Vintage bass collectors....

[violetmind]

Hi guys,
I just want to find out what options are available if I'm planning to get into vintage basses. I'm located in Singapore and don't really travel much but I'm not sure if the market here provides enough variety and support for vintage basses. I've been out of the scene for more than a decade but very tempted to get back. Not sure whether there are reputable sellers out there you guys rely on. Online shops? Local shops? Any advice/comments/feedback would be appreciated.

Oh, and when I say vintage basses, I'm looking more towards fenders around the 70s era and if possible (even better!), pre-70s.

Hope it's not too much of a ask for your advice.

Cheers...

 

[rottenramone]

i like collecting, and speaking from my personal point of view, there isn't much of a vintage market here. the same pieces usually come and go from owner to owner. but once in a while a rare one may pop up and at the right price too.

 

[Resetti]

I have mostly bad experiences in our local shops (the big ones who are official distributors), mostly with bad sales attitude and product ignorance. Product ignorance I can bear with it since perhaps the bass expert took a day off and someone else covering.

But no way I'm going to give your shop my hard earned $3000 and more if I encounter bad sales attitude from the sales person.

So far the only shops I had good experience, polite and helpful staff are from city music, sinamex and most definitely blackwood. Because of good experiences I would very far more likely spend my hard earned money at those shops than others.

Actually sorry for the out of topic about vintage basses! But you asked about local shops so I'm sharing my experiences.

 

[shinobi]

the fact that they are exclusive distributors is precisely the reason why service is shit

monopoly never benefits the consumer

you could keep an eye out on the classifieds, there was once a long time ago this expat fella took out an ad for vintage bass trades

 

[violetmind]

Cheers fellas,
do the shops you guys mentioned carry vintage stock? I'm guessing it's the odd one that comes along every few years and these shops happen to know the chap trying to sell something from their personal collection (as opposed to shop stock)....I dunno.

BTW, has anyone ventured into getting their vintage guitars online yet?

 

[rottenramone]

u can try those shops which have 2nd hand guitars like guitar connection or blackwood. either that, can troll everyday in SOFT or luthermusic.

there are also popular overseas sites like talkbass or ishibashi. if you understand japanese, i recommend www.digimart.net but japs pay high prices for vintage gear.

 

[violetmind]

u can try those shops which have 2nd hand guitars like guitar connection or blackwood. either that, can troll everyday in SOFT or luthermusic.

there are also popular overseas sites like talkbass or ishibashi. if you understand japanese, i recommend www.digimart.net but japs pay high prices for vintage gear.

Great info mate. Cheers for that!

I like the digimart site and agree that japs pay high prices for vintage gear....heck, they pay high prices for almost everything....