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Do you take your valuable basses to gigs?

#61
shadven said:
The car analogy is good. I do and will keep close guard on my gear. Thanks
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Selta said:
Slight flaw, however. A $15,000 bass is very high end. Most basses are probably $2k or less, so we'll say a 7.5x price differential.
A $15,000 car sort of a low estimate of a common car - more akin to your MIM Fenders. So you'd have to apply your 7.5x price differential... so you're more likely looking at the person who owns a $110k+ car for this analogy. ;)
But I get your point :P
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One more common theme......insurance. I take my expensive basses on gigs and on vacation. I take extraordinary measures to protect them. But then, the word "accident" is in the dictionary for a reason. They do happen. I'm insured at replacement value. Same as my car, same as my house.
 
#62
maxpayneatlarge said:
No one here believes you have a 15k bass unless you post a pic ;-)
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I will post pics sometime next week. I don't want to jinx the acquisition by even breathing hard:) But, it's a very special vintage bass.

Reading this thread pretty much confirms how I feel about it, basses are to be played. If I am plying a real sketchy dive in a bad part of town, I'll probably leave the bass at home. But, fortunately most of my gigs are in nice places, and a few gigs a year are big shows with lots of security (usually because the head-liner is some famous band:).
 
#64
malthumb said:
One more common theme......insurance. I take my expensive basses on gigs and on vacation. I take extraordinary measures to protect them. But then, the word "accident" is in the dictionary for a reason. They do happen. I'm insured at replacement value. Same as my car, same as my house.
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Yes, yes, yes, get insurance.
 
#66
groooooove said:
This is a good point, but the counter is that upright basses are REALLY hard to steal. (just like fat people are hard to kidnap) Electric basses and guitars are easier to sling over the shoulder in a case and look natural walking with.

Most of the time I feel secure though unless the environment is bad. But I always wondered what I would do if I had in instrument that LOOKS valuable. In what kind of venues would you guys feel comfortable playing this bass?

seal01.jpg
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#69
I will never have a bass in that range. One because I could never afford it or justify it but this thread is interesting to me. I guess my only thought is you are the only person you are taking it for and also the only person that worried about your bass. So I think if you feel ok taking it to a particular gig more then your worried then take it, but if your to worried leave it home if your going to be to worried to enjoy yourself. No one but you will know what your playing or be able to tell any sound difference.
 
#70
Ok, it's a vintage bass. Which makes it all the more likely to catch the eye of a thief.

Doesn't matter how nice the joint is. That bass will be a target all the time. You can gig with it, but you should have it in your sight/hands at all times, even when you're not playing it. I've played out with $5,000+ basses, and frankly it was a pain in the ass. Everywhere I went in the bar I had to either see or have the bass with me. Couldn't relax all night, which kinda spoiled the events for me.


The first time you think "I don't need to watch that bass all night, this is a nice place", that'll be the night it gets stolen. It amazes me that after decades of instrument thievery, people STILL haven't learned. A couple years ago, a local guy was sending out emails and panic-y fb posts about his '62 Pbass getting stolen in a club. The boob decided that all his friends were there and he could leave the bass with the stack of other gear by the side of the stage. Got stolen. No one to blame but himself. (eventually he got it back, but he was lucky)
 
#71
Are you concerned with resale value? If you bought, for example, that Anthony Jackson Presentation that's in the classifieds then I could see you being concerned about it's physical condition as a "collector's piece". If not then perhaps your biggest concern is theft. Most of my basses ar in the $4000 - $5000 range and I gig them regularly in all kinds of situations. But there are certain gigs (really tight stages usually) where I don't want to have to constantly worry about where my headstock is at or how close I'm getting to the hi-hat and for those gigs I might opt for a "less valued" bass. Regarding possibility of theft, I always keep a close eye on my basses and I take them with me whenever I can (if the band, for example, goes for dinner between sound check and the show). People will actually make disparaging comments about the fact that I carry my bass with me but to me it just makes sense. My poilicy is: if I can carry it I do. But keep in mind too that you're probably more likely to have a Fender stolen than some high end bass that only one in a thousand bass players (forget about non-bass players) will recognize.
 
#73
The way I see it, basses were made to be played. Maybe if you've got a gig on the South Side of Chicago, you leave it home that night and take a less expensive one. But play the hell out of it. I take my custom shop Warwick to 99% of gigs, be it in town or on the road.
 
#76
smcd said:
Ok, it's a vintage bass. Which makes it all the more likely to catch the eye of a thief.
)
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I don't get this line of resoning. Average thieves are much more likely to steal a flashy looking "new" bass than a vintage beater looking bass in my opinion. I bet if you put a basic Ibanez with a flashy finish and a vintage worn Fender on stands next to each other the Ibanez gets stolen first out of ignorance. Just my opinion
 
#77
shadven said:
I will post pics sometime next week. But, it's a very special vintage bass.
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After looking at your profile I figured it was a vintage instrument.

I've never had an issue with gigging my moderately expensive basses ($2000-$2500 street price). But they are never out of my sight or the sight of a fellow bandmate. I don't do dive bars (anymore), thankfully. My latest acquisition (the Ken Lawrence) may prove to be different. It was a once in a lifetime purchase and intended mainly for personal enjoyment at home. It may be gigged but the situation would have to be 'ideal'.

Thought I'd share a short story. At either the first or second time I played the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills CA I set my main player (Stambaugh ODB 5) in its gig bag up against the back wall of the stage behind the drum riser after our sound check. When I came back to check on the bass a short time later, it had disappeared. Asking around, no one had seen it. The only other time I've felt that kind of panic is when my ex-wife went into hiding with our two children many years ago. Happily, it was a false alarm. A stage hand had pulled the rearmost curtain across in front of the bass and hidden it from view. Dodged a bullet, for sure. I agree with many here. Gig your $15,000 bass but pick your venue and event very, very carefully.

Edit: And insure it!

M. M. :)
 
#79
My 1973 Ric 4001 is worth far more than $15000. In fact, it's priceless.

I first wanted to get a Ric when I was 14 and saved pennies from paper rounds and student summer jobs for the next 7 years, when my parents chipped in enough (as a 21st birthday present) to enable me to buy my '73 Ric, secondhand, in 1976.

Since then it was my only bass for the next 20 years and narrowly avoided being sold a number of times when my kids were small and we were struggling for cash. This is the one thing that, once my wife and dogs were safe, I'd run back into a burning building to rescue.

It is not the money (although I've seen nice '73 Rics, like mine, fetching a good asking price), this bass is part of my life and has done thousands of gigs with me...and yes, I still gig with it!
 

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