Carl Thompson Bass for $14,995. Please school me why.....?

alaskaleftybass

alaskaleftybass

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Mar 21, 2012
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#1
So I was perusing the old fleaBay and found this listing for a Carl Thompson 5 string bass. For $14,995. I'm not one to every deny anyone their happiness but why would this bass cost so much? Please enlighten me on this puzzle....

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"2006 CARL THOMPSON 5 String Bass very special ordered on January 18th, 2006.

Ahhh this wonderful bass is from our personal pieces of Carl Thompson’s history, talent & inventive design. It was ordered personally by The Guitar Broker (Craig Brody) & made to our specs. Our 5 String Bass was made to play & ordered with some delicious woods that compliment each other perfectly. It also weighs in at 8 lbs…Carl’s secret recipe for quality & lightweight design at only 8 lbs. We wanted a fully electric bass having nothing metal except for the tuners & frets. Hence Carl made this bass with a beautiful all wood bridge assembly w/wooden saddles to keep that natural vibey tone Carl was so famous for. It is near mint & comes with a nice padded Gig Bag."

..........."nice padded gig bag????" I would think maybe a flight case?
 
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#3
Why does a BMW cost what it does? Not to say that this bass is the equivalent of a Beamer, but maybe it is. In some circles Thompson basses are revered. And in some circles, so are BMW's. In the end the price is what someone is willing to pay.

Maybe an Indonesian Lakland is of more value to you.
 
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#7
Turnaround said:
Why does a BMW cost what it does? Not to say that this bass is the equivalent of a Beamer, but maybe it is. In some circles Thompson basses are revered. And in some circles, so are BMW's. In the end the price is what someone is willing to pay.

Maybe an Indonesian Lakland is of more value to you.
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BMW's revered?
 
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#11
DigitalMan said:
BMW's revered?
Click to expand...

LOL that's funny. I suppose some instrument shops sell high end instruments with a "perceived upper crust value," and people in a very good place in life have that kind of disposable money to throw at their toys. I've never owned a bass over $2500 and don't plan to. Suffice to say I could easily buy one or more, but I'm practical about using working instruments so if I bash them or they're damaged there won't be any great grief.

BMW? Meh. I own a Toyota and all it ever asks for is an oil change and windshield wiper fluid. 10 years later and not one drop of oil ever fell from the underside.

At first I was offended by the poster's comment about a bass made in Indonesia but after consideration-- hey, I'll bet there are a lot of great players using bass guitars from Indonesia. Are you going to look down your nose at all of them too?
 
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#14
Well, I did go to the website and the history is pretty impressive. Evidently the man is responsible for a lot of varieties of basses today not thought of 40 years ago.

He uses very exotic wood and only so many basses are built per year, and there's a two year waiting period. I guess it would be much more of a very high end bass than I realized. Still, $14,995 is too rich for my blood. Maybe some people here will buy them, but I would probably encase it in glass for the rest of my life so what's the point...

Here's an example of his beautiful work.

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#15
1. Carl Thompson is a legend.
2. Very few are made a year.
3. The demand is so high as mentioned that there is a 2 year waiting list and if I'm not mistaken has been longer.
4. The quality is beyond amazing and done in a way you can only really "get" from Carl.
5. He's getting older, you think prices are high now, just wait when no more can be made....

With that being said, I was able to spend some time with a 6 string CT that was simply stunning... and definitely not my cup of tea, I'd have absolutely no use for one in a practical manner for what I do. If I did, I would be a happy camper. In reality all it would ever would be is lust anyway as I could never invest such into an instrument either.... even if I had that kind of disposable income. My buddy was definitely a happy camper


Ohh yeah I forgot....

6. Les Claypool.

-Benny
 
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#16
I don't give a crap about those boutique basses, and when they are overpriced that's even worse. But now we are entering in the "brand" thing, and CT is just that, great marketing and guy know how to sell himself, same like Fodera, Ritter, Fender and Gibson...all same for me, brand and that's all, everyone in their price range rule the market.
 
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#17
Kenova said:
I don't give a crap about those boutique basses, and when they are overpriced that's even worse. But now we are entering in the "brand" thing, and CT is just that, great marketing and guy know how to sell himself, same like Fodera, Ritter, Fender and Gibson...all same for me, brand and that's all, everyone in their price range rule the market.
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You've tried a few?
 
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#19
I have a few things to say about this thread.
1. That bridge is awesome, but this person is only fooling himself with that price tag.
2. Carl estimated me at about 4-5 years for my custom.
3. Carl only gets as much publicity as his customers give him, he doesn't push his name out there at all really, so he's doing something right.
4. He is responsible for the first piccolo bass and "true" six-string bass, or he is as far as I know.
5. No one will be getting customs anymore after the wait list is completed, unless he opens it back up, so him "selling himself" would probably be ineffective at this point.

The guy is humble, keeps to himself, and it's threads like these that make people like him stay off of the internet. Too many rumors and inaccuracies.
 
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#20
Why is an old car that originally costed $8000 selling for $150,000? Because somebody wants it REALLY badly and there aren't many out there to buy. If the market exists for this type of instrument and the availability is scarce, the price will be high. Insanely high to the dispassionate observer. To the interested buyer, it is the price of admission. I have no exposure to instruments at this level and my skills do not warrant such an investment in a single instrument, so I'm not part of that club.
 
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