Do I Buy the No Name Bass Guitar?

The unknown bass

An object lesson today based upon a cheap bass guitar I’m looking at. The bass I’m going to be talking about is the exact one pictured. The one in the middle with the “explorer” shape. What is it? I can’t tell you that because I don’t know. I’ve done some research and will probably do a little more but bottom line is I have no idea as to brand, age, anything. That’s the point of why I’m writing this.

When looking for your next cheap guitar, do you stick only to brand names you recognize like Fender, Gibson, Guild, Martin, etc.? If so, the pickings are likely to be slim because brand names like that are generally not available cheaply or if they are, they are totally beat or fakes. (Watch out for that!) A reminder here also, I’m talking primarily about cheap guitars which is different than bargain shopping. That $1,000 Gibson might be a real bargain because its really worth $2,500 but its still anything but cheap for me anyway.

Also, brand name shopping can lead you astray. Most of the major manufacturers now include cheap Asian or Mexican made guitars in their product line. Often times they look exactly like their expensive American counterparts. For instance, the Fender “Squire” lineup. Not that there is anything wrong with these budget guitars. They might be perfectly playable. Often times they have admirable build quality. But the thing is they might also come out of the exact same factory as the unheard of brand guitar hanging right next to it on the dealer’s wall. You might be missing out if you skip over the no name. One “no name” that is somewhat sought after are guitars made by the Japanese designer Matsumoku. I think I’ll have to write a whole blog about him sometime.

I’m thinking the pictured bass might be a Matsumoku designed Japanese bass. It looks to be about the right vintage and its definitely a quality crafted instrument. I just haven’t been able to source the little headstock logo that appears to be an “A” with a guitar shape as its middle. If anyone knows what it is, let me know!

So do I buy the pictured cheap bass even not knowing? Maybe/probably. I like the explorer body shape in terms of playability. The price versus playability factor is through the roof. If I had the money I would. The only thing holding me back is that work has been awefully slow lately. But it doesn’t look like the bass is going anywhere anytime soon. Its been hanging in the pawn shop 10 months now already. I’ll let you know.

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Tags: Arts, Bass guitar, buying, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Guitar, Instruments, Matsumoku, Music, Stringed

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 2:30 pm and is filed under purchasing cheap guitars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.