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justification for spending 1K+ on a bass

Gord_oh

Gord_oh

Midtown Guitars: Ulyate Pickups & StringJoy
Commercial User
Oct 4, 2008
5,437
969
36
Michigan
www.midtownguitars.com
#1
Apologizes if this has been discussed here before.
I'm currently looking into a MIA Fender Standard Precision V in Oly White as my next purchase. This would be the most I've spent on a bass, or anything really besides my car! With a price tag of $1299 new and around $1000-1250 used, this is a huge investment. I really want the bass, but Im starting to think once I eventually do save up the money for one, will I be willing to finally dish out the dough? (FWIW, I want to pay cash for it. no credit)
The most I've spent on a bass was for a Warmoth build, roughly $700-800 over a 9 month time span. All of my other gear was under $250. It is just a huge amount of money, and when I dont need much else, I almost feel like it could be spent better. Right now I am on the fence. I know I'll get people saying things like "If youre not comfortable with a purchase, dont do it" or "Its worth the buck IMO. Play the hell out of it and get your monies worth"

Im prepared for what TB has to say, just curious if anyone has experinced pre buyers remorse.

FenderAmericanStandardPBassV5StringOlympicWhiteRosewoodFretboard.jpg

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend...15754&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=142413163
 
#2
I'm a firm believer in the old "You get what you pay for" adage. You can spend less, but then have to deal with things like shoddy construction, crummy electronics, etc. Sure, you can go to GC and try a ton a basses and find a cheaper one that will fit your budget that work just fine.

It all depends on how serious you take playing bass. If you drop the coin on the Fender, I doubt you'll have serious regrets. Plus, you're paying cash, so it doesn't sound like your frivolously spending your hard earned dough.

If it were me, I'd do it. If you ended up not liking it, you could always dump it for almost what you paid. Just think of it as renting for a couple of months.
 
#3
I want to pay cash because it gives me time to become a better player (and to save up), and Ill baby it a bit knowing how hard I worked to get it. It is going to be awhile before I can call it my own. Im serious about my bass playing, and becoming more serious about being a full time 5 string bass player.

thanks for the tid bit.
I guess I just want some other perspectives, experiences, etc.
thanks.
 
#6
Purchases are all about what you want and what you can afford. "Would something cheaper do?" is always a question, but if you really want a particular item, car or bass or cut of steak, then the issue is "can you afford it without putting yourself in a bad position?" If the answer is yes, your purchase is OK.
 
#7
while $1,000 may seem like a lot for a bass, to put it in perspective, to insure my car for 6 months is more than that (got the bill two days ago.) and thats as a completely safe driver.. ugh..

buy the nicest instrument you can, while you can.
 
#9
Well I just played one at GC last weekend, and if I had 1k I wouldn't have 1k, know what I mean? That thing played lovely and was true to the P bass sound (and I dont really care for fender). I say go for it, as long as next week youre not trying to put up a liver or your 8 yr old on ebay.
 
#11
Im 16 and bought a 1200$ fender not too long ago. Im not very good, have only been playing for a lil over a year, and dont really have a good set up.

Overall im very happy i spent the money on my fender. Being young, it took me a long time to save up the money for one. I just see it as it will be my favorite bass for years and years, and i wont have to worry about faulty construction. Basically, im just saying im in a pretty average bassist's position, and im very glad i shelled out all the money for it.
 
#12
Plus, if you say you're serious about your craft of bass playing, especially becoming strictly a 5 player, Then you have to do it. If this is your art, your commitment, your love, then you must do it. And I agree with Mound too. I'm not what one would call a "great" bassist. But when I see a bass with the sound I want to hear, and hopefully with the looks I like to see, I don't care if it's $500, or $2500. I'll save for it, cause that's what I want. Also too, alot of players, especially me at times put a price on our talent. I mean it as "Is my playing worth that $1000?". It's the same thing like when I was a kid, and we all had skateboards. I had a Nash, which was considered cheap. Everyone else had something with a "name & history" to it. And since I was newer to the sport, I couldn't want/own one like there's cause I wasn't "good enough". It just boils down to them being jealous if I did own something nice, maybe even nicer. And what I've learned is if you want something, and work for it, you deserve whatver you want. Go for it!!!
 
#13
If I were you, I'd go the warmoth route again, which is much more superior in terms of construction than Fender, and then google decal joe, buy fender decal from them, buy the California plate at ebay and lo and behold, you have a MIA Fender bass.

It is made in America. It's well built. It says fender on the headstock and one the neck plate. How can it not be a MIA Fender? :)
 
#14
Chances are you will own this bass for the rest of your life. I have a bass that I paid $1200 (new) back in 1990. I still own the bass. I've taken care of it, and it still looks & plays new. That same bass (new) goes for over 3k today. To this day, the bass still puts a smile on my face everytime I play it. I say go for it! If it truly makes you happy, I doubt you will have any regrets about the price.
 
#15
You'll have it for the rest of your life, as has been said before...And before that's over you'll be able to pass it on to your children so they can have all of the funk and mojo that you've spent a lifetime of playing to put into the instrument.

1+ grand is alot of money, no doubt...but be glad you're not playing an orchestra instrument, imagining leveraging your house to secure a loan for a violin!
 
#16
Great thing about today's bass market... you CAN pay $1000 or more for a bass and have a pretty good selection of quality instruments to choose from.

Better thing about today's bass market is that there is also a great selection of pretty darn good instruments that are UNDER the $1000 mark... so you don't HAVE to spend that kind of money for a bass you can proudly play. It may not be the "bass of your life", but times, tastes and needs change... so, probably will your tastes and needs in your instrument.

In the past, I have spent that for a bass, more than twice that a few of times. But I wouldn't anymore. Too many good, interesting and inexpensive basses out there.
 
#17
I'm a lifelong musician, but fairly new to bass. I'm very serious about it, though. My thoughts on being what I would classify as a serious, or professional (in behavior) bass player are that I need to be able to be prepared to play any style of gig at any time. That breaks down to:

- I need to be able to play 4 and 5 strings.
- I need to be comfortable picking up any 34" or 35" 4 or 5 string and playing with some basic level of skill.
- I need to be able to read sheet music (had that covered since the 6th grade) and lead sheets.
- I need to be able to pick stuff up and play it by ear reasonably quickly. I.e., for simple stuff anyway, in one session.
- I need to be able to play more or less any genre - or at least, adapt and pick it up very quickly.
- I need the equipment to be able to play any kind of gig. I.e. a primary and a backup 4-string, a primary and a backup 5-string, rigs from something small and portable (e.g. 1x10 combo) to something big (e.g. SVT 2 Pro and 4x10 cab). And the guitars need to be flexible enough (or diverse enough) to reproduce at least decent approximations of any mainstream bass sound (e.g. P, J, or MM).

The way that applies to your question (in my mind) is that, if I were adding 5-stringers to my arsenal, and had $1000 - 1200 to spend, I would spend it on 2 good quality, used basses, rather than one new one. It's not that hard to do. You can get a Made in America Peavey Cirrus 5, Carvin, or G&L for somewhere in the $600 - 800 range, if you are just the slightest bit patient in your shopping. All excellent quality and offering good tonal flexibility. With whatever you have left after that, you can get something like a MIA Peavey TL-Five or Dyna-bass, or a Carvin, or a Schecter Stiletto Elite or Studio or an Ibanez SR705 or 805 or even a Squier CV or Active Jazz. Any of which would make an excellent backup bass.
 
#19
Here I come with the bucket of cold water. I vote no. You're about to open a store so you're going to be incurring unanticipated expenses, and you're already instrument-heavy and amp-light. Just trying to take a wide/comprehensive view of things.
 
#20
If you spent 7-800 on a warmoth build + all your labor working on it, you've already bought a 1000+ dollar bass. Imagine your labor at 30 bucks an hour (cheap for a luthier), then refigure the cost.

The way I look at basses is that you're not really ever spending all that money. They retain their value quite well, especially the expensive ones. Dingwalls for example are 4k+ new sometimes, and almost always sell for 66-75% of their new cost.

It's rare to sell an American Fender for less than 2/3rds or so of the new price.
 

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