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Boutique basses
- Thread starter LouieV2
- Start date
Here's my perspective.......like anyone gives a crap.
I have owned both production and boutique, or at least customs up to 4 grand. Currently I am playing all production, cheapy stuff. I am a long time, on again/off again local hack.
That said, I will own another boutique in the next year.
I play production basses to get the job done, be it practice, or gigging.
I played (and will play again) customs/boutiques for me! Phenominal playability coupled with my personal choice in to-die-for tone. If I have to grind through a flippin Skynard (3rd degree spelling felony) song for the 1000th time, I have to find some way to keep myself amused, positive, and upbeat............and it better sound awesome at least to me. Boutiques/customs make my grin from ear to ear on every single note.
I could be playing a shiny 2x4 with kite string for all the crowd cares. Drunk people are equal opportunity butt shakers be it
2x4 or Fodera.
Are they worth it? In my eyes, yes they are and I will happily continue to vote with my wallet.
I have owned both production and boutique, or at least customs up to 4 grand. Currently I am playing all production, cheapy stuff. I am a long time, on again/off again local hack.
That said, I will own another boutique in the next year.
I play production basses to get the job done, be it practice, or gigging.
I played (and will play again) customs/boutiques for me! Phenominal playability coupled with my personal choice in to-die-for tone. If I have to grind through a flippin Skynard (3rd degree spelling felony) song for the 1000th time, I have to find some way to keep myself amused, positive, and upbeat............and it better sound awesome at least to me. Boutiques/customs make my grin from ear to ear on every single note.
I could be playing a shiny 2x4 with kite string for all the crowd cares. Drunk people are equal opportunity butt shakers be it
2x4 or Fodera.
Are they worth it? In my eyes, yes they are and I will happily continue to vote with my wallet.
I have never played a boutique bass but they are easy on the eyes for the most part. Are they worth the money? As others have said, they are worth what the buyer is willing to pay.
Is your palate refined enough to tell the difference between a $40 bottle of wine from a $100 one? Mine's not.
Would I pay extra for the $100 wine when I could not discern the difference? Nope.
Are my playing skills worthy of and would be improved by owning a boutique instrument? Nope.
Did I buy one? Yup.
Am I glad I did? YOU BET.
Is there any logic or point in this comparison? Nope, other than the point that there is no point.
A wise TB'er here (and maybe even on this thread) said (and I'm paraphrasing here) "If your bills are paid and your belly is full, do what makes you happy. You may be dead tomorrow."
Made good sense (to me anyway). If you need to rationalize your decision, it seems then you're not ready to make the decision, so don't. You can always buy one later (or for an almost-risk-free transaction, buy one used off the classifieds that comes close or matches what you want.)
Would I pay extra for the $100 wine when I could not discern the difference? Nope.
Are my playing skills worthy of and would be improved by owning a boutique instrument? Nope.
Did I buy one? Yup.
Am I glad I did? YOU BET.
Is there any logic or point in this comparison? Nope, other than the point that there is no point.
A wise TB'er here (and maybe even on this thread) said (and I'm paraphrasing here) "If your bills are paid and your belly is full, do what makes you happy. You may be dead tomorrow."
Made good sense (to me anyway). If you need to rationalize your decision, it seems then you're not ready to make the decision, so don't. You can always buy one later (or for an almost-risk-free transaction, buy one used off the classifieds that comes close or matches what you want.)
I'm still not sure what constitutes a boutique bass. I've owned Ken Smith, Modulus, Sadowsky, Roscoe, Rob Allen, etc. They are not cheap, but are they boutique? I think the most I've paid for a bass is $2,800 or so. I prefer to pay $1,800 or less. My current bass was $600.
Don't feel bad, no one can
Mostly because wine is not priced by it's taste. Though people who pay a lot for wine like to claim it is.
I always chuckle a little on the inside when I see Fodera or Allevo or other boutiques brag about how their $4000 and up basses can nail the tone of a mass produced budget bass that sold for less than $300.
Having played some REALLY nice instruments, I decided that fender and squier p's and j's are what are good for me. I play in raucous rock and roll bands, no shirt on, slinging beer into the crowd. If my Squier J gets broken, I don't freak out.. I'll buy another neck, or body or bass and keep going. That being said, nothing I've ever played has compared to a Drozd Excellency. It's amazingly light, articulate, beautiful and plays itself. Yeah, there's a difference, but it's about finding what's right for you.
My experience with the upper end stuff was that every note could be played on the fretbd and each would sound out. That was not my experience with production basses.
Buy used, plenty of flipping.
Personally I am attracted to the work of some builders and not others. My faves cost way less than some others. I did find that some design parameters like neck through and too many laminations didn't deliver the live responsive axe I like.
Price? I tried a $5000 famous maker boutique that was heavy, unresponsive and near dead sounding. So play a lot of them and find what you like.
My '51 Japanese P reissue cost me $340. the exchange rate was great that year.
Buy used, plenty of flipping.
Personally I am attracted to the work of some builders and not others. My faves cost way less than some others. I did find that some design parameters like neck through and too many laminations didn't deliver the live responsive axe I like.
Price? I tried a $5000 famous maker boutique that was heavy, unresponsive and near dead sounding. So play a lot of them and find what you like.
My '51 Japanese P reissue cost me $340.
the exchange rate was great that year.The internet
They will call it vintage Jazz tone though since that sounds better than cheap mass produced bass. When you charge that much you have to massage these things into something palatable.
The internet
They will call it vintage Jazz tone though since that sounds better than cheap mass produced bass. When you charge that much you have to massage these things into something palatable.
Don't see that here: About Fodera Bass Guitars| Fodera Emperor/Monarch/Imperial/NYC Basses
Since you mentioned Fodera specifically I was wondering where they compare themselves to the sound of a $300 bass.
And what is your $300 figure reference? The price of a "vintage Jazz bass" when it was new? Is that a fair comparison to a price today? You should do apples/apples, eg:
some overpriced boutique: $4000
current Fender MIM J: $550
vintage '62 J: $10K+
Just trying to figure out your frame of reference.
I usually regret these interweb battles but...
http://www.fodera.com/Main/NewBornDetails.aspx?FeaturedItemID=45
"looks every bit Fodera but its tone is right out of the 1960's!"
"An all Alder body (including the Tone Block), Indian Rosewood fingerboard and 60's pickup spacing make this the ultimate updated vintage tone machine."
Google is your friend
http://www.fodera.com/Main/NewBornDetails.aspx?FeaturedItemID=45
"looks every bit Fodera but its tone is right out of the 1960's!"
"An all Alder body (including the Tone Block), Indian Rosewood fingerboard and 60's pickup spacing make this the ultimate updated vintage tone machine."
Google is your friend
I own a Fender American Jazz Standard and I LOVE it - its my "go to" bass when I'm auditioning new gear like heads/cabs, etc... probably because its the bass I've had the longest. Regardless though - I love it, even with its quarks.
I own another similar style Jazz that cost $4600 new - now is it 4x better then my Fender Jazz? No. It's probably not even 2x as good. Although I love it, I can't honestly say its 4x better.
Here is my simple take on this matter:
I feel if you have the money for it and can reasonably afford a "boutique" bass without putting yourself into debt, and you have an appreciation for owning the "finer things in life" - do it.
Will a $40 dollar bottle of Burberry fragrance make you smell good? Sure.
Will a $320 dollar bottle of Creed fragrance make you feel extra special when you wear it? Sure does
^ and yes, I own both inexpensive fragrances & expensive as well.
I own another similar style Jazz that cost $4600 new - now is it 4x better then my Fender Jazz? No. It's probably not even 2x as good. Although I love it, I can't honestly say its 4x better.
Here is my simple take on this matter:
I feel if you have the money for it and can reasonably afford a "boutique" bass without putting yourself into debt, and you have an appreciation for owning the "finer things in life" - do it.
Will a $40 dollar bottle of Burberry fragrance make you smell good? Sure.
Will a $320 dollar bottle of Creed fragrance make you feel extra special when you wear it? Sure does
^ and yes, I own both inexpensive fragrances & expensive as well.
Holy cow, what a dramatic price difference! That sure is silly! Of course, you're using the 1960s price for one item and the current price for another.
My experience has, however, been like that of a very knowledgeable collector/super successful songwriter I had the pleasure of working with in the 80s. He said that when an Alembic, or any other high end builder does a REALLY GREAT job of building an instrument, they get very close to what a a GREAT vintage Fender is. Of course, your mileage may vary.
I don't get the comparison.
Alembic is very different from Fender, apples to oranges.Holy cow, what a dramatic price difference! That sure is silly! Of course, you're using the 1960s price for one item and the current price for another.
Oh good, you read the post
