Where do these kids get their money?

[Michael Campbel]

So my boy and I went to the local music chain grand opening. He's 7, so wanted to see all the fuss (and truly, I wanted to see if there were any big deals to be had. There weren't.)

Anyway, they had a bouncy moon-walk inflatable thing that The Boy stayed in (thankfully; he was shaded in 90* heat), and I watched a couple of the high school garage bands play.

I can't remember ever being that young, and they were about as good as you'd expect "kids these days" to be. The drummers seemed to need more ... experience than the others; maybe that's just because they were louder and you could hear it more.

But what amazed me was THE GEAR. Sweet fancy moses, the gear those kids had! Easily thousands of dollars, for each kid. I'm struggling with whether or not I can spend $200 on a bass that will hopefully last me years, and these little rugrats had more than my car's worth, each! And, I watched them pack it up afterwords too; it wasn't loaner stuff from the store.

I was lucky in high school to have enough money to pay for a movie.... once in a while.

[warnergt]

I often wonder the same thing. There's a lot of money out there. Despite all the talk of how bad we have it, we live in pretty good times.

[Joey3313]

Kids don't have any bills, it's that simple.

[iamlowsound]

Kids don't have bills and they have part time jobs.

lowsound

[Ben Lesser]

Yep, work work work. I've had probably upwards $12,000 worth of music equipment pass through my hands between when I started playing at 17 and now. I worked a lot during the school year and twice as much during the summer.

[steve21]

selling drugs, obviously.

[Hawaii Islander]

I worked all the way through high school. That's how I was able to afford decent gear.

There seem to be more after school part time jobs available these days than full time ones. Most of those are filled by 16 - 20 year old high school and college kids.

And yeah ,most don't have wives, kids and household bills to pay.

[bonzo4880]

a lot of kids earn it, like previously posted it's easy to save up for gear when you don't have any real bills.

i just hate the failed-musician parents who live vicariously through their kids and buy them WAY more gear than appropriate. I remember these kids I played with at a church talent show when I was in high school - they had a FULL PA, Marshall half stack, DW kit with a rack, and a 410/115 bass stack (can't remember what it was - didn't play bass then ). Little guitarist kid had some Les Paul Custom Shop. And the worse part was - THEY WERE ALL 12 YEARS OLD! And believe me, I know the gear was their's, they weren't borrowing stuff from anyone or their folks.

Maybe if they had played original songs or done something to earn some respect, it wouldnt have bothered me as much. But they did bad covers of blink 182 and hendrix, compete with squeaky prepubescent vocals. In front of probably 12K worth of gear.

[bassaficionado6]

It could be all of these things + things like ebay and our own TB classifieds which allow them (I guess us since I'm 18) to easily purchase used equipment and get good deals on stuff.

Right now, I don't own a single piece of bass equipment except straps and cables that was bought new.

[lefty007]

Rich parents, I say.

[tplyons]

They're the same kids that will be driving brand new BMW's, Volkswagens, and Audi's like the kids I graduated high school with.

[RayO5421]

I'm 16 and have been playing bass for 4 years. I now have a Squier P bass (first), a MIM Jazz (only Christmas present after 2 years playing), and a MIA P bass deluxe (got it on a great deal used for $500, payed my parents back after working). I also have a GK-1001RB mkII and an Avatar 410.

Most of my better gear has been payed for by my parents and I've payed them back for it afterwards. I work and besides CDs and records, music gear is all I really spend my money on. I think buying used and looking around for good deals is a good way to go.

MIA P bass deluxe- $500 used
Avatar 410, blonde- around $300 on ebay from Avatar w/"cosmetic defect"
GK 1001- around $600 from RMC Audio, rather than $750 anywhere else

Thats about $1400, as much as the MIA P bass would cost alone. I'm lucky enough to have parents who lend me money to allow me to jump on deals, but I pay them back. Its all about finding good deals. If its all new stuff, then I can't tell you how kids get that dough.

[Rudreax]

I'm 17, and I got my bass, a Yamaha RBX260, and an amp for free from my teacher when summer started. All I have to do is learn stuff on it over the summer, and they're both mine. If I do get to keep them, I plan on sticking with the bass until it's totally unusable and changing the amp to a more proficient one. I might end up getting at least one other bass sometime down the line, but I would never get one for more that $500, and I would make sure I got a job to pay for it as I wouldn't want my parents to pay for something I might not like.

If I don't get the bass, I really will have to get a job to get a new one, since I'm broke at the moment.

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by tplyons

They're the same kids that will be driving brand new BMW's, Volkswagens, and Audi's like the kids I graduated high school with.

[Visirale]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Kids don't have bills and they have part time jobs.

lowsound

Agreed.

I'm fortunate enough that my parents both have good jobs, and they've covered all my essentials. I got the scholarships to cover my 30K a year tuition, and I've been working for a few years now. Every penny (well not every penny, but a good 80 percent) of my earnings has gone towards gear...

[Vic Winters]

I'm 22 so I don't know if I'd be lumped into this category or not, but I'd like to give some possible insight. I worked my butt off last summer (55-60 hours/week between 2 jobs), and that's when I bought a decent chunk of my good gear. I watched eBay and the classifieds here and scored some amazing deals. I almost always buy used. Sometimes I trade locally, sometimes I catch really good deals. I've been playing for about 8 years now, so I have had some time to acquire what I have. I won't lie, my mom bought me my first bass and amp. A used Ibanez GSR100 and a used 30W Peavey Micro Bass.

[uethanian]

Originally Posted by tplyons

They're the same kids that will be driving brand new BMW's, Volkswagens, and Audi's like the kids I graduated high school with.

u have no idea how much i can relate.

[Deacon_Blues]

It was a lot easier for me to buy decent equipment when I was in my later teens. I lived still at home, earned money on summer jobs and gigs and didn't own a car. I could pretty much do what I wanted with the money I earned.

The situation is not the same anymore. I'm turning 30 soon and I have house and car loans to pay, some credit card bills I can't seem to get rid of, car and house insurances and various other bills I need to pay. I pay off the loans and credit card bills as much as I can do with my regular income (that doesn't fluctuate much), and it's not easy to find some extra money to put into equipment. I would like to buy a small PA, but I also need to buy a new fridge and stove, and I also want to redesign my bedroom and bathroom. I just don't know when I'll have the money to do that. An occasional gig once a month or so giving me a 150-250 € don't help up the situation very much...


I told my younger brother who's 18 to get all equipment he wants now. He won't afford it later...

[troyus]

I had a 40 dollar bass all through highschool. Made out of plywood. I afforded it by stealing cigarettes and selling them to other kids.

[ADbassman]

Originally Posted by troyus

I had a 40 dollar bass all through highschool. Made out of plywood. I afforded it by stealing cigarettes and selling them to other kids.

Should have just cut out the middle man by making a bass out of cigarettes and cigarette cartons.