hiram.k.hackenbacker

[i]Further price drop and photos enhanced due to finally being able to get to grips with the photobucket thing![/i]

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1327997952' post='1519941']
The Lemmy Bass? Congratulations!
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Yes, that's the one!

Decisions have now been made regarding both basses.

I went for both in the end, despite the financial implications, but sadly I missed out on #2, which was the Alembic SC that "lozbass" was selling (hope you don't mind me saying mate) as I was just too slow in making a decision. All credit to Lawrence who is an extremely funny and knowledgeable guy. Thank you very much for all the information you provided for me and the advice you gave. I hope it's new owner is as happy with it as I would have been

Also to 4000. Thank you for advice Shaun and I am happy to say that I have now sealed the deal on a brand new 4004LK.

I'll post some pictures as soon as I have it.

"Phone's ringing Dude!"

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1327419232' post='1510907']
Warren - you know better than most on here that you should make hay while the sun shines - if you can afford it, have the space, the necessary permissions and would enjoy them then there really is no question as far as I can see.
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Thanks for your kind words Paul. Must meet up soon.

In case anyone gets the wrong idea about me, every bass I buy gets gigged, period. I might not leave them out between the soundcheck and the gig iteslf, but they will get used publicly as the manufacturer intended. In fact, I think the only true way you can decide whether it's a keeper or not is if you actually do gig it. GAS#1 & GAS#2 (if they happen) will be no exception as they are neither vintage Fender's or investments.

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1327356453' post='1510019']
haha we aren't saying it doesn't need serious and careful thought. Only that the figure each of us says would be the upper before we say 'no, that's too much', irrespective of how nice the bass may look or sound etc.
[/quote]
That's it. That's what I meant to say!

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327356277' post='1510007']
what's it for. if you earn your living by it the answer is different than if it is just for fun.

If you earn from it: as much as you need, but not more than you can afford

if you don't earn from it: Who knows? what are your other outgoings, you earn the money, you decide. for me I bought a few basses in the £700-1000 range and sold them on again as I couldn't justify having such nice expensive and new things.
I think the most I spent was £550-£600 or however much my JV cost. The wick was much less than that I've been very very lucky though. If some guy on hear earns £200,000 a year on what ground would I say that his ritter was 'too much'?
[/quote]
I guess you could argue that if I have one bass, that's surely all I need: the rest is superfluous.
The two I'm looking at are by no means a necessity and no one will suffer as a result of me shelling out for them.
But seriously, five figures for just two basses, I think I'm going mad - or is it the red wine?

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1327355720' post='1509988']
Wasn't it Dweezil Zappa who used to gig with a cheapie Squier Strat? The instrument is a tool - it's the person using it that's the really important component. It's nice to have cool gear (and I've had plenty through my hands over the years), but at the end of the day your skill and/or talent as a player is what matters most; nice gear just makes your job a little bit easier.
[/quote]
Not sure about the DZ info. I hadn't heard that and I'm heavily into the Zappa thang
Agreed regarding talent over gear, but there are some expensive pieces of kit that just have a tone that you can't get anywhere else!

[quote name='billyapple' timestamp='1327349555' post='1509843']
Spill the beans? What you got your eye on?
[/quote]
That would be telling!
I will when the time is right

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1327348077' post='1509795']
I don't think I could ever spend more than £1k. And even then, it would have to be *really* special.

The only things I can see myself buying in the future are a nice jazz and a nice precision- excellent of examples of both can be had new (never mind second hand) for less than £1k too
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At the risk of being classed as a bass snob, I still think when you get up to the £1.5K mark the attention to details starts to shine through.
Having said that, RRP are absolute garbage and you can get some really good deals if you look around.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1327348015' post='1509792']
This^

People pay £20k+ for a pair of shotgun stocks and there's probably less wood in those than a bass. OK, the shotguns will generally receive finer workmanship, but even so . . .
[/quote]
Shotguns Schmotguns.
Give me a Benelli with a plastic stock any day.
A wooden stock don't make the hole any bigger :-))

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1327347217' post='1509770']
I've had a few boutique basses which I've subsequently moved on, some sooner, some later. I find that after the sting of spending the money has faded, you can fall out of love with them just as easily as a £200 bass. The only difference is the hit you'll take financially if you've bought new, or unwisely. I'm digging my bitsas these days, mostly because they do what I want them to, partly because they do this for so little money.

Having said that, I do have a Shuker still, and it's very very nice. I wouldn't have paid what it cost new, though - I picked it up for a third of that.
[/quote]
I've only ever had one "boutique bass" which was second or third hand and I subsequently sold, but didn't lose out of.
I have to say that wasn't the plan, I bought it to keep, it's just it that was too bloody heavy!
It was an Alembic Mark King. A truly lovely instrument with an awesome tone, but we didn't get on physically :-((

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327347024' post='1509766']
Tend to agree with this, particularly with vintage instruments... there's a crossover point where a bass becomes desirable as an 'antique' [i]and[/i] a playable instrument, and you have to decide if you're a player or a collector... or both.
[/quote]
Neither of the two I am looking at are antique, although I do get the vintage vibe thing.
I'm always on the look out for a year of birth Jazz, but I have managed to resist all the ones I have seen as they neck stamp never has my actual DOB on it. Hey, that's the way I deal with it!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327345827' post='1509733']
....if you saw a totally original 62 P-Bass in great condition for £2K, that would be a bargain, wouldn't it? If you like Fender Ps, that is...
[/quote]
P's don't really do much for me (says he sheltering from incoming fire). I do like my Jazz though.

The trouble with bargains like that is that they don't stay around for too long and I usually miss them anyway!

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1327344260' post='1509698']
....I don't think I could ever justify more than 800-1000 on a bass....

....My USA Jazz cost me 700 on here, and it is everything I want from a bass....
[/quote]
I didn't think I could either. It does become easier the more you do it. That's part of the danger!
My go to bass cost me £900, which was a lot when I bought it and I can't imagine ever parting with it.
So why do I even want another one?
[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1327344546' post='1509703']
Cost is all relative. Anything is worth (to you) exactly what you are prepared to pay for it.
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Agreed, auctions wouldn't exist otherwise, but I'm struggling to find the point where I should say "Hang on. Are you really going to pay that much just for a *************** and a ***************?".
[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1327345180' post='1509720']
£1500 is about my mental ceiling, and the most expensive I currently own has a list price of £1400ish (although I paid a couple of hundred less than that). I wouldn't want to take anything any more expensive than that out of the house because I know how narked I'd be if it got damaged.

It is indeed all relative, though... if you can shell out several grand in the name of retail therapy and nobody's going to go hungry because of it, then go for it!
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Yes, I think you should be able to get something that should do pretty much all you want for around £1.5K and I would happily shell out that much without thinking twice. However, and let me first assure everyone that we will not run out of food, quadruple that and then add some more - and that's just for one of them!

I'm being attacked by two fairly aggressive bouts of GAS at the moment. Having sat back this time, rather than jumping straight in as I normally do, it occurs to me that I could buy quite a nice car or build a conservatory for their combined value. One moment I think I'm mad for even considering buying both of them and the next I'm overwhelmed by a "buy them now or you'll regret it once it's too late!".

Whilst I don't have a problem with acquiring more basses (there's always room for one more, right?), it makes me think seriously how much even a top end bass is actually worth? Or more precisely, how much would you be willing to pay?

Price drop bump. See header.

Thanks for the info TraceAmp.

GAS for another axe requires me to move this on. Without doing so I'm fairly stuffed.

Any interest at all here?

Price dropped.

[quote name='mckendrick' timestamp='1324265768' post='1472396']

[i]Frak[/i]?
[/quote]
Obviously not a Battlestar Galactica fan then?

As an amusing epilogue to the original post; my band which has been plodding along with various personel changes for nearly two decades, decided to call it a day at the end of 2011 after several fruitless months of trying to replace our very talented lead vocalist who had given us 12 months notice.

I received a phone call last week from the "Key Change Hell" band asking if I would be willing to fill the recently vacated position of bass player.

Given all the comments made, what happens next?

[quote name='algmusic' timestamp='1321284849' post='1437313']
As a nip playing in church, I got used to playing the same song in almost every key based on who was singing that night or if they felt they reach the key I would get told the song is in G then they would tell me during the song to transpose to B.. I'm so grateful for those days now as transposing is easy to me.. I understand the arguement that some notes may not sound better.. but i'm pretty sure if you hired Nathan East he won't say 'why are we not playing it in the original key'[/quote]
I don't buy the "it will sound just as good in any key" line. There are some songs that just shouldn't be buggered about with. Many a band have I heard murder some decent covers by executing them in a wholly inappropriate key.

I had a five string once and although navigation of the fretboard became less of a problem after some homework, I was never able to fully adapt my slapping style to cater for the narrower spacings and extra fretboard width.

I came to the conclusion that if and when I was able to do everything that had ever been done on a four string I would re-consider. I think I've got a long wait ahead of me!

The backline only get together for this little soire went very well today. I'm still not sure of the cause of all this key change nonsense, however, the vocalists were blamed in their absence!

I don't have a problem playing songs in different keys as I have enough years experience to navigate my way around the fretboard. What I don't get is the difference between playing Sir Duke in B (original) and doing it one step down makes. I understand that allows the brass to play in concert C, but they were there today and said they don't get a shout in what key the songs are played in, so it must be down to the vocals. A bit odd they can't stretch to the original key, but hey ho, I would much rather play Sir Duke in B flat than Disco Inferno. Without dropping the tuning/changing bass I lose my lowest note (open E) in Disco Inferno. Going [i]up[/i] to the nearest E ruins the dynamics of the song. [i]That's[/i] what annoys me; the general acceptance of "just play it up the octave" when it should be the lowest note in the song. Perhaps I'm just too fussy?

The other gems we had today was "I know it doesn't go like that in the original, but that's the way we do it", "I thought that was wrong when we learnt it and it's too late to change it now" and the classic "you just do what you normally do, it sounds better anyway" (which made me blurt out "I'm pretty sure that's what LaBelle thought when they wrote it"). Sometimes i just don't know when to keep my mouth shut!

My band has a brass section and we play it in C, so it can't be that difficult!

So, a mate booked a gig with his band which their bass player has since bailed out on, so he rings me and asks me if I would be prepared to do it. Knowing that his band play 80% of the stuff we do, I immediately say yes. What I later discover is that 80% of the songs that we have in common are in a different key.

I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does, especially at such short notice. I've been playing most of these songs in their original key for about 15 years and get through them on auto pilot. I think it's actually worse having to play a song you know so well in a different key rather than learning a new one from scratch. I mean, who plays Disco Inferno in b flat for frak's sake?

Relisted on eBay here [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160670341538?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649"]http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1555.l2649[/url] (with some better photos) however, I'm willing to listen to offers from Bass Chatters