How much does a "great" bass cost?

[admacdo]

A great bass can cost nothing.
It all really depends on what you think is a great bass and what you enjoy playing.
My most expensive bass, I tend not to play so much because I seem to love the sounds it makes when other people play it, but not so much myself.
I’ve tried 8000 dollar basses I didn’t care that much for.

[HowLowCanYouGet]

@Barney

Maybe, some might think that, but if you consider that very few people buy a bass and keep it for their entire lives then resale value has to come into play. Unless you have so much money and then who cares about any of this.

I only buy inexpensive basses and I’m buying with the intention of using it until it falls apart, so resale value doesn’t figure into it. Basses are just tools for me.

@Barney

Lastly there’s a reason why the Fender P Bass and Jazz bass are the most recorded and copied (shape wise) basses in the world. To say that Fender doesn’t have a great reputation in the UK is a bit of stretch.

They definitely have a reputation, but for poor QC for the price because that’s mostly what I’m hearing in the bass community.

[Barney]

@HowLowCanYouGet

They definitely have a reputation, but for poor QC

Ok, well I really hope you enjoy playing your inexpensive basses and good luck on your fishing trip! I’m just plugging in my fabulous Fender P Bass and off we go…

[Al1885]

@HowLowCanYouGet

@Barney

Maybe, some might think that, but if you consider that very few people buy a bass and keep it for their entire lives then resale value has to come into play. Unless you have so much money and then who cares about any of this.

I only buy inexpensive basses and I’m buying with the intention of using it until it falls apart, so resale value doesn’t figure into it. Basses are just tools for me.

@Barney

Lastly there’s a reason why the Fender P Bass and Jazz bass are the most recorded and copied (shape wise) basses in the world. To say that Fender doesn’t have a great reputation in the UK is a bit of stretch.

They definitely have a reputation, but for poor QC for the price because that’s mostly what I’m hearing in the bass community.

I understand the context that basses are like tools to you, it just triggered my Personal view to the topic. I actually prefer to use high quality tools the not only last longer but works better as well. For the longest time I was a Harbor Freight kind of guy buying cheap pliers, etc til I used my brothers made in Germany stuffs. I’m sold. Can you file the nuts with a set of $10 Amazon nut files? Sure but life makes much easier and better with $100 stewmac or music nomad nut file set.

Here’s the thing with bass community (forum) let’s not say most but many just repeat what other said as their own. A couple of months ago i picked a few Squier basses posted here, their built quality are definitely awesome. No fret sprouts and offer very seamless feel throughout. This also made me l a little guilty as well, because I was surprised that they were so well built.

The last few Squiers that passed through my hands are pretty good. I’m pretty sure that fender has to have much bigger share of the markers especially on bass. I doubt that they have more margin of defective products than any other brands.

[kwt7667]

@HowLowCanYouGet

There is no such thing as a ‘beginner’ bass nor a ‘great’ bass. You wouldn’t go to a car showroom and say “do you sell beginner cars, mate?” would you.

This true of course, but the analogy doesn’t quite hold as some instrument are indeed available in a student line. In band instruments for example, there’s definitely “beginner” and “student” models. I was speaking with a Cello player’'s father a few months ago, and I marveled at how his son mastered the fretless instrument. He started young, and as the conversation continued, I learned that not only were there student models that were cheaper than premium instruments, but that they were often smaller for those who start young. In the case of a Cello or some other expensive band instrument one might understand that the parent wouldn’t want to “go all in” in case the youngster doesn’t take to music.

But, you are correct-- it’s not the case with the bass guitar. You can get so much for so little. I guess maybe a Harley Benton might qualify as a student instrument…maybe.

[Al1885]

@HowLowCanYouGet

There is no such thing as a ‘beginner’ bass nor a ‘great’ bass. You wouldn’t go to a car showroom and say “do you sell beginner cars, mate?” would you.

Price also doesn’t reflect quality. Many really high quality(good quality control beyond the initial obligatory setup) basses are available for under £200, and there are lots of lemons for £100,000.

You buy the bass that suits your needs within your budget. You’ll quite often find that when you spend more than around £200 you’re just paying for names on headstocks, frills, exotic woods which typically have no audible influence on a solid body electric instrument, and custom basses where you pay for someone’s time and effort.

With the level of machinery and labour costs, you can get fantastic basses for low low low prices. Some things that can suffer are the pickups the tuners and the bridge, but given that basses are almost entirely moddable there are no disadvantages because the important things and how well it’s put together using automation are done with absolute precision.

Just buy the minimum and add the extras such as preferred tuners and pickups that you want.

I would personally choose something like a Cort, Ibanez, Harley Benton, or Sire and avoid brand names like Fender and others because I think they give really poor value for money… Or any kit would do, and then add the parts that you want.

Your argument reminds me of what Dozer said to Mouse in the Matrix
“ It’s a single-celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs”

Are you driving a Russian Lada? Or something like that to get you from point A to point B? If owning a bass is just about how it sound then a $75 used big box brand would do as long as you swap out the important electronics.

Many essential things in life gives you poor value for your money but that’s how things are. If you hand beginners the most primitive functional form of a bass guitar, I doubt that there will be any next generation of greatness left.

The affordable version is a trickle down from the more expensive models. That’s why I thanks the first person who bought cell phone, CD player, DVD player, as well as flat screen tv. They got thing started and one day become affordable to all of us. If everyone listed to you now the bass would have been $1000, lol.

[Wombat-metal]

@HowLowCanYouGet

They definitely have a reputation, but for poor QC for the price because that’s mostly what I’m hearing

Fender sells a lot of basses; there a lot of instances of poor QC just from sheer numbers.

My Fenders have always worked. Not my experience with Ibanez, ESP, or Schecter. Everyone has basses that slip through QC.

[Paul]

@mgoldst

right now i am very into the musicman stingrays/ray34

The ray34 is an awesome instrument and I believe the pricing is fair. I would love to own the poplar burl one.

[RuknRole]

@Paul

The ray34 is an awesome instrument and I believe the pricing is fair. I would love to own the poplar burl one.

I agree!

[Cariboobass]

This is going to get me booted out of this Bass forum but here goes.

Go into a music store and try as many basses as you can.
Try the ugliest, most abused, worst paint job, scratched up bass you can find first and avoid playing a Fender product until you have done this.

This will surprise you as to what it will reveal; some will feel horrible and sound just as bad, some will feel great and sound awful while others will feel great, sound better and look like a nightmare.

This is what I did in finding my first great bass and it is also just saying play all you can.

I went to a music store Boxing Day sale and one bass their people did not like how it felt, how it looked, no fancy paint job, 24 frets and mostly for not being a product from the alter of Leo.

I was laughed at when I bought it for I did not want to loose an active/passive, Warwick thumb bass B.O that to me was beyond great for well under a Grand.

This is a true story nobody knew what it was and there where no bass playing staff members in the store to let them know. Being a big Fan of Jack Bruce I grabbed it. It is not a fretless like his is but it looked the same in every other way.

[howard]

@Cariboobass

This is going to get me booted out of this Bass forum but here goes.

Go into a music store and try as many basses as you can.

Not gonna get you booted; this is the best advice ever

@Cariboobass

I was laughed at when I bought it for I did not want to loose an active/passive, Warwick thumb bass B.O that to me was beyond great for well under a Grand.

Congrats, Thumbs are amazing.

[Cariboobass]

Thanks for the compliment on my Warwick. You are right it is a dream to play and with it being the last year they where made in Germany it has that European flavour.
The Worship team I play in loves the rich deep sound.
What I like about it most is yes it is popular with heavy metal bands ( I am not a metal head at all by the way) but it’s rich sound can be played with both great softness and depth.

[Barney]

@Cariboobass

This is going to get me booted out of this Bass forum but here goes.

I don’t think you’ll of’fender’ anyone with those thoughts. A great bass is one that you want to pick up and play every day. Period.

[Paul]

@Barney

I don’t think you’ll of’fender’ anyone

[Al1885]

@Cariboobass

This is going to get me booted out of this Bass forum but here goes.

Go into a music store and try as many basses as you can.
Try the ugliest, most abused, worst paint job, scratched up bass you can find first and avoid playing a Fender product until you have done this.

This will surprise you as to what it will reveal; some will feel horrible and sound just as bad, some will feel great and sound awful while others will feel great, sound better and look like a nightmare.

This is what I did in finding my first great bass and it is also just saying play all you can.
.

I agree. Just want to add one thing. If you want to test then plan to buy it at the store and not online. D!ckmove like that makes it harder if not more expensive for the next person. You’ll know within minutes if you want it or not before trying. Trying 50 basses out just to satisfy your curiosity makes things worse for the next person.

[Koldunya]

I’m playing a Schecter Stiletto Extreme 4 I picked up on sale for $350 at Guitar Center. They sell new these days for $500.

It punches far above its weight on fit and finish, playability, and sound. I can’t say every Stiletto Extreme will be as nice as this one, because a lot of it is who assembled the instrument that day when it comes to this price level. Which is easier to find shopping local than online; you can get the instrument in your hands and inspect it vs getting it out of the same box it was in in the warehouse (why I am leaning toward Sweetwater vs my usually beloved zZounds these days; they actually open it up before sending it to you, allegedly).

My first GWB35 was excellent but had a hole punched in its finish during shipping. The replacement wasn’t quite as nice and the output jack was crackly and wonky. Yeah, buying from a store that’s had an instrument on the wall and being beat on by teenagers has its ups and downs, but so does buying online in some cases

I find that $1000ish is sort of a sweet spot (and still irked by the lack of cases at this level ). My “best” instruments are around $1100 in price: The Carvin/Kiesel X64, the Ibanez SIX28FDBG, the '95 Strat Plus. Honorable mentions go to the SRC6 at $700 and excellent fit/finish, and sounds good, and the S1XXV which I don’t know the new price on as I got it used for $500 (and now they sell for almost twice that ) but it feels splendid.

I guess what I’m saying is, it’s a hard question to answer, and it goes all over the shop on levels of greatness for the cost.

But TL;DR - $1000 is where my sweet spot tends to start, with a few sub that which are not at all bad, either.

[athosmr2003]

I’ve bought several online (the Mikro, the TRBX174, the Steinberger, the Jaguar and the generic PJ), built 2 and bought 1 from my local store (Guitar Junkyard). The 2 I built and the 1 from the store were all set up by my guru Terry at the Junkyard and those 3 are my favorite. There’s something to be said for buying from a store like that because you get real SERVICE. The Yamaha BBG4 that I bought from him had been sitting on consignment for a long time before I bought it and he checked it out for me before I paid for it. He has at least 2 more at the shop that I’m interested in because both are under $200 and 1 is a 5 string (a Washburn). Out of the ones I got online (mostly from Musician’s Friend) the Ibanez Mikro is my favorite.

[Koldunya]

Reminded me that I got my uBass from a local place that was not Guitar Center. It’s a very different atmosphere in that store for sure. I like it, and if I ever decide I want to be in a band again, it’s where my “big” amp will come from as they actually have a nice selection. And their acoustic selection at the time made Guitar Center look like a drum shop XD It’s where I took a relative to get a nice ukulele, too.

I used to work in a music store that has since gone out of business. It had a luthier in-shop and he would do setups on instruments, and address other issues that he could, too. I had him install a fixed bridge on a trem-equipped guitar that came out perfect, etc. He was an old steel guitar player and knew nearly everyone’s name, etc.

It’s a different experience than most big box instrument stores for sure.

[athosmr2003]

@Koldunya

It had a luthier in-shop and he would do setups on instruments, and address other issues that he could, too. I had him install a fixed bridge on a trem-equipped guitar that came out perfect, etc. He was an old steel guitar player and knew nearly everyone’s name, etc.

This, in a nutshell, is what Terry does. The Guitar Junkyard is part museum, part luthier, part repair and part consignment. Both the P Bass and J Bass I built were wired by him and he checks the truss rods on every guitar I buy.

[Glitch]

Get the ray34! Happy owner here, bought used off musicians friend for $500.