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Vintage basses pricing. Seriously?

#61
jamro217 said:
I guess we should go out and buy every Yugo we can find, too. They don't make them anymore. We'll be rich, I tell ya, RICH!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
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Here is a 1988 Yugo for sale...
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Might have more to do with the value of the dollar than the value of the product.
Everyone has their own opinion but mine is that a 1960's Fender bass is really worth about $1000 in today's dollars. I am sure they are worth more to others but not to me.
I owned one in the 60's and never thought much of it then. I doubt that they really improved all that much with age.
 
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#62
Why are classic cars worth so much when new ones are "better"??? Why is a vintage porsche a quarter million dollars when the new civic type R would spank it on a track???
Why are vintage books worth thousands when the contents are $8 on a kindle?
Why is earthbound for the super nintendo almost $200 when I can download it to my WiiU for $7?
Why are old coins worth thousands if they're only worth $0.25?

Older stuff has value because as the years go by... there are less of them.... and even fewer are the examples that look as they did when they were new. People grow fond of them over the years and that makes the interest in their predecessors start to grow as well. Add in nostalgia and the feeling of something old.... and you have the vintage market.
 
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#63
bucephylus said:
Not sure exactly what your point is.

The main thing is a player needs to understand if they are a collector or not. Don’t get stuck in the middle. Be a collector or not. If you are a player and not a collector, then a) there are plenty of perfectly great non-collector pieces that get the job done; and b) you should let the instruments come to you.

Which in the latter aspect doesn’t mean you don’t keep your ear to the ground; just that you don’t push the issue. If you stumble across a nice instrument, then great.

Let the collectors be collectors. None of us can change that anyhow. Work hard on your playing and try to play the best instruments for your needs you find. That’s it.
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Truth. We'll be appreciating these collectors in 50 more years when the rarity of good examples has increased again and again.
 
#66
Son of Wobble said:
I am gonna call you on that and suggest we me meet here on January 20, 2068 and see how your prediction panned out.
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Youre gonna call me on what? Youre guessing that in 50 more years people wont appreciate seeing mint examples of what the first electric bass guitars looked like? I can already tell you that you're wrong because currently people love seeing 50 year old instruments that look new. Go check out pictures of some mint 50's les pauls.. theyre gorgeous. Now imagine another half a century when the herd of 50s/60s fenders have thinned out some more. Stuff gets stolen... people use stuff... fires happen... life happens. There will be less of them as the years go by and mint examples will be even fewer than they are now. I for one would love to see them and Id bet most of this forum feels the same.
 
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#67
Clifford Lee said:
I have been browsing the old Fender's in particular and the prices blow me away. Call me naive, call me ignorant but what makes an instrument that was made in the 60's and the 70's cost anything between $2.000 and more than $8.000? Where the electronics made by superior or advanced components? Where the trees from which the wood came any better than those of today? Did the procedure of building a quality instrument not improve? Or is it simply nostalgia of the teenage years that idolizes everything about that era?
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Sorry, not to be "that guy" but the word you were looking for was "were"
 
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#69
A lot of it is just scarcity and collectibility as opposed some intrinsic tone/playabilitynofnthe instrument. That said, the single greatest sounding bass I ever played was a refinished pre cbs jazz. Some of them do in fact have the mojo
 
#71
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#72
Were the electronics made by superior or advanced components?
NO.
Were the trees from which the wood came any better than those of today?
NO, ALTHOUGH TONEWOODS DO AGE NICELY.
Did the procedure of building a quality instrument not improve?
YES, IT DID.
Or is it simply nostalgia of the teenage years that idolizes everything about that era?
YES, EXACTLY.
There've been a few posts recently about 'birth year' instruments. While I love the idea, I was born in '63. I can't imagine playing a 7.25" radius neck with tiny frets would be enjoyable. Also, I'd have to refinance the house.
 
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#73
Wohlf said:
The value of true vintage instruments has little to do with how they play and most everything to do with their unique tone. Over the years, players got more obsessed with playability and comfort and now tend to value that above all the things that really matter (not that playability isn’t important, but, everything can be made to play easy these days).
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Well, by “play” I do mean sound as well. I’d put my Lakland or custom shop Jazz up against any vintage instrument. And, you could have a fine Japan or MIM instrument that plays and sounds just as good. This is another advantage - ability to mold the sound on a well playing instrument without hurting value. Speak to Lindy Fralin if you don’t believe it. :)
 
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#76
Artman said:
I had a grabber. In fact, it was the very first bass that I purchased with my own money. I bought it from a pawn shop (before they were all part of one big corporate monstrosity) for $200. I remember that it had a tiny crack in the body near the neck joint, but it stayed in tune well. I also remember the neck being somewhat rife with dead spots, and the pickup being pretty dull and lifeless. But it was all mine. I loved every minute spent playing that bass. I played my very first gig with it. She was with me through my teenage stage nerves and adrenaline rushes, and learning to groove with a drummer, learning to play a walking line instead of just the roots, learning to not let the stage rush turn me into a shouting fool who ran around the auditorium stage way too much. It wasn’t the finest instrument that I’ve owned. It wasn’t even close to median, but it did the job. Enjoy your Grabber, and never trade it, even if it just becomes a conversation piece, it is a piece of Gibson’s history and a piece of your own musical history.
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Very cool
 
#78
selowitch said:
This being TalkBass, inevitably some cat will come along and tell a story about how he came across an old bass somebody was selling at a yard sale for $25. The TBer takes it home, removes 200-300 layers of dirt with his belt sander and discovers an original 1962 Fender Jazz Bass beneath the grime in great condition once he puts new strings on it, reglues the nut, removes the rust from the bridge, etc. One of the pickup wires will have disconnected from the tone pot, which is why the bass "didn't work" when plugged in but works just fine now.

Because, y'know, it's TalkBass.
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I got one for $50 in 1970.Got it from a hippie hitchhiker & it was wrapped in a sleeping bag.
In 1970 they were only worth $125 used.
 
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