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Would you go into debt for it?

#61
warwick.hoy said:
The boob bass????
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Yep. :ninja:

Deluge Of Sound said:
p16332q3wye.jpg

Do it.
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You sir, are a bastard. I have a shirt with that exact same picture on it. Not only that, but I've seen and met Family Man on more than a few occasions. I never miss the Wailers when they roll through.

lamarjones said:
Maki, if you want to be real ballsy about it, use your debt to make money. I am up probably 6-8 grand since Feb from ebay and craigslist, people are unloading things and sometimes their price is just way too low. Combined with the live.com cashback thing, you can pay for the bass after a little while. But then again, I gamble, with this and quite a bit on poker. Hey, I'm Asian and life is just a numbers game to me! (I figure you can appreciate that ;) )

That said, 3000 is still a little pricey for a 73. That said, if it's in pristine shape and has the case, it would be a good thing. My most recent early 70s jazz was a natural for 1500, then a 73 maple-black block for 750, and then a 71 before tht for 1000. Those are pretty unreal prices, but this stuff happens. And it's happening more now than it used to. They were all three reliced a fair bit (except the natural) and I got about 2200 for each of them.

Side note, all 3 of them required the slightest shim in the neck to get the action super low....
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It's in pretty good shape. Pristine, no. Wear and tear on the the paint job yep. No case. I'm kind of looking at his price as a starting point for negotiating, if I like it. If I like it, I'd be willing to go as high as 2500, but will probably start around 2100.

If I get this bass, I would unload the boob bass, an old Carvin (that monetarily won't be worth anything but man the sentimental value of this bass is huge (it was my main bass for over ten years), and possibly an acoustic bass that I have. I have a bunch of old golf clubs that I'm going to dump, (maybe some of my comic book collection), and I would also possibly put up my second cabinet, and maybe my bike. I should, over time, be able to recoup at least half of it if he goes for around 2500.

To make matters worse, my wife is going out of town for a month in a couple of weeks. So if I really wanted to make the purchase, I really could. :ninja::hiding: :help:
 
#66
Mark Latimour said:
Don't go into to credit to buy things you don't need. If you can afford to buy it with cash, go for it, otherwise wait until you have the cash.
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You are on the side of my guitar player. He also likes the sound of my Warwick $$. He said, "you've got a sound that kills that old Fender sound, save your money." Generally, for a guitard, he's right about things and I respect his opinion (eventhough, I'd never admit that to his face).

Fast forward a year later, you'll see me divorced over this purchase. I know it. :scowl:
 
#67
MakiSupaStar said:
You are on the side of my guitar player. He also likes the sound of my Warwick $$. He said, "you've got a sound that kills that old Fender sound, save your money." Generally, for a guitard, he's right about things and I respect his opinion (eventhough, I'd never admit that to his face).

Fast forward a year later, you'll see me divorced over this purchase. I know it. :scowl:
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There is too much uncertainty in financial markets now to put yourself into debt over things that are not essential. If you needed this bass to fit into your authentic 70's reggae cover band where you must use a 73 alder/rw jazz and that band was your source of income i'd say go for it. In terms of something that is just nice to have? Nah, its not worth it. Take the cash that you do have saved and put it into a separate account and then add a little bit to it when you can. It won't be long until you can afford a 70's JB and the prices may have come down. This economy is making a lot of people dump gear at low prices. Even if you never find the bass again, you will probably have the money saved to take your wife and kid on a trip to Japan or something, and you haven't put yourself in debt for it.
 
#68
MakiSupaStar said:
You are on the side of my guitar player. He also likes the sound of my Warwick $$. He said, "you've got a sound that kills that old Fender sound, save your money." Generally, for a guitard, he's right about things and I respect his opinion (eventhough, I'd never admit that to his face).

Fast forward a year later, you'll see me divorced over this purchase. I know it. :scowl:
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Its not worth your marriage. I mean unless you're looking for a quick out.

Usually when there's something like this, and I'm not sure I can cover it...its time to 'get rid' of some things around the house. In the past I've funded basses by selling rare records, collectable toys or other things that are sitting and not a big deal to me anymore. Its a great way to do this in a guilt free way. You'll just have to do it on the back side, due to the nature of this sale. Buy it, then sell off stuff to pay it off quick.
 
#69
Mark Latimour said:
There is too much uncertainty in financial markets now to put yourself into debt over things that are essential. If you needed this bass to fit into your authentic 70's reggae cover band where you must use a 73 alder/rw jazz and that band was your source of income i'd say go for it. In terms of something that is just nice to have? Nah, its not worth it. Take the cash that you do have saved and put it into a separate account and then add a little bit to it when you can. It won't be long until you can afford a 70's JB and the prices may have come down. This economy is making a lot of people dump gear at low prices. Even if you never find the bass again, you will probably have the money saved to take your wife and kid on a trip to Japan or something, and you haven't put yourself in debt for it.
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Hmm. I kinda agree with Mark here.
 
#75
I look at it this way - Mark is right, BUT while it's extremely important to save money and to be wise with it, you should also allow yourself to buy that "special" item at least once in your life. Otherwise, what the hell are you working for? If you have food on the table, clothes on your wife and kids' backs, a roof over your head and you're not going to put yourself in severe financial distress then a one time treat for yourself is in order. SUre, it would be much better to wait and build up the cash etc etc, but this one will likely be long gone by then. You can wait around for another, but trust me on this one, if you had $3000 set aside in the bank waiting for that 'special" bass again, I GUARANTEE it will absolutely disappear. "Hmmm....we need new gutters, hey let's just take $1000 of that....oops, looks like we'll need a new washing machine...subtract $400...wow with this cash, we can get that new high-tech toilet..." and on and on..
I live this, bro :)
 
#76
Relic said:
I look at it this way - Mark is right, BUT while it's extremely important to save money and to be wise with it, you should also allow yourself to buy that "special" item at least once in your life. Otherwise, what the hell are you working for? If you have food on the table, clothes on your wife and kids' backs, a roof over your head and you're not going to put yourself in severe financial distress then a one time treat for yourself is in order. SUre, it would be much better to wait and build up the cash etc etc, but this one will likely be long gone by then. You can wait around for another, but trust me on this one, if you had $3000 set aside in the bank waiting for that 'special" bass again, I GUARANTEE it will absolutely disappear. "Hmmm....we need new gutters, hey let's just take $1000 of that....oops, looks like we'll need a new washing machine...subtract $400...wow with this cash, we can get that new high-tech toilet..." and on and on..
I live this, bro :)
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I guess the question to ask yourself is "what does $3000 represent to you". Financial decisions are all relative to your income and day to day expenses. For example, I work with people to whom $3000 is a no brainer because it represents such a small amount of their annual income. On the other hand its not something I could spend without seriously thinking about where my next set of expenses etc were coming from. I agree with Relic that you need to be able to treat yourself (god knows I do enough), but you also need to make sure that you are treating yourself to things that arn't going to detrimentally affect your ability to pay your basic expenses. A good test is that if you have enough money / liquid assets to be able to surive for 6 months with no income, then you can afford to splurge / put yourself into debt to be able to buy your dream items. If not, make sure you have the cash to pay for it first and don't go into debt.
 
#77
MakiSupaStar said:
If I get this bass, I would unload the boob bass, an old Carvin (that monetarily won't be worth anything but man the sentimental value of this bass is huge (it was my main bass for over ten years), and possibly an acoustic bass that I have. I have a bunch of old golf clubs that I'm going to dump, (maybe some of my comic book collection), and I would also possibly put up my second cabinet, and maybe my bike. I should, over time, be able to recoup at least half of it if he goes for around 2500.

To make matters worse, my wife is going out of town for a month in a couple of weeks. So if I really wanted to make the purchase, I really could. :ninja::hiding: :help:
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Do NOT sell your bike! You've mentioned too many times how much you enjoy riding it. Selling it is a move I think you'd regret.

While I COMPLETELY understand the draw of the "dream bass", you need to remain somewhat sane about the whole thing. If you can realistically recoup a major part of the cost through selling off other gear, it may just be enough to show your wife how much this purchase means to you. However, If it will seriously damage your marriage, it's probably not a good idea.

Go play it and see if it speaks to you, but keep in mind that this isn't the only '73 J in the world. If this deal doesn't work, maybe it just wasn't meant to be. My '68 found me at the perfect time when my finances - and my wife's attitude - were able to handle it.
 
#78
Mark Latimour said:
There is too much uncertainty in financial markets now to put yourself into debt over things that are not essential. If you needed this bass to fit into your authentic 70's reggae cover band where you must use a 73 alder/rw jazz and that band was your source of income i'd say go for it. In terms of something that is just nice to have? Nah, its not worth it. Take the cash that you do have saved and put it into a separate account and then add a little bit to it when you can. It won't be long until you can afford a 70's JB and the prices may have come down. This economy is making a lot of people dump gear at low prices. Even if you never find the bass again, you will probably have the money saved to take your wife and kid on a trip to Japan or something, and you haven't put yourself in debt for it.
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Yeah. This is true. Way to go Latimour, appealing to my stupid sense of responsibility. :scowl:
 
#79
As this thread progresses....I'm beginning to have 2nd thoughts about my original "go for it" stance. Mark Latimour's "undeniable voice of reason" comes in to play probably after all of us contributors have had the chance to sleep on it.

I'm also considering your alternatives Maki. What if you pass this bass up? I did a search of ebay of Fender Jazz Basses and changed the "sort" to "price + shipping: highest first". This always brings up the vintage and custom shop instruments. There are of course the obligatory outrageously priced basses. A '65 Jazz for almost $9000...an '82 "62 RI" for $3333 with no strings on it (It's that one German Dealer that always has over inflated prices).

Get past all those and there are a few that are reasonably priced...and one that while isn't a sunburst...has the RW board with Block inlays and with 2 bids and 3 days to go is sitting at a little over $1500. Of course ebay is sight unseen and unless I'm buying an "outsourced bass like an MIM Fender,....I don't like the idea of buying a bass on ebay.

So this brings up the Idea I like the most. If you are willing to spend up to $2500 on a used Fender bass because of it's mojo...why not consider a new bass that replicates it's mojo, or puts your flava on that mojo? My first thought was to put together a Warmoth bass and have it finished and relic'd by a guy like TBer Ibanezcollector. Something you could involve the boy in. Something of a project to do while you're on your summer break.

If not this (and this is the idea I prefer...if you're not confident in your putting things together skills) then you could get a Valenti or similar "Super Jazz" that is done to your specs. You could probably source Warwick's Mec active electronics to put on board, make it a 5 string, have it finished in sunburst Nitro and have it relic'd by Ibanezcollector. I can't comment on cost or retention of value.

Your by your own admission not "really a fan of Fenders" so why not put your own spin on a bass that is played by a man that was influential to you. You'd also be support fellow talkbassers...which I think is cool.
 
#80
There are some notions I agree with, and some I don't. Actually, I am about to go into the whole for a Fodera (I think), and honestly the best thing about it is the price is just nuts. THAT is really one of the few good reasons to do it.

On the flip side, I have seen others suggest that something else might cure the itch. I highly doubt it. Nothing is like an older fender jazz (I guess or precision). Pre-75 with the 4 bolt neck plate is my cutoff for affordable vintage, pre 66 is a whole different story. Nothing is going to compare to playing a bass that most likely you can smell and you burn away on it. And the necks are something different as well. To those who suggest a new bass would suffice, even a custom shop relic, I would ask how many of these basses have you owned?

To flip that AGAIN, I would say that I have owned a few of these, and sound wise I was slightly underwhelmed. There was just something lacking in the lower range that wasn't doing it for me. The slap sound was everything I thought it would be on the maple board ones, but the walking lines did end up getting lost imo. This might be one of those things that doesn't bother you, but very dangerously one of those things you can only tell when in a band setting. Couple this with the fact that I was forcing myself to dig a 4 string when really I dig 5s, and that means that I flipped every one of them.

I think even 2500 is way too much without a case.
 

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