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So what does a $25k bass actually get you?

#586
Well I just bought a 2001 Silverado for 4K with a rebuilt engine and a fairly fresh trans. That sucker runs like a top and I love it. It has some rust in the rocker panels but I don’t care. Now I did update the radio and speakers. But that should tell you there is no way on this earth I would spend 25K on a bass. Oh I’d love to get another Stingray bass but would not buy it new.
 
#587
#589
#590
sspear said:
Well I just bought a 2001 Silverado for 4K with a rebuilt engine and a fairly fresh trans. That sucker runs like a top and I love it. It has some rust in the rocker panels but I don’t care. Now I did update the radio and speakers. But that should tell you there is no way on this earth I would spend 25K on a bass. Oh I’d love to get another Stingray bass but would not buy it new.
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Actually it doesn't tell us that at all. In fact someone like you would even be more likely to spend big money on gear... because you didn't spend it on a new truck.

My current daily driver is a 2005 Honda Element EX that I bought last summer for $2,800. The basses I currently own retail for well over $100k in today's dollars.
:D
 
#591
RodRy said:
I guess for this money, you are buying a dream. If you have been chasing that dream for years, maybe you will be gifted with a rare experience of finally achieving that dream, and - with luck - you will bask in the joy of acquiring something truly beautiful which speaks to your soul. Or (and this has been my experience) you find that the object of your obsession is not enough to fill the hole you have created for it, and it will leave the bitter taste of wet ashes in your mouth.

I sincerely hope that most of our friends who have purchased boutique basses truly love and delight in them every time they think of them.
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I do. Every gig.
 
#592
-Asdfgh- said:
If you don't mind bolt on you could get all that from Warmoth for a tenth of that price. I'm currently building, ok about to build, my own EUB for a tenth of the Warmoth price. It might even work!
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Depends on what you're after. A $2,500 Warmoth would be on the very spendy side for them... but I've found that there can be a huge difference between that and a receptive luthier who's on their game.

And forget about resale value in most cases for the Warmoths.
 
#593
Brad Johnson said:
If you need to look past the nexus of his wealth, cool. I don't see anything he did that didn't start with his early musical success. If he weren't a musician...
:meh:
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It started there, yes, but none of the songs he wrote then are even his. They belong to Sony. The Beatles got slammed pretty hard and didn't make the money they should have. So, when Michael Jackson outbid him for the Beatles publishing, he started buying up a ton of other people's publishing which accounts for the bulk of his worth today.
 
#595
Rebel Bass said:
What are you really buying? It's about the perfect tool for what you are building.

Are boutique basses worth it? I met Michael Tobias back in 1984, at the time his bases were $1200 max, but I saw the progress weekly, learned a lot about what a Luthier does, woods, etc., and it was MORE than worth it. I've had others too, but I like Mike's basses. You need to find your own thing, it might not be a "boutique" bass. You have to find the right bass, for you, no matter what. Hint: if you never play it, it aint the right bass.

The right bass for me depends on what I'm using it for. I find many recording sessions require a killer fender, but when I play live, I want what inspires me, and that is different gig to gig, but it's usually one of my MTDs.
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In 1984 this was $2,400. And it wasn't the most that you could spend with Mike at the time.

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Back when I had four basses ;) The four is an older one.
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#600
I was told a long time ago if you can't really tell the the difference in how an instrument that costs alot of money plays and sounds compared to an inexpensive one all you're doing is buying something to just satisfy your ego
 

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