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Had the 5 string version in the gold leaf finish, always had a bit of a soft spot for them. Really nice design, mine looked like this:

It’s more that I simply don’t need it 😀 I have a cab m with loads of great IR’s (really like the Mesa cabs pack) which really sound great for FOH/IEM mixes! Ultimately there’s just the fear of pedal board ego death. If one pedal can do what I need then everything else is redundant which I’ve loving and painstakingly curated over a few years. But yeah I’ll likely just buy one in jan when my Monzo 1p saving challenge finishes. I might even nab the matching compressor too.

Can't go wrong with a Mark Bass Little Mark.

Nice to hear a story about mods that actually improve the bass for you, Neephid. I always liked the look of these, but only played one briefly in a shop many years ago. Those Glockenklang (always loved their name!) preamps are fantastic - I had one in the prototype Enfield Lionheart I had for a few years. Lovely job!

Back to the OP, I think an expensive bass is where there is a bass i want, but immediately think that perhaps I should wait and see if I can pick one up used, rather than just buying it new. This was me when I wanted a Rob Allen. As to the actual level of money, this will always vary from person to person and we shouldn’t judge others by what they consider expensive/cheap. That aside, upper level instruments seem to be outstripping inflation by some measure. My first ever custom bass is coming up 10 years old, so I dug out the invoice, did the inflation calculation and it should now cost roughly £250 more than I paid for it. Even the basic, off the shelf, version is way beyond that. If I go back to aforementioned Rob Allen, these have doubled in cost over a 15 year period and I mentioned my surprise at the cost EBMM basses earlier in the thread. Manufacturers seem to having a laugh with their premium instruments.

This is very true - I have several friends around the country with stunning collections of basses who intend to sell much further down the road as a pension scheme of sorts.

This is pretty much what I was getting at. If you buy something used that’s already depreciated, maybe a couple of minor dings already then it’s likely to be break even when you come to sell it in a couple of years. Savings accounts interest rates are useless, why not temporarily convert some money into a bass for a while instead?

My old luthier's wife had one. He said the neck was so susceptible to changes in humidity he could use it as a hygrometer. He put it down to the wood/ebanol fingerboard neck combo.

I've got a TH350 which I bought following reading a lot of good things about the amp. I've also got a Genz Benz, Ashdown and a lot of old Trace heads. Truthfully the cabs make a bigger sound difference compared to switching between any of the heads, albeit the convenience of how tiny and light the TH350 is means I always have it with me. The gain control is quite nice to dial in a bit of dirt which is something some of my other amps do not have.

Never Let Her Slip Away - Andrew Gold ‧

If you plug the external preamp into the effects return it should work like this - see the poweramp in as an additional feature that most other amps don't have!

I Want To Hold Your Hand - Beatles

I'm impressed this thread has got to a fourth page! I think sound wise it is very possible to sound or play equally good/well or bad on cheap or expensive kit. But the reason why we are on forums like this is because there is also something existential about owning certain bits of kit, and merely the fact of owning it brings a smile. For me some of thus is buying kit that I couldn't afford earlier in my career, and hence the justification for spending more.

Ash has a very pronounced, textured grain, so looks good as a single colour or with a grain filler and translucent top coat. Walnut has a much smoother grain and you might struggle to see it.

Whatever "AGS" is, it's not on the Tone Hammer 500 I have and doesn't appear to be on the 350 either. There is a drive control.

IME the expensive basses I’ve owned have been very much plug in and play, whereas the cheaper basses sometimes cut through a mix well, sometimes don’t depending on the ensemble and room. Then you have so many options with s high budget that you can buy a bass that meets your personal specs and is easy to play on long shows. To suggest vanity is the reason for such purchases just smacks of jealousy.

I probably did, Lloyd. There are a couple of dozen AJ transcriptions up there now, all equally impossible to play. How are you doing, my friend?

Too complicated for me

Many good light amps that can sound as good or better than the SVT 3Pro Ashdown RM or ABM Trace Elliot Elf - TE1200 Orange Terror or LBT The list goes on but something that some of the above lack is a pre amp tube ( SVT 3 Pro has pre amp tubes ) so Ashdown ABM or Terror Bass may be a better choice today

Some great replies, thanks all. Seems I'm verging on the outskirts of sanity, although am accompanied by a few similarly-minded souls. I took the Z3 to the gig and loved it. Too deep in to back out now: the clandestine affair has started! Maybe I need to buy two phones and start going on frequent "work" trips....

Home In My Hand - Foghat

Welcome Home - Peters and Lee