ick Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 what if you owned a $3500 bass? would it be your main axe, or your special home pleasure thing? would you keep it locked up, or hold it every minute of the day? would you still play your old $500 job that feels like a toy compared to your new life partner? would you take it to the crappy gigs where beer is spilt, or keep it for the best gigs? would you tune it, re-tune it and tune it again to be your all-round bass, or would it have just one purpose? just out of interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
61Pbass Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I have a few that are in that price range or above it and they have all seen duty wherever I felt like playing them. My theory is that there is no point in having an instrument you are afraid to use. Later.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 If I had a 3500 buck bass? Probably sell it for 3000 and invest it in my retirement. That's just me, though.... Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Gollihur Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 My old Juzek (upright bass) is worth more than $3500 and it gets its share of play. Obviously it doesn't go to high-hazard bar gigs, but I don't baby it. Besides, it has been beat to hell over its life and is used to it. Basses are tools, meant to be played. People who buy pretty or valuable basses to show to friends in their homes are collectors. 1000 Upright Bass Links, Luthier Directory, Teacher Directory - http://www.gollihurmusic.com/links.cfm [highlight] - Life is too short for bad tone - [/highlight] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Martin Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 Originally posted by Bob Gollihur (bob@gollihur.com): Basses are tools, meant to be played. People who buy pretty or valuable basses to show to friends in their homes are collectors.Absolutely! I've got an early 60's Juzek that goes out to gigs, even outdoor gigs. For that matter, I think my Modulus 6 string probably listed for close to $3500 when it was new... Dave Martin Java Jive Studio Nashville, TN www.javajivestudio.com Cuppa Joe Records www.cuppajoerecords.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dawson Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 Hell yeah you play it. I always feel weird when I see decorative guitars. PRS dragons come to mind. Yeah, they look cool and cost obscene amounts of money. But I'm always thinking to myself "wonder how that sounds..." *Howard Zinn for President* **Pilsner Urquell for President of Beers!** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skout Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I personally would feel awkward with a bass that expensive . . . 2500 make me feel better . . . but if I had 3500 to spend why not buy 3 Warwicks? More food for though, eh? Skout Words of Inspiration: Not everyone needs to be Jaco. Sometimes your band just needs a bass player, somebody to just play root notes - Dirk Lance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I have several basses worth more than $2000. I play them everywhere, all the time. That's why I bought them. The most expensive bass I've ever owned was a Zon Six String. I sold it and bought three other basses, but the reason I sold it was because it turned out to be not what I wanted. I don't think the PRS Dragon guitars are meant to be played, I think that they are selling them to "collectors." The most expensive bass (other than an upright---of course $3500 is nothing for an orchestral instrument of any type)that I've ever seen was the King of Thailand's Alembic. And the people at Alembic told me that it sounded the same as any other Alembic. Instruments are meant to be played. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Dawson Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 That's a good point Skout, I hadn't thought of that. But hell, if you have 3500 to spend on one instrument you're bank account is probably in pretty good shape. Why not a 3500 bass and a Warick or two I think we've killed the initial spirit of this thread a little bit *Howard Zinn for President* **Pilsner Urquell for President of Beers!** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I'm with everyone else here; show 'em if you got 'em. I'm not a complete gearhead, but I believe in buying to ability; I can still make my old Samick P-Bass sound good, but not as good as my main Warwick. I can get more out of my main ax; would I have sounded much different when I first started playing if I had a $150 or $3,500 instrument? Probably not much. Nowadays? I HOPE SO! So, why would I use anything less than my main ax for a gig? And why would my main ax be anything less than my best ax? When it comes down to it, it's just wood with some strings and magnets; you can always replace it. Material things are nice that way. Hell, I know women that walk around with $20,000 rocks on their left hand, every day. $3,500 ax in a controlled environment shouldn't be an issue. Maury Spadoto Hoboken, NJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Martin Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 Originally posted by berkleeboi: But hell, if you have 3500 to spend on one instrument you're bank account is probably in pretty good shape. Why not a 3500 bass and a Warick or two Not necessarily; those of use who make all of our incomes with our instruments have to buy the tools that we need to to make a living. Sometimes it's an expensive instrument. When I bought my Juzek, I had to borrow the money from my parents. I wasn't a kid living at home then; I was in my 30's and living in Nashville. But I needed that particular tool for some work that was coming up, so I borrowe the money. It worked out for the best... Dave Martin Java Jive Studio Nashville, TN www.javajivestudio.com Cuppa Joe Records www.cuppajoerecords.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I don't expect to own a $3500 bass, but if I did, I would play it. There is one possible exception -- if its value had less to do with the instrument than its owner. For example, if I had bid and won some of the Entwhistle gear auctioned off recently, I would have played it at home and probably never taken it out for gigs or rehearsals. I would not be surprised if I one day were able to own a $2000 bass (what I actually paid for it, not a "list" price!) -- potentially custom or semi-custom. I would play it -- a lot -- very happily -- perhaps even drooling happily once in a while if it really were a great instrument... spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham56 Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 If I owned a $3500 dollar bass?? The most important thing would be to make sure the wife NEVER found out how much it cost.... Graham www.talkingstrawberries.com - for rocking' blues, raw and fresh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 None of my basses are worth quite that much, but 2 of them are worth well over $2000. I play them out, anywhere and everywhere. Like Jeremy said, it's why I bought them. I don't care if it costs $500 or $500,000, it's a musical instrument and it's function in the world is to be played. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57pbass Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I have a few basses worth over $2000. I have them insured and play them on a regular basis. Thats why I purchased them. To play them. We need the guys who are buying up the vintage instruments and storing them in their closets to sell them and get them back into circulation. They need to be played. www.danielprine.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aspiration Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I'm all about the used market. You get amazing basses for extremely good prices. I don't own a bass that cost me more than $800 and I have several basses. Ebay is my best friend. But if I had a $3500 bass I would take and play that thing probably at every suitable gig I could play it at. No sense in letting that 3500 dollars go to waste. "It takes a big man to cry, it takes an even bigger man to laugh at him." -Jack Handey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PETE_COMBS Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 Originally posted by 61Pbass: I have a few that are in that price range or above it and they have all seen duty wherever I felt like playing them. My theory is that there is no point in having an instrument you are afraid to use.I agree,if I was to pay $3500 for a bass it would get played as much as the others. Pete Combs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ren. Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I would own a freakin' Fodera ... Who Put The ' M ' In MySpace? don\'t_click | day_job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bisgit Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I own a $50 bass, a $500 bass, and an $1100 bass. I would not be caught dead playing a smoky frat party with my 1100 baby where the beer is splashing and the boobs are flashing, its the 500 or nothing at all. would you take a porche SUV off road, or would you use a Jeep Willies? you can make stumbling blocks, or stepping stones out of the same things, what have you built? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 I have a $2400 bass, and I play it out. If I thought it was a high-risk gig (not just a bar, but an out-of-control bar), I'd bring something else. Same if I "graduate" to something more expensive. Berkleeboi, as you may guess from another thread, it's not only how much money you have. It's how much you put toward a bass. I worked things out to get the one I have so it fit our budget. You might say we make enough money for me to afford more but between college for the kids and all the expenses, it doesn't work that way. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpaBobby Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 If I had a $3500 bass, I'd certainly play it. At least until the real owner showed up and took it back. My wife says she can't imagine me owning a bass (or anything) that is worth more than I am. Enjoy your day, Bobby My family "coat of arms" buckles in the back. Is that normal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warlock1016 Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 If I pay more than 500 for a bass (uprights don't count since I don't have one), I feel kinda ripped off. I'd sell it and upgrade my SWR stack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted June 17, 2003 Share Posted June 17, 2003 i'd play the SH*T outta that little whore!!!! damn the torpedos. f**k the finish. why half-ass anything? play it like you mean it and who cares if you get a scratch in the finish? Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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