Why don’t Ibanez basses hold their value. The prestige and premium bases would cost twice as much if made by other companies.
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Why
- Thread starter woody357
- Start date
As an historian, I must explain that there are only two possible causes for anything...conspiracy and screw-up
Possibility #1 It's a vast conspiracy. An inner circle of massively evil people gather in a secret location each year to agree what the price of used basses will be. These people hate Ibanez.
Possibility #2 It's a huge screw-up. Bass owners as a group just don't understand how rare and wonderful used Ibanez basses are, so in their ignorance they refuse to pay what the bass is truly worth.
Possibility #1 It's a vast conspiracy. An inner circle of massively evil people gather in a secret location each year to agree what the price of used basses will be. These people hate Ibanez.
Possibility #2 It's a huge screw-up. Bass owners as a group just don't understand how rare and wonderful used Ibanez basses are, so in their ignorance they refuse to pay what the bass is truly worth.
Or just simply - prejudice, like in my case.
There is no money to pay me to take in my hands anything which brand name ends with - ez.
Sounds stupid. But, I live my life by some weird rules and that's about it. It just does not exist for me.
There is no money to pay me to take in my hands anything which brand name ends with - ez.
Sounds stupid. But, I live my life by some weird rules and that's about it. It just does not exist for me.
- Dec 28, 2009
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- 1,380
- Disclosures
- Endorsed by K.B. Guitars, Nordstrand Audio Pickups, Von York Strings and Gallien-Krueger Amps.
I love by Ibanez Soundgear basses. I still have my original 94’ and 95’ SR 500’s, in the last few months, I reacquired a 95’ SR 800 that was in mint condition and the same color as my previous one, metallic blue. And then this past week, I reacquired another 93’ SR 400 in metallic red, also in excellent condition. Not a scratch on the body. It was a match to my very first Ibanez Soundgear bass that I bought new in 1993. Now here is where it gets weird. My 93’ SR 400 was built in May of 1993. This one was too. Mine had the D string tuning key slightly set crooked from the factory. This one does too. I’ll never know for sure but there is a chance that this is my exact bass from 25 years ago.
The only one that I need to reacquire is my 2007 20th Anniversary Soundgear bass. I bought it off of a member on here. Mine was the 5 string version, the 20th5 and was #317/350. A few years back I took it to a Guitar Center in Fort Collins, Colorado to try some new amps. The store manager was a big fan of the basses and offered me a straight across trade for a brand new Ernie Ball/Music Man Stingray 4 H. I did the trade but regretted it later on simply because I really loved that bass.
I have owned several American made basses and guitars. I have also owned several Ibanez basses and guitars. I think Ibanez has the best quality of any overseas made instruments. Even their Korean made and now Indonesian made instruments are of amazingly good quality that in my opinion, is almost as good as many American made guitars and basses.
I now want to get a sapphire blue SR 500, to add to my collection and hopefully, one day, find another 20th Anniversary one again. I’m half tempted to buy a 30th Anniversary one too but the 20th was the one I really bonded with.
The only one that I need to reacquire is my 2007 20th Anniversary Soundgear bass. I bought it off of a member on here. Mine was the 5 string version, the 20th5 and was #317/350. A few years back I took it to a Guitar Center in Fort Collins, Colorado to try some new amps. The store manager was a big fan of the basses and offered me a straight across trade for a brand new Ernie Ball/Music Man Stingray 4 H. I did the trade but regretted it later on simply because I really loved that bass.
I have owned several American made basses and guitars. I have also owned several Ibanez basses and guitars. I think Ibanez has the best quality of any overseas made instruments. Even their Korean made and now Indonesian made instruments are of amazingly good quality that in my opinion, is almost as good as many American made guitars and basses.
I now want to get a sapphire blue SR 500, to add to my collection and hopefully, one day, find another 20th Anniversary one again. I’m half tempted to buy a 30th Anniversary one too but the 20th was the one I really bonded with.
I suppose because folks think they never had much value in the first place.
Cuz they’re already low priced and they make a zillion of them?
Anymore I see just about as many Ibanez guitars today at music store as I do Fenders. They also have allot of models maybe that’s part of the reason.
I have two, they are relatively rare, and they are worth about what I paid for them, decades later.
They're worth far more to me than their cost.
They're worth far more to me than their cost.
Same thing can be said for G&L.
Good news for anyone shopping used.
Which bass holds its value? Within reason, most basses are worth about half on the used market they were on the new market. The only exceptions to this are:
1) The owner can afford holding onto the bass for a long time waiting for the right price AND the bass is unique enough that a new buyer is willing to pay more.
A 1991 Warwick Dolphin with boire wood will hold its value better than a 2002 Warwick Dolphin with Ovankol neck. They aren't making boire wood basses anymore and ovankol has always been seen as less desirable than Wenge.
2) The bass is highly sought after AND there aren't a lot around.
A '52 Fender Precision is going to increase in value over time because if anything, there are fewer every year and demand is about the same.
3) New the bass is always really expensive.
An Ibanez or even a modern Fender will fall into what I think of as being worth about half. A new Fender Players Series Bass is in the $600-700 range. On eBay, you can normally get them used for $350. It just doesn't make sense to buy a used Players Series bass for $500 when you could get it brand new for $600. Same even for the high end Ibanez. Say new, a BTB costs $1500; why would I spend $1300 on a used one unless they just weren't making them anymore?
1) The owner can afford holding onto the bass for a long time waiting for the right price AND the bass is unique enough that a new buyer is willing to pay more.
A 1991 Warwick Dolphin with boire wood will hold its value better than a 2002 Warwick Dolphin with Ovankol neck. They aren't making boire wood basses anymore and ovankol has always been seen as less desirable than Wenge.
A '52 Fender Precision is going to increase in value over time because if anything, there are fewer every year and demand is about the same.
3) New the bass is always really expensive.
A Fodera with a list price of $20,000 might seem like a deal to someone that has saved up $14,000 over the last couple of years for it.
An Ibanez or even a modern Fender will fall into what I think of as being worth about half. A new Fender Players Series Bass is in the $600-700 range. On eBay, you can normally get them used for $350. It just doesn't make sense to buy a used Players Series bass for $500 when you could get it brand new for $600. Same even for the high end Ibanez. Say new, a BTB costs $1500; why would I spend $1300 on a used one unless they just weren't making them anymore?
Dunno. Lots of basses fail to hold the value of their purchase price. Should a premium Ibanez cost more than it does? Probably. I’ve seen some really nice ones out there, but the market is a fierce one.
Maybe it’s an identity crisis. Can anyone describe the Ibanez sound or feel in 50 words or less? What’s the opposite of iconic? Do Ibanez basses have a signature sound?
Maybe it’s an identity crisis. Can anyone describe the Ibanez sound or feel in 50 words or less? What’s the opposite of iconic? Do Ibanez basses have a signature sound?
With a few exceptions,
Musical instruments are not a good investment—— they are tools to make music.
Musical instruments are not a good investment—— they are tools to make music.
Ultimately, it's supply and demand, also the desirability and value of the bass when new. Actually the loss in original value of an Ibanez is not all that different from other brands.
A MIM Fender Bass is typically 1/2 the price used as when it's new.
Now there are also cases where the used value is often less than 50% of the original price because the original price was overpriced or perceived as such in the first place. Some brands that come to mind, Warwick, LTD, Schecter.
It's really more a question of which basses retain their value most.
A MIM Fender Bass is typically 1/2 the price used as when it's new.
Now there are also cases where the used value is often less than 50% of the original price because the original price was overpriced or perceived as such in the first place. Some brands that come to mind, Warwick, LTD, Schecter.
It's really more a question of which basses retain their value most.
Several good answers in this thread. My only experience has been, seeing an old Iceman on Craigslist, meeting the seller at a pawnshop to try it out, liking it and buying it...super cheap. I still have it tucked away around here somewhere. It is a nice bass that plays well.
