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Worth buying expensive?
- Thread starter KleineMerel
- Start date
@Brad Johnson is either the John the Baptist or the Apostle Paul of buying expensive basses after they have taken that depreciation hit (you can tell I just got out of church.) My two nicest basses would have cost me about $7,500 if I had bought them new. I paid less than $2,100 getting them used. I strongly support paying full price and supporting luthiers, but there ain’t a thing wrong with snapping up a good deal either!
Just yesterday, I was talking to a great church bassist who bought a $2,200 dollar Warwick Corvette used for $450.
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The best deal is always a top of the line bass second hand. You will get it for 50%-60% of its' original price and can always get all your money back assuming you keep it in good shape.
The more you use and the longer you keep anything, the better that gear is for the dollar. High end or not.
Not really a good analogy imo. Kia makes some pretty decent cars now and their cheapest is about the same price as toyota's cheapest. A better analogy would be would you rather 4 used toyotas or 1 new lexus. Since they're the same company, it's more akin to the Fender/Squier relationship.
And to the OP. I don't often plan on flipping my basses, so resale value doesn't come into play much. If I see a bass I like, I buy it. If there ever comes a time where I don't want it anymore, I sell it. Any difference in price between what I bought it for and what I sold it for, I consider it the cost of my lease on the bass, much like leasing a car would be. If you're that worried about depreciation, buy used. There will be a much smaller loss.
I believe it is subjective, and can pass no judgement either way. You have to follow your own instinct. People will try to dissuade you to their preference no matter what you choose.
Everybody likes to feel like they got a good deal, and all that matters is you are happy with what you have, and play it. $100 or $1000 will mean nothing when we're gone. I'm not saying be irresponsible, but follow your muses.
Everybody likes to feel like they got a good deal, and all that matters is you are happy with what you have, and play it. $100 or $1000 will mean nothing when we're gone. I'm not saying be irresponsible, but follow your muses.
I only have one bass that I bought new, an SR4 that was expensive to 21 year old me in 2001, everything else was bought used... That Stingray is my main bass and has always been at least in my main two. I like that every scratch and dent on that bass is from me... I bought it with the plan to play it until I wear the paint off, though 21 year old me didn’t realize an Ernie Ball finish is a pretty darn tough one... I’d be curious what it’d look like now if it’d been a nitro finish... but I care about cool looking worn basses less then I did then, this one just plays slightly better than the others.
I guess my misunderstood point was what's the point of owning many lesser items than one good item. Maybe I should have referenced owning four 2003 Kia Rios and one nice new Kia ,(all garbage IMHO). No wonder I stopped posting on this site. Time to crawl back in the woodwork when the analogies get criticized.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
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It's all about tone, neck feel, balance, and construction after that, I don't care who made it or how much it cost.
I will play it as long as it satisfies me.
I will play it as long as it satisfies me.
Heres a thought.
Buy what you want and keep it.
I will never understand those that buy stuff based on selling it.
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My friend gave me a seriously abused L-1000. It was in a cardboard case. Wood beneath controls looked like a large dog or small bear had teethed on it. Black with a 1/4” patina of cigarette smoke. Beautiful maple neck with Derek & the Dominoes wear on the G, A, C fret positions. Dull tuning pegs.
My tech took it and stripped, filled and stained the body a wonderful walnut. Rechromed or replaced damaged parts or those with that black electrical tape oem finish. I told him to not touch the neck. It’s beautiful. It plays like butter. It’s resonant it’s amazing! My friend wanted me to know how good G&Ls are. I know now! Plus it’s a bass that Leo oversaw or touched.
Yet a booteeqee I own is far more resonant. It is rigid. It rattles strap locks if my strap is slack. It is far more powerful allowing for my amps to be flat. It is capable of extreme dynamics without touching the controls. You can play every note on the fretboard! It stays closely in tune for months gig after gig. Requiring a tweak because of my playing. It can sound like an upright or Live at Leeds. I sold a more expensive Smith and found the better bass. Price doesn’t determine quality. I played a $5600 MTD that was beautiful, too heavy and absolutely not musical.
To me in my humble opinion some expensive basses are partially adornment. There’s also wood selection and that I’m paying for craftsmanship. It’s a musical instrument that serves me serving the music. It’s not an inventory item for a large Corp that may or may not be a gem.
It comes from a company that’s name is based on its quality. It’s price reflects that the owner is paying insurance and all of the costs of having a small business with employees.
Do I love my G&L? Oh yeah! My $340. MIJ ‘51 Precision is amazing too. I play it constantly. Is it the same as my booteeqee? Nope. Don’t need it or want it to be. The booteeqee can do anything at any kind of gig.
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cheap basses available today can be very solid. very playable, sound good, look nice.
a quality, higher-end bass (more $$) will almost always beat it in every way. I have some great budget instruments, on their own they sound fantastic. But when you compare them to my 2 customs or my Big Al, they simply don't win in a shootout.
I've also noticed the difference between bedroom players and stage players. kind of like a batting practice all-star. I find that some amps get better the louder they are, and many basses get worse. performance is usually where the higher end gear shines brightest.
a quality, higher-end bass (more $$) will almost always beat it in every way. I have some great budget instruments, on their own they sound fantastic. But when you compare them to my 2 customs or my Big Al, they simply don't win in a shootout.
I've also noticed the difference between bedroom players and stage players. kind of like a batting practice all-star. I find that some amps get better the louder they are, and many basses get worse. performance is usually where the higher end gear shines brightest.
Whether or not a really expensive bass is worth it to you is entirely based on how you value it. A session pro could see a lot more value out of a Sadowski than most, or he might prefer a Squier. I've seen guys playing American standard fenders not making any money and I've seen guys in profitable cover bands playing Squier affinities just because they were that good. I've also met guys driving absolute beaters that claimed to be millionaires, and guys with f250s with ridiculous lift jobs that just worked on the line at a Ford plant and took out a loan to get a house and a cottage.
It's your life, only you can figure out what's worth the terms to get the things you want. If you're going to avoid taking a loan just to get a bass and opt for a cheaper one, just remember that a cheap bass won't stop you from being good.
It's your life, only you can figure out what's worth the terms to get the things you want. If you're going to avoid taking a loan just to get a bass and opt for a cheaper one, just remember that a cheap bass won't stop you from being good.
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Don’t buy used basses. And no matter what, don’t click on the link in my signature.
You seem to have missed the more obvious answer of just buying something nice that's a year or 2 old, and letting the other guy take most of the depreciation on it and then keeping it forever.
You couldn't pay me to buy a squier these days. I do have one but it's nigh on 20 years old, Indonesian, and I got it in a trade for something probably worth less than the bass (so I guess he DID pay me) I would MUCH rather save that money and put it towards something nice.
BUT having nice gear doesn't have to cost a ton of money, you just have to know how to search for bargains, which means things that are worth more than what they cost. I bought a Reverend guitar for like $225 or something, that new street price was like $700. It was basically brand new, and I've been rocking it for about 7 years now. 40 bucks a year once you factor in the cost of the case I got for it.
Or my Yamaha BB-415. I think that was $300 total including tax, VERY lightly used and lovingly cared for (owned by another TB'er who traded it to GC which is where I found it). Street price on those was not that much (maybe 450-500 I think?), but it plays and sounds like a much higher end bass.
My Genz Uber Quads I bought used in great shape for something close to half of the new street price. Same with my ShuttleMax 9.2 head.
But the key to deals like that is to not be a trend follower. Trends are always going to be expensive by definition. Sometimes you might need to choose something other than exactly what you're looking for to get a particularly great deal. I wasn't looking for the Reverend, but it presented itself and I had the money and it was too good of a deal to pass up. So not really my "dream" guitar, but it is really nice and I've gotten a ton of use out of it and I could sell it tomorrow for twice what I paid for it.
You really have to unplug from the marketing machine and figure out what makes a good deal, and what actually adds value and what is just a gimmick. And then turn over those undiscovered (or at least underdiscovered) gems. Like my 80s Yamaha BB-300. Paid like $200 or $225 for. Probably rivals most MIJ P basses that cost 3-5 times that much.
You couldn't pay me to buy a squier these days. I do have one but it's nigh on 20 years old, Indonesian, and I got it in a trade for something probably worth less than the bass (so I guess he DID pay me) I would MUCH rather save that money and put it towards something nice.
BUT having nice gear doesn't have to cost a ton of money, you just have to know how to search for bargains, which means things that are worth more than what they cost. I bought a Reverend guitar for like $225 or something, that new street price was like $700. It was basically brand new, and I've been rocking it for about 7 years now. 40 bucks a year once you factor in the cost of the case I got for it.
Or my Yamaha BB-415. I think that was $300 total including tax, VERY lightly used and lovingly cared for (owned by another TB'er who traded it to GC which is where I found it). Street price on those was not that much (maybe 450-500 I think?), but it plays and sounds like a much higher end bass.
My Genz Uber Quads I bought used in great shape for something close to half of the new street price. Same with my ShuttleMax 9.2 head.
But the key to deals like that is to not be a trend follower. Trends are always going to be expensive by definition. Sometimes you might need to choose something other than exactly what you're looking for to get a particularly great deal. I wasn't looking for the Reverend, but it presented itself and I had the money and it was too good of a deal to pass up. So not really my "dream" guitar, but it is really nice and I've gotten a ton of use out of it and I could sell it tomorrow for twice what I paid for it.
You really have to unplug from the marketing machine and figure out what makes a good deal, and what actually adds value and what is just a gimmick. And then turn over those undiscovered (or at least underdiscovered) gems. Like my 80s Yamaha BB-300. Paid like $200 or $225 for. Probably rivals most MIJ P basses that cost 3-5 times that much.
When i go look at basses i start on the low end and audition my way up the food chain. When i hit a bass with more playability potential than i have the ability to exploit that’s usually where i buy because electronics and strings can be adjusted/replaced easy enough but the playability lies in the quality of the neck, body and components anchoring the strings and how well that combination of components work together. As a mediocre player who does it as a hobby my ability currently puts me in the quality range of an MIM Fender so that’s what i look at when i’m looking. The day those basses hold me back i’ll take another run at the bass quality food chain and see where i land.
10-15%? The typical bass loses 30-40% the instant you use it one time.
A new Fender Jazz that sells for around $1200, will be lucky to sell used in like new condition for $750. About 40% off. Note I said the word SELL, because there are plenty of of dreamers who list there used basses for $100 off the price of a new one. They don't sell for that. EVER. They just crowd about Ebay and Reverb for months or years.
The only exception to this is if it is extremely rare like Wal MK2 basses. They still do quite well used.
