Death, if I owned a rick I think I would sell it too !!I bought what I thought was my dream bass, after struggling to love it for a year, I sold it:
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But do I DESERVE a "nice" bass?
- Thread starter GravyGoodness
- Start date
My only advice is try to play it before you buy it. I've played some amazing $200 basses and some horrible $5,000 basses. Don't associate $$ with quality. Yes, in general you get what you pay for but my main bass is a $175 Peavey USA made with a killer set up and upgraded active pickups. It's nearly perfect.
I’ve always felt like I didn’t “deserve” it when I would purchase an expensive instrument. I’ve been playing music for 15 years now and still feel this way. I wonder if it’s something in our nature that feels bad about splurging on ourselves.
A lot of valid points have been made that it’s fine to invest in your music. Sought after instruments do play and sound great for a reason. A lot more care and detail was put into that Bass etc...
A lot of valid points have been made that it’s fine to invest in your music. Sought after instruments do play and sound great for a reason. A lot more care and detail was put into that Bass etc...
I get the question -- I think about a similar version of it when shopping for tools: SHOULD I get the super nice drill press, or the cheapo one? The nicer one will work better, hold its value if I plan to sell it, and be more reliable. That's easy to work through. But for me personally, the difference between buying a drill press and buying a bass is that with a really nice drill press I won't start dreaming up new things to drill... whereas with a really nice bass, I want to play it more and more and more. So that's the core of my advice: if you're buying a bass because you want to play some bass parts on your recordings, but you're not seeking to PLAY the bass, then price should be more important. And if you know you want to PLAY bass, and practice bass, and explore the instrument, and get way better, then I'd say price is less important...
because the most valuable thing, by far, is your time, not your money. If a better bass would increase the time you spend loving to play it, then it's a no-brainer. Get it! If not, and you will use it the way I use a drill press (more rarely, less precisely, and as a utility) then maybe not. Good luck!
because the most valuable thing, by far, is your time, not your money. If a better bass would increase the time you spend loving to play it, then it's a no-brainer. Get it! If not, and you will use it the way I use a drill press (more rarely, less precisely, and as a utility) then maybe not. Good luck!
find local stores who may be struggling right now that have what you like and buy three nice basses
I hope after 9 pages, someone has told Gravy that you deserve it if you paid for it.
I didn't read any of what you said, but even if I did, my answer would be "YES"! You deserve a nice bass.
You deserve whatever you can afford. We do not live in a meritocracy. It is your money. Even if you did owe anyone an explanation, which you don't, perhaps your style is to play clean simple intermediate lines enhanced with superb tone. And having an instrument that feels good in your hands and plays easy does make a difference, for technique and inspiration.
Here in southern California I see folks everyday in Teslas and Maseratis and brand new Toyota Tundras with 20 grand of mods.... and none of them know how to drive. If the precedent of "deserving" something based on your related skills was valid, these jerks would all be on bicycles.
As a horse owner, I felt obligated to fix this for accuracy.
I owned an Ibby lawsuit copy.. At the risk of running afoul of the forum rules about badmouthing sacred cows, I think I can diplomatically say that they're an acquired taste and not for everyone. (Okay, they're just plain WEIRD.)
You should go for it, OP. Given that nobody should say you don't "deserve" a bass of any kind, I get where you are coming from. I've purchase a few and returned them because it was hard for me to justify. I also feel much better about modding a cheaper bass (which I usually end up doing), so I gravitate to the lower-priced ones and just mod them how I want. Again tho, get yourself that P-bass 
Although it may be changing, you still have the freedom and right to spend your money on just about anything you want. New instruments are always exciting, fun and inspiring.
If you can afford it then by all means enjoy it. Don't worry about what others say or think!!!!!
Go for it. I have 5 basses. 3 boutique, one intermediate and a budget bass.
I thought $100s were for airplane owners...Lol.. dang inflation...
There's a lot you can do with $2K. Only you will ever be the one to know whether dropping the coin on a nicer/better/more expensive bass will be worth it to you. This is a question of financial values and IMO and IME it's hard to put a dollar sign on happiness.
If it were me and I were worried about the cost of the investment, I'd look for a used AO on the classifieds, then flip it if I found it wasn't worth it. Save money up front by buying used - take less of a hit when flipping it.
The question is why you value yourself so little that this is even a question.... I never understood this. Do you wonder if you are worthy of any other inanimate objects around the house?
