Burns-bass

That’s got £200k at Essex Recording Studios written all over it!

The hardest thing with any new skill is persistence. You’ll make rapid gains then hit a plateau. Find the thing that keeps you playing…

How would you get the guitars here? I’d suggest the better approach, I’d you’re desperate to sell, is to lower the price to a level where someone will buy them.

Name and shame? I guess bass dealers are going to operate in the same pool as normal buyers and sellers. Running a business as I do you experience all manner of shady tactics as people try to carve out an advantage. I don’t take it personally.

100% this. A month ago a forum member here messaged me and offered me a bass at half the London vintage shop retail price. It was something I’ve wanted for several years and the price was only because I’m part of the BC family. If I chose to sell it on here I could ask whatever I wanted to, but morally, I’d feel duty bound to pass on the same deal to someone else. This would be 100% my choice. When I talk about the morality of selling, it’s this. People can act however they wish, but I reserve the right to judge them.

It’s all good and it doesn’t matter. We’re all on the same side!

It’s hard to read this block of text, but from what I can surmise, your position is absolutely fine and understandable. However, many people on here would find someone buying something cheaply here and immediately selling on the same forum for a profit as going against the spirit of the forum somehow. That was what I was attempting to explain. I run my own business (and have done for years) and I encounter some moral dilemmas while doing so. I’ve always tried to reach the highest standards (but regularly fail to do so). What I wouldn’t do is to intentionally mislead someone or make a profit at their expense.

There is nowhere online cheaper than a Thomman.

I’d recommend not spending money on a new bass, but possibly getting a lesson or two. This sounds (to me) like a technique issue. It’s easy to assume that a new or more expensive bass will somehow solve the issue but I reckon if we sat down for 10 minutes I’d be able to diagnose and solve the issue. One of the most common issues that causes a lack of reach is plus if the thumb as a pivot and pulling fingers against the fretboard to sounds note. This can inhibit movement and is entirely unecesssary. A well set-up bass should enable you to fret notes with minimal effort.

Fair play this is bang on and really positive and helpful.

She’s a proper talent. Singer, songwriter and arranger.

AI will destroy the library music industry according to a friend who works in the sector. Instead of licensing music they’ll get AI to create it.

I have no problem with that at all. My point was about flipping. People are cash strapped and need whatever they can. I don’t begrudge it or get upset by it. I was trying to explain why people take personal offence to it. I’ve sold most of my stuff through eBay and insist on collection.

It's because flipping breaks the social bond we have here as members and transgresses a moral code. As members here, we have a relationship to one another. While we may not physically be close, we consider forum members to be friends and as such we enter transactions with this perspective. Businesses buy cheap and sell high. Friends will (by and large) offer you a fair price and not seek to profit from your relationship. People who buy and sell for a profit are acting against this moral code. It's even more egregious when it happens on a forum (someone buys cheap on BC and advertisers for a higher price). As an example of how this relationship can impact you, I bought a bass here for £1300. I held it for a year and then called a London shop for a trade in price. The cash offer I received was £2300. The seller here (trusted member, good guy) had sold to me cheaply. (this was during COVID when prices for all US imports and bespoke basses went through the roof). I could have just pocketed the money. Instead we had a chat and agreed to split the difference. In the end, we both got £500 more than we had expected and all felt good about the world.

Yep. I nearly bought a Grabber at £250 in 2002. They’re now 10 times that in London shops.

Here endeth the thread.

I think prices for second hand instruments are pretty crazy. People are trying to sell used items for 80% of the new price. Private sellers also use the shop prices as benchmarks for their items (especially vintage items) which makes the whole market seem mad.

I wanted to buy an Xotic 5 string on here for £1100 which turned up a few days later on the BassBros site at £1650. Their prices will reflect the costs of running a business, a 2.5% charge for credit cards, new strings and a setup. It’s not going to make anyone rich and they seem like good guys. My advice would be to hold onto your cash and wait. Inevitably the item you want will come up at some point. I recently purchased two basses I’d wanted for ages (original Grabber bass and a Czech Ease bass) at reasonable prices from genuinely lovely sellers who I met and chatted with.

I’ve got a Czech Ease bass (which is great!) and it came with a case which was in terrible shape. Apparently the bass travelled all over the world and it basically disintegrated. The original manufacturer doesn’t make them any more and I was looking at an alternative. Does anyone have any idea what might fit it? The specs suggest a 1/2 bag would fit but be good to get some advice from people who know!

I made an agreement to buy several guitars once from someone. Agreed a price and a date and time to collect. Someone else phoned up and offered more. Thankfully the seller told me before I’d travelled but I explained how what they’d done is morally wrong and that I was disappointed that they would act this way, as I certainly wouldn’t. Personally, I’d take no joy in doing this to someone else but I know people do. The older I get the more you see karma at work…

Agreed. The vintage gravy train continues!