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Boutique Basses 10k and up?

#21
Oddly enough, if people buy their basses just to look at them, it doesn't affect the playability of my basses at all. Go figure. Don't really feel the need to take the piss out of them or equate them to PED abusers. Strange what people get pissed off about...
 
#23
So my thoughts on this is. If I found a bass and I just loved the sound, balance, basically every aspect about it I would spend what needed to be spent in order to get. It's a personal like.
Some of you may think this is crazy, but had I not been introduced to Gamma Alpha basses, I would have spent probably 5 times the actual cost of a 1st generation American built black on black lo,g scale Guild Pilot pro or whatever signature was on the model I had prior to stupidity kicking in. The way that model played in my hands was absolutely awesome and effortless. I like the P look, but that particular Pilot was perfect. Fortunately I met Joe and he fixed me up, but had I not somebody would have been in shock who much I would have paid for that particular bass.
 
#24
buldog5151bass said:
Same reason people drop $500,000 on a car, or $75,000 on a wristwatch, or millions on a painting. Because they can.
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True to a certain extent but personally, I notice a huge difference in playability, tone and craftsmanship between my Fodera and my Squier. Also, I don't get to work any quicker/slower in traffic in my F150 than my boss in his M5 BMW nor does my $50 Timex Ironman watch tell time any worse/better than my Omega or a $100k Patek.

Similar but different IMO.

Good conversation anyways. An expensive bass, car or watch is much healthier than a coke or gambling habit. There are worse problems to have for sure.
 
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#26
nostatic said:
Oddly enough, if people buy their basses just to look at them, it doesn't affect the playability of my basses at all. Go figure. Don't really feel the need to take the piss out of them or equate them to PED abusers. Strange what people get pissed off about...
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I didn't criticize, I in part answered the OP's question with info that no one else had offered. If people think my take is cynical, try running a major IT department or spend a lot of time in a serious gym or chatting with both n00bs, wealthy wannabes and full-time pros. I have, and I've progressed through all of the above too (except the steroids).

And I agree with you, it makes no difference to your or my choices. It does however, to a far greater degree than most here would like to admit, answer the OP's question.

And to address another post, it is quite common for non/bedroom players to obsess over minutia of their custom builds. Anyone suggesting otherwise hasn't spent enough time on this forum "talking" bass. Good on 'em!
 
#27
If you are lucky enough or have worked hard enough to have disposable income, you get to chose how to spend it.

Not every "pro" wants or needs that type of instrument. Making a living from music is ridiculously tough, especially here in LA. The guys I know who don't have a day job have a solid set of gear and that's it. That said, a lot of guys with uprights have spent well over $10K for their instrument so it evidently is worth it to them. Also, if you look at the roster of Fodera players, seems like a lot of pros there think it is worth it (very few of them get comp'd instruments).

I remember a few years back Victor Wooten was on tour in Europe and his basses got temporarily lost. He had to play a show, and Jason from Fodera put out a call on TB to see if there was someone with a Fodera in EU who could loan it to Victor for the show. Some of the TB snarks said things like, "if he's so great he should be able to play on anything..." etc. Truth of the matter is that he can play pretty much anything, but to do what he wants to do, he needs a certain level of performance and capabilities from the instrument. And if you've played a certain type of instrument for a long time, you get used to that. When performing, you want to keep the variables to a minimum so you can play your best.

Should everyone play a Fodera? Nope. Just like everyone shouldn't necessarily play a Fender or a Lull or a Sadowsky. Lot's to choose from, and no single best solution for everyone. Play what you love, love what you play.
 
#28
While not all people buy extremely expensive basses due to their price there is definitely a portion of people that buy them for that reason.

Ask anybody who retails anything luxury and they will tell you the super rich want to buy things nobody else can for that reason only. They do not care if it is better, they care if it is more expensive. There are some brands that exist to cater solely to this crowd, and that is why those brands do not have affordable versions, it would taint the brand image to the people they want to appeal to.

It came up in a thread recently about where people think the expensive basses go and I would imagine most of the $7,000+ basses are in the hands of guys who don't really play, they just have good jobs. You certainly do not see them all going to the pro's.

Once you get to a certain point no bass is better or worse than any other, they are just different. I have a hard time believing the crew at Fodera is any more talented than Fender's Custom Shop and I doubt they are any different than Alembic or Carl Thompson. As much as musicians love to believe in magic, when it comes to setup and "playability" it is a science and many basses are capable of the exact same setup.

I'd say that is my two cents but since I am in Canada two cents equals nothing...

EDIT: Forgot to address the OP's question. The value of any item is determined by the market, you can think a Ritter or Fodera is over-priced all you want, the fact is that they sell, so they must be appropriately priced.
 
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#29
buldog5151bass said:
Not a fair comparison. If spending that much made enough difference, than I would think every pro would be playing one.

Nothing wrong with GAS.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with GAS or playing expensive basses if one can afford them.

Also, Fender (and similar) endorsements are far more lucrative than ones from most boutique builders.

Also, touring extensively with $10k+ instruments is very risky. Many touring bassists that own expensive customs do not bring them on tour. Look at how many Fender, Gibson and Spector artists tour with relics based on their own vintage instruments and nearly identical instruments of what they are known to play but of lesser value (Spector Euros are very common for touring Spector artists as an example).
 
#33
One of the best players on this site is "Narud". Mostly jazz/fusion from what I've heard.

He went from Fodera (which sounded fantastic IMO) down through *all* the other boutiques and finally settled on very heavy 70's Fenders (so far).

Just sayin'. Perfect playability for even the most discerning persons (he being among them, per his many posts that don't pull punches on sacred brands here) can be found at any price point. It's certainly easier to find it at higher price points, but not a necessity. A double bass of any durability and quality is inherently expensive vs. electric instruments. That said, http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/stradivarius-violins-lose-in-blind-test-against-new-ones-1.2601191
 
#35
buldog5151bass said:
Not what I am talking about. Many full time pro bass players, whether playing stadiums or corporate parties, are playing reasonably priced axes (including Squiers). Just about every professional jazz or concert bassist is playing an expensive instrument, not a plywood bass.
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Part of the equation is endorsement deals. Guys playing stadiums will typically get paid to play something rather than what they'd like to play. Simple economics. Another factor is touring (which has a pretty broad definition) itself. Some guys don't want to take expensive or rare instruments on the road with them.

But it certainly isn't that hard to cover most gigs with a $300 bass (whereas a cheap upright can be almost unplayable). The question is whether or not the player *wants* to use it. If they do, more power to them. If not, more power to them as well. There does seem to be a strong anti-boutique contingent on TB, and gawd knows there have been endless threads on how anything above $700 or $1500 for a bass is a complete waste of money and only done by poseurs. Another contingent that I find fascinating are the "expensive basses are a waste" yet they will have over a dozen low/medium price basses - easily more tied up in them than one or two high end instruments. If money is the metric, then it shouldn't matter how many items are involved. And still another contingent are the "deal hunters." The only thing that matters is getting something for a great price. Value for them is entirely tied up in price.

Takes a village to screw up a bass line. Or something like that...

Oh, and wrt uprights, plenty of classism there as well. Mention Shen (Chinese made upright) to some purist and they'll be getting out the pitchforks...
 
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#36
I don't see much boutique sentiment here. If anything, I see more weekend warriors talking expensive basses than I see being played out there.

Some of it is because of endorsements, but if the instrument didn't do the job, they would be endorsing something more expensive. I liken it to golf clubs, lots of pros being paid to play certain brands, but only the expensive models (equivalent to MIAs, if not custom shop). Opinions being the equivalent of a rectum of course - everyone has one.

I love my Lull P4 and my Fender Frankenstein that I put together 30 years ago equally. YMMV.
 
#37
buldog5151bass said:
Yes, but it is VERY rare that a pro upright player or violinist does not an expensive instrument, tour or otherwise. Not so with bass guitars.
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True. But most if not almost all of these players do not let their instruments out of their sight. They don't generally pack their instruments in road cases along with many other guitars, amps, PAs, lighting rigs drums, etc. Yo Yo Ma's Strad and Chris Thile's Gibson Loar-era mandolin are absolutely not being banged around in road cases on stage and in 18 wheelers by roadies.

I honestly wish my $100 Peavey and $299 Squier basses made me perfectly happy on gigs and recording sessions. I would have much more liquid $$$.
 
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#40
I've played almost every bass in music shops for decades focusing on feel, playability, tone and versatility (ignoring price and looks).

What matters to me:
- It fits like a glove
- I repeatedly go 'wow' when playing it.
- I can't put it down, and when I do I want to go back and pick it up again.

I bought an older Tobias Classic 5. Felt perfect, played perfect, sounded perfect, then looked at the price = ouch.

8 months later a second hand one came up that I bought at a good price. It's still my main gigging bass 8 years later.
 

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