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Bass brands with bad resell value
- Thread starter Neal Brakey
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- bass brands resell resell value
Yeah, but would you buy a new car and then sell it the next day at half the price... them buy a new car and sell it the next day... over and over again? That’s what this guy is doing!
Well I played Rocksmith for 2 years with my first bass a cheap Sterling bass, that's what got me into bass.
But, I don't consider that real playing.
I've been looking at music theory, it's a lot to take in but I'm reading into all that now and planning on getting a book for it, and some scales.
Just assume that a new bass will depreciated a lot and a used bass will depreciate a little. Your starting point is the price you paid, how long you've had it and the condition you've left in.
Be realistic, don't expect a quick sale if you want a good price and above all, don't ask us. Spend some time checking the resale sites for actual prices.
It's good to know when you're shopping.
Carvin is a good axe but resale is not there.
Some Pedulla's and G&L. Look at prices here on TB and Reverb
before buying. Happy hunting.
Carvin is a good axe but resale is not there.
Some Pedulla's and G&L. Look at prices here on TB and Reverb
before buying. Happy hunting.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
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Didn't used to be this way. A bass and a car are two completely different things, there's no comparison. You buy a car outb of necessity and they're quite expensive. And it's understood that you won't keep it forever. A bass is something most people buy for fun/pleasure with any extra/disposable income they might have.
- Oct 7, 2000
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It's seeming very much to me that ALL basses, in 2018, have a horrible re-sale value. Or I have to learn to sell differently.
People aren't buying bass guitars the way the used to. I think they'd rather make music with their computers and phones.
People aren't buying bass guitars the way the used to. I think they'd rather make music with their computers and phones.
I don't know anyone who buys basses for "fun".
I own the best bass gear I can find. These are the tools that allow me to play with other musicians, in bands and to gig.
I'm just comparing the resale value portion of the sale. Honda and Subaru have good resale value and that provides more confidence when you're buying a car of those brands. Dodge and Chevy have low resale value, so you consider that when you're buying one of those new. Similarly, a Fender tends to hold value while a Carvin is going to drop quickly.
Prices have gone up considerably in 2017/2018. I think used prices tend to lag because people want to buy something for what they remember purchasing that bass back in '97. If you have a pre-'17/'18 bass, just hold on to it and let the used prices catch up to the new prices.
Think it's also residual from CNC getting so good. Can buy a pretty darn high-quality new bass that will last forever, for like the last 20+ years. Between that and a continually declining interest in creating live music, market is definitely down.
You were a bit harsh, but correct and I do plan on learning through it, I had this same obsession with smart phones at one point, trading them all the time trying to find the one that everyone else liked, and doing no research.
I eventually grew tired of that task and just keep what I have now.
I think the biggest thing for me is that I research the wrong stuff till I am blue in the face full of other peoples opinions before I formulate my own.
I find music theory like math, I hated doing it because it never drew me in, I would have rather cheated.
I started playing bass just to get into a hobby, I like music, and I feel drawn to a bass more than any other instrument. I just need the motivation to learn theory and such like that, who knows maybe a personal teacher could spice my mood on learning things up a bit.
I have right now a 4, a 5, and a 6 string.
I plan on keeping all 3, that way I can also dictate how many strings I want to end up with.
I thought that might be a good way to go about that issue as well and just have the three I could end up on and see which is my fancy in the end.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,795
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- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
Me too. Every single piece of gear I own has "paid for itself" through all the work I do with them.
Some of the same prejudices and idiosyncrasies seem to port over from the car world. I can go out and buy a Volkswagen 'Up!' car, or I could buy the Skoda Citigo or the Seat Mii. They are the exact same car. They roll off the production line in Bratislava, and one of three front ends is bolted on the front.
The VW has way better residual value than the Seat or the Skoda. The prejudices still exist; Skoda's are Czech sheds for cab drivers, Seats are Spanish sheds. Only VW make solid German cars to superfluous Teutonic standards. Lol!
Cort and Samick ghost-build half the entry level to mid-level guitars and basses out there, but when they actually say 'Cort' or 'Samick' on the headstock then their resale value plummets.
I have basses I'm more or less attached too. I've advised before that a beginner bassist should pick up a Fender MIM P bass and/or Jazz bass on the used market. They pay £400 for that bass tomorrow, find out if they get on with the P or J platform and, if they don't, get their money back selling it on. Some of my basses I don't plan to ever sell, and others I consider moving on when I fancy something new. I need to consider how much money I can get off that sale!
I’d say the majority of basses have bad resale value these Days. Hell the dollar has no value these days. There used to be many brands that held value well. For huge brands like musicman and fender I think one of the big hits to resale value is the ever rising cost for new ones. This makes used value seem even worse because the used stuff is pretty much down to 50% or less of the new price like the majority of other brands. German Warwicks are particularly bad resale value compared to new cost. I’ve had a bunch of them and luckily the two most expensive model Warwick’s I owned (thumb nt5 and thumb nt6) I got great deals on so I didn’t lose a ton of money when I sold them. I actually made a profit off of the 6. The worst is probably the semi custom stuff like Carvin or Warmoth. Not that those brands don’t make good stuff I just think being somewhat of an affordable “custom” instrument most people look at those brands and would rather build exactly what they want, not buy someone else’s dream bass kind of thing. The highest resale values I’ve seen lately are dingwall. Like them or not I’m going to assume the big reason for this is Dingwall is a small operation that’s very much struggling to keep up with demand so people are willing to pay more for them used because the wait times are rediculous.
^ #155 makes me think about my NS-2A being somewhat derided by older guys as a cheap Korean copy of a Spector. Now the $ has shot up on them. I was in middle school when those "fake Kramer's" were pumped out so I was stoked to play them in stores. Glad I bought one for nostalgias sake when I did.
Same with Korean era Squiers that used to be the $49 GC beginner brand new junk bass. It's contemporaries without a Squier logo are seen as weird junk.
Same with Korean era Squiers that used to be the $49 GC beginner brand new junk bass. It's contemporaries without a Squier logo are seen as weird junk.
I have been playing for 24 out of 34 years of life and I may as well have said this exact same statement. Minus the cheating on math because it came easily to me. I still find nothing but joy from playing alone late at night, jamming along to songs or just having fun mindlessly grooving.
I have played in several bands and haven’t had much of a need to learn any theory aside from basic scale shapes and time signatures. Learning that stuff seems like it would make communicating music easier if the people you were talking to understood as well. Most musicians I have had the pleasure of playing with were better with feel and sound than being able to verbally explain why they are playing what they are playing. I do advise (and plan on) learning music theory more deeply, but I do not believe it will make playing the bass any more fun for me. I have been doing this for 24 years and I still only want to play to PLAY.
Local bands will always need a bassist. Just pay attention. You can land one of these gigs super easy and hopefully you will meet another musician (hopefully a patient teacher) who will like you and how much fun you are having playing to help you learn the why behind the “just play this”.
You don’t have to play in a band to enjoy yourself. You can sit and watch Scottsbasslessons.com and learn how to play like he does and go in depth for your own personal gain. That’s cool too. Should you end up playing in a band you may find yourself the only person who knows any theory, then you become the teacher.
Not everyone is going to read this but I know you are. Keep plugging away at it. You have the gear, time to learn will always be there. Enjoy more hours of strings under your fingers before beating your brain up with theory. When you are ready you will be ready.
As for the Carvin, make sure the strings are pretty close to the pickups (their site has recommendations, but ymmv) and experiment with new strings. Should you have to audition for a band I believe the Carvin should be your go-to to get the job, unless you need the 5th string.
Good luck and relax.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I only read the first post. The answer is all of 'em. That's why I buy used.
