LeftyBassist.com

Am I the only one who thinks buying new is weird?

I haven't bought a new musical instrument since the 90's, almost all of my effects are used, I've never purchased a new car and I'm not sure that I ever will, even most of my clothes I buy used except for the essentials. The only things I consistently buy new when I have the option are electronics and even then I still buy used from time to time.

I've been hunting for a good 5-string and I just can't find any in Japan (where I live now) that I like so I've been considering purchasing something new and found one in specific I want if they end up selling it in Japan. Not even just because of the price, the thought that something has never been played by anyone but me is just strange.

I've got a used Jaguar that I really like, and when I got it, it had a few scratches and dents and all that. Since I've had it, it's gotten even more beat up, and when I look at all the marks, I can't remember which ones were there before and which ones are my fault, and I'm totally fine with that. If I got something new, I'd know it's ALL my fault and would probably be afraid to really get down and dirty with it.

I'm sure I'll get over it, but am I alone thinking like this?

Have never bought a new bass in over 40 years. The only new guitar I ever bought was a Fernandes Tele copy in the early nineties.

Same with amps: Everything used except a new SWR bass head in late 1990's and a Yamaha THR-10 two years ago.

(I'll make an exception for strings and batteries)

I'm definitely a fan of buying used, but as a lefty I don't really have the luxury of being dogmatic about it.

I rarely buy new. I have a bit of a "buy to try" approach to buying basses: we don't have the luxury to try out a lot of basses in stores, so I like having the option to sell them again with little to no financial risk when it turns out I don't like them.



Same! I bought a new THR10-II a couple of months ago and love it.

Buying used is my default. However, I am not above buying new if I can't find it used or if it is a pre-order for something I am very excited about.

I will also pay the premium on new if I can't make a significant savings on used.

New mostly. Used if there’s a return policy. I’ve been burned with too many shit instruments with bad necks.

No rule of thumb for me. Buying used can obviously land you a better price/deal, depending on the condition, dealer, and a few other variables, but if there's a new instrument out there that I've been waiting for (like the Epiphone Jack Casady bass), I'm not waiting for a used one to pop up. sometimes you just have to jump on these things because there's a short window of opportunity to get them. (i.e. most of the Gibson basses they released left handed in 2013).

That's because you keep buying Fenders all the time

I used to buy both, of course old Fenders, Rics are awesome but I kept a 2017 Fender Jazz I got new and love it. In 2011I ordered my Mike Lull bass new, it was cool to pick the color I wanted, PJ configuration, Birds Eye Maple neck.

Lastly, look at alot of these newer builders that make great basses, I love my Valenti and I thought the price was well worth it.

My problems have been mostly RIC. And I bought a used Sabre a few years back with a neck that was absolute garbage. I was able to get it re-worked but I ended up selling it after it was all fixed up.

If I want a Bass, I buy it - doesn't matter whether it's new, or used... I prefer to buy used when I can, simply because I'll get a better price.... I currently own @46-47 basses... and I can easily say that half of them were bought new... they weren't Sadowskey's/Foderas/Am-Fenders/Alembics etc... but they were new... and the majority were just fine, with a little bit of tweaking... and, they were mostly in the $200-500 price range... good quality instruments can certainly be found affordably....

As a lefty, I sometimes have no choice in ordering something new as I've found waiting/shopping around can lead to supplies drying up. An example would be ordering a lefty Jaguar Bass from Japan, which were discontinued a year or so later, or getting one of the last Bachbirds after they were already deleted from the catalog. I definitely prefer buying used simply because it takes a few years for an instrument to break-in. That Jaguar for example took about two years of constant use before it started sounding really great.