Vintage Basses For less than 1000$....

[godofthunder59]

For whatever reason Hamer Blitz basses go cheap. I have two, one near mint in gunmetal blue with factory Kahler and ohsc I paid $450. The other a pearl white with some player wear cost me $350

 

[MichelD]

I'd love to find a Greco P Bass or Jazz bass as seen on Reverb.

I remember playing those in music stores in Japan in 1974. And they were extremely nice instruments. Of course I 'd love to have an old Epiphone bass too.

 

[maxschrek]

First gen. Hamer Cruise bass. It is essentially a set neck, all mahogany, handmade P/J jazz bass that can be had for under $500. It SLAYS every other bass mentioned in this thread ( besides the one above) for sound, quality, playability and overall build, IMO of course.

 

[Okstatefan]

I just got my second Peavey, a 1982 T-45. The other is a 1993 Fury. Both were priced cheaper than used modern Squiers and both are in excellent condition. I find them such good quality and value that it seems I'll be looking for a T-40 as well.

 

[TinIndian]

First gen. Hamer Cruise bass. It is essentially a set neck, all mahogany, handmade P/J jazz bass that can be had for under $500. It SLAYS every other bass mentioned in this thread ( besides the one above) for sound, quality, playability and overall build, IMO of course.

Hamer Cruise is basically an NS2A with a different body shape. Same preamp, same pups. Cool basses you don't see around as much.

 

[39-Bassist]

If you don't want to spend alot of $ but want something that is built VERY well and sounds great, I would suggest a 1983-84 Squier MIJ P-bass or even the JV series, Awesome quality and is becoming a very collectable bass. Not a $1000 bass but holds its own on value...$500-$750 depending on condition.
Just another direction of thought.

 

[Right_Butterscotch64]

For whatever reason Hamer Blitz basses go cheap. I have two, one near mint in gunmetal blue with factory Kahler and ohsc I paid $450. The other a pearl white with some player wear cost me $350View attachment 837061

I love Blitz basses, but I keep seeing them go for around $600-900.

 

[godofthunder59]

I love Blitz basses, but I keep seeing them go for around $600-900.

Still a bargain!

 

[Continuum]

There are some cool older Peaveys and Yamahas out there.

You can get a lot of them for under $200.

 

[tpaul]

I have a couple of the older US-made Peavey Fury basses, they are excellent. Also I just picked up an '83 SQ serial Squier P-bass, MIJ, that is surprisingly nice.

Of course none of these are particularly unique. If you're looking for unique:

 

[maxschrek]

Hamer Cruise is basically an NS2A with a different body shape. Same preamp, same pups. Cool basses you don't see around as much.

The majority of the ones produced between 1981-86 were passive with Dimarzios or OBLs. The active ones were most commonly equipped with EMGs.

 

[lpcarter]

This is at the top end of your range, but the Magnatone Hurricane is where it's AT. I LOVE mine.

They aren't exactly easy to find, but I did see one on classifieds recently.

 

[FloridaSam]

Univox HI Flyer. I love mine.