Boutique Bass owners!

[Doddy]

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a 'boutique' instrument. In my experience,many custom instruments don't have
particularly good resale value.If you look around you can find £2k instruments for under a grand on the secondhand market.

I love having nice fancy basses,but I still find myself reaching for a trusty Fender more than anything else.

[antti]

That is so true. I just bought that pink "boutique" Nordy from here with the same price than some USA Fender jazz. At the mometn second hand boutique basses could be quite "cheap".

[Andy]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='919240' date='Aug 9 2010, 07:28 AM']I guess I am no way accomplised enough as a musician to own what I do, but I LOVE owning them, I really get a buzz out if picking them up and playing them. Often I miss playing them (not enough time) but I never get bored of picking any of them up to noodle.

That is of course if you include PRS basses in your 'boutique' catagory.?[/quote]


I agree with you 100% - I'm am without doubt an incompetant but enthusiastic amateur and can honestly say that I've not had even a moments regret since buying some fantastic boutique instruments as I pick them up every day and they give me a warm glow

I have had seroius regrets however, over the much maller ammounts of cash i've spent on crap instruments (i'll lose sleep over 50 quid if i think i've wasted it!!)

I think i understand the question though - it does feel like a huge (and maybe unnecessary or undeserved step tp commit to that a purchase that large for an instrument that may be used by some of the best players in the world) - financially, my way of looking at it is to always buy something that will hold its value and so I'm not actually losing money through depreciation, just 'investing' it in something i love - my warped way of justifying complete financial madness

don't try taking them down the pub though - not a good look for the local blues jam!!

[waynepunkdude]

If you can afford it and it's what you want why not, just obviously take in to account depreciation.

If it was about how good a player you are to how good a bass you play they wouldn't allow me to own any.

[BottomEndian]

The only downside I've found in having the Skelf is that it's made all my other (perfectly good) basses sound and feel like crap in comparison. I just don't really want to play them much, when the Skelf's just sitting over there... tempting me...

It might sound odd, stupid or w***y, but the Skelf just inspires me to play, to play more, and to play better. Can't wait until the Recurve's finished. I might have a bit of a sell-off when that happens.

[Machines]

Personally i've played a lot of custom/high end basses and been impressed with them, but not so much that i'd buy one. My Bacchus is of a very high quality and bordering on boutique (but not custom) and 2nd hand would cost about £800 which is crazy (£1500 or so new).

There have been very few boutique basses however I've actually been wooed by enough to want one. Perhaps a couple of Vigiers and Roscoe - but not for those price tags ! That said, if I had money to burn i'd be down all the UKs different custom shops getting an order in.

[Truckstop]

Why would anyone want to commision an instrument and then even worry about how much you could sell it for in a few years?
Anyway, the only reason I would ever consider buying an Elrick, a Shuker or a Roscoe would be purely aesthetic. Is the soud from a £1,000 bass really that much worse than a £2-3,000 bass?

Truckstop

[BigRedX]

The whole point of having a custom-made or boutique bass is to get something that isn't available from a standard "off-the-peg" model.

Also if you're commissioning a custom build, it's pointless worrying about the resale value. If you order something with one eye on the possibility of selling it sometime in the future then you're almost guaranteed not to be totally happy and you will end up moving it one. Be brave with your specifications, but make sure than you go with features you know you need and not stuff that sounds like a good idea.

[funkypenguin]

I would argue that your ability is largely irrelevant. if you love the instrument, and want something special building then go for it! Just because someone owns a Ferrari or some other performance car, doesnt necessarily mean they can drive like a certain michael schumacher. Its about appreciating the machine rather than them automatically being a good driver.

A high end bass should bring the best out of your playing and, as has (i think) already been mentioned, inspire you to play. you dont have to be Matt Garrison or some other such virtuoso to 'merit' getting a custom bass made for you.

go for it and enjoy it!

[Darkstrike]

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='937289' date='Aug 26 2010, 04:13 PM']I would argue that your ability is largely irrelevant. if you love the instrument, and want something special building then go for it! Just because someone owns a Ferrari or some other performance car, doesnt necessarily mean they can drive like a certain michael schumacher. Its about appreciating the machine rather than them automatically being a good driver.

A high end bass should bring the best out of your playing and, as has (i think) already been mentioned, inspire you to play. you dont have to be Matt Garrison or some other such virtuoso to 'merit' getting a custom bass made for you.

go for it and enjoy it! [/quote]
This, all 'o this!

[Machines]

Damn it, just looked at the Shuker website at some of the new models... need some anti-GAS medication.

[funkypenguin]

[quote name='Machines' post='937395' date='Aug 26 2010, 06:32 PM']Damn it, just looked at the Shuker website at some of the new models... need some anti-GAS medication.[/quote]

Mate, dont remind me........i took one look at some of the 'Horn' basses and thought "wow...."

too bad i'm getting a chapman stick soon or i would be placing an order......

[Truckstop]

I want a Shuker Artist Pro so bad!!!!!
Buckeye burl all the way!

Truckstop

[BassBus]

I can relate a story from the 80s. A young and up-and-coming oboe player had entered a prestigeous music compitition. Now, he was good enough to win, without being cocky about it, but ended up coming second. The judges called him back afterwards. They told him they apreciated he was a good enough player to win the competition but his instrument had held him back. They then awarded him £2000 towards the cost of a new instrument. I'm sure that same award would be much more now.

My point is that the better the quality of instrument you play will no doubt contribute to improving your own playing. Don't put yourself down.

I'm certainly not the world's best bass player but after I bought my first Status bass, my playing lead our band leader to coment that one solo I played was the best bass solo he had ever heard. Don't really think he listens to many bass solos though.

[peteb]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='919247' date='Aug 9 2010, 07:39 AM']I couldn't commission a boutique bass as I would have no idea what factors influence the ultimate sound. My only 'must haves' are fretless and an ebony board. After that, I have no idea what works and what doesn't other than the aesthetics. Off the peg works for me. The day I find a bass lets me down, I will consider it but, after 30 years of playing, I'm not holding my breath.[/quote]
But you do have to consider that the instrument that you bought many years ago was considered to be a 'boutique bass' at the time...!

[7string]

I'm with the 'go for it' brigade.

A custom bass may be expensive and take a while to build, but the years spent enjoying it will outweigh these. I wouldn't worry about your playing either. I don't worry about mine and I definitely wouldn't win the Saturday-afternoon slapathon at the local music store

Enjoy the experience of getting your custom and then the thrill of playing it.

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='919268' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:36 AM'][attachment=56129:poshreviloreal1.jpg]

Take their advice. [/quote]
Notice the slogan is "because you're worth it" and not "because it works". In advertising this is an appeal to ego. Grab a copy of bass player magazine and look at the ads. Notice how many of them contain the word you or your, you should also notice this is more prevalent in the full page ads from companies with ad agencies and less common in the ads put together in house. This is well researched powerful marketing. We have an insane need to be told we're special and advertisers know how to manipulate that.

Just a thought

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='919258' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:12 AM']It needs a badass.[/quote]
Instead of the high quality Fodera bridge? Gasp!

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='919275' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:49 AM']I am loving the fact that no-one (yet) has said;

[i]"Nah, waste of money, mate!"[/i]

So it must be a justifiable expense! [/quote]
If you're trying to get an advantage over other players by buying gear it's a waste of money. My Peavey Foundation plays and sounds as good as any boutique bass. We could go on for days listing great players who play cheap gear: Berlin, Jaco, JPJ, Jamerson, Marcus etc... A long time ago a big name luthier revealed to me the secret to a great bass is the setup. He was explaining why Pensa Suhr's could be made with standard off the shelf parts and go for so much money. Boutiques are often setup great but we attribute the playability to hand selected exotic tonewoods or something else that can justify a $4k Fender copy from NY.

The Fodera in this thread for example appears to have a buckeye burl top (or is that chestnut?), a huge cost upgrade that Vinnie himself calls a sponge and a tone sink that needs to be filled with superglue to keep from falling apart. It's like painting a car to make it go faster. It will look faster but it isn't.

So for tone and playability, yeah, a waste of money. For fun? Worth every penny.

IMHO

Edited August 28, 2010 by Vibrating G String

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='919332' date='Aug 9 2010, 02:08 AM']Also bear in mind if you're gigging a £2000+ custom instrument, the feeling you'll get from watching a teenager with a Mexican Fender make better sounds than you is going to be worse than it is for the rest of us. [/quote]For a few years I gigged solely on my Ken Lawrence, a great bass, but it did bug me that it set expectations so high and I'm not that kind of player. Now that my gear tastes have swung to the other side of the spectrum I'm enjoying playing above the expectations of my current stable.

[YouMa]

I like the fender jazz bass.

[JTUK]

I wouldn't say a waste of money by any means... maybe, disminishing returns that relates to your budget.

I also think there are boutiques and 'boutiques' and it is a crap term anyway.

[niceguyhomer]

I was lucky getting Old Git's Shuker for what I think was an absolute bargain (£925), for me it totally eclipses every other bass I've ever played. I was always sceptical about custom basses and wary of other people's opinions of them but having owned and played one pretty much exclusively for the last two years, I get it now.

For the first few years of my bass playing career, I hopped from one bass to another trying to fine the mythical 'one' and got nowhere. I was obsessed with the instrument and not my playing and would spend the whole gig listening to my tone, fiddling with this knob, tweaking this and that and not taking a blind bit of notice of what was going on around me.

I now have an instrument that, because I'm completely happy with it in every respect, let's me forget all those physical aspects and allows me to concentrate 100% on my playing.

Great if you can find something cheaper / mass produced that takes you to this happy place, I'm not a bass snob but if I were ever in the market for something else, I'd be heading straight to The Peak District or Moffat.

Edited August 29, 2010 by niceguyhomer

[chris_b]

+1

It's always and only about the playing.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='939230' date='Aug 29 2010, 10:04 AM']I was lucky getting Old Git's Shuker...[/quote]
The P5? That would make you an I (and JJ Burnel and Simon Rix) [url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/pbassgal.htm"]gallery brothers[/url].