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Basses you got cheap

M

Mossiebass

Guest
Nov 15, 2012
63
3
29
Cork, Ireland
#1
So yesterday, I went looking for a new bass and found a Warwick thumb. I fell in love with it, it just felt right in my hands. I knew I couldn't afford it, but I checked the price tag; 895 euro. I haggled down to 800 and now I have a new bass :D Anyone have any similar stories?
 
#2
I got my 60th Ann P last January, after heading to my local GC to order one. I'm not exactly good friends with them (former employee), and I was told by the manager that they were unable to order me one. (?!?!?!)

Ok, fair enough. So I hit TB. I find one, and bonus for me, I find one $400 cheaper than GC could've sold it for. Two weeks later, I took it in to show off the bass to my former boss, who told me that I couldn't have one.
 
#3
Most basses I have were obtained with a deal or some sort. My 82' Rickenbacker 4003 was $700 in the mid-90's. My Tony Franklin Fretless was $1000 used, with a new G&G case, new strings, strap, etc. Didn't even have a dent on it. I got a 91' MIM Jazz for $150 at a pawn shop. My 77' Jazz was $1400 (about $400-600 less that comparable ones have sold for). Only two basses I've really paid full price for are my Dingwall ABZ5 (which was worth it), and my Ibanez SR600 (which is in fact a nice bass, but the Dingwall replaced it as my main one). Also Ijust coordinated my purchases with sales on musicians friend and got a new portaflex rig for about $680 (regularly $800).
 
#5
I bought a new Musicman Stingray at GC a few years ago for $750. I later traded it for an Alembic Epic 5 string.

I bought a Carvin LB75 off Craigslist for $250 and sold it one week later for $750.

Five years ago I bought a 1976 Fender Precision for $500.

Bought an Alembic Epic 4 string for $800 and traded it for a 1977 Precision that I then sold for $1,700.
 
#9
Probably the best deal I got was on a 2009 Music Man Stingray 4H that I bought new from Guitar Center last year. They normally go for $1,500.00 new and I got mine out the door for right around $900.00. I later on found out it was because the bass was 2 years old hidden away in their warehouse but it didn't matter to me. The thing plays great and I got a smoking deal on it.
 
#10
When I wanted to get a G&L L-2500 Tribute, I really wanted to get the walnut finish, but I didn't want to pay the standard street price for it (700 if I remember correctly). I found a few of them with different finishes online that were listed cheaper, the cheapest I found was for 600 for a natural finish one. Then I called BassNW and asked them if they'd pricematch this web price I found. He said yes, and even though I wanted a different finish, he still honored the price match. So I got the bass in the finish I wanted for 100 bucks off (and free shipping)!
 
#11
In 1970, I had a Fender Bass VI I bought for $200. I had it for two weeks and it got stolen from me at a gig. I then realized that I wanted an "old Jazz Bass." All of my bassplayer heroes on records and in local bands were playing Jazz Basses, and I could see myself having one too. Several months after my Bass VI got stolen, my bassplayer friend called me up after school and told me that there was a used 1960 Fender Jazz Bass in the window at the local music store for $150!

I had $150, bought the bass, and used it at a gig that night. It still remains in my collection and I play it occasionally at gigs. It has served me well over the years, and is of tremendous sentimental value to me. It's a keeper for sure!
 
#12
Univox copy of a Hofner "Beatle" Bass. Probably mid 60's vintage. Picked up for $40 in 1982. Sold it at a yard sale in 1996 for $50... Play a 2010 MIA Fender "P" now, which I paid $100 over GC price for but supported my local fret shop. (In my mind, better deal than the Univox, which was junk)
 
#13
Recently picked up a near mint '96 Squier Protone 5 w/case for $100! Plays and sounds badass. Back in the early 70's I bought a spectacular and RARE Rick 4005 semi-hollow body for $300!!! If I wasn't a major dumbass I'd still have it.....worth big bucks now. Guess I find a deal once every 40 years or so...LOL.
 
#15
This summer I rejoined a band I was with twenty years ago. I needed a 5er for some of the repertoire. It had to be inexpensive, it had to have simple passive controls, and other criteria I discuss elsewhere.

Ambled into the local GC. I almost didn't take it down, but it had the criteria: NOS Ibanez SRA305. List $600. Took it home for $269. The PhatII, which is Ibby's version of the EMG EXB, is actually very useful.
 
#18
Traded a TB'er $30 and a Bass Wah for a defretted Steinberger Spirit 5 string! Gigged it yet again just last night!

December2007045.jpg


that scale isn't the most accurate thing... I'd say it's in the upper 8's.
 
#19
The best deals I ever got were back the the 70s when you could pick up stuff from guys who had gotten married and were giving up playing. I once bought a Gibson EB-3 for $50. I hated the bass and ended up selling years later for $350 and used that to buy a '72 PBass for $250 that I ended up selling for $900 later on.

With the profit from those two sales I was able to buy an Ampeg Bass Head and cabinet with nothing more out of pocket so that was a nice way to turn a buck I thought.

I was also once able to buy a new MIA Deluxe Jazz for less than $600 and my CS Nocaster Tele ran me about $900 new. So about $1500 for both when the bass alone would have run $1700-$1800 all by itself. I couldn't pass that up.

Lately I consider the deals I got on my Squiers to be pretty good. My Jazz ran me $250 with a $40 gig bag and a $30 set of flats thrown in. The PBass new was $300 and change so even with a Wilde P46 pickup that I installed and the flats from that Jazz I have a little less in it than the usual selling price. That's two basses for around the same price as one MIM Standard P or J Bass. Works for me.
 

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