$1300 is ok for a 'keeper' bass, the American standards are probably the best value right now. They really got their act together lately regarding quality, back in 1993 I bought a 'boner' jazz bass. Now that was overpriced garbage.
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Fender Bass prices???
- Thread starter Metalbasspro
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OP is complaining about Fenders going up a bill or so in the last year... What's up with G&L? Seems like even used they've gone up a quarter from what I've seen since mid-year. I've always respected them and thought they should be around the same price point as a fender, but never complained that they were not. Now it seems like people are finally finding the value in them... Why now? Lol
Change the $ for a £ and that's how much they are in the UK, more or less. We'd love prices that high if it was converted to £ at the exchange rate!
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People have playing fender usa forever... its the standard.. the pbass and jazz are played more than others by a mile... pros that can afford alembics and padula still play fenders way more by a mile,... I think they could charge more if they wanted and still wouldnt have trouble selling them.
While we're talking Fender....
what do you guys think of these???
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(I'd want a black body and a maple neck)
I'd like a P-Bass.....can't afford anything until next year anyway and don't want to or should I say, can't break my bank but...I haven't had a chance to check any out yet and was just wonderin'.....they look nice and since I don't have the $$ for a nice 71-73 model.....
what do you guys think of these???
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(I'd want a black body and a maple neck)
I'd like a P-Bass.....can't afford anything until next year anyway and don't want to or should I say, can't break my bank but...I haven't had a chance to check any out yet and was just wonderin'.....they look nice and since I don't have the $$ for a nice 71-73 model.....
Save to get one. Might take 6 months or even a yr but if someone really wants one it wouldn't/shouldn't take that long even flippin burgers to save up to get one. Patience is a virtue and working and saving to get one will only make it that much more appreciated when someone does get it.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Which explains why most manufacturers are moving overseas. I built a parts bass - all new All Parts and Fender parts. I did all the woodfinishing myself. Cost over $600
You did good! You'd be hard pressed to build a Warmoth bass for under $800.
Shop around. I just received the "Christmas catalog" from Sam Ash, american Standard P $1349.00, & J Basses $1399.00. not too bad IMO.
If money is an issue, the "average worker" can buy a MIM Fender or a Squier. Or, better yet, they can buy a used USA model. I see used P's and J's on here all the time between $700-$900. Also, G&L Tribute series is another great option for those with a tight budget.
Don't like the price? Don't buy it.
Fender has a bass at every price point -- well below and well above the American Standard price point. All are at least a reasonable value at that price point. I think they have figured this out pretty well and better than most.
Fender has a bass at every price point -- well below and well above the American Standard price point. All are at least a reasonable value at that price point. I think they have figured this out pretty well and better than most.
I'd tried one of the new 1250 dollar Fenders out at Guitar Center the other day, and it was awful...sounded bad, played bad, looked stupid..the whole works. I think it was the worst bass they had in there...I played everything else hanging on the wall just to make sure i wasn't crazy..I was in there for like 2 hours. They even had an old Ibanez 405 that looked like someone had used it to demo the walls in an old house that played and sounded better.
Its well known by most that Fenders are inconsistent, although somewhat less so with the USA models.
However, when you come across a good one, it will be hard to beat and a life long keeper. Growing up, a USA made Fender was always the gold standard, I don't believe this is necessarily true anymore, some of the the MIM and Indonesian models are fine instruments and play great.
As for me, I am very selective with my gear, don't purchase that often and tend to have fewer but higher quality components. For example, I bought a new P bass back in march, the last purchase previous was a new EBMM stingray 4 in 1996
wmhill
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the same reason that Harley's cost so much....... fanboys will pay it.
1300-1500 is ok i guess, it took 30 years for the grabber to need totally restored and it took 30 years for the L2k to be restored, therefore 50 bucks a year isn't all that bad, it's not like a pro digital camera that you are going to sell for 12% of what you paid for it in six years
Too much? Buy something you can afford. I was raised with the notion that if you can't afford something, you go without. No person or company owes you anything.
About eighteen months ago I sauntered into a an independent dealer shop in downtown Cartersville, GA. It was recent start-up with very little in-shop. I had not checked into Fenders in decades,
but my attention was drawn to a 'burst Fender American Special P. It looked like the vintage Precisions to which I was accustomed, only it had twenty-one frets (and no discernable dead spot.) Since I could not pony up the $1099 asking price, I moved on.
At the beginning of this year I got blindsided by a local store's going out of business sale and wound up with a Mexi-P (2013) and the v3 Fender Rumble 500 I tested it through. Did not really do a good due diligence at the store since I had another appointment, and got the bass home only to discover it is pretty much a middle-of-the-pack Fender: no set-up and with a fifth-fret C (on the G)
dead spot. Now, since I did a set-up and addressed the dead spot issue, it is a giggable bass. Only complaints are the weight and the wretched skunk stripe, which does not want to stay in its
channel.
but my attention was drawn to a 'burst Fender American Special P. It looked like the vintage Precisions to which I was accustomed, only it had twenty-one frets (and no discernable dead spot.) Since I could not pony up the $1099 asking price, I moved on.
At the beginning of this year I got blindsided by a local store's going out of business sale and wound up with a Mexi-P (2013) and the v3 Fender Rumble 500 I tested it through. Did not really do a good due diligence at the store since I had another appointment, and got the bass home only to discover it is pretty much a middle-of-the-pack Fender: no set-up and with a fifth-fret C (on the G)
dead spot. Now, since I did a set-up and addressed the dead spot issue, it is a giggable bass. Only complaints are the weight and the wretched skunk stripe, which does not want to stay in its
channel.
In another thread recently I posted information about business strategy, and I will do that again here. In every market, there is but one "cost leader" and sometimes a multitude of "differentiation" competitors. Lets take fast food. We all know who the Cost Leader is. The others, Burger King, Wendys, Pizza Hut.....stay in business because of a perceived superiority of their product, or their extended product line (such as Dairy Queen).
The winner of the Cost Leader competition is the big winner overall in that market. McDonalds has stores everywhere except the Moon. Cost Leaders are in a position to make a superior product/price combination compared to all other competitors, particularly for cost-conscious consumers. Fender probably could make Am Std Precisions for under $1K and if a competitor were to try to go head-to-head with them in such a battle, Fender is in a position to crush that competitor. It is the competitors who inflate prices, not Fender, and Fender is happy to sell basses at substantially cheaper ($1400 compared to $2000+) than those competitors can for a good-quality (non-boutique, but professional grade) and still make plenty of profit on each bass.
The winner of the Cost Leader competition is the big winner overall in that market. McDonalds has stores everywhere except the Moon. Cost Leaders are in a position to make a superior product/price combination compared to all other competitors, particularly for cost-conscious consumers. Fender probably could make Am Std Precisions for under $1K and if a competitor were to try to go head-to-head with them in such a battle, Fender is in a position to crush that competitor. It is the competitors who inflate prices, not Fender, and Fender is happy to sell basses at substantially cheaper ($1400 compared to $2000+) than those competitors can for a good-quality (non-boutique, but professional grade) and still make plenty of profit on each bass.
Best place in the world? Every time I see something on t.v. about the deadliest creatures in the world 9 times out of 10 they are in Australia!
Australia is a great place to live, but it is expensive to buy new gear and has become more expensive with the fall in $AU.
It is true that Australia has something like 7 of the 10 most deadly land snakes in the world, some very nasty spiders, a deadly little octopus, a couple of deadly jelly fish and of course, crocodiles and sharks, but we are not dying in our thousands from interactions with these creatures. On my property we have we have at least five species of snake that can kill you, but you rarely encounter them.
But have a read of this to put it in perspective. I will just add to the article linked below that about two women a week die in Australia at the hands of their partners or ex partners.
Australian Snakes and Death: How Many People Die?
