What do you consider to be the price range for...

[Blazemourne]

cheap and poor basses, average basses, above average basses, great basses, and excellent basses?

[Eli_Upright12]

Considering I've owned one bass and paid less that 5 grand for it I dont know how accurate this scale will be but Ill give it a go, also there will be some gaps that are there for boarder line basses, because basses at the prices in the middle can go either way.
Cheap basses: 0-1400
Average bass: 2000-4000
Above Average bass: 5000-8000
Great bass:9000-15000
Excellent bass: 20000+

[Marc Piane]

Basses cannot be categorized like that.

[jsbarber]

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

Considering I've owned one bass and paid less that 5 grand for it I dont know how accurate this scale will be but Ill give it a go, also there will be some gaps that are there for boarder line basses, because basses at the prices in the middle can go either way.
Cheap basses: 0-1400
Average bass: 2000-4000
Above Average bass: 5000-8000
Great bass:9000-15000
Excellent bass: 20000+

You might want to add another class on the top end, say Elite Bass (over $75k or $100k); because you can't really compare a $25k excellent bass with a $100k - $150k ,or more, vintage bass from one of the ancient masters (G. B. Ceruti, de Salo, Maggini, etc.).

Jim

[Eli_Upright12]

Originally Posted by jsbarber

You might want to add another class on the top end, say Elite Bass (over $75k or $100k); because you can't really compare a $25k excellent bass with a $100k - $150k ,or more, vintage bass from one of the ancient masters (G. B. Ceruti, de Salo, Maggini, etc.).

Jim

You are very correct in pointing that out, I guess I was thinking new basses, but the greatest really are the older ones that are way more.

And Fingers you are also correct in saying that basses cant be categorized like that, because great basses come from many different, costs but this I guess is a kind of just like what you would be willing to pay or in general kind of scale.

[Marcus Johnson]

$25.00, $51.86, $173.85, $14.99, & .87, respectively.

C'mon, man.... haven't we learned anything? What's the point of this exercise?

[Fat.Mike]

Fingers said it best... No categorization. It is all relative.

[oliebrice]

Originally Posted by Fat.Mike

Fingers said it best...

nah, Marcus definately said it best...

[philip sirois]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

haven't we learned anything?

This could be a thread unto itself.

[Marc Piane]

Edgar Meyer's first bass, as the story goes, was in his neighbor's yard with flowers planted in it.

[SBassman]

I thought you guys had lost your mind - until I saw I was in the DB forum.

[stillborn86]

Originally Posted by SBassman

I thought you guys had lost your mind - until I saw I was in the DB forum.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

I guess I was thinking new basses...

If you restrict the consideration to new basses, you have more of a shot in terms of a rough categorization like that. Still, among new basses, quality and price are often not one-to-one.

[jallenbass]

The better question would be :

Are there good basses to be had at all of those price points?

The answer would be yes. So identify your budget and buy the best bass you can.

[Marc Piane]

We are not talking about materials with a set price (ie tuners, metal bridges, electronics). We are talking about trees and the workship time of craftsman. Every bass at every price point is going to be different.

Marcus definitely has it right.

[Eli_Upright12]

Can we agree that if you pay more your LIKELY to get more, assuming your dealing with a credible luthier and theres no freak of plywood nature bass, and not talking about like 50bucks but at least a grand or two more?

[Marc Piane]

We can set basic guidelines I suppose. In reality you just have to go and play as many basses as possible and not look at the price tag until after you play it. We start to sound like broken record around here but maybe that is because it's true.

When I was in college I had a $2000 bass. I played every bass I could get my hands on before I decided. One of the other bass players had a $5000 bass. We both liked mine better.

Bottom line, play basses until you find one that speaks to you. You'll know it when you play it. There are good basses at every price point.

[Eli_Upright12]

Originally Posted by fingers

We can set basic guidelines I suppose. In reality you just have to go and play as many basses as possible and not look at the price tag until after you play it. We start to sound like broken record around here but maybe that is because it's true.

When I was in college I had a $2000 bass. I played every bass I could get my hands on before I decided. One of the other bass players had a $5000 bass. We both liked mine better.

Bottom line, play basses until you find one that speaks to you. You'll know it when you play it. There are good basses at every price point.

Agreed! I enjoy my 3000 dollar hybrid better than some carved basses.