Ive Been thinking about getting a new P style bass and have been researching the EBMM Caprice and Cutlass models, I checked the price on them today and they jumped up like $400 in price since last week!! MAP went from $1700 to $2200-$2300! Is that insane? Am I missing something?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Yep. It might be across the board increase on all MusicMan models. Guitar center used has some for like $1k. Move quickly before they adjust used prices .
These basses are fabulous btw.
These basses are fabulous btw.
I've had two Cutlasses, and - not gonna lie - I wish I'd hung on to them and would totally get another. They are really great P-style basses which don't feel clone-ish or derivative (I mean, beyond being P-style basses). I feel like they are worth the $1650 price point, right in line with the standard StingRay 4H.
That said, a $500 price hike just seems kinda crazy to me. EBMM offers wonderfully consistent instruments for a factory production operation, but for $2200+ I feel like we're getting into that true handmade custom-shop zone. Especially given that the options for wood/color remain super limited, and both models have been readily available at their original prices, I'm definitely surprised.
But the market will let em know whether it was the right call. They are definitely quality basses!
That said, a $500 price hike just seems kinda crazy to me. EBMM offers wonderfully consistent instruments for a factory production operation, but for $2200+ I feel like we're getting into that true handmade custom-shop zone. Especially given that the options for wood/color remain super limited, and both models have been readily available at their original prices, I'm definitely surprised.
But the market will let em know whether it was the right call. They are definitely quality basses!
I paid $850 for my Stingray with a case back in 1987. Adjusted for inflation that puts it at $1,900 in 2018 dollars A new one runs $2,000, so they've not raised the price much in 30 years, considering inflation. We're talking different instruments, but maybe Music Man needed a price increase to keep their employees and to stay where they are. California, especially on the coast, is a very expensive place to live and run a business from.
That is probably exactly correct since Calif has gone nuts with taxes, regulations, etc.....
You just
BTW: There are LOTS of great P-basses out there without jumping into that price range.
True but the Caprice bring a lot more to the table than a P bass does. And the Cutlass while it might look like a P has its own sound going on. It’s like crossing a P with passive Stingray.
So thats why mine sold on reverb Friday.... I have had a white caprice on reverb at $1399 Shipped for a few months, Im aware the price was high. I was rather fence sitting if I was going to sell it, always post it with a jacked up price when doing so. To my surprise it sold after 3 months listed. Apparently the $1399 didnt seem bad after the price jump.
Maybe I can get one in my hands some day and check it out.
Definitely killed my GAS for a Caprice. Now I’m looking at a newish AVRI or custom built Moollon.
Killed my GAS for one too. I was looking at a Cutlass for a while and they went up $300-$500. If I had the asking price for one in hand, I’d just buy a Sadowsky Metro Express and a nice gig bag for it.
So the new question is cap/cut vs metro/moollon?
That's gotta make the folks on the floor handling the wood, machines, and hardware say "dam, we're pretty freaking good at this and ought to be taking home at least as much as a manager at McDonald's."
But also make mgmt say "guys, you gotta make them faster so we can balance what people think an instrument with EBMM on the head should cost with how much we have to pay in overhead, taxes, insurances, materials, and your wages. The instruments just don't have to be even half as well made as you're making them. We're almost like BMW in that the buyers only care about the name and the electronics and will keep buying if the paint is shiny and the price is right"
That's gotta make the folks on the floor handling the wood, machines, and hardware say "dam, we're pretty freaking good at this and ought to be taking home at least as much as a manager at McDonald's."
But also make mgmt say "guys, you gotta make them faster so we can balance what people think an instrument with EBMM on the head should cost with how much we have to pay in overhead, taxes, insurances, materials, and your wages. The instruments just don't have to be even half as well made as you're making them. We're almost like BMW in that the buyers only care about the name and the electronics and will keep buying if the paint is shiny and the price is right"
Last edited:
I am afraid that MusicMan is going to be unaffordable for most musicians. They may end up like Peavey.
Last edited:
Totally agree that EBMM's consistency is rock solid and not likely to change.
Just hard to ignore that they've priced a new Cutlass into a range where it's competing w/a new Sadowsky Metro. Wonder whether the expansion of the Fender American Original line impacted this move. I def think these basses are better than the Am Pro series, which were at the same price point.
It is what it is. Kinda bummed as I was actively planning for one of those to be my next bass, but all good.
Just hard to ignore that they've priced a new Cutlass into a range where it's competing w/a new Sadowsky Metro. Wonder whether the expansion of the Fender American Original line impacted this move. I def think these basses are better than the Am Pro series, which were at the same price point.
It is what it is. Kinda bummed as I was actively planning for one of those to be my next bass, but all good.
Well I certainly can't afford that new Caprice I wanted. Maybe used if I move quickly. But since I'm broke, it looks like there won't be one in my future after all.
I expected an increase when the new 2018 Stingrays came out (stainless frets, roasted wood, 18v preamps probably cost more), but $500 more for a Caprice seems like they just priced the model out of competition. Maybe they don't want to sell them anymore.
Edit to ask, anyone know if they released pricing on the 2018 Stingrays yet? I'm guessing higher than a Caprice.
Edit to ask, anyone know if they released pricing on the 2018 Stingrays yet? I'm guessing higher than a Caprice.
They just priced this out of my range of possibility and deflated my GAS for one. Looks like my next cool P-bass will be a Warmoth/Delano build... So many great p basses available new in the $1000's and used for well under. I hope for their sake I'm in the minority
