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Trying out high end basses

aldaa

aldaa

Apr 27, 2017
518
855
Shelbyville TN
#1
Hey everyone, I wanted to see how y'all tackle this situation. Please read the whole post! When you are interested in a very expensive bass that you've never played/handled/seen in person before, how do you go about auditioning it? I know everyone's situation is different, so I'm just trying to get some ideas before I decide to drop some money.

I'm looking at some used Ken Smith basses and some Sadowskys - I LOVE the way they sound and (in the case of Ken Smith) look, but I've never played one. I also live in a very rural area with no music venues, and no music stores nearby. If there are musicians, the community is quite small. All of my musician friends live quite far away, and none of them own high end instruments.

So in the case of a $3000+ instrument, do you:

Trust what your peers say online, knowing that at least the resale value is there, and buy it anyway?

Speak with the owner/shop and plan a road trip to try out the bass?

Seek out someone semi-local with the same bass that will let you try it?


Thanks for reading!
 
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#2
If you know what you're after, take advantage of return policies.
Sweetwater, for one:

' If you are not satisfied with any new product, for any reason, you may return it for a refund of the purchase price or an in-house credit, or you may exchange for another product within a fair amount of time from the shipping date (usually 30 days).
 
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#3
C-19 changes the whole "Try before you buy" method.
Up to you how to mitigate that.

Trying another specimen of the same model can give you an idea, but there is still a bit of "mojo" difference between exact same models. The feel may be different, as may be the sound.
Without hands-on, with that kinda dosh, I'm a no go for the blind buy, unless you can tie up that money for a period of time and hope you can flip it.
 
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#4
Back in the day, I just bought basses (whatever was the "flavor of the day" in discussions) I wanted to try. I live in a rural area as well. Back then, you could buy and sell and not loose your ass. Now, with shipping up, it's tough. I don't know that I ever went much above $1,500 or so back then.

I did travel (4+ hour drive) to "the big city" to a bass shop to try a few upscale models. I didn't buy new (couldn't afford it then, still can't really) but I did get a feel for what the upper end had to offer. That pretty much led me to Roscoe basses. Played on and the B string and neck feel sold me. That led to some more focused trying, which led to actually buying (3 currently) new basses from Keith. I've had one for about 8 years. The others around 5 and just got one for Christmas this year. Pretty much all I play.

I've had Smith and Sadowsky. Loved them both. If I hadn't gone through that wild time in my past, I'd probably still have the Smiths. They were my "gateway" bass into the rabbit hole.
 
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#7
SteveC said:
I live in a rural area as well.
Click to expand...

Hey Steve, my Mom's from Hunter, so I understand when you refer to "rural Eastern Nor'Dakota."

To the OP's question, I just picked up a used Sadowsky MetroLine here on the TB Classifieds. Never seen one, never heard one live. But every video/sound demo I heard made me think it was the bass for me, they just sound like a bass should sound, to my ear. It arrived a couple of weeks ago, and it's awesome. Everything I hoped it would be. But, I took the time to find one at a price that I felt was "flippable", because there is no way I would pay that much money for a closet queen.
My advice is that if you've really done your research, and feel that the Ken Smith or Sadowsky is the bass for you, give it a whirl. Keep your eye out for one that speaks to you here in the Classifieds (best deals are on TB, IMO) or Reverb. Pay a price that you feel you could re-sell it for, if it isn't what you hoped. You may be out shipping, but that is the cost of living where you live, and probably not much more that the gas/food, etc it would cost you to drive to try one. I expect you will NOT be disappointed in your purchase, those are two great bass brands you are talking about.
My $.02
 
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#9
Return policies and buying used is what I've done. I bought a Smith used from GC having never played one before. When buying used I try to be as educated as possible about what that instrument is selling for. That way I can at least flip a bass if it I don't gel with it and keep any potential losses minimal.

(just FYI I love the $#!% outta my Smith :smug:)
 
#12
Put some feelers out... you just might run across someone on TalkBass within an hour or two of where you are who would be willing to let you play their basses... outside... with both of you masked. There are lots of great folks on this site.

aldaa said:
Trust what your peers say online, knowing that at least the resale value is there, and buy it anyway?

Speak with the owner/shop and plan a road trip to try out the bass?

Seek out someone semi-local with the same bass that will let you try it?


Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...
 
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#14
Buying a bass without playing it first is a roll of the dice. As others have pointed out, some kind of return policy is essential. For what you’re spending you should demand satisfaction. All those basses are good, but I’ve heard Sadowsky basses quite a bit in Nashville and they always impress me.
 
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#18
aldaa said:
Hey everyone, I wanted to see how y'all tackle this situation. Please read the whole post! When you are interested in a very expensive bass that you've never played/handled/seen in person before, how do you go about auditioning it? I know everyone's situation is different, so I'm just trying to get some ideas before I decide to drop some money.

I'm looking at some used Ken Smith basses and some Sadowskys - I LOVE the way they sound and (in the case of Ken Smith) look, but I've never played one. I also live in a very rural area with no music venues, and no music stores nearby. If there are musicians, the community is quite small. All of my musician friends live quite far away, and none of them own high end instruments.

So in the case of a $3000+ instrument, do you:

Trust what your peers say online, knowing that at least the resale value is there, and buy it anyway?

Speak with the owner/shop and plan a road trip to try out the bass?

Seek out someone semi-local with the same bass that will let you try it?


Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...

With basses - any bass, not just , so called 'high end' ones - I would always try before buying - Not a similar bass or one of the same model, but the individual bass i am interested in.
If that is not possible I'd only buy if I could return if anything is wrong(not exactly as described, not working etc.).
Especially if I were looking at an expensive bass, I might also have it surveyed by either the builder who made it , or by a competent repair person/other builder.

If I am having one made, I'll speak with the builder, discuss options, look at previous work( in person, or online), make a detailed list of what I want, get a feel for them as a person, chat some more, and then possibly commission an instrument.
I'd also keep that detailed list of the details to have a handle on whether they are building the bass I ordered.
Also; I did loads of research prior to having basses made.
 
#19
SAlcott said:
I had Jake Serek make me a bass based on nothing but info on his website. I'd do it again if I needed another bass.
Click to expand...
Same, with the Biarnel Stico.
Took quite a chance, at that price with very little chance of resale, but it was worth it.

Also in that price-range, I was 99% confident about Basslab, but there was that nagging doubt about such a radically different kind of build. So I contacted Heiko and asked whether he either had any demo instruments, or knew of somebody in my area that might be willing to let me test-play theirs. He knew of somebody, put us in touch, and I rode halfway across the country* to get my test-play.

I had some fairly detailed discussions with both makers before committing, much as cnltb described. If I'm laying out good money for a custom build, I want to be confident that the builder understands exactly what it is I want.


*Easily done in a tiny country like the Netherlands, but it sounds more dramatic with that phrasing :)
 
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