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For those with high end basses/gear
- Thread starter Beetfarm615
- Start date
No wife (sometimes girlfriend, but never too long 
), family, credit.... Bass is second to none.
My job allows me to spend a big part of my money into bass gear. However I also live responsibly.
Bought my first Sadowsky 3 months ago. Planning on buying another one next year probably
When I first started playing bass, I got almost shocked by the prices I could see in stores. Thinking to my self I would never be able to afford anything as it's way too expensive. Then you find a job, have regular incomes....
In the end it's just a matter of time. Just save money and you'll be able to afford high end stuff.
), family, credit.... Bass is second to none.My job allows me to spend a big part of my money into bass gear. However I also live responsibly.
Bought my first Sadowsky 3 months ago. Planning on buying another one next year probably
When I first started playing bass, I got almost shocked by the prices I could see in stores. Thinking to my self I would never be able to afford anything as it's way too expensive. Then you find a job, have regular incomes....
In the end it's just a matter of time. Just save money and you'll be able to afford high end stuff.
Well, to expand on that, I wonder what the percentage is here that actually want to achieve that as a goal?
I am a hobbyist, and by that I mean that I don't want to gig or play for money. I enjoy playing along to my favorite music, or in church, entertaining friends and family, and jam sessions. I think most guys here gig though, but for not much money.
I work my ass off everyday and I saved like crazy. Getting the deposit was the hard part but after paying the 30% deposit and committing to getting a custom I had about 18 months to pay off the balance so I knew how much I needed. But the price went up because I wanted to change a few things but it was all within the budget I had set for myself.
I'd rather have a really really nice bass that I know I'm going to love and keep forever than, like some people, have 10, 15, 20 basses that sit there collecting dust. Whats the point? I do lots of research before I buy stuff, read lots and watch as many videos as I can. Play as many different basses as possible, I did and wasn't happy with any of them. Some had too thin a neck, some too fat. Some I hated the look of etc etc. My custom is mine, no one has one like it. It was well worth it.
Work hard and save. No secrets. Just do it.
I'd rather have a really really nice bass that I know I'm going to love and keep forever than, like some people, have 10, 15, 20 basses that sit there collecting dust. Whats the point? I do lots of research before I buy stuff, read lots and watch as many videos as I can. Play as many different basses as possible, I did and wasn't happy with any of them. Some had too thin a neck, some too fat. Some I hated the look of etc etc. My custom is mine, no one has one like it. It was well worth it.
Work hard and save. No secrets. Just do it.
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I don't drink booze, take drugs, or gamble.
I also have a day job.
That combination provides a good equipment budget if one prioritizes that. I do a lot of paying gigs, but the choices I made earlier in my life (switching from music major to something else in college), along with choices I make today, allow me to buy the gear I want and also play shows that don't pay well.
It comes down to priorities. If you don't have a few beers every day you'd be amazed at how much money you don't spend.
Yep!
That is pretty much my story. I wanted one ever since hearing Return to Forever with Stanley Clarke playing one. However for almost all of my music life i've enjoyed being a guitarist so buying an expensive bass wasn't on the radar. That said I've always been a good saver, and never partaken in drugs, drink or cigarettes and had a good day job.
Like you I had the good fortune to find a shop that was selling off the last one of their alembic basses and ceasing to stock them. I haggled a deal that was within my budget and bingo I had my first alembic. Since then I've had a few more just from hard saving.
An interesting aside. A few years back I went to the London Bass Guitar show and was looking at some Rikkers basses which are from Holland and sound amazing. When the guy on the stand asked me what I play and I told him alembic, his first response was I know you can't be a full time musician as those guys usually don't get paid enough to buy those basses. We had a good laugh and a good chat about his instruments.
I make probably 35k a year playing music. That's my part time career (functionally). I have a decent middle class full time job too. My method:
No vices or addictions
No mortgage
I don't spend more than 5k on a vehicle
The key: I flip gear, adding $ to upgrade every time, and I almost always buy used after a lot of research and patience.
It has taken a couple decades, but at the 2k-3k range, I'm happy with my instruments, and most that I have serious gas for are in the 500-2k range.
In recent years my buying has slowed down, because I had to get a bigger house to accommodate a wife and 6 total kids. As well as a bigger vehicle with less gas mileage, a longer commute, and such. The musical slush fund grows way slower than it used to
Where there's a will, there's a way.
No vices or addictions
No mortgage
I don't spend more than 5k on a vehicle
The key: I flip gear, adding $ to upgrade every time, and I almost always buy used after a lot of research and patience.
It has taken a couple decades, but at the 2k-3k range, I'm happy with my instruments, and most that I have serious gas for are in the 500-2k range.
In recent years my buying has slowed down, because I had to get a bigger house to accommodate a wife and 6 total kids. As well as a bigger vehicle with less gas mileage, a longer commute, and such. The musical slush fund grows way slower than it used to
Where there's a will, there's a way.
My first teacher always said:
"You just get your s**t together at bass and music, get the best you can, and the right instrument will find YOU."
He was right.
"You just get your s**t together at bass and music, get the best you can, and the right instrument will find YOU."
He was right.
Day job in my case too. Got my first bass and amp yesterday, within the budget of 1 single saxophone mouthpiece, the universe I'm familiar with. I own (and play on gigs) a couple of pro level saxophones, which all together cost as much as a mid class car. I guess this is a pretty common situation. I'm lucky enough that my semi-pro level on saxes allows me to play at pro gigs which actually paid the horns over the years. Not sure my bass will ever pay for itself, but that's another story.
I should add that coming from the saxes world, I know exactly what GAS is all about.
I should add that coming from the saxes world, I know exactly what GAS is all about.
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Day job pays 40k, no raise since 2008. Weekend, evening jobs pay a combined $5k.
When I got divorced I paid off all my credit cards and tore them up. Paid off car. Still own it.
No cable. Work-supplied phone. No TV.
Take lunch to work.
Took all the money I spent on cable per month while married and stuck it in the bank along with money saved toting lunch and have been able to pay cash for two custom Drakes made for me and two that Andrew made for speculative sale.
No cash, no buy. I can't handle the demon credit card.
When I got divorced I paid off all my credit cards and tore them up. Paid off car. Still own it.
No cable. Work-supplied phone. No TV.
Take lunch to work.
Took all the money I spent on cable per month while married and stuck it in the bank along with money saved toting lunch and have been able to pay cash for two custom Drakes made for me and two that Andrew made for speculative sale.
No cash, no buy. I can't handle the demon credit card.
I've always avoided this demon and will always do so!
For me there is no one easy answer. There are a lot of FACTORS that help. I just re-upped my instrument insurance. The replacement cost for all my bass gear, my son's guitar gear, and the PA / mics, etc that I own for one of the bands just crossed the $40k mark. That is NOT what I paid for it, that is the cost to REPLACE at LIST should it all suddenly disappear. So, factors would include
- I have never smoked. How much is a pack of cigarettes these days? I honestly don't even know, but assume NOT spending that much every day. How long would it take to buy a nice instrument?
- I don't do drugs. Not even weed
- If I'm in a bar, I'm probably getting paid to play, not paying to get wasted. That or I'm watching someone else play. Two beers or two glasses of wine and I'm done.
- I've only used a credit card to buy a bass twice. Both times it was 0% interest and no payments for a year or more. Both times I sold the bass for what I bought it for or more and paid off the card. I basically played those basses for a year or more for free. A Marcus Miller and a Bongo 5.
- Most times when I bought an Alembic, I usually sold or traded another Alembic and added additional money I had saved. I currently have two. Four others have come and gone.
- From 1993 until I retired in March 2017, my company provided my car, insurance, and gas. That's several hundred a month additional disposable income.
- There were a few strong bonus years. Bought two Alembics in 2000 (one new, one used) with bonus money. Ironically, those are the two I still have. They are the two single biggest contributors to my insurance valuation. Replacement cost for each is at least 3 times what I paid for them.
It took me 30 years and a recession to understand I simply can't do it. Others are stronger than me.
High paying non music profession, plus my reason for. purchasing high end gear (mainly handmade bespoke things) is for the quality craftsmanship engineering and artistry and dedication that goes into it. Such gear ensures that my hands and musical ideas are expressed in the most optimal way possible and that i need not worry about things being unreliable breaking down or malfunctioning. Not to mention the fact that my bass is a particular piece of art that is an extension of myself and not some mass produced whatever made to insure profit
OK. Now that I know who you are talking about, he is popular enough to make the sort of cash needed to buy those basses. He has a few custom Zons, all of which I'm sure cost a pretty penny. He has a few solo albums and a reasonable discography (Michael Manring - Wikipedia), as well as doing a lot of clinics and lessons. He learned under Jaco for a while, so people are willing to pay him just to hear Jaco stories.
He probably isn't swimming in cash, but I'd wager that he makes more money off of playing than 90% of the people on this board.
