonomics, build quality, and tonal quality and variety is worth spending about THREE AND A HALF THOUSAND QUID extra than your average high end Warwick or some such. I understand how much it costs to build it, but that does not justify its "core worth" as a bass.

If you have money to burn, no problem, I still think you would be totally wasting it on something providing so little extra benefit, and with two chrome saveloys attached to it.

I'm sure it's fabulous, but it is certainly not £4,000 more fabulous than my Corvette $$.

How is it possible to justify that spend on a new bass? And how in the name of Enid Blyton can BGM give it four out of five stars for Value For Money?

Bloody ridiculous.[/quote]

Your Warwick is mass produced by a machine. Warwick buy in huge quantities of wood, bung it through a cnc machine to produce the body blanks or wings. The economies of scale and minimal human involvement allow costs to be kept low. I can guarantee that once you step away from mass produced instruments and start choosing custom options the costs increase dramatically.

You have no idea how many hours goes into a Gus guitar, how much R&D has gone into the building techniques and, most importantly, you've never picked up a Gus guitar and played it so you don't have the slightest clue of it's 'core worth'. The core worth of a Klimt or Van Gogh is what, a bit of canvas, some oil or watercolours and a bit of wood for the frame. That must be, what, £25.

Like others have commented, this is an utterly futile discussion topic, so let's all piss off and practice or something. No wonder other musicians think bassists are a bit of a joke.

Edited February 22, 2010 by bassbloke

[xilddx]

[quote name='bassbloke' post='754160' date='Feb 22 2010, 06:17 PM']Your Warwick is mass produced by a machine. Warwick buy in huge quantities of wood, bung it through a cnc machine to produce the body blanks or wings. The economies of scale and minimal human involvement allow costs to be kept low. I can guarantee that once you step away from mass produced instruments and start choosing custom options the costs increase dramatically.

You have no idea how many hours goes into a Gus guitar, how much R&D has gone into the building techniques and, most importantly, you've never picked up a Gus guitar and played it so you don't have the slightest clue of it's 'core worth'. The core worth of a Klimt or Van Gogh is what, a bit of canvas, some oil or watercolours and a bit of wood for the frame. That must be, what, £25.

Like others have commented, this is an utterly futile discussion topic, so let's all piss off and practice or something. No wonder other musicians think bassists are a bit of a joke.[/quote]

[bassbloke]

i said go and practice.

[xilddx]

[quote name='bassbloke' post='754179' date='Feb 22 2010, 06:30 PM']i said go and practice.[/quote]


Actually, you said piss off and practice or [b]something[/b]. I have just put the laundry on and am now about to do the recycling, wash up, cook dinner, record a bass track for a mate's album, and start rehearsing for Saturday's gig. Does any of that count?

Edited February 22, 2010 by silddx

[hillbilly deluxe]

I certainly do'nt have money to burn,never have had.If i really wanted an Alembic ,or whatever,i would get one somehow.
Similar thing with my Harley.Now,i've allways wanted one since starting biking in 78 ish,had over 50 bikes,never spent more than £1,500 on one.Im in my late 40's now,3 kids,11,6,and 3,and the £8000 it cost to buy it no doubt could have been more wisely spent you could say.
Do i need it ? not really.
Do i want it ? Yes.
Does it do anything different to any of the far cheaper bikes i've had ? No,it just puts a great big smile on my face every time i ride it,and it's nothing to do with the "Harleys best fcuk the rest" attitude because that's not me at all.

[bassbloke]

[quote name='silddx' post='754201' date='Feb 22 2010, 06:44 PM']

Actually, you said piss off and practice or [b]something[/b]. I have just put the laundry on and am now about to do the recycling, wash up, cook dinner, record a bass track for a mate's album, and start rehearsing for Saturday's gig. Does any of that count? [/quote]

There's such a fine line between attention to detail and pedantry.

[Marvin]

[quote name='silddx' post='754201' date='Feb 22 2010, 06:44 PM']

Actually, you said piss off and practice or [b]something[/b]. I have just put the laundry on and am now about to do the recycling, wash up, cook dinner, record a bass track for a mate's album, and start rehearsing for Saturday's gig. Does any of that count? [/quote]
Don't fancy popping around my gaff do you? There's a pile of ironing needs doing

[EBS_freak]

Give a man enough rope...

[ThomBassmonkey]

How much is the inspiration worth if this floats your boat?

Getting new gear always improves inspiration levels for me, if someone wants one of these, I don't expect that there's much that would fill that hole on a tighter budget.

[retroman]

Inspiration is a valid point.

My first bass was an Aria legend, the el-cheapo plywood P Bass copy. My second bass is the Rickenbacker 4001 that I still own That Ric cost me my every last spare penny, at a time when I was running around in a battered old Datsun Estate

Best thing I ever done, musically. Having a top end bass that played so well, really inspired me to raise my game, and take bass playing more seriously

[xilddx]

[quote name='retroman' post='754459' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:14 PM']Inspiration is a valid point.

My first bass was an Aria legend, the el-cheapo plywood P Bass copy. My second bass is the Rickenbacker 4001 that I still own That Ric cost me my every last spare penny, at a time when I was running around in a battered old Datsun Estate

Best thing I ever done, musically. Having a top end bass that played so well, really inspired me to raise my game, and take bass playing more seriously [/quote]
Is it a valid point?

I might question how long that inspiration lasted.

In my case, it was inspiration that made me up my game and get a Warwick, I needed something reliable, ergonomically designed and versatile. I did my research, bought one second hand and it remains, most of the time, my number one bass. I have flirted with, and occasionally bought, cheap tarts, nice friendly girls and young supermodels, but really, the 'vette feels like an extension of me. It didn't really inspire me to play more much longer than a week or so. My bands inspire me infinitely more than a nice piece of wood with some strings on, as do my bass heroes.

[JMT3781]

Nice supermodels? is that the Kopo thats currently sat in my bedroom silddx?



[quote name='silddx' post='754476' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:28 PM']Is it a valid point?

I might question how long that inspiration lasted.

In my case, it was inspiration that made me up my game and get a Warwick, I needed something reliable, ergonomically designed and versatile. I did my research, bought one second hand and it remains, most of the time, my number one bass. I have flirted with, and occasionally bought, cheap tarts, nice friendly girls and young supermodels, but really, the 'vette feels like an extension of me. It didn't really inspire me to play more much longer than a week or so. My bands inspire me infinitely more than a nice piece of wood with some strings on, as do my bass heroes.[/quote]

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='silddx' post='754476' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:28 PM']Is it a valid point?

I might question how long that inspiration lasted.

In my case, it was inspiration that made me up my game and get a Warwick, I needed something reliable, ergonomically designed and versatile. I did my research, bought one second hand and it remains, most of the time, my number one bass. I have flirted with, and occasionally bought, cheap tarts, nice friendly girls and young supermodels, but really, the 'vette feels like an extension of me. It didn't really inspire me to play more much longer than a week or so. My bands inspire me infinitely more than a nice piece of wood with some strings on, as do my bass heroes.[/quote]
Everyone's inspiration comes from different places. For some it's their instrument, for some it's the band(s) they're playing with, for some it's their loved ones, for some it's their musical heroes, for some it's the sausage they had for lunch, for some it's social injustice, for some it's a huge bag o' weed... everybody's different.

I need -- i.e. want -- too many basses (various combinations of 4/5 strings, fretted, fretless, tuned bizarrely for different projects, etc.) to realistically lust after the really expensive ones. But if you can afford it and it brings a smile to your face... well, f*** it, why not?

[7string]

The published price of that GUS could always be a mis-print.

[xilddx]

[quote name='JMT3781' post='754489' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:39 PM']Nice supermodels? is that the Kopo thats currently sat in my bedroom silddx? [/quote]
Ah, my friend, that was certainly Monica Belucci in bass form Unfortunately the width of her neck precluded me from more intimate relations.

[XB26354]

[quote name='bassbloke' post='754160' date='Feb 22 2010, 06:17 PM']Your Warwick is mass produced by a machine. Warwick buy in huge quantities of wood, bung it through a cnc machine to produce the body blanks or wings. The economies of scale and minimal human involvement allow costs to be kept low. I can guarantee that once you step away from mass produced instruments and start choosing custom options the costs increase dramatically.

You have no idea how many hours goes into a Gus guitar, how much R&D has gone into the building techniques and, most importantly, you've never picked up a Gus guitar and played it so you don't have the slightest clue of it's 'core worth'. The core worth of a Klimt or Van Gogh is what, a bit of canvas, some oil or watercolours and a bit of wood for the frame. That must be, what, £25.

Like others have commented, this is an utterly futile discussion topic, so let's all piss off and practice or something. No wonder other musicians think bassists are a bit of a joke.[/quote]

Er, true about the machining, but have you seen the price of most Warwicks?
I'd love a Streamer Stage One 6-string in natural. Problem is they're currently a dab over £3000 street so not cheap really.
Even the Pro Series made in Korea are coming in over £1K (and significantly more than the old German standards).
£6300 for the Adam Clayton sig, even the nice Streamer Stage II 5 is over £3K.
Suddenly Foderas don't seem quite so pricey, but at least the wait is only 8-10 weeks for a custom model down in Markneukirchen... instead of 2-3 years!

[xilddx]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='754492' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:40 PM']Everyone's inspiration comes from different places. For some it's their instrument, for some it's the band(s) they're playing with, for some it's their loved ones, for some it's their musical heroes, for some it's the sausage they had for lunch, for some it's social injustice, for some it's a huge bag o' weed... everybody's different.

I need -- i.e. want -- too many basses (various combinations of 4/5 strings, fretted, fretless, tuned bizarrely for different projects, etc.) to realistically lust after the really expensive ones. But if you can afford it and it brings a smile to your face... well, f*** it, why not?[/quote]
Agreed, but all I am saying is, a £160 fully forged Solingen steel chef's knife does not inspire me to chop more sorrell or experiment more with summer savory than does my £35 Kitchen Concept.

[Rich]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='754492' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:40 PM']if you can afford it and it brings a smile to your face... well, f*** it, why not?[/quote]
+[size=3]∞[/size]

[urbanx]

I approached this scientifically and have concluded:

If A is the time spent in your car,
and B is the time you spend playing bass,

1 is the value of your car
2 is the value of your bass

If B2>A1 then yeah, spend £5k on a bass.

Unfortunately tho, using this formula, I should spend £100k on my office chair....

Edited February 23, 2010 by urbanx

[molan]

I'm not a fan of the Gus bass vibe but if something came up that I really liked at over £5k then I'd have no issues with laying out that kind of money.

The most I've ever spent on a bass was £3,200 and when it came up for sale I didn't really think twice. I wanted one, I had the money, I bought it.

As it happens when I decided it wasn't quite right for me (too many strings) I found two people very interested at the same approx price I'd paid without even putting it up for sale.

There are plenty of us out there who can afford to indulge ourselves on our favourite pastimes

As plenty of others have said - a £5k bass won't be 5 times better than a £1k bass but, as others have agreed with, if yoiu've got the money then who's to say how much a bass might be worth to any individual so why not go ahead and buy one

[retroman]

[quote name='silddx' post='754476' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:28 PM']Is it a valid point?

I might question how long that inspiration lasted.

In my case, it was inspiration that made me up my game and get a Warwick, I needed something reliable, ergonomically designed and versatile. I did my research, bought one second hand and it remains, most of the time, my number one bass. I have flirted with, and occasionally bought, cheap tarts, nice friendly girls and young supermodels, but really, the 'vette feels like an extension of me. It didn't really inspire me to play more much longer than a week or so. My bands inspire me infinitely more than a nice piece of wood with some strings on, as do my bass heroes.[/quote]

Good, thought provoking reply

There are many things that can inspire us to want to play more, and have a very expensive bass. Getting the Ric really did inspire me to play more, and I do feel that if I hadn't taken the plunge, I wouldn't have got anywhere near as far with my bass playing. I went from picking the bass up maybe once every couple of weeks, to everyday, and it did last.
Being in a good band is also a good source of inspiration. The band I am in at the moment has left me feeling as though I need to raise my game again, and have started having bass lessons, and learning to read music, and music theory. Another side of this, is if the rest of the band you are in are playing top of the line instruments, and all you have is a beat up cheapy, perhaps that would also be motivation to buy an expensive bass?
Heroes are another good point. This is why we have signature models, with very high price tags, and limited production runs. I guess the inspiration there is owning a bass exactly the same as your hero (whether you can play or not) and if the run is in sufficiently small numbers, it will inspire collectors to make an investment.

IMHO, yes, a £200 Squier can get the job done as well as £8,000 worth of Alembic, but who aspires to own a Squier as their all time dream bass? (I'm not having a cheap pop at Squiers, I think the current ones are fantastic VFM )

I feel that someone who can justify spending a huge amount on a bass is (A) someone with a large amount of disposable income ( someone who would prioritise having an expensive bass above all else © an investor/speculator who feels that the bass will give a huge return in future years :ref: expensive, limted run Fenders, (D) the feeling of owning something that is unatainable to mere mortals, and the cudos that goes with it.

[Pete Academy]

I spent £850 on a car. It gets me from A to B. I spent £2300 on a bass. It's part of my livelihood...and I love it.

[TimR]

[quote name='silddx' post='754476' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:28 PM']...
In my case, it was inspiration that made me up my game and get a Warwick, I needed something reliable, ergonomically designed and versatile. I did my research, bought one second hand and it remains, most of the time, my number one bass.
...[/quote]

So you got a good deal. Someone had to originally buy it new. Not you as you couldn't afford it, but someone did, decidided to move on or up and sell their old one.

The guys who designed and built that bass have to eat, feed their kids, drive cars, and live in houses. How much was the first fender in relation to a weeks money. Many people sitting in the building where I work get £5000 a day! They're not proffesional musicians though, but they are the sort of people who are subsidising the rest of us and giving us the ability to buy second hand high end models at a good price.

Edited February 23, 2010 by TimR