Longevity of a cheap bass.

[dbsfgyd1]

I have read where people ask how long will a cheap or indo made bass last? Here is mine. Still rocking for 23 years. Hot summers, cold winters, I used to play it twice a week, later gig we could actually leave our gear on-site. I do admit in the past 10 years it has been used lightly. I have adjusted the neck twice in 23 years. It does need new strings and maybe a little turn on the truss rod.
Trick to long life for a cheap bass? Treat it like you paid $4000 for it.
this bass will still be rocking long after I am gone.
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I bought my son a MIM Fender Jazz back I. 1996.When he turned 13. It’s survived his time of going through his careless stage as a teenager, his 21 year career as a professional bassist in the Marine Corps, with 7 Duty stations, two deployments. While it is still eminently playable, it is not a showroom piece. It’s more on the heavy relic side. LOL!!!

 

[Jefenator]

Might have to replace a pot or tuner eventually - which is not a huge deal (especially if you can source a drop-in replacement).
It happens with expensive instruments, too. (Maybe a little less often.)

 

[58kites]

I've bought at least a dozen (made in USA) Peavey basses made in 1983 to 1995 for $40/$65/$75/$125/$225 on up to the most expensive at $300.
All the necks have had truss rods that work well, frets that were in great shape and all were seasonally stable.
I did have two with dead P pickups but Craigslist provided me with EMG's for $75 and back in business.
I have two Yamahas from 1990 and 1991 that are perfect fantastic basses that work flawlessly and will for any foreseeable future.
There are a lot of good used inexpensive basses that will work for decades and decades.

 

[logdrum]

My first bass was already old and beat (1974 Kramer Pioneer) in 1987. It was my only bass and at some point I was playing 5-6 nights a week. I travelled with it too. Still, around, I started using it again last year

 

[Green Knight]

Lotsa original Musicmasters floating around from the 70s

 

[someguyfromNC]

All it takes is 2 solid pieces of wood for the thing to last forever. You can get that now in the lowest price brackets. Not sure anything now is the plywood 10 pieces of scrap glued together like we were sold 20 years ago.

 

[jnewmark]

Maybe not cheap, as it was $700 back in 1995, but my 29 year old Fender Jazz is still going strong after playing 2-4 gigs a week all this time. Had to adjust the neck once.

 

[J Wilson]

Really???

Just look how many plywood monsters with laughable pickups from the 60's are still slithering across Planet Earth, those 'stamp catalog' sleds like Teiscos and all the bizarro basses guys find and post here.

This doesn't ever cross my mind. And there are lots of acoustic guitars, viol instruments, instruments of all kinds that are positively ancient that are prized players, and are far lighter construction than our planks with strings

 

[MegaSwing]

Barring neglect and abuse, why wouldn’t a ‘cheap’ instrument always be as playable as when it was new? Other than frets, what’s on it that wears out with regular playing? What’s the ticking time bomb? If the wood is unstable, it was no good from Day 1.

 

[Rib 13]

I have read where people ask how long will a cheap or indo made bass last?

Country of origin has nothing to do with it - it just depends on what the manufacturer is going to put into it. I have an Indonesian made Gen 1 Sire V7 and its built pretty solid. Should last a long long time

 

[JakobT]

Wood, if properly maintained, lasts for centuries. Here in Norway, we have wooden stave churches that have been around for 900 years or so. Even a cheap bass should last a good while.

 

[Mastermold]

Wood, if properly maintained, lasts for centuries. Here in Norway, we have wooden stave churches that have been around for 900 years or so. Even a cheap bass should last a good while.

The really interesting question is if the bass’s strung with flats whether those too will last 900 years!

 

[Rickybass4001]

My MIM P was my first bass. Almost 30 years old and still going strong though almost everything other than the wood and neck plate have been changed.

Also, I don't know if the Peavey T-40 counts as cheap, but mine is 45 years old and still works perfectly.

I agree on the T-40. They were well built, affordable and weighed a ton. you could demo a house with it and play a gig that night, LOL.
My T-40 still works after all these years.

 

[kodiakblair]

Price was £50 split new 56 years ago.

 

[ebo]

My EBO will be 60 years old next year and sounds as muddy as the day it was born. There are prized violins that are hundreds of years old and much more fragile than a slab of wood and some electronic parts. I have a 50+ year old acoustic guitar my grandma gave me to learn on. It was a middle of the road instrument then and still is, but functions just fine. Had to replace the tuners once.

 

[bassliner50]

My Squier Vintage Modified Precision is probably 30 years old? Sounds, looks, plays perfectly and gets a lot of gig work! I paid $100 used (mint). Great friggen work horse bass.

 

[bassliner50]

I have a friend who uses very cheap MIJ P bass from the seventies. He has changed the pickups to Fender 62 P bass pickups but other than that it's stock. He gig's consistently a couple of times a week and he has been using the same bass for at least 25 years.

Exceptionally great pups by the way.

 

[JazznFunk]

This. Past a certain point, and barring major inherent issues with wood or construction defects, the longevity of ANYTHING is dependent upon how you care for it. A $500 bass treated well will last. A $2,000 bass will fail if treated like crap. It's wire and wood either way.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

In recent years I've tried to retire it from active duty and keep it more as a display piece... but it doesn't want to retire. It's a player for sure and I plan to take it to the afterlife with me. .

Same for me,

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Country of origin has nothing to do with it - it just depends on what the manufacturer is going to put into it. I have an Indonesian made Gen 1 Sire V7 and its built pretty solid. Should last a long long time

Yea, I have a pre Covid Sterling ray4 I bought new. It ins a good one. Play it at every gig. Makes we want a real musicman. !