For those with high end basses/gear

[HeavyJazz]

Good question - this is how I did it. For most everything I bought I would hang on to it for a good year or two and flip it before the market grew bored so the loss wasn't too great. During that time I'd save up a little more and a little more... so the new replacement item was another couple of inches toward "higher-end". Do this for 20-25 years and you'll be reaching for your Sadowsky-NYC one day and the ol' Zon the next. Patience, research, stay employed - that's the method.

 

[roller]

Buy a Valenti and get a smokin' bass for under the $3,000 price point.

 

[MDBass]

Ever drive by a really nice house and wonder what the residents do for a living to afford it? I'm curious about those with high end basses ($3000+) and how it is they come to own them. I imagine we'll see a combination of:

• High paying non-music profession
• Go deep into debt
• Endorsement deals
• Save up for a long time
• Slush fund of music related income separate from wife's (this is me)

What's your story?

• Endorsement deals
• Save up for a long time
• Slush fund of music related income separate from wife's

I play/record music for a living, and own a variety of basses, though only one in the $3k+ range...but they're all tax write-offs for me

 

[smtp4me]

Ever drive by a really nice house and wonder what the residents do for a living to afford it? I'm curious about those with high end basses ($3000+) and how it is they come to own them. I imagine we'll see a combination of:

• High paying non-music profession
• Go deep into debt
• Endorsement deals
• Save up for a long time
• Slush fund of music related income separate from wife's (this is me)

What's your story?

First and last bullet points for me. I work in a well-paying, non-music profession, and I maintain a slush fund. The difference is that I don't own $3k basses. Both of my current ones cost < $1k, brand new, but it is because I am not a professional musician that I can't reconcile spending that much money on a bass.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I think the point about even high end basses being a reasonably cheap hobby is a really important one. It seems with a lot of hobbies I have (photography, shooting, bicycles, watches), there are a couple different tiers you can spend, and then sort of sky is the limit. But compared to a lot of things, these, and basses are pretty cheap hobbies. Cars, boats, etc. have a much higher cost of entry, and ongoing upkeep costs. I'm sadly not in a place to buy a Fodera right now, but I'm a lot closer to that than a boat, car, hunting lodge, etc.

 

[LifeIsBass]

I have one bass that fits in that category. Usually when I buy I have to sell something else. That's what happened with this one...plus just a little interest free debt which I'll pay off before the interest kicks in. No way I could own several basses at that price point unless they were slowly acquired over a very long time.

 

[gln1955]

I think you're going to find:

• High paying non-music profession

to be the most common answer. Not even high paying really...just making a decent middle class living affords sufficient disposable income for a $3k instrument. This is not particularity expensive and compares with what people commonly invest in motorcycles, golf, shooting sports, cycling, etc...

Really. Some people spend nearly that much per year on coffee.

If it's a priority, most of us could save enough in short order to buy a high end bass. Eat beans and rice for a year. Sell off stuff you don't need. Cancel your cable TV. etc.

 

[Robroy]

Fwiw, remember this phrase. It will make you rich:

Profits are better than wages.

Most of those people that live in those big houses own their own business.

 

[lfmn16]

People always find a way to buy something they want badly enough. Buy used, then you can get a $3,000 bass for $1,000!

 

[Joe Ty]

I think you're going to find:

• High paying non-music profession

to be the most common answer. Not even high paying really...just making a decent middle class living affords sufficient disposable income for a $3k instrument. This is not particularity expensive and compares with what people commonly invest in motorcycles, golf, shooting sports, cycling, etc...

Edited to add that the fact that a run of the mill corporate job pays more than the average music career is what keeps most of us in the weekend warrior ranks.

What Wilder said. Been working my way up the corporate ladder for nearly 30 years. I will never have the chops that most folks on here have, there are some things money can't buy. (many things, actually)

Still a cheap hobby compared to my friends who fly planes or race cars and something I can do with my kids who I mostly ignored for their first 8-10 years while I worked 70 hours/ week and traveled. Trying to make up for lost time, now.

 

[Bassmann79]

Ever drive by a really nice house and wonder what the residents do for a living to afford it? I'm curious about those with high end basses ($3000+) and how it is they come to own them. I imagine we'll see a combination of:

• High paying non-music profession
• Go deep into debt
• Endorsement deals
• Save up for a long time
• Slush fund of music related income separate from wife's (this is me)

What's your story?

Easy answer!

As a kid, I couldn't afford to pay attention. Through high school I worked and saved and was able to get a pro level rig (SVT-3 Pro, SVT 215) but my bass was a Charvel

Now that I am much older, I do ok professionally because I pushed myself to the point I can now afford to play the instruments I could only previously dream about. I pay for them right out, no credit or endorsement deals (I'm open to endorsement Stuart Spector/PJ..hint hint)

I get to play NS2, NS5, NS5H2, Ampeg Heritage CL, SVT, Portaflex and the list goes on...

Do NOT get into serious debt over a potentially depreciating asset would be my advice. If you can't afford to pay for it or pay it off in 1-2 months, then you cannot afford it.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Playing music is a part-time job, which funds my appetite for nice gear, which now includes Alembic, Rick Turner, and Tobias basses, and Mesa-Boogie amps... I guess that qualifies me to answer, but just for myself.

Other than a home mortgage, which is 7-1/2 years (statistically) from being satisfied, I have no debt. I won't post the annual salary from my day job is, but I will say 100% of it goes toward my home and living expenses. I have no dependants or other financial responsibilities.

Of course I realize my situation is somewhat uncommon, but it *can* be done. It takes discipline.

 

[monsterthompson]

SINK. No mortgage. Reasonable car. No (other) expensive vices. 41. White collar gig.

Also, flipping as part of the upgrade. For a $2,000 bit of gear to come in, a $1,000 item has to go out... or I need to save for longer.

 

[Jrussblues]

I have 1 hobby and I get paid to do it. Low mortgage and very little debt.
Fwiw I made way more money (over double my current income) in my 20's and was always check to check. I'm in my 30's now and my wonderful wife has helped me become a much better money manager.
Also, gently used high end stuff is often much cheaper.

 

[Ewo]

Repeating what some folks have said earlier in the thread:

I've never made a _lot_ of money in my day job (at most a bit above median, and most of my life slightly below it) but I've always been careful with what money I did make, only used debt to buy a house, and drove junker cars until my house was paid off.

So now I'm an old cat who can afford boutique gear, and can enjoy playing it.

 

[brianrost]

My answer is:

I had a good day job (now retired) so all my gig money went into a separate bank account that paid for gear, repairs, stage clothes, lessons, etc. Do the math: an average of 2.5 $100 gigs every week adds up to $13,000 a year. Between that and selling off unused gear I was able to pay for everything I bought over the last three decades.

Now that I'm retired, gig money is real income

 

[Jeff Scott]

 

[socialleper]

The paradox here I think is that- If a World-Class Bassist performs with an expensive bass, the chances are that he or she is given that instrument by the builder in return for the tacit endorsement. Even if the player can certainly afford the axe through their bookings, they more than likely will not have to pay (at least full-buck) for it. As examples, I offer Nathan East and Lee Sklar.

Here, on TB, some of the most "noted" owners of really high-end basses have stated that they are working in high-level positions or own businesses, etc. I think it fair to say that they don't realize the income from their bass playing to buy several REALLY expensive ($10K eg) instruments.

Personally, my basses are not over-the-top price-wise, but I do have a lot of fine gear, most of it above the "bread/butter" price points.

I'm pretty happy in that I play fairly regularly with decent pay-outs, and also have a work at my discretion "day job" within the MI trade.
I'm also a victim of GAS in that I have more than I "need" but then again- Every one of my basses and my rigs is the bomb! to own and play.
No regrets here.

However, both Victor Wooten and Ryan Martinie used the instruments they had before they were "famous" and stuck with them. There are other guys in bands that are only famous within their genres that have some pretty expensive basses. Since a lot of these guys, like the deep bench of tech death metal players Warwick has, may have come from money since they clearly have a deep musical education already.
On the other hand, a guy like Mike Manring could only have his hyperbass with the clout and money being a pro musician offers.

 

[hrodbert696]

I do not have any particularly high-end basses (my most expensive set me back $1200), but I have something over $6000 in music gear altogether, and yet it has seemed like we are often teetering on the edge of insolvency. But we're not constantly struggling, and have some times that we have money to spare or to save. If you can put $100 a month away for two years, you've got $2400 to buy a bass with. And, of course, credit is a thing.

 

[ale29]

My high end bass is a mere Sadowsky Metro (paid full price for a new one though, so it's quite near to 3k), but since I believe I'm quite young compared to Talkbass' demographics, I'll answer anyway:
It was a present I made to myself for getting my medicine school degree. Also, I paid for it by working during the last year of university and I sold my previous bass.

I'd say I fall into the "Save up for a long time" category, but NOT having significant expenses since I have no family/no house to pay for (yet), played a huge role as well.