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

#41
Jeff Scott said:
How may Sq. Ft. of granite countertop is it? That will tell us if it was overpriced, or not.
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Normal(?) countertop width. I'm guessing 32" x 14' x 2" maybe? Straight run. No sink cutout. Simple rounded edging. Buffed to high gloss. Your basic headstone - except longer and thinner.

So roughy 37.33 square feet or 6.22 cubic feet of granite before cutting and finishing.

I'm guessing you're in the trade?
 
#43
Jeff Scott said:
Maybe. If it wasn't for Anthony Jackson asking Carl to build a bass with 6 strings on it and tuned how he wanted it, Carl may never have "invented" it.
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AJ wanted something...CT made it, made parts that were not available at the time...made it a reality.
So I think he does deserve more credit for it than he is often given.
I have wanted stuff that doesn't exist and didn't find someone to create it for me.
 
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#46
Jeff Scott said:
Usually, countertops are 24" deep (ours were specified at 25", both the base cabinets and uppers are 1" deeper than standard, these were custom Amish built cabinets - hey, I should have them make me a couple of bass cabinets! :D) You say 2" thick, that may be the front edge where a second piece can be added to give the impression of a thicker slab, or are those slabs actually 2" thick?

Longer and thinner, more like this, for example?

View attachment 894946

:smug:
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It's for a central island type work surface. (This kitchen is huge!) It's more table sized than a countertop. (The person who ordered it does a lot of large-scale cooking projects which was the supposed motivation for the huge size.)

Also double checked with my GF who's more up on it. It 10' not 14' long. And 30" wide. So area is 25 sq.ft. even.

I don't know if it's a full 2" thick overall. (I know zip about the details of this sort of stuff. Our countertops are Corian.) I didn't see it before it was installed. But I was told it came in in two pieces through the back deck doors.
 
#48
alaskaleftybass said:
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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My personal opinion is that Les Claypool was the one person responsible for the Carl Thompson notoriety other than Carl Thompson himself. With that being said, I believe there are a plethora of builders out there who can create the same sensation and sense of exclusivity ("builds basses like nobody else," "superb quality," "one of a kind," "light weight," "the first one to do X," "no more orders being taken,") WITHOUT the ridiculous price tag. But to each his own. EVERY consumer good and service has an equilibrium point of value. Anything beyond that is called "priceless" and/or is representative of someone else's equilibrium point of value.
 
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#49
cnltb said:
AJ wanted something...CT made it, made parts that were not available at the time...made it a reality.
So I think he does deserve more credit for it than he is often given.
I have wanted stuff that doesn't exist and didn't find someone to create it for me.
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I agree credit should be given where credit is due. And Mr. Thompson certainly did turn out a lovely looking bass, even if the shape seems a bit fussy and does nothing for me.

By the same token, credit where credit is due once again. Being the first to do something is not automatically the same as being innovative, original, or creative.

Cosmetic embellishments, doing things "just because" (such as 'all wood' construction), or being the 'first' to build a 6-string bass guitar (something which had long been discussed and contemplated by what were probably thousands of bass players over the years) doesn't make you a pioneer…like maybe Leo was. Just a really good master craftsman. Which is a fine thing and worthy of respect.

And it's still a lovely bass either way. Not my personal cuppa. But once again, credit where it's due. :)
 
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#50
bongostealth said:
My personal opinion is that Les Claypool was the one person responsible for the Carl Thompson notoriety other than Carl Thompson himself. With that being said, I believe there are a plethora of builders out there who can create the same sensation and sense of exclusivity ("builds basses like nobody else," "superb quality," "one of a kind," "light weight," "the first one to do X," "no more orders being taken,") WITHOUT the ridiculous price tag. But to each his own. EVERY consumer good and service has an equilibrium point of value. Anything beyond that is called "priceless" and/or is representative of someone else's equilibrium point of value.
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What you said so eloquently is what my gut was telling me. I'm in agreement, there are many gifted luthiers out there. It only takes one well known musician (Les Claypool) to send a luthier to star dome.

Please everyone don't think I'm minimizing in any way the luthier's talents or legends.
 
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#51
Jeff Scott said:
We went with soapstone. :)

View attachment 894925
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2014 All rights reserved.

View attachment 894927
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2014 All rights reserved.

View attachment 894931
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2014 All rights reserved.

Now, how does this tie in with a bass guitar? The soapstone is on top of the base bass cabinets :smug:, and is part of the backsplash backline :woot:.
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Forget the counters, the most important thing in those pictures is the Kitchen Aid mixer.
A well-fed bassist is a happy bassist.
 
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#52
bongostealth said:
My personal opinion is that Les Claypool was the one person responsible for the Carl Thompson notoriety other than Carl Thompson himself.
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That certainly upped his profile in a big way; though he was certainly known (among bass players anyway) before thanks in part to Stanley Clark's piccolo basses. I heard of him in the mid '80s from Jeff Berlin as he was buying strings from him IIRC (which I did as well). Nice and humble man (Carl that is - Jeff, well, a strong personality...) The basses were not crazy expensive at that time.
 
#54
Ewo said:
I gotta say...this has been one of the best threadjacks evah! Whoodda thunk it that a thread about the pricetag of a boutique bass would morph into microeconomics (then macroecon) plus kitchen decor?
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I shall resume this discussion after my nap.

image.jpeg
 
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#55
Jeff Scott said:
Maybe. If it wasn't for Anthony Jackson asking Carl to build a bass with 6 strings on it and tuned how he wanted it, Carl may never have "invented" it.

Why aim so low? :smug: How about some cars that were probably around $3000, or so, now selling in the $60,000,000 range.

I may be wrong but I thought the Guitar Broker/Craig Brody was a used instrument (and automobile) dealer, so I doubt that Craig commissioned this bass to be built.

Going by past history with some folks I know who have tried to deal with him, he rarely (if ever) budges on his prices (among other things I can't go into here).

This.
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Well it said their "guitar broker" ordered it and it was made to their specs on the ebay page..
 
#56
People are free to charge what they hope to get for an instrument, and buyers are free to (A) meet that price or (B) make a lower offer, and hope it gets accepted. Free market, supply and demand, and all that stuff...would I spend almost $15,000 USD on a bass? Probably not even if I won a lottery...but someone else out there might, and hey, if they have the cash and wherewithal to do so, more power to 'em, and to the seller as well.
 
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#58
I dunno that a sucker would buy it, without some kind of tie to something. If this used to be owned by Claypool, it'd be worth the asking price and maybe more, and a rich sucker might buy it.

But as it stands, it's an expensive hunk of wood. Anyone who would approach buying this instrument knows a thing or two about basses and bass buying. They know that as soon as they get it home, it depreciates in value by a good chunk, and that's the price you gotta pay when buying a bass like this.

Like that $31,000 Alembic I mentioned earlier. Is $31,000 expensive for a fully tricked-out Alembic (I used their order form and tried to trick it out as much as possible)? Is it expensive knowing that you MIGHT be able to sell it for half of what you paid for it?

In most cases, it's not necessarily what you pay, it's what your "rental fee" is. I got a good deal on a bass that I just bought. I should be able to sell it for no less than what I've got in it, I'm damn sure. But if I did plunk down $16,000 for this bass, I'd know darn and well I'd be paying a $7,000-$8,000 "rental fee," for if I sold it, I'd never be able to get $16,000 out of it.

And then there's the lurking question - even if this guy likes to overprice stuff, how far is he willing to lower his price? Is it still expensive at $13,000? Not if you want a Carl Thompson and don't wanna get on the multiple-year waiting list for one.
 
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