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Provenance. Poll! We love a poll!


NancyJohnson
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[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1473950212' post='3134451']
Interesting conversation yesterday concerning provenance. (That's a lot of letters for just five words.)

Assume you are buying a bass and had the choice option on two similar basses, let's say Fender Jazz basses, same year, same finish, similar condition. One is selling for £750, the other is previously owned by a big name bass player, was purportedly used on the #1 album he played on ten years ago and the seller has a nice letter from the big name dude to support this, however this bass is £1,500. A simple internet search also throws up photos of the guy playing it as well.

Would this sway you to pay more for the more expensive one?
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[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]No. If the bass is no longer good enough for him, it's not good enough for me. [/font][/color]

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If you're into it, you'll pay for it. That's dodgier than I anticipated, sorry. But personally, I get a kick out of playing stuff used in significant musical events and if i had the cash would stump for the right things. It's not as if they're old F1 cars and you have to ring Ferrari just to get it started.

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Provenance will always add value if the player and/or album is big enough to be known to a wide audience.

This can be especially true of an instrument with some concrete proof that it was used on a a high profile recorded work (as opposed to live performance).

There's a whole host of players out there for whom lots of players have huge respect and many of those people will pay extra for a 'name' bass.

The bigger the name the bigger the jump in value but even a lower key player can sometimes add a bit of desirability to an instrument.

None of this makes the bass any 'better' but as a financial investment it can often make sense.

Edit - Adam Clayton is a perfect example. Things he's actually owned can really add a lot of money to the price of something. However much people here like to slag him off all the time he's one of the most famous players in the world, has inspired lots of people to play and has a huge fan base. He's also famous / rich enough to have his personal instruments finished to an incredibly high standard so they are highly likely to be really good examples of whatever brand he happens to like in any given month :)

Edited by molan
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Surprised to see we've got this far without anyone mentioning John Entwistle.

He owned literally hundreds of basses, the vast majority of which never made it near a stage, probably never even got played by him.

So, pre-owned by famous bass player = lots of extra dosh? I don't think so.

Incidentally, Trev it was Silverfoxnik, Clarky and me who between us owned the Wal Pro that Nick Beggs played on Too Shy.

It's only fair to point out that I would never have bought it had I realised. At the time that bass was in Beggs' hands, I absolutely detested bands like Kajagoogoo and I loathed that song! :lol:

Edit - just remembered that Nik still uses that bass as his avatar photo.

Edited by Happy Jack
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[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1473976038' post='3134723']
Turner but I'd already agreed to buy it before I was told and it was a good price anyway. I wouldn't see it as adding any monetary value at all but it's still a nice, interesting thing to know.
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I had a Trace Elliot MP11 that was part of John Entwistle's rig. I got it from a place that used to sell off tour rigs, PAs and defunct studio gear.
I don't have it any more, it needed repairing and the repair place went bankrupt and my MP11 went with it.

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I have a bass that was owned by Andrew Levy (Brand New Heavies) there is footage of it on Top of the Pops, in music videos probably more stuff I haven't found.

It came with a bunch of provenance i.e. DAT taps of rehearsals, set lists, photos, the flight case really shows its been all over the world with stickers and flight numbers etc. Its a lovely bass and I didn't pay over the odds for it. I think its nice to have an instrument with history that really has been there and done it.

In regards to value? Provenance can add huge value but not always monetary.

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