How do you see basses?

A) congrats on the 900th post

2) People should buy basses on feel, tone and all those good specs

D) If it was me i wouldnt buy a bass just because it will/is worth alot of money so i could trade it in and get alot of cash.

peace
Chad

 

I look at basses as a way to make some great music. As a way to show some pride in my abilities.(Warmoth basses that I built) If I were to buy basses to sell tham for alot of $$$.$$, I would of held on to my '76 StingRay & '72 Jazz bass. (I should of held on to them any way because they were great basses!!! ) There are 2 basic reasons I buy a bass:

1-If it totally blows me away.
2-buy a cheap bass to modify.

#1 is self expanitory
#2 keeps me busy. I have an Essex Jazz bass that is a really nice bass. I's a 70's Jazz copy w/maple neck, pearl blocks & bound neck. It's in a Trans Amber finish & has a REALLY NICE wood grain for a $175 bass. I put a BadAss II, Fender Amer Std pick-ups & an EMG BTC pre-amp in it. I might eventually put a set of Schaller tuning machines in it but the one that are on her now work well.

I also have a Jay Turser Sting Ray copy that I put a Duncan MM pick-up in. I have a BadAss that I will eventually put on it & I want to put an Aguilar OBP-1 in it.

I have to say I'm very impressed with the Essex bass. It sounds GREAT & the neck feels really good. The bass is a bit heavy, but so are my Spector's & Warmoths.

 

I have emtional attachments to my instruments, so I never sell them off. Resale value means jack squat to me. Usually, when I see a bass and it grabs my eye for the first time, I'm looking at the body style and finish, then I walk over and see what name is on the headstock. I don't buy just because of a name, (though I wouldn't buy, because of a name, like if it said "Lotus" on it ) If the bass feels, plays, and looks great, I woud be proud to play it, no matter what name is on the headstock, or how much it's worth. (I still play my Squier P-bass)

 

When I first decide to buy a bass. I see it as something that could be the best bass i own and the one i will keep.

This has only happened once. I see it then as a tool, i figure out what its pros and cons are. I want them to fulfill a purpose. For instance my first 5 was because i wanted a five for my love of Nu-Metal type bands at the time. Then i used it because playing easier. I bought my OLP stingray because it was cheap and something i could rag around do up and can be reckless with. I then went to sell it at a huge profit but only because i was given an offer i couldnt refuse.

I sold my SSII not because i wanted the money to buy another bass. I sold it to buy a car cos carting my stuff around on the bus was NO fun at all.

But the basses I own currently will not become classics and i dont look for second handers if they are a "vintage" year. Come on, its not wine, its just a bass.

sim

 

Warwicknut, I can't believe anyone would say that about newer Warwicks! I think they have done nothing but improved over the years, especially now that they have a volute on the neck/headstock.
And those curly bubinga ones that they (did?) offer are some of the nicist looking wood I've ever seen!

I think it all depends on who you're talking to.

 

I've never even thought to sell my old basses later on for profit, that thought just never came to my head. I see them as something I can make music with(like Nino said), not as a piece of wood with a monatary value.

 

I see all basses in my living room. But seriously, no I don't collect for projected future value because once people start buying gear for that reason, it will not be worth squat 30 years from now.

 

I do not view a bass as an investment or a work of art. It is nice if the bass holds its value, or if it is nice to look at, but those are just bonuses IMHO.

I buy stuff to keep. Every piece of gear that I have ever sold I regret selling. Won't sell anything else.

EDIT: Woodchuck, exactly where did you want me to put that love?

 

I view a bass as an investment if:

* I know I will still want to play it 5 years from now

* I know it would actually survive 5 years

* I love its tone

* I love its feel

* I love how it looks

thats the real meaning of investment to me, not wether it has the next serial number to Jaco's bass or if John Entwistle (sp?) himself took it on tour a few years ago as his main stage instrument.

btw, Warwicknut, are you THE Woodchuck?

 

Re-sale value IS important, but that should never be the prime reason why you buy any particular bass. How the instrument appeals to you personally should be the biggest factor in your purchasing decision. ANY bass, whether high end, low end, or in between, that you buy with the idea that it's going to be strictly a short-term purchase is ALWAYS a bad idea. You're guaranteed to lose money in almost every instance. If it's a low end bass, you won't have much in it; but you're going to get even less out of it whenever you decide to sell. For no more that it cost, why would a potential buyer not just go ahead and buy it new and get the warranty with it? Same thing with a high end model.

About the only way you can recoup your investment is if you luck up and get a model that gets really hot in popularity and the manufacturer has already discontinued the bass, OR the price has skyrocketed and yours just happens to still be in near mint condition after several years. But, if you bought a REALLY low end bass................ well, good luck to ya.

Buying a bass guitar is like buying a car or household appliance: DON'T MAKE AN IMPULSE PURCHASE!!! Do your homework by researching the different name brands out there; "test drive" what interests you. That beautiful bass on display may not be worth a damn to you once it's in your hands. And here's the biggest caveat of all: just because whoever it is that happens to be your "Bass God" plays a certain model of bass DOESN'T mean that particular bass is right for YOU!!

Embellisher is right: learn to trust your ears.

 

my bass is the ideal woman. a lifetime commitment. she doesnt whine. when i give her the right kind of attention, she sings. when i leave her in her case ignored, she doesnt complain. she doesnt care if i look at other basses, or even play other basses. she is dependable. she is refined, clean, and smells good. and best of all i love those sexy curves....

one fine piece of (b)ass.

ok so im sick. arent we all?

 

I think if you look at equipment as an investment, you shouldn't be buying it.

It shows that you're not sure if you really like it, and possibly (or do) have the intention of selling it again.


I don't take price into account, needless to say.

 

i view them as extensions of my body and mind - a way to get the bass in my head to the amp and out to the booties.


so i'll buy whatever bass makes that path easiest. no other reason.




as for resale value - i bought my thumb in 98 new for 2600, sold it last week for 1300 (she was pretty beat up), and bought my 98 SSII for 1500. the new list price of the SSII is about 200 more than the thumb 5, so i figure, i didn't lose any money


my musicman has been defretted, and then had a warped neck fixed (poorly). so - as of right now it's probably worth $10. i'm going to get a 5 string fretless, so i want to put this one back to fretted. so now i have a big dillema - do i get a stock musicman neck and restore the value, or get a moses neck and make it unique? (they cost the same)


and always buying new is like always having sex with virgins - it may boost your ego, but it won't be as worthwhile




jason

 

Interesting question...

I wouldn't say that I see bsses as "investments"--I've never bought a bass that I didn't want, just because I thought I could make some money on it--but given my history of selling off one bass to buy another, it's ridiculous for me not to consider resale value.

I like to try a lot of stuff. Sometimes I buy something just because I've always wanted to try it, if I can run across one for good price. Maybe I'll end up keeping it for years, and maybe I'll wind up selling it after a month or two to buy something else.

Do I miss the basses I've sold--the Ricks, the Elricks, the Curbows, the Wals, the Warwicks, the MTD? Heck yes! Do I regret buying whatever bass it was that sold each one of them to pay for? Not usually--what I regret is not being rich enough to hang on to them all!

But for obvious reasons, I'm a lot more likely to buy used than new...

Mike

 

Warwicknut, I snipped for the sake of brevity (mine, not yours), to quote just those portions I'm addressing. Lemmeno if I take you out of context.

Considering that I do not now and never will play professionally, I have one hell of an expensive set up. Why? Because over the years I have come to identify those things in an instrument that truly impress ME . For the most part I play at church and just bummin' around with friends. I refuse to get paid so as not to further complicate my tax situation.

Now to get to the set up I have now, I've bought and sold a lot of stuff. I've bought most of it used, figuring that if somebody could sell it to me for $X, I could sell it at a later date for $X, +/- a penny or two. I've never really looked to make huge profits, or view an instrument as an investment, but I've tried to avoid losing my ass. So I guess up 'til now I've mainly viewed instruments I've acquired as learning vehicles until I found what I really really like. By that I mean what I like in terms of tone, playability, appearance, the whole package.

At this point I have instruments that I seriously doubt I will ever sell, even though two of them have what I'd consider collectible value. One is a very low serial number, the other was owned by a famous musician who signed it for me. All of my instruments at this point are worth more to me, financially and esoterically, than they would be to anyone else. And I have a blast playing all of them!!

Peace,

James

 

The only reason I've sold basses in the past is to pay for more basses. Except one... I had a '76 jazz in pristine condition which I bought 'cos it was there, played a few times and then went back to my other basses. Sold it after two years for a tidy little profit, but only because I wasn't using it.

I'm still trying to track down a Hohner 5 string I owned about 10 years ago...

I'm never selling another bass as long as I live, no matter how little I use them. I'll just buy another rack and keep them on there to be occasionally played, but always loved and cherised...

As far as buying a bass which belonged to someone then yes I'd buy it.

With any luck I'll get me a pre-cbs Jazz next year and it will be mine forever... If I had enough money for a Jaco one I'd buy it like a shot (but only to be the one who gave it back to the family)

 

I don't buy anything based on what it's resale value will be. Of course, maybe if I did, I wouldn't be so damn poor!