What?? Nooo way!! Sub $500 is just firewood! Sub $1000 maybe playable for bedroom practice! Gotta spend $2000 and up for anything good!! Really need to spend $4000 for anyone to take you serious!
hope talkbass uses their forgiveness policy for you!!
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Why worry about price?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
hope talkbass uses their forgiveness policy for you!!
I don't pay much attention to those prices. MSRP is only for those with uncontrollable GAS. Its a buyers market - Always has been - unless you have GAS. Establish what you consider a fair market price, get your money set aside and wait. Its really not a long wait till another great deal comes along. Just be prepared to pull the trigger when it does.
Be a musician, not a gear collector.
Hell, Jeff Berlin, one of the all-time top bass players in history, plays an "off the rack" bass you can get for a little more than a thousand bucks.
If you can afford higher-end instruments, great, but I don't feel it's a meaningful aspiration unto itself.
Hell, Jeff Berlin, one of the all-time top bass players in history, plays an "off the rack" bass you can get for a little more than a thousand bucks.
If you can afford higher-end instruments, great, but I don't feel it's a meaningful aspiration unto itself.
Wisdom, as usual, Doc!
Like most, I go through phases of GAS, but at the end of the day I recognize that I have a solid stable of basses. After GASing a bit, I end up playing mine more and realizing that I'm actually pretty lucky to have the basses I have.
And like most things, the quality/value of a $250-$600 bass these days is waaay better than it was 10 years ago (even adjusted for inflation). It's amazing what a good setup can do - a friend got a cheapo Affinity Squire PJ for their kid last year - setup was terrible (especially for a 10 year old kid). I took it to my guy, he gave it a setup and then it played really well. Did it sound or feel as good as my USA G&Ls? Nope. But was it totally a playable instrument that I could get through a gig on? Yep.
At the end of the day, if a bass bring you joy when you play it, it's worth it, regardless of how little or how much you paid for it. You can be happy with $400 bass that feels great and unhappy with a $3,000 bass that you just can't bond with, and vice versa.
Like most, I go through phases of GAS, but at the end of the day I recognize that I have a solid stable of basses. After GASing a bit, I end up playing mine more and realizing that I'm actually pretty lucky to have the basses I have.
And like most things, the quality/value of a $250-$600 bass these days is waaay better than it was 10 years ago (even adjusted for inflation). It's amazing what a good setup can do - a friend got a cheapo Affinity Squire PJ for their kid last year - setup was terrible (especially for a 10 year old kid). I took it to my guy, he gave it a setup and then it played really well. Did it sound or feel as good as my USA G&Ls? Nope. But was it totally a playable instrument that I could get through a gig on? Yep.
At the end of the day, if a bass bring you joy when you play it, it's worth it, regardless of how little or how much you paid for it. You can be happy with $400 bass that feels great and unhappy with a $3,000 bass that you just can't bond with, and vice versa.
After a few threads wondering if the prices of given basses are justified, I have come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worth worrying about. If you cannot afford a bass or don’t think it worth the price, buy one that fits your budget and call it a day. We are fortunate to be consumers at a time when quality instruments are available at many price points. I say spend your time getting better instead of getting caught up in instrument prices.
Amen! A well set up $300 instrument can and will hang with the top dollar instruments in the hands of somebody that knows what they're doing. And over 20 years, maybe you have to replace a few parts or get another setup.
I have a similar line of thinking. No guitar or bass is worth more than $800 of my dollars even if I can afford more. My experience is that above that price point you don't get more quality just more bells & whistles and fancy finishes, none of which you need and many of which you can add after the purchase.
This is precisely why I think big forums like Talkbass, TGP, TDPRI etc. should have separate sections for collectors and players. The two groups have vastly different goals and neither is right or wrong but a player would never balk at replacing a rusty 1960s saddle whereas that move would send a collector through the roof.
My tastes in basses has always been above my pay grade. I gave up trying to afford my dream 6 string bass. So, I built it instead. Couldn't be happier. After 20+ years, I decided to build a fretless 6 parts bass. It came out great with all top of the line parts and cost about the same as a new import 6 string. Less than half what it cost for my scratch built 6 from 20+ years ago.
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I completely understand this frustrating dilemma . As a female player who is short with small hands and fingers that prefers 5 string basses, I was challenged for years in finding exactly what I wanted and needed. For me it was a 5 with light weight, smaller body than Jazz or Pbass, comfortable neck and radius, and with THAT StingRay sound.
For many years, I was forced to compromise in one way or another until Ernie Ball revamped the StingRay5 to the Specials specs. There is a reason that I own 3 of them ( along with my Sandberg). They feel great, have the sounds Im after, and all weigh 9lbs or less. Are these instruments cheap. Nope . But for me , they are worth every cent paid. legs going numb, shoulder pain, and bad backs are not worth me saving money. My health , especially as I age , are more important and you can't put a price on that. If the Sterling import lines were lighter weight and had some of the same features, I probably would have one or two. But then they would not cost as low as they do now would they?
I try to buy used when I can and I buy where I can get good discounts. Obviously things are getting any cheaper. I buy it while I can afford it before the price continues to rise.
Cost/worth is relative.
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If price is an issue buy a Squier, and rock the snot out of it.
Prices were relatively stable for many years. but it’s usually a mistake to compare too much. Prices will rise, and whether you compare with prices 30 years ago or 5 years ago, don’t read too much into it. Pricing is complicated, so you shouldn’t automatically assume that price increases are heartless profit gouging. You’re still getting more bass for your money than you did 30 years ago.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Basses are instruments, not fashion accessories. Ask a professional violin player or trumpet player (or upright bass player). They likely do not have collection of instruments like so many amateur bassists here have. They save up for their main player.
Just play what you like and don't be an ass/snob/purist about it, whether you like Wals, Foderas, or Squiers. I like the high-end custom stuff, I can afford it so I that's what I play. But if a MIM Jazz is your thing, all the more power to ya!
hello, 2023 recession... (although I agree with the sentiment)
There has never been a time for a bassist to spend more money on overpriced gear......rejoice in the knowledge that you can take those extra dollars , no time for cents (wink,wink) and spend , spend , spend . Get on the Sweetwater site and do some gear buying , they make it so easy for you and don't forget about the free candy.........I never do .
For sure, I think MSRP Snobbery goes both ways. On one hand, some folks think that if you don't spend $1,500 or more, you have a lesser instrument, which I think Doc is referring to in this post. But the flip side is what I call the 'cheap bass badge of honor syndrome'.
Many folks will say things like "Why would you / I would never pay $XX for a bass when my $200 Squire with (insert key upgrade here) plays just as good?! You're wasting your $$!" Almost like a reverse MSRP snobbery, like those of us to choose to pay more for some basses are idiots for 'spending that much' and clearly haven't figured it out.
There is a difference between being happy with your low $$ instrument (great!) and implying that anyone who spends above a certain $$ threshold is doing it wrong just because you love your $300 bass (not great!). Just like it's fine to be happy with your $4,000 Lull or Sadowsky but not cool if you think anyone who doesn't have one isn't doing it right.
I've played $300 basses. I've played $3,000 basses. My collection is in the middle, and I like them all. It doesn't make me a bad judge of value, it means I choose the basses I most liked playing.
I'm amazed that people who buy and sell a lot of basses on here (like me) insist on buying new. Why would you continuously take that automatic deprecation hit, when you can buy a mint used bass that you will always be able to sell for what you paid? I buy from a trusted seller with good feedback, and always get a great bass free of defects. I've really enjoyed buying and selling basses for the last 8 years. I've met a lot of great people, and have come pretty close to breaking even most times. I'm financially able to buy any bass I want, but I work too hard for my money to waste it.
Positively correct. Setup (and instrument stability to maintain a setup) is, in my judgment, about 95% of the battle, or more.
Hand me a Fodera with excessive relief, improper intonation and mile-high action, and I will politely hand it right back.
Why not like … save money and buy thé boutique jazz.
I know I wouldn’t be satisfied with a lesser thing even if it means getting it in a year or more
