• 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.

If i had $8499...

#321
Roy Vogt said:
Again, if anyone on the BG side of Talkbass ventures over to the DB side you'll find that $8500 is "chump change" when buying a carved Double Bass of Orchestral quality. It's a different world once you go Vertical.....
Click to expand...

It's really a different world when you step away from 'historically' bolted together electric instruments. EVERYTHING costs more than electric guitars and bassists, we just don't seem to realize it.

In my humble opinion, for what you get, the ridiculous level of the instrument, a Fodera is absolutely worth every penny. Whether you have it, or really need it is the better question. I would love to have one now that I play more by myself with my synths and drum machine and am totally free to explore whatever avenue of music strikes my fancy that moment. If the E5S were an E6S I would tap the 401K today for one.
 
#322
LightGroove said:
This is purely supply and demand...they have a commodity and are treating it as such...I will say they have a great marketing and sales strategy.. its working for them. I tend to avoid companies with this strategy...just a personal thing.
Click to expand...

What is that "strategy"? To claim there is pixie dust in the instruments then gouge people on price?
 
#323
I can understand paying a premium for ultra-crafted, one of a kind instruments. It's almost like when people buy a piano that stays in the family. It's like an investment piece and it is hand made down to the wiring of the pickups. That said, after spending some time on my friends Yin-Yang, I couldn't personally justify paying the upcharge because at the end of the day, it didn't offer anything sonically that couldn't be had at a fraction of the price. His had a pretty unique neck shape so that might have had something to do with it, but the playability didn't really do it for me either. On the craftsmanship side, I can see why people would pay out the wazoo but sonically, not so much. SPent a good deal of time with that bass closing my eyes and forgetting what I was holding just to give it an honest assesment and that's what I came up with. Not to say someone wouldn't absolutely be in love with the things I found not to like.
 
#324
MostlyBass said:
Tell me about it! I was trying to justify spending over 1k on an electric (which I did with my Carvin) and then I thought, "Well, I spend that much on my bow!"
Click to expand...

Too, too true! And may I say you chose well with your electric (of course if you look at my disclosures you'll see why I say that! ;))
 
#326
These are barber shop arguments that differ only in where they take place. At the end of the game, the only relevant question is 'Can you play?' –maybe even, 'Do you play?'– not 'What bass do you own?'. That's almost all about consumerism, which has little to do with music making. If you didn't build the damned bass, what's your stake in defending its relative merits? I want to hear your musicality, not ogle your bass. Expensive bass: nice. Big whoop. After the nth go-round of this debate, it's just plain silly. How well you appreciate an object should not be a function of its purchase price. Just play. That where it's at.
 
#329
I agree with you Edward G.
I spent way too much time with marketing people and learned that there is not always a correlation between cost of goods and sales price.
The real question is can you play/do you play? And not what instrument you own. While I love to look at gear and am always intrigued by the gear that regulary performing bands use, what makes me take a double take is a great bass player.
By the way, saw one two weeks ago - caught me by surprise. Bass player for Grayson Kapps by the name of Christian Grizzard. Wonderful performance and I couldn't even tell you what gear he was using - it was irrelevant.
 
#332
LightGroove said:
Pretty close..or that b/c a certain pixie has spread his dust on a product they can gouge people....;)
Click to expand...

I certainly don't see it that way, but if you do then you certainly shouldn't buy their basses. I think you have some mistaken assumptions but you're free to have them. You will get push-back though when they are put forth as anything beyond opinion.

I totally get people thinking a Fodera is too expensive for what *they* would get. But stated as an absolute universal fact - that it is too expensive for what *anyone* gets? I find that absurd. The law of diminishing returns certainly holds true but value is in the eye of the beholder and no one else. I don't begrudge anyone else's purchase. I'm just amazed sometimes at the TB Price Police and Value Determiners - like there is some absolute scale on which you can measure intangibles.
 
#333
johng999 said:
The real question is can you play/do you play?
Click to expand...

One doesn't need to be a virtuoso to justify their gear. A guitar page that has since banned me had an attitude that you had to be in a nationally touring band to offer the slightest opinion on gear.

Gear is gear. Doesn't take Navy SEAL sniper to realize that certain rifles are made better and perform better than others. Hell, if on such a small scale things fail, they'd almost surely fail if used on a larger scale.
 
#334
spade2you said:
One doesn't need to be a virtuoso to justify their gear. A guitar page that has since banned me had an attitude that you had to be in a nationally touring band to offer the slightest opinion on gear.

Gear is gear. Doesn't take Navy SEAL sniper to realize that certain rifles are made better and perform better than others. Hell, if on such a small scale things fail, they'd almost surely fail if used on a larger scale.
Click to expand...

A virtuoso? I hope I didn't imply that. However, the instrument/tool you play/use does not give you powers that you do not already have.

Gear definitely IS gear. Some is quite wonderful. None of it changes your ability, even if it does boost your level of satisfaction.

A Navy SEAL is still a badass with a church key and a zip gun.
 
#336
Edward G. said:
A virtuoso? I hope I didn't imply that. However, the instrument/tool you play/use does not give you powers that you do not already have.

Gear definitely IS gear. Some is quite wonderful. None of it changes your ability, even if it does boost your level of satisfaction.

A Navy SEAL is still a badass with a church key and a zip gun.
Click to expand...

Musicians are basically the only people on the planet who cling to the idea that gear doesn't matter. Put me on a beat up Huffy mountain bike and I will NEVER be as fast as I am on this bike. I'd be willing to bet money that I could even beat a pro if I had my bike and they had a Huffy mountain bike.

ttbike2.jpg


Certain basses and guitars are designed and built to play better. Musicians can deny that this is true all they want.
 
#337
spade2you said:
Musicians are basically the only people on the planet who cling to the idea that gear doesn't matter.

Certain basses and guitars are designed and built to play better. Musicians can deny that this is true all they want.
Click to expand...

All true. But the laws of diminishing marginal returns kick in very early. There is an amount that you basically HAVE to spend to get a great instrument. I'm sure you would agree that it's much less than $8K.
 
#338
Threads like this pop up from time to time, and debate gets heated. But it's really a pointless exercise. Some people drive a Suzuki and some people drive a Mercedes. They're both cars, and both have their fans. There will always be people who insist a Squier meets their needs, while another requires a Fodera. As long as you the owner are comfortable with the price and enjoy it, be it cars, basses, and curling irons, nothing else matters.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back