Higher end production bass vs 'entry' level custom.

[luciens]

All,

I am finally getting to the position where I am ready to put a serious (for me) amount of money into a bass. My budget is ~ $2k. This is an interesting space because it puts you at the high end of production basses, but also the lower end of custom basses. I have a number of options on my list, which I won't go into.

But my question is - what are peoples experiences in this price point? Does this price point in production basses 'punch above it's weight'? Or is getting your own custom specs worth it, even if the overall options on the bass aren't as extensive?

Thanks!

Now, on to the OP....

In my experience, the $2000 can buy the requirements of probably 99.44% of all bass players on planet earth. Meaning, at that price point, you'd probably have to fall in that remaining .56% of bass players to not be able to buy a suitable (for you) bass for $2000 or less.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't spend more than that for whatever reason, but only that it's exceedingly unlikely that you'd have to spend more than that to find a bass that would meet your needs.

I won't go into the guys-running-around-with-$15,000-Foderas-but-can't-even-carry-a-I IV V-blues-groove thing here; I only mention that as one of the hazards of actually having $15,000 to burn on a bass. And not saying I wouldn't fall prey to it either, of course .

In other words, for 2 large, you could go either custom or mass-produced and the chances would be very very high that you could find a suitable bass at that price point. Maybe even for half that money, but for sure for $2000.

For example, the most I've ever spent at one time on a bass was my current jaco pastorius artist that I bought about a month ago, after losing all my basses (and personal possessions) this past summer in an incident. It was about $1900 after tax, somewhere in there.

It's way way more bass than I actually need, but it has niceties to it that justified the expenditure for me. At my current playing level, though, I could have spent less than half that and my needs as a player would have been fully met.....

L

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I won't go into the guys-running-around-with-$15,000-Foderas-but-can't-even-carry-a-I IV V-blues-groove thing here;

I still haven't seen one of these guys. In the grand scheme of all instruments, even $15k isn't bad for a professional instrument. Trombones, french horns, reed instrument, easily surpass this. I won't even mention stringed instruments or tubas.

 

[DavC]

buying used is always a good value ... = more for your money .. !!

after many kind-of expensive basses ... i prefer to build the last several years .. ! i know what pieces parts i like .. !!

 

[luciens]

i think you offer a thoughtful counterpoint to my POV! your take is not persuasive to me, but i think it should be considered by the OP.

I arrived at it only through hard experience and not through any ideals about "satisfaction" - trust me on this. I agree it's not the most glamorous or heroic position, but the alternative - dismissing resale altogether - is simply too idealistic and hazardous to our financial health.

Instead, as a practical matter, taking into account the financial situation of most bass players, paying attention to resale simply has a much greater survival value than writing off every bass you buy as possibly a complete loss the moment you walk out the door with it.

That's just not a practical reality for virtually all of us. At some point or other, whether it's because we made a mistake or not, the chances are nearly 100% that we'll have to consider getting rid of one the basses we own. And it's just not realistic to think that throwing it in the trash can is a workable solution without significant downsides.

Recovering at least some portion of the investment has to be part of a smart bass purchase, just for the sheer practical realities of our lives as bass players. We as a class just can't afford to ignore it completely.

Don't ask me why I know all this.

L

 

[nonohmic]

For example, the most I've ever spent at one time on a bass was my current jaco pastorius artist that I bought about a month ago, after losing all my basses (and personal possessions) this past summer in an incident. It was about $1900 after tax, somewhere in there.

It's way way more bass than I actually need, but it has niceties to it that justified the expenditure for me. At my current playing level, though, I could have spent less than half that and my needs as a player would have been fully met.....

L

Funny...the USA Jaco is one on my shortlist of higher end production basses...

 

[luciens]

I still haven't seen one of these guys. In the grand scheme of all instruments, even $15k isn't bad for a professional instrument. Trombones, french horns, reed instrument, easily surpass this. I won't even mention stringed instruments or tubas.

I've seen a ton of em. They shall remain nameless too....

L

 

[luciens]

Funny...the USA Jaco is one on my shortlist of higher end production basses...

Well I can certainly recommend it if you're a dedicated FL player. I'd only say don't let it fool you - it's basically just a 1962 fender jazz bass with a very well done "fretless conversion" fingerboard. The only reason I went with it, though, was I was unable to find a jazz bass with an unlined fingerboard that checked all the other boxes I had within reasonable reach for a reasonable cost. I was looking at a Fender or G&L custom shop for a fortune and waiting 6 months (or maybe more due to corona) or a Warmouth build without access to the tools or a shop for me to do the build, or something in Switzerland I didn't really want or something completely trashed and abused or a vintage instrument.

So after flipping all those coins I went with the jaco pastorius, primarily because I knew the fingerboard would have been done right. And it is absolutely beautifully done...

The only issue I had with it was one of the neck hold-down screws immediately stripped when I was doing the setup. And the one next to it is suspect already also. Easily repaired with a Redneck field fix using the toothpick/superglue trick, and awaiting a more full repair with the dowel trick soon as I can get hold of the tools to do it. Like I said, at the end of the day, it's just a 1962 jazz bass.

Other than that, it's an absolutely amazing 1962 fretless jazz bass....

L

 

[devo1]

I think the $1K-2K is the range where you can get a professional instrument that meets all your needs other than maybe ego. I would consider both options but really look for the things you like no matter who the vendor is. My personal priorities are as follows:

1. Specs / feels right in my hand
2. Tone
3. Versatility

 

[JRA]

dismissing resale altogether - is simply too idealistic....

what you call idealistic: i call most suitable!
what you are calling not practical: i'm calling 'good practice'.

i'd never consider resale for an ax that was 'meant' for me, and the OP struck me as a search/quest for 'the bass' that is 'meant' for one player, ergo: my POV.

 

[Killing Floor]

Maybe 20 Glarry?
Or 10 and spend the rest on booze?

 

[fishdreams]

A good builder, besides a specific tone or constructional demand (or coffeetable wood), will provide certain craft aspects in an instrument that represent the kind of refinements that you won't get out-of-the box on any factory-built instrument, in my experience. Examples are: a really low setup on a stable neck, big tone on a lightweight passive instrument, a really well cut nut, better quality (better dried) wood, etc. For me the difference in what you get for roughly the same investment in a brand new instrument is palpable, and it helps me refine as a player and musician, so it is worth it to me, and there are lots of choices (the Martin Keith in my avatar being one of them) that do that for maybe a little more than 2K, while still comfortably under $3.5K.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

I personally wouldn't invest too heavily in any one thing, because my interests change over time. So the PERFECT thing for me today may not be the same thing 5 years from now, and it may be difficult to get my money back out of something. That is just my opinion, and what I have observed in the past.

That said, you may be able to "build" something classy and traditional from Warmoth (Gecko 4/5/6) for $1000 or so.

IMHO, I really like building my own (mechanically inclined), but be careful it can get out of hand(wallet) fast.But,Make sure you order exactly what you want 1st, I've ordered & cut corners to save a little $$ & wound up not liking it & wishing I had spent more and gotten what I wanted in the first place! but it is fun,cherry picking out what you love!
for example I ordered a Wenge Neck with Ebony FB, but with STD.steel rods, I wanted Graphite Rods,but could justify the $$, and when i got it, it seemed really heavy,I dreaded my decision.it was neck diving! i think i saved 40-60 bux going std. but hated & wanted to reorder but it was a time & money issue, Neck was fantastic, luckily solved with ultra lite tuners! Thank God!

 

[hennessybass]

There are many legitimate reasons to prioritize resale value in the choice of a particular instrument. The main one being, the player's situation can change in any number of perfectly normal and legitimate ways as well: musical tastes can change over time, they have a new requirement in terms of tone that's not met by their current bass, they may want or need to go fretless/fretted, they may come down with an illness or injury that requires a different ergonomic design, financial disaster may strike, and so on.

@JRA - I get what you are saying about Resale, why I encouraged our OP to take his time and find what he really wants... but I have to agree with @luciens above. Simply put, people and things change over time.

For example, when I was 22 years old, I bought a 1969 Telecaster Bass. It was exactly what I wanted and needed - It was me. It was my bass. I gigged the heck out of that bass for over a decade until my Jazz came along. Now at 41 years old, my taste, style, and tone have changed.

I have zero regrets about buying it... but right now, it is very cool that I am able to sell it - with it's increased value.

 

[luciens]

what you call idealistic: i call most suitable!
what you are calling not practical: i'm calling 'good practice'.

i'd never consider resale for an ax that was 'meant' for me, and the OP struck me as a search/quest for 'the bass' that is 'meant' for one player, ergo: my POV.

All due respect, it sounds like you're the one falling for "the search/quest for 'the bass' that is 'meant' for one player", not the OP. You just said as much. And if you just don't care about resale at all, you're probably under the mistaken impression that there is such a thing and/or you currently already own it.

I can confidently say that's not a good practice from a purely objective standpoint and not just a matter of opinion. The fact is, it often takes years and many many hours and gigs to finally reject a bass you initially thought was great, or to settle on another one as a "most suitable" instrument; I don't know of any manufacturer that would let you try out a bass for that long without buying it first. And it can take just as long to discover a bass you don't initially like for some reason later turns out to be a "most suitable" bass. I've seen it happen and more than once. But you have to buy that bass first too.

So, again, a much better approach is to assume that at some point, even your ideal bass may begin to become not so ideal and may have to find a new home. And that may not be a mistake on your part - as we age, our bodies change and our lives change. That's just how it is and that's just how our lives go as bass players.

Again don't ask me why I know all this in such detail.

finally, I'm not saying there's no such thing as a life-long keeper and that finding that lifelong keeper is rarer than winning the lottery. Far from it and it's worthwhile to pursue it. But realistically, you may buy and sell a bunch of other basses over a period of time to find it...

All of that taken together is why resale can be important, and in fact near the top of the list of considerations. Not always, but often....
L

 

[el murdoque]

I do own a $2k production model and a custom that costs a bit more.
I play an Ibanez that was half of that.

A custom is something special. You should know what you want, though.
And I mean really know. Maybe you think you know what you want, only to find out that is not exactly how you did imagine things when you take that list to a Luthier and it becomes a bass that 100% meets your specs, but is not the ultima ratio in terms of bass guitars.

With a production bass, you can go out and find it, and directly take it home.

Another route is to get a 1990s high end custom. Dingwalls and Alembics from that era usually sell for around two grand or a bit less and these are models that are not much short of a five figure price tag today.

 

[TheArchitect]

All,

I am finally getting to the position where I am ready to put a serious (for me) amount of money into a bass. My budget is ~ $2k. This is an interesting space because it puts you at the high end of production basses, but also the lower end of custom basses. I have a number of options on my list, which I won't go into.

But my question is - what are peoples experiences in this price point? Does this price point in production basses 'punch above it's weight'? Or is getting your own custom specs worth it, even if the overall options on the bass aren't as extensive?

Thanks!

I have been down this path with guitars. I would tell you two that things that I found to be true. 1) Even with decades of experience, you really don't know what you are getting into with non standard woods and features and how they work together when you are custom selecting different options. The opportunity to be gravely disappointed is high. Certain combinations are common for a reason 2) At those price points, with modern building techniques you are really paying for that last 5% which will still be highly variable because we are still talking about a piece of wood. I would look at high end production and take advantage of the opportunity to play several examples. They will all be great, but they will all be different and you can find the one that speaks best to you and your ears and know what you are getting.

 

[noahw1]

Check out Valenti basses. Good stuff.

 

[NapBassT]

I would only go custom if you know exactly what you want, down to every last spec. Production basses can play just as well as custom; plenty of players use production basses all the time. Jeff Berlin's main player is a production Cort. Gary Willis uses production models of his signature bass all the time. My own main player is an Ibanez Premium. This is not even to mention the countless number of players that take MIM Fenders on the road and in the studio.

Is there something specific you're looking for that you can't get from production basses? Then maybe go custom.

 

[el murdoque]

For example, when I was 22 years old, I bought a 1969 Telecaster Bass. It was exactly what I wanted and needed - It was me. It was my bass. I gigged the heck out of that bass for over a decade until my Jazz came along. Now at 41 years old, my taste, style, and tone have changed.

I have zero regrets about buying it... but right now, it is very cool that I am able to sell it - with it's increased value.

It's always a lot easier to give advice in that direction when you hit the jackpot of having found a 'the one' instrument and that one turns out to be going up in value over time.

When I pour all the money I can afford into a bass and get one that looks, feels and plays like a wet dream - and I buy that bass and play and gig the heck out of it for a full decade, the deal has been a good one.
Resale value is a nice bonus, but not mandatory.

 

[lbbc]

I had Dave Pushic make a custom bass for me in 2013. It was, and is, the best bass I ever played. It cost me in the $1500 range. I decided that I really wanted to simplify... passive and less knobs to tweak while playing. So now my youngest son owns the custom bass and I have a used Carvin PB4 ($750). As someone said earlier....tastes may change.