• 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.

Entry level= $700? Really????

#61
mellowinman said:
Is this an entry level thread into complaining about how expensive everything is? Because I've got quite a bit to add:

Amps! Ridiculous!
Speakers! Out of this world!
Wood to build my own stuff! Are you kidding me?
Being married! Don't get me started!
Gas? Man!
Mortgage! I really have a lot to say about this one. My house is in negative equity.
Anyway, I bought my modded Squire with Genuine Fender Replacement Neck and aftermarket pickups, pick guard and bridge for $250.00.

It plays and sounds as nice as many of the ones hanging there in Sweetwater, with price tags of well over a thousand bucks on them.

Is it collectible? No. Can I get a couple hundred bucks on a Saturday night, playing classic covers in a bar? Yes I can, and do.

So I'm happy.

Now about those amps, speakers, wood, wife, mortgage and gas...
Click to expand...

Awesome post, have to chime in. I'm an old guy who plays in an oldies cover band which makes me maybe $7K a year (I'm a high school English teacher, so that's a lot to me). I have an old Fender Precision I bought for $280 sometime in the late 60s and, to be honest, it was never as good as the newer, cheaper Fenders--or even Squiers--out there today. I mostly play a Stingray, but love to break out my CL cheapie MIM Ps and Js and not worry. Realistically, today's "entry-level" instruments are better than almost everything we played "in the day."
 
#62
tom once dead said:
Maybe it means entry level for that model/series.
Click to expand...

yeah it says in the pre-amble on one of the pages about owning your first Fender - not your first bass or instrument - its the entry level for Fender branded basses

AND that stated MSRP of $699 is way over actual street price - they have MIA P standards marked at $1599 - and they sell for $1150 or so....the MIM standards are $799 on the website and about $565....

but I mean if a Porsche was advertised as an entry-level car would you assume that was the kind of car you need to get your 16yr old? Or would you use your noodle and get him a old Corolla or Civic? :rolleyes:
 
#63
sigmafloyd said:
It's funny when people try to label certain basses as 'professional'. There are bands that tour constantly that play squiers and there are guys who have foderas that don't make a dime playing bass.

There are no rules to what you can and can't gig or record with or whatever. Most people here would have a hard time justifying 'needing' something more than a good squier,
Click to expand...

agreed - :bassist:
 
#65
I'm pretty sure the definition of entry level is subjective and varies from person to person, and is based on income as well as what they are entering - a beginning player, or a beginning pro player, or a beginning university music student? I'd consider most $700-800 basses entry level, which does not mean they're bad instruments. I also would not consider anything in the $1000-1200 range to be a Cadillac-quality, more like a Malibu or a Corolla, if we can once again abuse the car analogy.
 
#66
Essen said:
I wouldn't call a 700$ bass entry level, but IMO there's not that much of a point starting with a 200$ bass either. I'd rather buy a decent bass that will last for years, instead of buying one that soon becomes obsolete.
Click to expand...

This is my rational as well. When I wanted a drum set I bought one step below professional, when I wanted a guitar, it was a Martin Rosewood, piano Kurzweil PC 88MX, and finally bass a crazy good Carvin 5er. Buy something decent, there are many advantages to this thinking.
 
#67
Essen said:
I wouldn't call a 700$ bass entry level, but IMO there's not that much of a point starting with a 200$ bass either. I'd rather buy a decent bass that will last for years, instead of buying one that soon becomes obsolete.
Click to expand...

How exactly does a bass become "obsolete"? What constitutes a "decent" bass? And who's to say that a $200 bass won't last for years?

I can see the evil marketing machine has done its dirty job. ;)
 
#68
IMO (street prices, new)...

$299 and under = entry level
$300 to $799 = mid-range
$800+ = high end

FWIW...I don't care what anyone says...$800 is a lot of money...especially for a beginner. I don't play bass for a living, but I could afford a $2500 bass.

The question is, do I want a bass with a 100-year-old wood body, flametop finish, birdseye maple neck, genuine inlaid mother of pearl design on the fretboard, 24-karat gold hardware, etc.? I'm playing a musical instrument, not a work of art...lol

If I was a pro (played for a living), I'd be pretty pissed if someone dinged my $2500 "pro" instrument.
 
#69
ghostdog93 said:
How exactly does a bass become "obsolete"? What constitutes a "decent" bass? And who's to say that a $200 bass won't last for years?

I can see the evil marketing machine has done its dirty job. ;)
Click to expand...

Exactly right. TB member SurferJoe46 has a Squier Affinity that he acquired a good number of years ago that has held up as well as any of his other more expensive basses, and he gigs with it regularly. He sees it as a "decent" bass and far from "obsolete" even thought it was one of those players pack basses that are usually considered the bottom of the barrel even for a Squier.
Don't fall for that nonsense that a $200 bass can't be a pro level instrument. One of the silliest things I ever heard someone say (on the Fender forums, talking about Squiers) was that he would NEVER ALLOW his bass playing daughter to buy a sub $500 bass, believing that anything costing less than that had to be utter crap.
As you say, the evil marketing dept. had indeed done their job with him for sure.
 
#70
for the record I am willing to take anyone's 'obsolete' Fenders off their hands...like those really obsolete 50s models - I will even split shipping with you or provide you with your choice of Modern Player Series Bass in return....they can't be obsolete because it says Modern in the title right?? ;)
 
#72
mellowinman said:
Is this an entry level thread into complaining about how expensive everything is? Because I've got quite a bit to add:

Amps! Ridiculous!
Speakers! Out of this world!
Wood to build my own stuff! Are you kidding me?
Being married! Don't get me started!
Gas? Man!
Mortgage! I really have a lot to say about this one. My house is in negative equity.
Anyway, I bought my modded Squire with Genuine Fender Replacement Neck and aftermarket pickups, pick guard and bridge for $250.00.

It plays and sounds as nice as many of the ones hanging there in Sweetwater, with price tags of well over a thousand bucks on them.

Is it collectible? No. Can I get a couple hundred bucks on a Saturday night, playing classic covers in a bar? Yes I can, and do.

So I'm happy.

Now about those amps, speakers, wood, wife, mortgage and gas...
Click to expand...

This post has win written all over it:bassist:
 
#74
in high school i drove an 1980 Oldsmobile omega it was the definition of pos but it worked, kind of, and got me where i needed to go. not bad for a first ride and hella better than the bus. but see there was this girl in my class whose firs car was a Porsche 928. they were both entry level cars but just a diffident levels ya dig. the really sad thing was that her car was older than mine and still in better shape
 
#76
Kwesi said:
If you don't, then why make a thread about it in the first place? Not jumping down your throat but the Fender website is gonna try and cram whatever they can down the throats of those who look at the descriptions. All they are is a block of text that screams "BUY ME PLEEEEEEEEEEASE!" I'm just saying don't expect a multi-million dollar corporation to represent their products honestly. If $700 was entry level the Squier line would be non-existant and Dean would be damn near put out of business.
Click to expand...

Why do people start threads in the first place? To see what other people think. Thats all I wanted.
 
#77
pudgychef said:
oh you are 16 - well pretend the buying a car for your 16yr old analogy was directed towards your Dad...

need more cash? work more - millions of us worked basically full-time through highschool and university just to eat/live - if you are still at home and eat for free etc. $700 is less than 6 weeks of saving..
Click to expand...

It's ok. I was kinda waiting for a car shopping analogy.

I like to think of it like this: If you're buying your kid a new car (given that you're actually buying them a car instead of letting them drive yours), you're gonna look for the car equivalent to a Gio series Ibby. The Fender series in question is more like a VW. Ok, maybe its cheap but then again its cheap for a Fender/VW.
 
#78
599 for a new one

play the bass for 12 years without any major problems that's 50 dollars a year, not bad

play the bass for 10 years without any major problems that 60 dollars a year, not bad

(i spent more than that on assembling my modded jazz and i still need better tuners)
 
#79
Woofer said:
Invalid Link Removed
MSRP is $700, but street price is around $500. Not too bad, really. And these would be Fenders entry level line, being their lowest priced models. If you want to go cheaper, Squier CV and VM are great for the money (or just great, no disclaimer necessary, really).
Click to expand...

+1 You have the choice of jumping up to the Squier's at around $300 or the Modern Players at around $500. Don't assume the list price is what you'd play. Take 20%-30% off list for Fender Basses and 30%-40% off list for Squiers.

You can often find them used on Ebay for even less. Just be cautious of their condition and aware of the fact that you have no factory or merchants warranty buying it that way.
 
#80
I don't know if this hurts or helps.

I've got a couple thousand dollars worth of music gear in my basement. Nothing high end but 2 grand is a lot of money. I spent most of my day today learning and playing "The Cat Came back" by Fred Penner. Expensive interest we have.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back