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Do basses raise in value or drop value as they get older?

Jazzkuma

Jazzkuma

Sep 12, 2008
835
494
#1
I haven't really owned a bass more than 5 years because i get into phases in which I really want a different gear and in order to justify having that gear I have to sell my current one (I don't like the idea of having more than 2 basses around). However, lately I have been thinking about finally buying a nice boutique bass and keeping it for as long as I can.

So I'm trying to figure out if the value, not only the price but the tone of the aged wood would improve, remain or get worse over the years. Of course, I plan to take good care of it and invest in a good case for it.
As far as upright basses, I do like the older carved basses I have tried out but I wasn't sure if this applies to electric basses as well.
 
#4
It has to be the right bass. You can drop a ton of cash on a brand spanking new Alembic, and own and play a fantastic instrument, buy you'd be lucky to get half of your cash investment back if you decide to sell it.

I would imagine that if you were to purchase Stanley Clarke's Alembic (With the proper documentation and all that stuff) you might be able to get a princely sum in a few decades. That is if Stanley Clarke is still relevant in the future.....
 
#5
Buying any instrument as an investment is a fool's errand, IMO.

If you want to not lose money, then buy used, care for it well and hope the marketplace swings favorably.

Even a bought-new boutique bass would usually* take many many many many years just to appreciate in value to the amount you paid for it.

*I'm sure there are exceptions, but I'm also sure they're few and far-between.
 
#6
Phalex said:
It has to be the right bass. You can drop a ton of cash on a brand spanking new Alembic, and own and play a fantastic instrument, buy you'd be lucky to get half of your cash investment back if you decide to sell it.

I would imagine that if you were to purchase Stanley Clarke's Alembic (With the proper documentation and all that stuff) you might be able to get a princely sum in a few decades. That is if Stanley Clarke is still relevant in the future.....
Click to expand...

Yeah I am not really concerned with selling the bass, my intention is to have a bass which I will keep for as long as I can. I guess I feel that I want to finally own a bass which will be with me forever :p. I feel my real question is if the aging of wood in an electric bass will change the sound of the instrument (more mature, settled..etc having a hard time trying to think of the words to use.
 
#7
osmarokuma said:
Yeah I am not really concerned with selling the bass, my intention is to have a bass which I will keep for as long as I can. I guess I feel that I want to finally own a bass which will be with me forever :p. I feel my real question is if the aging of wood in an electric bass will change the sound of the instrument (more mature, settled..etc having a hard time trying to think of the words to use.
Click to expand...

This is a totally different topic, then!
 
#8
For starters, it's a topic of some heated discussion here as to whether wood makes much or any difference in tone for electric basses. I certainly fall in the camp that wood does matter, but I wouldn't think that 20 or 30 years of aging in a solid body bass would affect tone too much. But it is true that instruments do "settle in" after a few years, generally.

On a hollow body electric, perhaps moreso. On double bass, absolutely. But the mechanics of a double bass are much different from a bass that is designed to have pickups. Double basses create sound from the transmission of vibrations from the bridge to the top, through the sound post, through the back and then out of the f holes. So it's wood, wood, wood, wood. On electrics, not so much.
 
#9
osmarokuma said:
Yeah I am not really concerned with selling the bass, my intention is to have a bass which I will keep for as long as I can. I guess I feel that I want to finally own a bass which will be with me forever :p. I feel my real question is if the aging of wood in an electric bass will change the sound of the instrument (more mature, settled..etc having a hard time trying to think of the words to use.
Click to expand...

Some say yes, some say no. I'm more or less in the I don't know camp.
 
#10
The of pricing of used and "rare" basses has become based on arbitration and very obscene. If it's Japanese: Mastumoku, Fuji-gen, a heavily beat up Aria Pro II, Electra or Vantage? $$$$$$$$$. American made? Twice that. Pissed on Alembic? Thousands. A few USA Peaveys (6 stringers) are still 100-200 bucks, but they are catching up. I bought some T-40s a few years ago for under 200 with a case. Now people think that they could get 400+ for 'em. Gouge City. I always hold out for finds. Found an amazing Japanese Roadstar II RG630 for $150 shipped. Rare? I've seen Ricks that were "considered" rare... meanwhile Ebay has roughly 100 rare Ricks for sale. BS.
 
#11
I'd say it's a bit of a crap-shoot.

Anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it....if no one wants to buy it, it's worth nothing in a sense.

I've seen docs testing aged guitars and basses to new ones, there is a bit of a difference, some may see as good, others may see as bad....so that's a bit of an open ended discussion.

My Aria Pro II is almost 20...it most certainly feels better IMO, or am I just getting more comfortable with it over time?....but to me, before the pup swap, IMO it sounded just like it did the day I bought it, nothing better, nothing worse....simply the same, and years of recording with it, seems to relay the same impression.

Funny how Fenders went up in value...these are the same basses that when I was starting out, the salemen at Long & McQuade and Steve's in Toronto collectively said "oh, you don't want those, they're crap...try one of these (non-fenders)"....but now all of the sudden they're good.

I try basses all the time, I fix them, try out my students basses, hang out in music stores, yadayada....and personally for what I look for, my APII is it...it was $1200 new....yet if I put it on ebay, anything over $300 would make me look like a crook.
 
#12
The reality is this: When you go into GC and approach the counter with a new bass in one hand and your card in the other, you're getting ready to immediately lose at least 1/3 of the instrument's value. It's harsh but true. You could do absolutely nothing to the bass and it still will be worth less than you paid for it before your receipt has finished printing.

Many basses will become less valuable over time, even if their sound improves. I think the old Peavey T-basses are good examples of this. They're simply not in high demand.

Even Fenders have to be roughly 25-30 years old before they start regaining value, and a lot of that I suspect has to do with image more so than sound.
 
#17
It really does depend on the bass. I turned loose of an old '63 Precision (sold it to Ed Grundy of Bloodrock) in 1976 and bought a new Alembic the same year. Adjusted for inflation, the Fender is worth a great deal more.
That being said, it can get weird out there. Who would have imagined that Gibson Rippers and Grabbers would become sought-after collectors items. If you like the bass, keep it. Then the collectors value would just be a bonus. I'd never buy an instrument strictly to invest-as unstable as their market is they are lousy investment tools.
 
#18
thanks for the helpful replies, my initial question was a bit off from what i was looking for since i was referring a bit more to the tone of the instrument :rollno:.
I am a bit unfamiliar with electric bass gear and thought that its tonal quality would change in a similar way that the acoustic instruments do when the wood ages.
 
#19
I collected vintage basses for about twenty years. I came out ahead financially in the end but that's not why I bought them, I just wanted unique pieces of history that I always wanted but couldn't afford back in the day.

If buying a new bass, despite its cost and builder, I would treat it the same as a new car - expect that it will depreciate in value. Buy what you like the most and know that it will always be worth something. In the end, the emotional value can be worth as much as the dollar value.
 

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