• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

How much is too much for you?

#81
Hmm my current bass is a one off custom by a well respected luthier and was fairly expensive and it taken me a while to get it.
I love playing it and it has a unique very very slim neck that I couldn't get in a production bass.

However it hasn't made me sound better and I've realised many basses way under what I paid are just as good and there's some very cheap basses out there that I'm sure will sound and play just as good.

Of course there is something about owning a proper hand crafted instrument that really appeals too me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Okstatefan
#83
Medicine Man said:
I normally bite at $999.99 used. I'm stoked I spent almost double that on my q5, though.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah. A grand for something that tweaks me is not a big deal. I spent that on my Conklin 7 string or my USA G&Ls (which have become my main axes) I've gone to two grand like for my Alembic or my Q6 and clearly they were exceptional enough to justify it. But at that limit, I can't justify going higher. As others have noted, with a 2 grand bass you get real paranoid dragging it around to some gigs so It's not going to be a main axe. And hey, I love my couple hundred dollar SXs and Ibbies too!

But sure, I'd love to own a Ritter. But the cost really can't be justified as a bass. You have to justify it as Jens the artist. And well worth the cost in my opinion. But I don't have 8 to 10 grand paintings hanging on my walls so I don't think a Ritter is going there soon. On the other hand if it was business and I wanted a certain vibe on stage, I wouldn't bat an eye at buying Ritters to play. If I had the gigs and the income covered it and I thought the act needed it...well, It's no different than if your tour needs to fork out for a giant Jumbotron or the like. But for just lil' ole me, 2k is about my max... which seems pretty much a consensus here.
 
#86
An interesting range of opinions here. I long since concluded that while you can, these days, get great gear quite cheaply (my $250 Yamaha fretless for example), you still get what you pay for, relatively speaking. Fortunately I have a rather unique band situation where funds are pooled and we have all the essentials (PA etc) covered, so I just recently got to put $1000 of "band money" towards a 5 string Spector, $2,500 total, and it makes me very, very happy. What a joy to play, the neck is, I dunno, like giving someone hot an oily massage. (The guitarist got a Ricky 350, so I feel we're even, esp since it's midnight blue so matches my 4003).
I don't think, even if I had it, I'd go above $3k, but whatever turns you on man!
 
#87
I'd go to $2500, but realistically I'm really questioning anything past $1800.

My last used bass was a Peavey TL-6 for under $600 shipped, and I gotta say, for a U.S. Made, neck thru bass I'm amazed at the quality for that price. There are still a few used basses I'd pay up for, namely "the right" Pentabuzz or fretless Zon, but that peavey was a real eye opener of what kind of quality you can get for not much money.
 
#89
HankHillWaluigi said:
For the first time in ages, I'm gonna buy a bass completely new. I'm gonna get me one o' them fancy Fender Classic 50's P bass in the black lacquer finish. Finding them used in an unmodified condition is like finding hen's teeth, so I figured might as well go new unless hens do have teeth. I tried the roadworn, and the aesthetics didn't resonate with me (I prefer to have a story for the scars on my basses), so I went for the next best thing (and it comes with a case as well). It's gonna take me a couple of months busting my ass working for it, but that's just gonna make the end result much sweeter.

However, I had a thought on my mind. Why not go for the American Standard? Why not American Vintage? Hell, why not even custom? Well, it boiled down to me simply not wanting to pay that much for a simple bass like a precision. Could I afford it? Yeah, it'd take me a while to work it up but I could. But I don't want to, as I see everything I'd want in a precision bass in that Classic 50's.

Granted, that's just my opinion, and I respect everyone else's on the matter. I have seen some absolutely amazing Custom Shop P basses that were $4,500 that sounded (and probably played) like absolute heaven. But at that point, it's just far too much for me. I've found my holy grail in a $900 P bass, some have found it in a $380 one, and some in a $2,000 one.

So what's your breaking point?
Click to expand...

It's all about how YOU evaluate it. It seems like your 'line in the sand' is around $2000 for a bass.
Some people got lucky back in the day and paid $350 for a bass that's now worth $30,000 if they managed to keep it under there bed for 50 years!
Relatively speaking though, that $350 back in the 50's is worth that $2000 now you're talking about. Kind of ironic isn't it?

And as you get up to the high ends, it tends to be a journey of diminishing rewards. Would you pay an extra $1000 for Brazilian fretboard and even another $2000 for a fancy top?
And the end of the day you could get the simply bolt-on version for half the price and it sounds as amazing as the bases worth double.

There's not a thing wrong with liking an instrument because it's 'cheaper'. I wish I had that luck......basses that please my ears cost a whole lot more than what you've mentioned.
 
#92
The most expensive bass I own is a US J Plus I bought new in the early 90's for $700.00. I've also got a couple highway 1 j's I got new but one was a gift and the other one was a blowout deal at $500.00 out the door. Growing up all I could afford was used Peavey stuff and when I started making money I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I scored a perfect old P bass for $350. Unfortunately the affair didn't last and I went back to used Peavey basses, just nicer examples than what I had as a kid. Then one day I saw the J Plus, played it a minute and decided to give it a whirl and it is still with me and still the best bass I've ever owned. My current fave is a banged up MIM J I gave less than $200.00 for. I've done some mods so I'm prolly pushing around $400.00 on it but it's also sweet enough of a player my eye has not wandered for the better part of 2 years or so.


Price is relative to satisfaction but history has proved my skill level is right at home on an ordinary run of the mill bolt neck that's 1.5" at the nut and shaped close to or just like a J bass. I was lucky enough to know the owner of a really good independent music store for many years and he let me take anything used home to demo so I tried a crap ton of basses in that period, but none of them fit me like a jazz bass. If it ain't t broke don't fix it.
 
#95
I played a used Sadowsky NYC that was priced around $3200. Worth every penny, IMO, but I could never justify that to my wife or even myself knowing my financial commitments. Kids, mortgage, etc. I could have made it work, but I wouldn't ask the family to sacrifice on my behalf.

The most I've spent is around $1300 for a MIJ Gretsch guitar. I think that's a reasonable price point for what you're getting. I'm comfortable with the price-to-quality ratio of US G&Ls and Fenders. Though I do like buying used...
 
#96
I have a fretless L2 Steinberger that I adore. I want another one. They're averaging about 6 grand these days. I plugged mine in tonight just to remind me and yeah, it's 6 grand worth of tone, no doubt.

And that, sadly, is too much. WAY too much.
 
#99
Apparently $1250 is my limit. That's a Gibson Thunderbird. I also have a bottom of the line Epiphone Thunderbird that's great, just different. I like 'em both very much, and the price difference is completely irrelevant. I usually play the Gibson.
 
#100
I have to admit this thread has been an interesting read. It's not that often I have the time or interest to read through five pages; but I did on this one. So, how to reply?

I'm not, yet, a professional musician; so my needs may vary. However, I do appreciate the value of quality. I also appreciate aesthetics, lineage, craftsmanship, and rarity.

I also live within my means. As well, I attempt to consider any purchase within a range that I can get my money back without taking a loss. That loss isn't always monetary, as enjoying the instrument during the ownership period does have an amount of value.

Having owned a few low-budget instruments, I recognize many of the shortcomings. Even though, a MIM PJ bass is among the favorite instruments I've played or heard. In respect, my MIJ Geddy Lee Jazz was bought for a decent price, and I haven't auditioned another Fender J bass that I would trade it for.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back