As projected, the 2011 market became even more
aligned with players, rather than
collectors, and certainly not
investors. The largest percentage
of deals this past year has been
for player-level gear—more so
than anytime I can recall in the
past five to seven years.
The pricing sweet spot in
2011 was between $600 and
$4000, down from $1500 to
$5000 the previous year. And
this is down considerably from
the 2007 numbers of $2500 to
$10,000. One major change I’ve
seen is that tradeshow attendance appears to have increased
considerably and that tradeshow
activity (buying, selling, and
trading) is also on the rise. Just
by looking at confirmed sales,
internet auction transactions
appear to have cooled a bit,
even with lower selling prices.
That said, it looks like in-hand
prices have remained relatively
static when compared to 2010.
In talking with many clients,
I’ve gathered that instead of
opting for an internet sale by a
non-dealer offering no guarantee or return privilege, people
seem willing to pay a premium
for a face-to-face deal—which
amounts to an extra 5-10 percent—simply for peace of mind.
What’s Hot. There was
not a single bass I put in my
crosshairs as a “must buy” in
2011. Provided a bass played
great, sounded great, and
was correctly priced—it sold.
Refinished Jazz basses, 4001s,
and Thunderbirds continued
to have a short shelf life, while
refinished P basses tended to
hang around just a smidge longer. Most any other refin bass
had to be cheap to sell. Dead
mint to firewood Thunderbirds
from the ’60s and 4000 series
Rickenbackers have had constant activity, while J basses and
’60s P basses have seemingly
come back to life.
The key here is pedigree
versus price—they simply have
to be in sync. Industry-standard
boutique basses have also been
sturdy sellers, provided they
were still pretty, played great,
and priced correctly. Alembics
under $5000 and USA Laklands,
Spector, and Tobias basses under
$2500 all traded steadily. I’ve
seen Sadowsky, Fodera, and
4000 series Rickenbackers from
the ’60s were the exception,
along with the odd extremely
rare or extremely clean instrument. While both Rickenbacker
and early Music Man basses sold
steadily, the former came down
about 20 percent and the latter
dropped in price by 15 percent. Epiphone basses from the
’60s—though cooler than their
While original-design
Ibanez basses
have a dedicated
following, the
company’s “lawsuit
era” 4-strings have
their advocates, as
well. Despite being
bolt-ons, these
’70s Ibanez basses
certainly bear a
striking resemblance
to their ’60s Gibson
forebears. Image
courtesy of
bassoutpost.com
Warwicks remain as steady
swingers with Warrior basses
gaining some traction. And while
early G&L and ’70s Gibsons
continued to sell, the surprise of
the bunch has been post-lawsuit,
original-design Ibanez basses—
extremely good instruments
that have quite the following.
Mismatched necks and bodies,
hot-rod components, and refins
on mishmash basses from the
’50s through the ’70s have been
hot. This is a huge contrast to
even two or three years ago when
pedigree was everything.
What’s Not. 2011 continued
to show pain in the marketplace.
Just one example of this was the
slowdown of 1970s P bass sales.
Also, with a few exceptions,
gear over $10K—even if priced
fairly—did not seem to move.
Realistically priced T-Birds and
Gibson comps—witnessed triple
the shelf life when comparably
priced. And Christmas catalog
basses—always popular because
of their cheap nostalgia—have
been dead in the water and
most can’t be given away. Old
may equate to cool, but not
necessarily desirable. Just ask
the SD Curlee owner who
couldn’t get $300 for his bass
at two guitar shows.
The flavor-of-the-week club
appears to have settled down
and the up-and-down spiking
of sales by make and model
has leveled out. Traditional
gear is the hot commodity and
many players are coming back
to 4-string basses, with basses
sporting more than five strings
having become a rarity compared to a couple of years ago.
I’m calling 2011 “the year
that people did not understand.”
I find used Rickenbacker 4003s
listed online at $1500 to $2700
for the exact same bass, and I
saw a late-’60s refin Precision
listed for $8000. Basses with
flaws are being tagged at top
dollar, so going forward, the
principle of quality-versus-price
will become even more significant. Sorry, but you won’t sell
a B00 StingRay to a dealer for
$2700, when he has the same
one for $2200.
The Low Down … We’re
Undecided. Talking with my
dealer buddies and many of my
player clients, it seems everyone
is looking for something different and nothing different at
the same time. While staples
will continue to sell just because
people crave a different instrument, folks are not looking for
the next trendsetter. Hamers
and Jacksons have been trading
in-and-out against StingRays—
but is this bucking the trend or
becoming the trend?
Live auctions have been
showing up at major tradeshows.
Will this be the norm or a flash
in the pan? The jury is out on
what’s in store for us, but boy,
the opinions are in. Let’s just say
there’s no joy in Mudville with
this one, so let’s wait and see.
KEVIN BORDEN has
been playing bass since
1975. He is the principal and
co-owner, with “Dr.” Ben
Sopranzetti, of Kebo’s Bass
Works (visit them online at
kebosbassworks.com). You
can reach Kevin at kebobass@yahoo.com.
Feel free to call him KeBo.
