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What is YOUR personal limit?

#142
Well, once upon a time my limit would have been in the $600 range (actually bought some REALLY good used stuff in that range over the years).

Then, as I aged & got better income I put it at about $1500, and I'm still working with that range today (I'm not a "pro" but I do gig frequently enough to warrent at least "good" gear, but boutique stuff is just simply not needed at this point).

But.....I've been drooling quite heavily over getting a NEW Music Man HH 5-string, which sells for around $1700-$1800, so I guess I'd be willing to go that far, but no further...
 
#143
My 2011 American Precision Deluxe has just cost me £1395, sunburst with rosewood board, a lot of money for me but why not, you only live once, the kids can starve !! :D
I think its worth the money just looking at it, pride of ownership is a very nice thing and I really appreciate items that I consider to be beautiful, beauty is very inspiring and the Ps curves are spot on :hyper:
 
#144
$1,200 - $1,500 I guess. I am currently playing a Fender American Standard Jazz 4. I, too, have had more "boutique" bases and while some of it is paying for "fancy stuff" that doesn't necessarily effect tone, it is kind of nice to have a nice bass. We'll see how long the jazz lasts.
 
#145
The most I ever spent on a bass was $600 for a new Fender MIA jazz plus back in 1990 or maybe 91. It's been a long time and the exact year is lost to the ages.

That said, I generally only buy basses after trying them and I prefer to not know what the price is because the natural skinflint in me might adjust what I'm hearing or feeling if I thought the cost was too high before I took it in hand. it's a hard and fast rule with one exception. I know one other person on this planet I would trust to tell me a bass was worth having. Outside that, if I like it after trying it, I check the price and negotiate. That same friend I trust to be straight and actually know what he's talking about will also tell you only a fool pays retail.

I worry less about the initial cost of a bass and more about gathering as much info as possible on what our long term relationship might be. $50 for a bass spent on a whim is a crapshoot and can just as easily turn into a waste, while 10K spent after some amount of deliberation and testing is well put to purpose.

Honestly though, at this point in my life, given my age, skill level, and commitment to craft, that $600 J might well wind up being the most expensive bass I ever buy. I've still got it and except for not wanting to expose it to extreme temperature or humidity changes prompting me to spend $400 over the last few months on a couple of mexi j's, I can't imagine a bass any better than what I already have. They are all certainly better basses than my ability to exploit them so why would I have any reason to buy another short of loss, vanity, or insanity?

In summation I have no hard and fast money threshold I won't go over. Unless a bass goes over 10K I could buy whatever I wanted and not worry, and if I really wanted it I could go over 10K with a bit of temporary belt tightening, but the money is not the point these days. It's the ratio of usefulness to cost, which is something built in to me by years of struggle to get to my current place where a little money is not a big deal one way or the other.
 
#146
5k. I can afford that and have done it. I would not spend more even if I could. IMO the law of diminishing returns flattens around there. Obviously not talking about collectible vintage stuff.
 
#148
I am just a hobbyist, so I generally balk at four-digit price tags, and the most expensive bass I have ever owned was less than $600 new.

That said, if the RIGHT bass ever appeared in my life, then the sky would be the limit. But it would have to be the RIGHT bass, a perfect musical soul mate, to justify spending that much money on a hobby.
 
#149
DougD said:
First off, this is not a cheap bass vs expensive bass bashing thread. So please DON'T go there.
My question to you all is. What is YOUR personal limit for buying a bass? What price line do you have that you will not cross? Or do you even have one? For some it's $500, some may say $15k. There's no right or wrong answer, I'm just taking an informal poll as to what price point would put you off buying a new bass. Please, NO BASHING!
I'll go first. I would have a very hard time justifying a bass that cost $4k, so I guess that would be my personal limit.:bassist: Not that I would want to pay up to 4k for a bass, but I definitely would NOT cross the 4k line.
Click to expand...

So I guess this one is off your 'wish list'?? ;)

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f126/ritter-cora-4-string-steal{-new}-760272/

Only way I could afford this would be to trade my car in on it! :smug:

Actually, if the one horn wasn't so long and it was affordable, I'd probably be all over it!
 
#156
Most I've spent on a single bass was $1k for my MTD Kingston Heir 5er. All my others are in the $500 to $800 range, including the G&L L-200 Trib I ordered this week. Should be in Tuesday or Wednesday, can't wait!

My "holy grail" bass would be a Warwick Thumb, which are going for around $2500 - $3k in my area right now. I'd be willing to drop the coin on one, but I'm sure I'd end up living in my car if I did, because the wife would definitely kick me out. Even thats not the show stopper though... I just don't know how I'd live comfortably in a Dodge Caliber with 7 bass guitars.
 
#157
No real limit... It doesn't take much for me to justify spending money on a bass. :) I have a lot more trouble justifying spending small amounts of money on things like clothes than I do spending large amounts of money on a bass. But that's probably because the money for the clothes usually has to come from the bass fund...
 
#158
The most I've ever spent on an electric is $1000 when I bought my Stingray5 used a while back. When I have money around for a more expensive instrument, I can't foresee myself going much over $4k.

Upright, on the other hand...when I get a salaried job I plan on investing in something excellent. I plan on spending $15-20k on that, but for now my $3500 hybrid sounds great and will get me through school.
 

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