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A much more accessible chart today. The complete Steve Rodby part for the tune 'Afternoon' from the 2002 Pat Metheny Group album, 'Speaking Of Now'. I am hearing it in a gentle 12:8 because of the triplets throughout. Could be 6:8 or 4:4 swung triplets. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/afternoon-pat-metheny-group/

Baby You're A Rich Man - Beatles

Semantic point as we have to define value in this context. Intrinsic and extrinsic. If we agree that the manufacturing process adds value then ownership and age can do too.

I disagree mate, it adds price, not value

What people sometimes forget about celebs buying vintage instruments is that they add value (which we can’t). A big standard 70s jazz is £3k. One owned by Geddy Lee is £30k for example. Buying them up also gives the impression they’re rare, which they’re really not. I can see the value in a completely original pieces, because they genuinely are rare. But the rest of them, not really.

I got a set of XT 45-100 "Used like New" yesterday for £19. The code worked and they're like new. £27 is the usual price.

Have to say the one for sale at Tom's looks to be a pretty nice example aesthetically speaking

@BigRedX - you're obviously happy to use a keys synth and all power to you! But a couple of points in your post: - you say a pedal with an external PSU gives rise to "complications and unreliability"? I'm guessing maybe half of the bass players on this forum use pedals (typically on a pedal board) with an external PSU week in and week out, and we do so without any issues? - if, as you say, the audience doesn't notice the difference between us playing a song without any synth, then they're even less likely to notice the difference between a keys synth and a quality bass-pedal synth?

I regularly see the Hamish Stuart Band/360 band and his bassist is Steve Pearce - a top echelon session player and one of the best bassists I have seen live. He uses one of these. Mic'd up but you can still hear it.

My exes, original '55 on the left, Fender Custom Shop (ex @AndyTravis) on the right

IIRC one of the members here was forbidden by his BL to use an old bass in a function band simply because it looked tatty 🤔

Gig last week. Sounded very 'Rick-like'.

Had the same thing when I was a kid, some televised concert thing, mid-70s, maybe The Carpenters; bass player was using an already well beaten-up Jazz or Precision and my mum was going, 'Look at that old thing. Why wouldn't he have a nice new one?'

All fair points, and there's the argument that wealthy collectors inflate the prices of these instruments beyond the reach of musicians which I get. But if these vintage examples were significantly better instruments that those available to contemporary musicians I think the argument would be stronger. The thing is, they really aren't, or at least they really aren't in the same way as a 18th century Italian violin potentially is better than those made today, which is a a function of the materials, aging, and craftsmanship. I had a Squier CV 50s Precision that frankly was about 90% of my old '55. OK, the latter had mojo by the tonne, but the mojo a musician should really care about is in their brain and their fingers. not in the paintwork of their instrument

Eat The Rich — Motörhead