Show your $400 and below bass gems!

[bobbybass85]

Dear Ric5.... you are an @$$#ole.

Love,

Every TBer who ever wanted a Ric

Lol JK. I would give my fretting hand for that deal!

[leegreenman]

Originally Posted by knigel

My list of basses I spent MORE than 400 on would be WAY shorter than the ones I spent less than 400.

But a couple of gems are my 1982 Gibson Victory Artist:



And my 1980s MIJ Fender P Bass which I picked up for 100:

Love that Victory Bass!

[klejst]

Originally Posted by Ric5

I bought this 1968 4001 for $150 in 1973. I sold it about 8 years ago for $6800.

Very nice and very nice profit!

[klejst]

Originally Posted by knigel

My list of basses I spent MORE than 400 on would be WAY shorter than the ones I spent less than 400.

But a couple of gems are my 1982 Gibson Victory Artist:



And my 1980s MIJ Fender P Bass which I picked up for 100:

Awesome score on that MIJ Fender P, I can never seem to find a deal like that.

[altamont]

my late 80's MIJ Fender 62' RI Precision, got it for about 300$


my 77' Gibson Grabber heavily modified, got it for 140$


I also have a butterscotch blonde Squier CV 51'P that I got for under 300$ with HSC. No pics here.

[atrapp]

Originally Posted by NicJimBass

HOLY CRAP!!!! Major score there. Was it recently?

Nah, it was in 2008... later sold it for ~ $1000

[kikstand454]

Most of the stuff in this pic was @400 or less.

Right to left:

My dean custom5 ~$250 in 1998 from a girl who got it to look cool.

My accoustic head~ $220 or so

My hartke xl cab ~ $400 in 1998

My warwick corvette 5 ~ $300 GC

My siesmic cab ~ $120 off ebay.

Buddys lefty bass ~ less than 400 I'm sure.

The les paul was NOT less than 400 bucks! Lol

[knigel]

Originally Posted by leegreenman

Love that Victory Bass!

Thanks, me too. Bought it off a very cool guy in Boston. Always wanted one, glad I have one!

(And to be able to post it in this thread is the icing on the cake!)

[wordwrite]

So . . . This is different. It's a Sekova jazz bass knock-off I got from my cousin. Her late husband was a drummer and she asked me to go through his gear. This was in with it. Hard to find much out there on Sekova and it seems the quality was very uneven. Judging by the look, this is a 70s era Sekova. I'm stunned at how well it plays and how closely it tracks in fit and finish with the real deal. I haven't started tinkering with the electronics yet. Somewhere along the line, somebody replaced the bridge pick-up with a guitar pick-up! Plays great and look forward to some fun tweaking it!

[UrsaMinor]

Nice thread so far. Let's keep'em coming

On another note, I have sold every piece of gear I own. I will eventually be back in the low end realm, though.

[Ian Perge]

My 2005 Music Man "Original" SUB Sterling, part of their 2003-06 "In-House Budget Line": everything was made next to the 2K Rays, Sterlings & Bongos in SLO, CA with American parts and workmanship. What Music Man did to lower the price was to take away everything that dramatically increased time, and therefore price to build. So the "Original SUBs" had flat tops opposed to curves, Line X-type spray-on finishes that didnt need several hours of buffing out for a gloss finish, cheaper pickguards... but everything that matters such as body & neck wood (body is Poplar, a close relative to Alder and used on solid finish "standard" 'Rays in the late '80s and early '90s, neck is Maple with a painted finish) Pickup & Preamps are extremely close to the standard StingRay (yes, even though it's a "Sterling" it has an Active 2-band EQ closer to the StingRay's than the Sterling). EBMM stopped the line in 2006 after loosing money on every SUB Bass & Guitar made, they were so close to the "Real Deal".

Walked out of Guitar Center having paid $400 after tax because the Wall setup was terrible and it was dusty. A day of setting her up, wiping down & cleaning chrome hardware I found out via the EBMM Forum that my interesting color-shifting finish was "Textured Cinnamon", the Rust Red/Green/Gold spray-on version of the $400 upcharge "Mystic Dream" signature finish on the John Petrucci Signature Guitars... and that my SUB Sterling 1 of *6* SUBs made with that finish. The Music Man tone isn't what I consider "My Tone", but at that price it was a steal for another tool in the toolbox:


(Sporting a White Pearloid pickguard since about a week after purchase...)

[Draculea]

These are mine, all well under $400:



Strinberg CLB 26A for around $350. Great bass for the buck.


My cheapy - just to take out for rehearsals - Palmer Eclipse 5. Cost me around $120 one week ago, and considering what I paid it's got amazing sound, and it plays great now that i did a complete set up. Nice color too, although the pic doesn't show all the tones, it's got a nice blue burst.


And last but not least, my Made in Colombia Muser Bass, that I've had for almost 13 years, and back at the time I got for around $150, the price has more than doubled now. It was originally black, but I took my chances and sanded the whole thing. I gave it a teak oil finish. Sounds and plays great, but I have to fix the truss rod as it isn't currently working. Nothing too serious anyway.



I have a fretless 5 string Texas bass back in my home country that cost me around $200, but I have no recent pictures for obvious reasons, and all the ones I have were taken before I converted it to FL.

[ggvicviper]

Another great cheapie - I'm still in my honeymoon period with it, but so far it's awesome.
KSD Burner Ignition 5 - Bought for $299 from zZounds.

[Pilgrim]

Squier Bronco with Gretsch 2202 (TV Jones design) soap bar pickup and Labella Flats. Killer bass, great action, one of my go-to basses. Less than $200 invested. Mustang stripe done with auto striping tape, V8 emblem from AutoZone! It now has black & white dice knobs. too.

[DeMayunn]

Got a Washburn T14, still in the honeymoon phase for $270 brand new. I seriously cannot understand how they sell it for this cheap, They skimped out on nothing! (Even the Truss rod cover is 3-ply to prevent warping).


And that fat bridge, sustains forever.

[Malak the Mad]

Back in September 2011, I got my first bass from the website of a chain of pawn shops over 1000 miles away…a 2007 CIJ Fender Aerodyne for $376 shipped. The paint was mildly chipped here and there, but otherwise, it was incredibly well maintained. The person doing the set-up said all it really needed was a little intonation adjustments, some light cleaning around the pots and new strings.



Outside the set-up and trying out different strings, I've invested a little more into it by adding a Hipshot Drop-D tuning machine.

I'm thinking of retiring the EXP Reds (very lively sound, but a bit stiff, even to a massage therapist's hands) and throwing on some Black Beauties. If they don't work out, there's always my beloved Ernie Ball Cobalts.

[dorknowitzki]

here's my current el cheapo line up
sx fretless jazz
sx precision
ibanez atk 400 mij (less than 300$)
ibanez srx 350 mii (less then 240$)
stray cat my wife found in the parking... free!

[rossiman]

<$200 after the DIY finish.
Made a clear acrylic pickguard for it last week!

[3234718]

My baby

[flewis]

My Black n' Maple SX