You won't play with me if you own a piece of Peavey gear. If the rest of the band goes along with you, I will leave, and I have. That poopie makes me nervous.
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So what does a $25k bass actually get you?
- Thread starter FollowMeDown
- Start date
You get confirmation that your degree in dentistry has paid off.
I have a $220 Yamaha that I did about $200 of mods on and I get compliments all the time on how it sounds like a more expensive model
I did once hear somebody play an Alembic bass and he let me try in when the band was on break. It did sound good. I commented it had the punch of a Fender, bottom of a Gibson and growl of a Rickenbocker all at the same time. I didn't think it was any easier to play except for the neck being a little shorter than a typical Fender. It was very heavy and he told me that's the main reason he usually doesn't take it to gigs. But I'm still happy playing the used Fender Squire I bought for $200 after I put a nice set of strings on it :.) Maybe if I had the money the Rolling Stones have, I would consider it. But you would have to play a lot of bars at $100 a gig to buy an Alembic.
I have a bass that was built by one of my best friends ( a self taught luthier ). I purchased a slab of nice swamp ash in Florida on one of my trips and he designed and built the bass for a perfect fit for me.The neck was carved out of local birch,fretted and installed on the body, loaded up with a p jazz pickup configuration...
This bass probably cost in the vicinity of 1300-1500 complete....value to me ....PRICELESS!
This bass probably cost in the vicinity of 1300-1500 complete....value to me ....PRICELESS!
Vebleny goodness. Which I really am willing to pay good money for, even if professor Veblen thought it was a bad thing.
Here's my bass... a black limba body, and a black limba neck with an incredible cocobolo fretboard from Hilimire Guitars, up in the finger lakes area of NY.
Still undecided as to the final form it will take, or even the electronics to use, but I'm sure it won't be a 25K bass.
But it could..... and I'd golly, I'd sure welcome the dough
Still undecided as to the final form it will take, or even the electronics to use, but I'm sure it won't be a 25K bass.
But it could..... and I'd golly, I'd sure welcome the dough
#1. If that is what tweeks you get it.
#2. You can, by the way, write it off. After all if you are not about the "business" then be jealous and complain
etc. I have had band mates that are surprised to hear you can actually write off against their day gig.
#3. I have an fbass and yes plays (for me) much better than other fretless I have tried and sounds great.
(saving for a new one AC Classic)
#4. I work hard and deserve to pamper myself.
#5. Cheaper to keep than a boat and less cost per minute of "operation"
#2. You can, by the way, write it off. After all if you are not about the "business" then be jealous and complain
etc. I have had band mates that are surprised to hear you can actually write off against their day gig.
#3. I have an fbass and yes plays (for me) much better than other fretless I have tried and sounds great.
(saving for a new one AC Classic)
#4. I work hard and deserve to pamper myself.
#5. Cheaper to keep than a boat and less cost per minute of "operation"
bruce bennett
Commercial User
- Sep 8, 2009
- 73
- 33
- Disclosures
- Owner and Luther for Hard Road guitars
a sharp old man once told me the definition of "a bargain" was
"when you find the thing you really want, AND you have the money to buy it"
If you want something bad enough, you CAN find a way to own it, but obviously you need to be pretty darn serious about owning that thing whatever it might be OR whatever it costs.
People are stupid and smart at the same time. its your money, which you got by trading your labor for.
what you do with it is NO ONE ELSE'S D*** BUSINESS but your own. and if someone tries to tell you your stupid or crazy for buying something that you desired to own..
shoot'em a bird and say "Look what I have that you can't afford". and walk away from his stupid attempt at oppression.
"when you find the thing you really want, AND you have the money to buy it"
If you want something bad enough, you CAN find a way to own it, but obviously you need to be pretty darn serious about owning that thing whatever it might be OR whatever it costs.
People are stupid and smart at the same time. its your money, which you got by trading your labor for.
what you do with it is NO ONE ELSE'S D*** BUSINESS but your own. and if someone tries to tell you your stupid or crazy for buying something that you desired to own..
shoot'em a bird and say "Look what I have that you can't afford". and walk away from his stupid attempt at oppression.
I'm an independent Luthier with a shop in Cincinnati. A customer brought in a very expensive British made boutique bass that had a slight resonant buzz in the body when played without amplification. No buzz was heard electronically at all, even through headphones. I opened the control cavity and found a folded up piece of folded up British news paper that had been holding some wiring still but had come loose. It was, I assume an OEM newspaper wad!
I have a bass built by french luthier Roger Daguet. It was built to my specs and to fit my hands. He also builds his own pickups from scratch. It is beautiful, quite heavy, with sustain for days. When I play it, I never want to stop. The tone is clear and resonant and sounds like the voice of God. Other bassists are blown away by the tone. The neck feels like glass and the frets are beautifully dressed. It is worth every penny I paid for it. It is a work of art by a very skilled craftsman. Treat yourself to a bass you can’t put down, instead of the next few smartphones.
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I said that when Alembics hit the market in the early 70s and broke the $1k barrier.
A $25k electric bass is aimed at collectors, not club daters. By the same token, a $25k double bass is probably considered bargain basement by NY Philharmonic standards. A da Salo or Maggini double bass in playable condition will run at least a half million bucks. Will it play and sound $490,000 better than a new Upton? Probably not.
An old neighbor of mine used to rep for a company that built high-end cabinets. He told me about a buyer relatively close to me who spent $100,000 on custom kitchen cabinets. He showed me a picture and, yeah, they were beautiful. But six figures worth of beauty? Not to me. I built my own from about $700 worth of red oak, oak-faced plywood and hardware and I like mine just as much.
A $25k electric bass is aimed at collectors, not club daters. By the same token, a $25k double bass is probably considered bargain basement by NY Philharmonic standards. A da Salo or Maggini double bass in playable condition will run at least a half million bucks. Will it play and sound $490,000 better than a new Upton? Probably not.
An old neighbor of mine used to rep for a company that built high-end cabinets. He told me about a buyer relatively close to me who spent $100,000 on custom kitchen cabinets. He showed me a picture and, yeah, they were beautiful. But six figures worth of beauty? Not to me. I built my own from about $700 worth of red oak, oak-faced plywood and hardware and I like mine just as much.
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Mainly, the bass is only so much but the maker doesn’t want to be inundated with orders from us lay people, and they are pricing according to demand, build time, and experience as a luthier.
But a piece of wood that costs you over $1000 and then aged for 10 years in a climate controlled storage area has a lot of overhead as well... then try cutting into that piece and finding there are problems with it... so, yes you are paying for the art of the craft.
But a piece of wood that costs you over $1000 and then aged for 10 years in a climate controlled storage area has a lot of overhead as well... then try cutting into that piece and finding there are problems with it... so, yes you are paying for the art of the craft.
