Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Recommended Posts

Posted

The £3799 isn't a relic'd one, it is just the right style of bass*

But I mean the 6k one, they say it is an exact copy of his bass, and also that it is hand signed. Which makes me wonder why he signed his own bass? thats weird!

 

 

* not that I am not saying that paying almost 4k for a machine CNC'd bass that doesn't even have any frets is a crazy amount of money to pay!

  • Like 1
Posted
10 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

This is a good price for a decent quirky 60s bass.

 

I love how these adverts say: "Rosetti (Egmond) Guitars, were the very first guitars of John Lennon, George Harrison, Keith Richards, Brian May, Rory Gallagher and Paul McCartney" without adding the 'Until they got enough money to be able to get something else, and then they never went back!"

  • Haha 4
Posted
13 hours ago, snorkie635 said:

It's actually £5999. I assure you.

IMG_3100.webp

Ah. I never saw that advert, only the cheaper one. I guess they think I'm a low-roller and not worth marketing the high-end one to.

 

Personally, I can't get up any kind of anger or indnation that someone makes an expensive instrument. There are expensive cars, books, houses, watches, shirts... I could go on. Sometimes they're overpriced for what they are, other times it's down to components or the time it takes to make them but we live in a capitalist world and the value is what someone will pay for it.

 

If you're a Pino fan and you've always wanted a bass like his and you've got the money do it. Spend that money. You're a long time dead and if you can find any happiness in this world that doesn't come at the cost of someone else's misery then I say do it.

 

Honestly, early Stingray basses have never been CHEAP. They've always been highly regarded, but now they've gone from being respected, desirable basses that nail a unique tone to becoming collectible which is sort of a shame if they don't get played, but MusicMan make a range of instruments from £6k vintage-replica's to downright cheap far-east stuff. YOU pay YOUR money and YOU take YOUR choice and I will not judge.

  • Like 2
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, kwmlondon said:

YOU pay YOUR money and YOU take YOUR choice and I will not judge.

I might judge you a bit. 

Edited by chris667
Posted
50 minutes ago, chris667 said:

I might judge you a bit. 

I've been judged offten and found wanting.... wanting another bass guitar that is!!!

Posted
15 hours ago, mattpbass said:

There’s two different models so you’re both right/wrong! 😅

This is very grown up discourse for the internet. It'll never catch on!

Posted
3 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

Personally, I can't get up any kind of anger or indnation that someone makes an expensive instrument.

...

 

YOU pay YOUR money and YOU take YOUR choice and I will not judge.

 

I absolutely couldn't get any kind of anger or indignation about the expense either (and I am not sure  why when someone says 'thats a lot of money' someone allways comes along and marks it as anger?) and I don't judge people on what they buy (well, I actually do, but no more than everyone else), but that doesn't stop it being  overpriced for what it is.

But I guess this is the thread for it.

Posted

I'm not angry, I just think it's stupidly overpriced.  You may disagree, and that's OK.  I'm entitled to my opinion, and if I feel moved enough to do so I will share it.

 

But I took one look at the email that guitarguitar sent through and I said "HOW EFFIN' MUCH?!", out loud.

 

More power to you if you buy one.  If I had six grand hanging around to spend on basses, I'd buy five or six excellent basses.  This kind of fetish object is an enigma to me.

Posted
4 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I absolutely couldn't get any kind of anger or indignation about the expense either (and I am not sure  why when someone says 'thats a lot of money' someone allways comes along and marks it as anger?) and I don't judge people on what they buy (well, I actually do, but no more than everyone else), but that doesn't stop it being  overpriced for what it is.

But I guess this is the thread for it.

That's all fair, but how do you rate what's reasonable and what isn't? You can add up the materials and the hours taken to manufacture, but does that also factor in the R&D, legal protection of IP and brand, HR, admin, pension funds for a larger company with aging employees and... marketing. An instrument is a personal thing and I challenge anyone to say that their buying a bass wasn't partially emotional. If it was cold logic nobody would be playing music in the first place. So, marketing is a core cost and vital for the continuing success of a company. Is a Fodera overpriced for what it is? Is a Fender Custom Shop overpriced for what it is? Yes. No. Maybe. Probably. Possibly. It's so subjective - what's great value for one person is hideously and criminally too much money for someone else. I still haven't told my other half how much my Canadian Dingwall cost - our ideas of what's overpriced are not in alighment when it comes to musical instruments.

 

I guess my point of view is that I'm really glad MusicMan are still going, still making instruments that people like and want to buy, and if making some expensive, limited-run basses with high profile playes names on them means they chuck out brilliant value stuff as well then good on them. 

 

Although, even with my very liberal views I'm unconvinced about those USA Joe Dart signature models but I guess we all have our limits!!!

Posted
1 hour ago, kwmlondon said:

That's all fair, but how do you rate what's reasonable and what isn't?

 

I look at it and go 'Holy cr*p, how much???'

Seems a reasonable rating system to me!

 

 

1 hour ago, kwmlondon said:

Is a Fender Custom Shop overpriced for what it is? Yes. No. Maybe. Probably. Possibly. It's so subjective - what's great value for one person is hideously and criminally too much money for someone else. I still haven't told my other half how much my Canadian Dingwall cost - our ideas of what's overpriced are not in alighment when it comes to musical instruments.

 

So good case in point. A canadian dingwall considering the work put in and the wages required etc, yes its expensive but not excessively so. But the new indonesian dingwalls, yes, way overpriced, considering the costs to make those and indonesian average wages.

 

 

Posted
2 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

That's all fair, but how do you rate what's reasonable and what isn't? You can add up the materials and the hours taken to manufacture, but does that also factor in the R&D, legal protection of IP and brand, HR, admin, pension funds for a larger company with aging employees and... marketing. An instrument is a personal thing and I challenge anyone to say that their buying a bass wasn't partially emotional. If it was cold logic nobody would be playing music in the first place. So, marketing is a core cost and vital for the continuing success of a company. Is a Fodera overpriced for what it is? Is a Fender Custom Shop overpriced for what it is? Yes. No. Maybe. Probably. Possibly. It's so subjective - what's great value for one person is hideously and criminally too much money for someone else. I still haven't told my other half how much my Canadian Dingwall cost - our ideas of what's overpriced are not in alighment when it comes to musical instruments.

 

I guess my point of view is that I'm really glad MusicMan are still going, still making instruments that people like and want to buy, and if making some expensive, limited-run basses with high profile playes names on them means they chuck out brilliant value stuff as well then good on them. 

 

Although, even with my very liberal views I'm unconvinced about those USA Joe Dart signature models but I guess we all have our limits!!!


On the flip side, when dealing with premium products the cost of manufacturing is just part of the overall calculation. The price isn’t set as a percentage over manufacturing and marketing (as it would be on a production run instrument) but simply what they believe the market will bear.

 

Everyone knows that these short run instruments aren’t going to be gigged night after night but to boost the ego of the buyer and as speculative investment pieces. 
 

Whats mad is that the limited edition price isn’t twice that of a genuine late 70s Stingray.

 

Madness.
 

 

Posted
43 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I look at it and go 'Holy cr*p, how much???'

Seems a reasonable rating system to me!

 

As good as any...

 

Posted (edited)
23 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

 

I'm definitely holding on to both my S2 Classics. My 5-string headless has been my go-to for the last couple of years. 

 

Music Man prices are already going up. I remember all too well when you paid used Fender money for one but they've gone up ridiculously. I paid €900 for my 2003 Stingray 5 in 2009, and then traded it for my 5-string S2 Classic + 100 GBP in 2017. I got lucky with my Music Man Silhouette Special for €1300 in 2023, I'm seeing them for around €1800 now :ph34r:

I'm holding on to my CW-1, had quite few people asking me to sell at more than I bought it new.  I've got an emotional attachment to this one though so it stays.

Edited by martthebass
Posted
On 09/07/2025 at 15:36, LeftyJ said:

 

 

Music Man prices are already going up. I remember all too well when you paid used Fender money for one but they've gone up ridiculously. I paid €900 for my 2003 Stingray 5 in 2009, and then traded it for my 5-string S2 Classic + 100 GBP in 2017. I got lucky with my Music Man Silhouette Special for €1300 in 2023, I'm seeing them for around €1800 now :ph34r:

I paid £1675 for my new EBMM Sterling 4HH with matching headstock in late 2016 delivered April 2017.

I recently asked EBMM to quote me for an identical bass - they quoted me $2,899 ex works + shipping + VAT and duty with  a 4 month lead time.

That's too rich for me but might hold up the secondhand market.

Posted
1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

Everyone knows that these short run instruments aren’t going to be gigged night after night but to boost the ego of the buyer and as speculative investment pieces. 
 

 

The musical equivalent of collectible plates.

Posted
1 hour ago, Twigman said:

I paid £1675 for my new EBMM Sterling 4HH with matching headstock in late 2016 delivered April 2017.

I recently asked EBMM to quote me for an identical bass - they quoted me $2,899 ex works + shipping + VAT and duty with  a 4 month lead time.

That's too rich for me but might hold up the secondhand market.

That makes sense. In deep dark COVID times (mid-2021 to early 2022) Andertons and PMT were selling new HH Specials at £2,899 a pop.

Posted
2 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Everyone knows that these short run instruments aren’t going to be gigged night after night but to boost the ego of the buyer and as speculative investment pieces. 

 

 

 

This isn’t meant as a criticism— I see posts like this quite often. I’m just genuinely curious about where that perception might come from.

 

For years I used to sell high-

end guitars to wealthy people, and I wouldn’t say they were  "boosting their ego." For many of them, it was more like seeing excited kids genuinely enjoying themselves. They had the means and privilege to spend big (though relatively that’s ’big’ to you and me and not to them), but from their interactions I much more often saw them as genuine enthusiasts, getting joy from the instrument, rather than anything else. 

Posted
2 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said:

This isn’t meant as a criticism— I see posts like this quite often. I’m just genuinely curious about where that perception might come from.

 

For years I used to sell high-

end guitars to wealthy people, and I wouldn’t say they were  "boosting their ego." For many of them, it was more like seeing excited kids genuinely enjoying themselves. They had the means and privilege to spend big (though relatively that’s ’big’ to you and me and not to them), but from their interactions I much more often saw them as genuine enthusiasts, getting joy from the instrument, rather than anything else. 


Quite possibly. The reason they’re expensive is because of artificially imposed scarcity and that appeals to people. I can own this and you can’t, etc.

 

The purpose of owning this, in most cases, isn’t intrinsic it’s performative. 

 

As I get older extreme displays of wealth and rich people’s playthings like this make me feel queezy.

 

 

Posted
Just now, Burns-bass said:


Quite possibly. The reason they’re expensive is because of artificially imposed scarcity and that appeals to people. I can own this and you can’t, etc.

 

The purpose of owning this, in most cases, isn’t intrinsic it’s performative. 

 

As I get older extreme displays of wealth and rich people’s playthings like this make me feel queezy

 

I hear you 👍
 

It’s funny, but purely given how crazy prices are these days, I thought the Icon version was less than I’d expected. I knew a fair few players that could easily drop £6k on that bass, and it wouldn’t be as a display of wealth because £6k is nowt to them, but more the fun of owning it, and playing it. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, there were some guys that seemed quite morbid about big ticket purchases, but the majority seemed to be getting a kick out of it. 
 

I work in social care, which is chronically underfunded, and despite the fact that many wealthy people do give to charity, I just wish the £35k they spend on a vintage custom colour Fender went to a better place, or at least had a special ‘luxury tax’ that went to social care, but such is life. 

Posted
29 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said:

I hear you 👍
 

It’s funny, but purely given how crazy prices are these days, I thought the Icon version was less than I’d expected. I knew a fair few players that could easily drop £6k on that bass, and it wouldn’t be as a display of wealth because £6k is nowt to them, but more the fun of owning it, and playing it. 
 

Don’t get me wrong, there were some guys that seemed quite morbid about big ticket purchases, but the majority seemed to be getting a kick out of it. 
 

I work in social care, which is chronically underfunded, and despite the fact that many wealthy people do give to charity, I just wish the £35k they spend on a vintage custom colour Fender went to a better place, or at least had a special ‘luxury tax’ that went to social care, but such is life. 


Absolutely agree!

 

In terms of this one, I don’t know why you wouldn’t buy a genuine late 70s Stingray?

 

I have one and it’s a beast.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...