Man music stuff has gotten expensive

[Scarysharkface]

Quality music gear is more affordable now than it has ever been.

You mention your last bass purchase was around 2006: the cost of gasoline has doubled since then.

A full Bergantino rig costs around $3k: that’s around 1/5th the cost of a “cheap” new car, hardly a house

Actually, gas is cheaper than it has been in decades.

John

 

[MordBass]

Somewhat off topic, but if a person understands the time-value of money/compound interest and inflation, it's amazing how you can make them "work" for you. An example of such is paying off something interest free over years. Ignoring inflation, pay each month and invest the remainder into something with an interest rate above zero and then use the growth to reimburse yourself in part at the end. Look at that, now the thing was cheaper than if you bought it outright. Inflation further reduces the amount you owe because each dollar is worth less and less as the years pass, but you pay a fixed amount. The caveat there is your investment vehicle needs to outpace inflation or else you start to lose money, but even the lowest risk bonds are at or slightly above inflation rates.

This is great advice. When I bought my last acoustic, I had the cash but decided to use the 24month 0% available on the GC card. I took the $2k that I had for the guitar and put it into a stock that was up 52% after the 2 year term on the guitar.

 

[MDBass]

Actually, gas is cheaper than it has been in decades.

John

No sir, at least not in California.

Gas was under $2/gallon in 2005/2006, and it’s currently over $3/gallon.

 

[J R Knots]

I realize I haven't bought anything new since my Fender American Standard Jazz bass in 2006 or 2007 but things are so much now. Every 5 string I look at, new or used, is thousands or close to 2k.

Amplifiers? Bergantino is like buying a house. Others are no better, including Aguilar or ampeg. Traynor? I had to get up off the floor. I guess $500 for my Eden WT405 in 2005 may be comparable to today, but I don't know. I do know it's 16 pounds.

I see you guys with 10 amps, 20 basses and think, wow. Then someone will post a thinning the heard bass, that costs 3.5k.

I never realized I was among so many rich people here on Talk Bass.

I have two basses and two amps. If I thin the herd then I will have no herd.

Thanks for reading

I think most of regardless of income levels currently have lived through some rough times.

First, you select your equipment that functionally allows you to perform how you want.

A lot of us have gotten by with what we have till we can take it to the next level.

Your amp is probably the most demanding piece of equipment in terms of limiting where you can perform.

If your lucky enough to acquire something of value- you will be able to sell if in the future to support your next dream.

 

[Scarysharkface]

No sir, at least not in California.

Gas was under $2/gallon in 2005/2006, and it’s currently over $3/gallon.

In 2006 I think I paid $5/gallon outside of Boston.

John

 

[fauxtoe]

These can be a ding on your credit rating as it will factor into your percent of credit used. That could impact interest rates on other things if you wanted an auto loan or something like that. Depending on your credit score it could be an issue or could be nothing. Just something to consider. And I've done it because it's easier for me to pry the wallet open and just pay $200 / month than $2000 for some reason. Set up autopay and Synchrony never screwed me over with a slow processing to create a false late payment that retroactively kicks in the full APR from the beginning - that's what these companies are really trying for.

Another thing to watch out for is they may not set it up to where your payments for the 0% period are actually equal. You have to do the math and figure out what you owe so you aren’t stuck with a balance at the end that will get dinged with 29% interest.

Yes, it can affect your credit score, but also in a positive way. I’ve purchased a couple basses using Affirm and some work equipment using PayPal’s payment plan. After paying it all off and clearing the balance on my only credit card monthly I’m sitting just shy of 800 credit. Be smart about when you do these type of loans and it really won’t effect you much.

 

[Rib 13]

I remember the days when a used Alembic Series I could be bought for 1200-1600 dollars........

 

[Holdsg]

"We used to live in a lake"

 

[shirojiro]

No questions - cheap gear now is not only an incredible bargain in terms of price, but the quality and playability is amazing.

I was a one bass guy for 25+ years of playing. I've slowly accumulated used gear over the next 20 years and have a mix of entry level to high quality mass produced gear. FWIW my objectively nicest bass is a MusicMan SR5 with a with matching headstock and birdseye maple neck. I got it used for $900 which seemed incredibly expensive at the time, but now sounds like a deal. Compared to boutique stuff, the MM SR5 is pretty run of the mill, but it's fancy to me.

I'm luckily at a point in my life where I can afford to purchase what I want regarding gear, but I've been choosing to purchase a Harley Benton Hollow body guitar - which sounds amazing and plays incredibly well, a Firefly Les Paul which came with a dead bridge pickup so i got a discount hat paid for a better Alnico replacement off of Ebay, and a Monoprice 15 watt tube amp. All three of those items cost less than $530 all together. Two cool guitars and tube amp with reverb and 15watts with a built in attenuator to 1 watt and spring reverb. It is insane how good this stuff sounds.

Also, the used market is full of bargains, especially now that gigs have become scarce and hobbyists are dumping their gear. Also, the accumulation and ownership of lots of gear does not necessarily mean someone is rich. They might just be very savvy at picking up bargains in Classified ads. Or maybe they forgo other luxuries as several other posters have described.

There's always people with better stuff, chops, house, car, spouse, job, clothing, etc. Who cares? We are all in charge of our own happiness. I personally get a kick out of playing bargain basement gear and playing the snot out of it. Probably my favorite bass is an Ibanez RKB900 that I got on clearance from MF several years back. It's a super cool bass IMHO, and I love playing it. I've gotten more than one snarky comment from a clueless observer regarding the brand on the headstock, but I've gotten far more compliments on it's tone.

I don't know who said it, but it remains true: "Less Ebay, more Mel Bay"

 

[MDBass]

In 2006 I think I paid $5/gallon outside of Boston.

John

Sweet Moses!

 

[philthygeezer]

I paid $1,050 for my Fender American Hot Rodded P bass in 2000 at the blowout sale price.

A regular $1,299 P bass that year would be $1,850 regular now.

An American Professional P bass is $2,100 now, but I would argue Fender's quality is a lot less hit/miss than it was in those days.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I was and still am someone who rocks the budget or used gear pile.

I did buy some new Carvin gear back in the 90s after my dad died, a Bunny Brunel 5 string and a Carvin
RL Cyclops amp. The amp ran it's course until death, factory replacement with a BX1500 that's still running.

Bought a used GK 1001 RB first-gen to fill in on some gigs until the Carvin issue got cleared up. The GK is also still running beautifully.

Because of this place and the fact that I'm not getting any younger (funny how that works )
I decided I wanted something new but I'm on a fixed income, it wasn't going to happen. I was salivating over
Mesa gear at the Mesa thread, the WD 800 at the time. When someone mentioned that Sweetwater was running a 36 month same as cash which worked out to $28 a month for a WD 800, DJ Bebop could swing that!
Without that deal, I'd never have gotten it.

As stupid as it sounds, I feel like one of the cool kids, for a moment

I missed this years offer cause Ms. Bebop wants me to pay off the WD first. I've double up on the payments.
I'll be ready for the next one. SW 115 next!

 

[DJ Bebop]

No questions - cheap gear now is not only an incredible bargain in terms of price, but the quality and playability is amazing.

I was a one bass guy for 25+ years of playing. I've slowly accumulated used gear over the next 20 years and have a mix of entry level to high quality mass produced gear. FWIW my objectively nicest bass is a MusicMan SR5 with a with matching headstock and birdseye maple neck. I got it used for $900 which seemed incredibly expensive at the time, but now sounds like a deal. Compared to boutique stuff, the MM SR5 is pretty run of the mill, but it's fancy to me.

I'm luckily at a point in my life where I can afford to purchase what I want regarding gear, but I've been choosing to purchase a Harley Benton Hollow body guitar - which sounds amazing and plays incredibly well, a Firefly Les Paul which came with a dead bridge pickup so i got a discount hat paid for a better Alnico replacement off of Ebay, and a Monoprice 15 watt tube amp. All three of those items cost less than $530 all together. Two cool guitars and tube amp with reverb and 15watts with a built in attenuator to 1 watt and spring reverb. It is insane how good this stuff sounds.

Also, the used market is full of bargains, especially now that gigs have become scarce and hobbyists are dumping their gear. Also, the accumulation and ownership of lots of gear does not necessarily mean someone is rich. They might just be very savvy at picking up bargains in Classified ads. Or maybe they forgo other luxuries as several other posters have described.

There's always people with better stuff, chops, house, car, spouse, job, clothing, etc. Who cares? We are all in charge of our own happiness. I personally get a kick out of playing bargain basement gear and playing the snot out of it. Probably my favorite bass is an Ibanez RKB900 that I got on clearance from MF several years back. It's a super cool bass IMHO, and I love playing it. I've gotten more than one snarky comment from a clueless observer regarding the brand on the headstock, but I've gotten far more compliments on it's tone.

I don't know who said it, but it remains true: "Less Ebay, more Mel Bay"

 

[DJ Bebop]

Gear only gets you so far... your fingers, your attitude, and your discipline is really what matters.

 

[Durham52]

So has food, rent, utilities, health, education, etc.

Lot more billionaires though.

Prices always go up, just check the annual inflation rate, the problem for most people is when wages rises don't keep pace with inflation.

 

[Smith357]

Everything has gotten expensive, and will continue to do so. I run cheap music gear, not because I'm poor, but because I prefer to invest more money into fine vintage firearms, Swiss Watches, and precious metals. Last year alone, my portfolio of tangibles almost tripled in value.

 

[Durham52]

It helps to be old and have bought your basses when they were cheep, like $175.00 for an original Hofner Beatle Bass, or $350.00 for a 1977 Fender Jazz bass, or $550 for a new 1978 Musicman Stingray bass.

Yes, but how "cheap" were they really in comparison to wages at the time?

 

[GregC]

No sir, at least not in California.

Gas was under $2/gallon in 2005/2006, and it’s currently over $3/gallon.

In 2006 I think I paid $5/gallon outside of Boston.

John

Oil prices, and thus gasoline prices, have gyrated wildly this century. Oil/gas peaked in mid-2008 after a big climb from '99. Then they quickly fell off a cliff in the financial crisis/recession, falling by more than half(!) by early 2009. They popped back up as the economy recovered before dropping again for various reasons. (Economic stuff is part of my job, so I ended up going way beyond what anyone wanted to know, lol.)

Crude Oil Prices - 70 Year Historical Chart

 

[Harper]

I remember the days when a used Alembic Series I could be bought for 1200-1600 dollars........

I think I read somewhere that Flea paid like $1800 for his Wal. Granted, with inflation that would be about twice that today. But still, $3600 would be the steal of the century for a Wal.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Yes, but how "cheap" were they really in comparison to wages at the time?

I remember in 78 making $0.75 an hour. I switched jobs to one that paid $1.20 an hour!
I thought I was rich