3 Major Reasons To Avoid Buying An Expensive Bass Guitar

Fender Jazz bass

One of the biggest pet peeves from experience musicians is simple. It happens all the time, a newbie receives an expensive bass guitar. It happened to me, and I got ridiculed a lot, even though my electric bass was not the most expensive in the store. When I was a teenager, I received a Fender Precision/Jazz Combo. It was a Mexican bass, and the experienced players around me were all laughing at the fact. One friend even took the neck and tried to break it, or adjust it. He then railed against the spotty craftsmanship that Fender started to be known for.

I was devastated. However, as I learned to play better and look back on the experience, I can understand the sentiments of many experienced bass guitar players. It’s with that in mind that I’m crafting this quick note about the reasons you may want to consider for skipping out on the expensive bass purchase.

Reasons #1: You Don’t Know How To Play Well

If you don’t know how to play the instrument, then don’t spend thousands of dollars on it. Instead, buy an entry level option, or a lower cost solution from amazon here, and spend thousands on lessons. That’s right, get lessons instead of purchasing a nicer instrument. While you’re learning, you do not need that vintage 1950s Fender Jazz bass. You just don’t. Learn how to master the instrument, and make sure you really want to play and even join a band or be a studio musician before you buy something that will sit in a corner somewhere.

Reasons #2: Expensive Doesn’t Always Mean Quality

There are a lot of expensive bass guitars out there. You can spend upwards of tens of thousands on a good bass guitar. However, you will be saddened by the fact that it may sound awful. If you want to get a rich sound, you will need to do some research and avoid spending money frivolously. You may hear some brand names that sound great, but when you finally break down and purchase one online or in stores, you will be broke, and will not find a lot of buyers that will pay full price for what you have. My Fender sounded good, but did it sound great? Nope. It was 900 dollars at the time, and while it was a good investment for me personally, it ended up selling for $600 less than 2 years later.

Reason #3: You Don’t Have The Money

One of the worst things you can do, at least in my opinion, is to purchase an expensive electric bass guitar on credit. Unless you have 0% interest and you know that you can pay off that one option you’ve been staring at, avoid it. If you can’t pay cash for the instrument, don’t. It’s better to wait for the money to come in than to spend thousands of dollars on a solution that will not pay back. I know, this flies in the face of fans of this instrument, but it’s practical advice that you will thank me for later.

In the end, there is nothing wrong with spending thousands of dollars on a bass guitar. I spent $900 on one in 1999. Will I do it again? I would, but I know how to play it, and despite what some people may think, I would love to get my hands on a vintage solution and join a punk band. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to frivolously spend on a collection or anything like that, unless I know how to use it.

What about you? Do you really need to spend $5,000 on an electric bass guitar? Be honest with yourself. If you say you do need to, then at least save yourself some money and go to amazon.com here, and get a discounted option delivered to you. You’ll be surprised with their selection.