How much is it worth?

[Bass Guitar]

When I turned 40 my wife bought me a 1960 Fender Jazz Bass. It’s worth more than my car now.

 

[2saddleslab]

Don't know the value of my most expensive instrument and don't care. All mine are modded or custom built [except my hollow bodies] and not intended for resale.

 

[J Wilson]

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but why is this anyone's business but mine?

 

[Esteban Garcia]

My piano cost a bunch, but used pianos are a dime a dozen. My '38 Kay is prolly worth $2-3k, but it's staying with me

 

[MovingPitchers]

My main bass would be worth like $500 in someone else's eyes but it's worth way more to me dollar-wise and sentimental-value.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

Mine are all tricked out but $500 is about what I could get for most of them but I wouldn't trade any of them for anything else . Being able to do your own mods to your basses and knowing how to set them up to what you want action wise is everything .
Playing them well is another thing altogether .

 

[jd56hawk]

How much it was worth when purchased is different than how much it's worth now, of course.
Not to mention, was this worth more than I paid for it since the seller wanted more but accepted an offer of $300 less than his asking price?
Other than that, if I try to sell it and ask more than what I paid for it and actually get what I want, what does that mean?

 

[GIBrat51]

Just out of curiosity.
Talking about dollars and cents. Not sentimental value. (But sentimental stories are welcome.)

Me? I have an Ibanez SR2600 that is worth $1800. Otherwise, my basses are in the $500-600 range.

That depends. How much would it cost me to replace it with a new one? How much did I pay for the ones I have? How much could I get for it, if I tried to sell it?
- If I had to replace it with a new one? In that case, it would be my Alembic Epic. They no longer list them as a production bass, but last I checked, it was still on the price list- and Alembic will make whatever you want. Current price for a "stock" Epic? $8200... I should mention that I have a bass that I probably could not replace - at any price. My 1994 Gretsch G6119B0-LH Broadkaster is the ONLY left handed Gretsch bass that I've ever seen - that wasn't a '50s custom made one - or a conversion. And, I've looked for another lefty Gretsch bass for almost 40 years...
- The most I've ever paid for a bass? That's a 3-way tie; My '20 Serek Sacramento; my '20 Birdsong Fusion lined fretless; and my NOS '17 German-made Hofner 500/2 Sunburst Club Bass, each set me back about $3800...
- The bass I could get "you" to pay the most for, if I were to sell it? That might be my 2001 COY Rickenbacker 4001. The Ricks in that color are very scarce - especially because RIC had so much trouble with that color paint ("Desert Gold"), that they cut the production off, about halfway through the orders. There were only about 7 Desert Gold 4001's made - and mine is, by most accounts, the only lefty. The only lefty Desert Gold anything, actually... What's it worth? No idea... what's "the only one" worth to a collector? I couldn't replace it with another Desert Gold 4003 - but, I could buy another lefty 4003 tomorrow...
So... no basses that cost a small fortune - but, in my 27 bass Herd? Not many really inexpensive ones, either...

 

[Phe]

It's hard to guess. My main bass is a mystery, I traded Ibanez SR305 for it, but it's apparently hand made instrument by someone. So it came to me as a mystery Harley Benton-ish, costing about 200€, but is now quite valuable to me. Yeah, no sentimentality, but you can't really take it out of pricing stuff.
My most expensive basses aren't expensive at all. Epiphone non-reverse Thunderbird is approximately 500€ on a good day. Then I have a mystery Warwick Corvette that could be somewhat pricy, but it has Rockbass neck and something dodgy going on in the electronics compartment. Some day I'll sort it out, but for now I'd guess it's anything between 200€ to 500€.

 

[Pilgrim]

The most valuable instrument I own was not the most expensive. It's worth around $4000 now, but cost less than $100 used....in 1967.

 

[Kevan Campbell]

My Warwick Masterbuilt was listed at over $10k on Warwick’s price list the last time I looked at it several years ago, but I didn’t pay anywhere near that for it!

If I had anywhere near that kind of money for basses these days I’d pay off my truck or put it in some kind of investment vehicle for a house down payment one day.

 

[pepj]

I have a Wal Pro One. I actually don't know how much it's worth these days so I guessed 5k. I paid a tenth of that for it.

I'm thinking it would be worth double that.
My friend has two and bought them ages ago

 

[sgl]

Bought a Wal for 5K. I think it's worth 10+K now

 

[brianrost]

I can’t believe that (as of now) ~14% of members have a bass worth $10k or more.

That’s 14% of those who have responded, not of all members.

Maybe they are including DBs as well as bass guitars.

That depends. How much would it cost me to replace it with a new one? How much did I pay for the ones I have? How much could I get for it, if I tried to sell it?

I answered based on what I think it’s worth today. Everything I own is worth a lot more than it did when I bought it.

 

[kodiakblair]

Bought a Wal for 5K. I think it's worth 10+K now

I bought a Wal JG custom with a leather PG for £500.

Sold it for the same 35 years back, I have no wish to know it's worth today

 

[Spectre Gunner]

Blood, sweat, and tears. (Now that I say it, I think that would be a good name for a band)!

It would never catch on.

 

[RandomKaren]

I'm thinking it would be worth double that.
My friend has two and bought them ages ago

Mine has passive electronics and a single pickup - worth much less than the MKI and MKII I'd have thought.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

eh, couple two tree hundred

 

[Nev375]

I have a very rare Rickenbacker. But it's a guitar not a bass. All the frets are slanted 11 degrees.

I don't really like owning instruments that are so valuable. You become afraid to touch them. If you breathe on it wrong you might depreciate it by 1000 dollars.

I just keep it in it's case and try not to worry about it.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

I decided years ago that i’d never spend more than $1500 on a bass, and that’s served me well.
Until, of course, i found myself with a more esoteric need and the least expensive bass i could find to meet that need retails at $2400.
So there goes that rule.