Ok you have $2,000 to spend...

[Dr. Gonzo82]

Since 2000 doesn't put me in the 4005 category I would spend it on used Rickenbacker 4003 in Snowglo.

 

[Bander]

Used fender custom shop 62 jazz bass.

I was going to offer the same, but thought about it a bit more. Once I've decided to spend more than $500, I'd much rather order a custom shop bass, which is more than $2k. The chances of me finding a used custom shop to my specifications are very low, and if I'm going to splurge, I'm getting exactly what I want.

 

[Mark76]

I am surprised no one said Fender.

I'm surprised not one person said hookers. Sad

I don't need any more basses.

However...

I would probably build a 5 string fretless from Warmoth parts.

Gecko style body - alder core, flamed maple top. Finished - transparent blue on sides and back, blue to teal burst on the top. Routed for 2 EMG sized soapbars: $550.00

I'd put a Nordstrand Big Split in the neck position and a Big Single in the bridge position. Passive: $240

Hipshot KickAss Bridge, gold: $157.30

Three gold control knobs: $40.35

Gecko maple neck, unlined ebony fretboard, no inlays, black tusq nut: $565.00

Hipshot gold tuners: $200.00

A set of stainless steel flatwounds: $50.00

Dunlop gold Straplocks: $16.00

Output jack: $3.00

HSC for Gecko: $139.99

Total amount: $1961.64

You spend all that money on the wood and other components yet you cheap out on the jack, the one component without which any electric instrument is just a useless hunk of wood or plastic with a bunch of other stuff attached/inside.

The Pensa Suhr I bought directly from Lloyd Cole a year ago. He had listed it 6 years prior and I wasn't in a position to buy at that time. Thought he had sold it but he had taken the ad down. He relisted after a poster here was inquiring about Pensa Suhrs and I was able to get it. Crown bass in my collection. Beautiful Olympic White on Koa body which is nicely aging into a butter cream . My ten year old daughter calls it Lloyd and says it looks like an old yellow house.

Photo! Bonus points if it's of Mr Cole handing the bass over to you. Double bonus points if it's the Commotions guy and not just some Nashville session bassist only ten people outside the industry have ever heard of.

 

[lbbc]

New Mess Subway bass rig

 

[lbbc]

New Mess Subway bass rig

Should say Mesa!

 

[Krisfield]

Custom Mod Fender P Bass. Dual output with Di Marzio Split P and Model P pickups

 

[Tom Bomb]

curious..why that and not a fender? whats the diff?

Just chance really — I won't bore you with all the details but, back in the recent past, U-Box decided to fold for a while, as an international second-hand dealer, and they kindly dropped me a line to tell me that if I wanted more from them I'd better get a wriggle on.

On their last day of trading I got the bug, well-and-truly, for a parlor guitar. I was dealing solely with Ishibashi back then, no ebay etc.. So, in a semi-panic, I went impulse shopping for a parlor guitar — one last fling. I tried for one, a K. Yari, but that fell through. The next one, the only other 00-style I could find, was a History NT-01. I knew absolutely nothing about these guitars. But, on the last day of trading, I threw caution to the wind.

What an axe! I was so rapt with it, I became a real fan. They're made by FujiGen and they are exceptional, if you ask me Later on, U-Box opened their doors again And, when they did, I got a few others — each one equally mind-blowing.

Those basses, like mine, have old growth sinker-log necks. I love this fact most of all — special kind of musical upcycling. It's not easy to get old growth tonewood, not in this day and age — but there are a number of factors that suit me including the pride in workmanship at FujiGen and their dedication to innovation and quality. Really, it's just a personal thing. I'd be equally comfortable with a comparable instrument from Sadowsky, Lakland, G&L , Fender etc..

They are brilliant instruments and they all fit me like a glove. I only have one passive Jazz and it's fretless, so those current TH-BJ4s have some genuine appeal. But then, I'm only dreaming — invited by the OP. I'm more than happy really to settle for what I've got

 

[Hounddog]

I would save another $1200.00 then buy a used NYC Sadowsky.

 

[armyadarkness]

I am surprised no one said Fender.

Your 3rd reply, from @Burwabit was Fender....

 

[armyadarkness]

Electric Basses SR - SR1700BE PREMIUM | Ibanez guitars

View attachment 3048399

I have one of those in trans blue, and it's got to be the sickest bass ever.

 

[armyadarkness]

G&L Kiloton 4 (lefty!) in clear red over spalted maple over swamp ash, 3-ply black pick guard, maple fingerboard with black blocks and no binding, vintage tint satin, 1 5/8" nut, 12" radius. To match her sister:

I'd put the $400 left over towards a sweet tube preamp.

That was easy. Now ask me about amps!

Go red!

 

[armyadarkness]

Music Man Bongo 4H
View attachment 3048419

Nicest bongo I ever saw. I'd be surprised to see it come in under 2

 

[armyadarkness]

G&L Kiloton, SB-2, Warwick Pro Series Corvette Standard, or both an Epiphone Vintage Pro Thunderbird and a Classic IV Pro Thunderbird.

With the Kilo or SB2 you could do a custom build for under 2

 

[armyadarkness]

G&L L2000 something like this...

View attachment 3048464

The answer is always G&L!

 

[armyadarkness]

I doubt I'd go botique even if I hit the big lottery, but for $2,000 G&L would be building me a custom SB-2000, same SB 2 pickups but with L2000 electronics...chrome yellow, matching hradstock, pearl white pickguard, ebony fretboard.
I'm pretty sure this is their standard yellow, but the lighting gives it the metallic look I want.
View attachment 3048461

So did you ever try the sb-2000?

 

[armyadarkness]

Mike Lull P4 (used), or a G&L L2000.

Always G&L!!!

 

[TeamScorpioRI]

Lakland 55-02 Custom in White. Add a tort guard (of course)

Lakland Skyline 55-02 Custom - Pure White, Maple Fingerboard

 

[armyadarkness]

Glad to see so many requests for G&L. So many models, colors, options, made in the USA. Whats not to love?

 

[InternetAlias]

OP, you should have said "you have to spend it all and you have to spend it on one bass. The bass must be new. You forfeit any change left over."

This would thin out the MIM Fender crowd and the people who suggest you wait a lifetime until you find the guy desperate to sell you his used Series II Alembic at your price point.

(Probably a Skyline Lakland Darryl Jones if it had to be one bass)

Actually, this just shows how many people would either prefer more money to have for other things, or just plain don't need/want a $2000 bass.

I know I personally don't, I'd rather invest into a better amp or woodworking tools.

 

[redwingxix]

This. And use the leftover $700 to consult with the divorce lawyer I'd soon need.