What is an expensive bass?

[miles'tone]

An expensive bass is one that is just that bit more than you can afford, whatever your circumstances. 

[Misdee]

To me, what is an expensive bass depends not just on the price but on what I'm getting for the money. £3000 is a lot of money if it's a boutique P Bass which ultimately offers only notional advantages over a decent regular P Bass at a fraction of that price. If I'm buying an Alembic then three grand is a bargain.

 

At what price point a bass becomes expensive is open to debate, but what isn't open to debate is that nice basses have become more expensive. Allowing for inflation, high-end basses are significantly more expensive than they were in the past and that trend shows no signs of abating.

 

For the equivalent price of a Wal with a fitted hardcase or Warwick Thumb Bass in 1989 in 2025 you can get a Spector Euro NS2 . For the price of a Status Series 2  in the late '80's you can now get a Stingray Special.

 

 

[tom.android]

What about a cheap bass that requires upgrades to be properly useable? Or that requires a lot of expensive work from a tech etc?

What about a bass that costs £2k, gets used for a bunch of paid gigs, then you break even selling it later adjusted for inflation? Was that expensive or was it basically free?

 

Or a mid priced bass that warps or the truss rod breaks or whatever - that’s the one that feels the most ‘expensive’ in the long run to me. 

[snorkie635]

I'd say anything beyond £1500 is expensive in my view. Although I have basses costing more, none do a significantly 'better' job. Simples.

[peteb]

2 hours ago, Misdee said:

To me, what is an expensive bass depends not just on the price but on what I'm getting for the money. £3000 is a lot of money if it's a boutique P Bass which ultimately offers only notional advantages over a decent regular P Bass at a fraction of that price. If I'm buying an Alembic then three grand is a bargain.

 

 

A guy I know is a pro bass player, who paid £3k for a CS P bass. For him, the requirement was for the best possible bass that will work for any gigs that he is going to get called for and that meant a high spec P bass. I've played it and it is a great bass and his reasons for buying it make complete sense. 

 

A mate of mine did pick up an Alembic for a very reasonable price and that's great as well. But a P bass is probably going to be more suitable for more gigs for a jobbing pro bass player. 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by peteb

[tegs07]

Probably £1000. However these things are all relative. If you had asked 5 years ago £500 as I had less disposable income. Some people could easily justify £3000. Still cheap compared to a lot of work tools or hobby equipment.

[peteb]

5 hours ago, TimR said:

It's the law of diminishing returns

 

As basses get more expensive there's a point at which the difference to the next bass up is negligible. 

 

I then factor in what I could afford to replace from savings tomorrow. 

 

Then I factor in how long a bass lasts - my current bass is 25 years old and has probably cost me £15 a year so far. 

 

For me the figure for an expensive bass is £1500. I don't think I'd buy an expensive bass - not this year anyway, although think it is time for a new one as my current bass is approaching a point where it will soon become the Bass of Thesius.

 

The BL of the first regular gigging band with a following that I played with, once said to me 'buy right and pay a little more in the first place and it will save you a lot of money in the long run'. He was quite right and I've followed his advice (in the main part) ever since. Whenever I haven't, I've always regretted it! 

 

You don't need to spend big on a bass that will cover every gig that you are likely to get called for. If people were to ask me for advice, I would say these days to buy a s/h Fender American Std Jazz Bass if you need a 4 string bass. You can pick them up for a grand (give or take) these days, and no BL or sound engineer is going to be less than happy if you turn up on a gig with one. You will still be gigging it in 30 year's time and it will justify the additional money if you we originally looking to spend a bit less, many times over. You should note that things change over time - ten years ago I would have advised people to pick up a s/h Stingray, which were really good value at the time and look at what they go for these days! 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by peteb

[Lozz196]

Good advice Pete

[TimR]

It's going to depend on how much you earn from playing.

 

In the 90s my wife (a grade 8 flautist) bought a flute for £8k. At the time that was more than what both our cars added together cost. 

 

My bass cost £350, a month's wages. 

 

I still have it. 

[Misdee]

58 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

A guy I know is a pro bass player, who paid £3k for a CS P bass. For him, the requirement was for the best possible bass that will work for any gigs that he is going to get called for and that meant a high spec P bass. I've played it and it is a great bass and his reasons for buying it make complete sense. 

 

A mate of mine did pick up an Alembic for a very reasonable price and that's great as well. But a P bass is probably going to be more suitable for more gigs for a jobbing pro bass player. 

 

I'm in complete agreement with you Pete. Under normal circumstances I play a P-style Bass 90 percent of the time. 

 

My personal experience is that I have a couple of boutique P Basses and an ordinary USA Fender P Bass and in terms of sound and overall usability there's no real reason to get a boutique P except I could get the spec I wanted. I love them all, but in terms of playability and tone the Fender at about half the price does just a good a job in its own way. The boutique basses were an expensive and unnecessary indulgence (but I don't regret it).

 

When I see people paying upwards of five grand for a new boutique Precision Bass I just hope whoever buys it realises they will end up with something which at the end of the day is essentially very similar to a much less expensive example. P Basses are so much in vogue it's easy for some folks to get carried away with the mythology and lose sight of the practicalities.

[peteb]

44 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I'm in complete agreement with you Pete. Under normal circumstances I play a P-style Bass 90 percent of the time. 

 

My personal experience is that I have a couple of boutique P Basses and an ordinary USA Fender P Bass and in terms of sound and overall usability there's no real reason to get a boutique P except I could get the spec I wanted. I love them all, but in terms of playability and tone the Fender at about half the price does just a good a job in its own way. The boutique basses were an expensive and unnecessary indulgence (but I don't regret it).

 

When I see people paying upwards of five grand for a new boutique Precision Bass I just hope whoever buys it realises they will end up with something which at the end of the day is essentially very similar to a much less expensive example. P Basses are so much in vogue it's easy for some folks to get carried away with the mythology and lose sight of the practicalities.

 

Well, yes and no! 

 

The guy that I mentioned makes a living from playing bass and decided that he needs a P bass that was completely bulletproof, complete with a quarter sawn neck / CS pickups, etc to handle every pro gig that he gets called for. I seriously considered getting something similar, but decided that I couldn't justify the extra cash as I already have a really nice 70s P bass that is always going to be my main bass, so paying the extra £1.5k wasn't worth it when I could get a really nice AVRI with a pretty similar spec, but without the quarter sawn neck! 

 

As I said in another post, you can pick up an American Std for £1k or so, which makes it difficult to justify the extra cash. But, for guys that are going to get that boutique P bass as the one that they use all the time, then it's certainly worth it for them! 

 

Edited 6 hours ago by peteb

[TimR]

20 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

Well, yes and no! 

 

The guy that I mentioned makes a living from playing bass and decided that he needs a P bass that was completely bulletproof, complete with a quarter sawn neck / CS pickups, etc to handle every pro gig that he gets called for. I seriously considered getting something similar, but decided that I couldn't justify the extra cash as I already have a really nice 70s P bass that is always going to be my main bass, so paying the extra £1.5k wasn't worth it when I could get a really nice AVRI with a pretty similar spec, but without the quarter sawn neck! 

 

As I said in another post, you can pick up an American Std for £1k or so, which makes it difficult to justify the extra cash. But, for guys that are going to get that boutique P bass as the one that they use all the time, then it's certainly worth it for them! 

 

 

Making a living from Bass will also offset tax. 

 

I'd definitely be getting a bespoke instrument made. That could well be just a load of off the shelf parts built to my spec. 

 

And a beater bass for the roadies to throw around during soundcheck. 

[Lozz196]

I’ve bought a couple of expensive Sandberg basses this year, for their light weight and my continuing back issues. I also have a Sandberg being made for me at present. When I get it I’ll let one of the others go. Although I don’t intend to gig anymore I do a 4hr rehearsal with my band once a fortnight so wanted to make things as easy as possible. They’re great basses and the last one was more than I’d usually be comfortable spending, but my first rehearsal with it last week showed me it was a wise purchase, didn’t cause any trouble with my back. 

[Richard R]

My main bass (a Brawley 5 string) was £450 s/h. I can't justify anything more as the bass is much better than I am, or probably will ever be, and I only play at home or in church. 

However there is an Ovation Magnum 1 on Reverb at around £2,600 that I really would like to own, but don't need. So to me that's an expensive bass.

 

Those who gig regularly will have different criteria, and it's been interesting reading the views here.

[Ben Jamin]

Just be to a bit nerdy, it sounds like we could think about how expensive something is as the ratio between:

How much someone can afford : how valuable the object is.

 

Affordability : Value

 

So maybe 1:1 is great, 2:1 is a decent deal, 10:1 is super expensive.

Both sides are relative, as we all have different incomes/lifestyles etc, and we all perceive value differently.

I think the value factor is equally important, in the sense that you might think a £500 bass is expensive, but we all would probably think a £500 car is cheap.

For example, my disposable income wouldn't let me spend more anywhere near £500 on a bass right now, but I don't think a £1500-2000 USA Fender is expensive. However, I do think a £1500-2000 luthier custom is expensive.

For me, the value of a Fender isn't as much in the component parts or particular build quality; it's in the value of it being a known entity. Sound engineers, other musicians, even some punters - we all know what a Precision bass is about. Engineers like it as it's a familiar/iconic sound. It won't go wrong and no-one worries about it. It'll retain its value pretty well too.

 

The luthier custom would probably be a much better instrument objectively and hopefully fit the specific need, but there's no familiarity factor, it's a risk for a sound engineer, and it probably wouldn't retain its value as well. 

However if I was in the position to splash out, I'd be more excited about the luthier job than a USA Fender Precision.

 

We're weird creatures.

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Ben Jamin

[tauzero]

10 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Of course you have a lot more choice if a P or J style bass is what you want, and therefore price can be a consideration.

 

For those of us who require something different options, and price points, can be severely limited.

 

In my current band I play an Eastwood Hooky Bass VI. I've found that the neck is every other Bass VI that I have tried far too narrow and the string spacing too tight, and I've tried every single one I've been able to get my hands on. That means the $1399 plus shipping, import duty and VAT for the Hooky is the entry price point for the bass I need. The alternatives would be either an original vintage Shergold Marathon 6-string bass which is essentially the same instrument but more worn and more expensive, or having something custom made.

 

That puts a new perspective on "what is an expensive bass?"

 

It doesn't really put a new perspective on it. If I was in that situation, I'd buy the Hooky but I would regard it as an expensive bass (my threshold being £1000). I have several basses that cost me over £1k but none that cost me over £2k, and the ones that cost me over £1k I regard as expensive. Just because a bass comes over the "expensive" threshold doesn't mean I won't buy it, although I do have a nebulous "too f*cking expensive" threshold that's somewhere round £3k beyond which I almost certainly wouldn't pay that for a bass.

[Linus27]

For me, it comes down to what I'm going to be using the bass for, how often and then what I can afford or justify spending. I love vintage Japanese Fender's so anything from the 1980's and pre 1990's. The only mod I have to do is upgrade the pickups but these are good enough for pub gigs, club gigs and all the way up to big venues including stadiums and can be had for under £1k.

 

I'd also happily spend a little more and buy an American Vintage Fender which will again, do all of the above, be a little more unique but come in at around the £2k range. I wouldn't however buy a standard American Fender as they are no better than the vintage Japanese Fender's and for me in a lot of cases, poorer yet more expensive.

 

If I was pro or doing a lot of paid work then my budget would probably be between £2k - £2.5k and I would settle on an Fender American Vintage. I do have a bass on my list to buy, a late 1970's fretless Fender Precision. My budget is around £2k, anything over that and I feel it's a waste.

[tauzero]

There's far too much overthinking going on for my original question. Put it like this: a box contains a completely unidentified bass which is to perform a completely unidentified function which will fall within its capabilities. You are not buying it[1]. If someone said to you "the bass in there is £x", how much would x have to be for you to think it was an expensive bass?

 

[1] But you could make me an offer.