The Last Bass Outpost

Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Basvarken on February 01, 2016, 01:57:28 AM

Title: Serious price drops...
Post by: Basvarken on February 01, 2016, 01:57:28 AM
For the European market...

https://www.musicstore.de/en_OE/EUR/gibson-bass-deal
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 01, 2016, 03:31:02 AM
This must have just happened then.  Or maybe I was in the wrong music stores.  I was in Amsterdam just a few weeks ago and the prices were the same as always.  In fact, I thought they were pretty high.  I was just in a few stores, though, that I chanced across.  It's not like I have an extensive knowledge of Amsterdam stores; I don't.  I did see a vintage Hofner in one that I wasn't expecting to see, though.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Basvarken on February 01, 2016, 04:00:57 AM
This must have just happened then. 

Yep.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 01, 2016, 04:59:08 AM
Yep.

Some of those look like really good deals.  I bet this won't be in effect in the U.S.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: the mojo hobo on February 01, 2016, 11:04:52 AM
Some of those look like really good deals.  I bet this won't be in effect in the U.S.

Of course not. Those basses are all out of production and mostly sold out in the U.S.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 01, 2016, 11:49:33 AM
Of course not. Those basses are all out of production and mostly sold out in the U.S.

Thanks for the info, but I'm probably following things a little better than may be apparent. 
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Dave W on February 01, 2016, 12:00:21 PM
These are all 2013 and 2014 models. They're about sold out in the US b/c the prices were dropped on them here in the fall of 2014 or earlier.

Still, it's a serious price drop for European buyers, and there's nothing wrong with buying NOS.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 01, 2016, 02:44:30 PM
Well, maybe some good will come from this.  I sent it to a friend who surprised me by being way more interested in this than I was expecting.  I hope it works out.  You just never know. 
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Basvarken on February 01, 2016, 03:45:09 PM
These are all 2013 and 2014 models. They're about sold out in the US b/c the prices were dropped on them here in the fall of 2014 or earlier.

Still, it's a serious price drop for European buyers, and there's nothing wrong with buying NOS.

Well, the Thunderbird 2015 is certainly not from 2013 or 2014.
The difference between regular price is 1000 euro...
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Dave W on February 01, 2016, 04:37:25 PM
Well, the Thunderbird 2015 is certainly not from 2013 or 2014.
The difference between regular price is 1000 euro...

Oops, missed that one.

None of the big online sellers here have any Gibson USA 2015s left except for a scratch and dent SG Standard at Sweetwater and another at American Musical/zzounds. There are a few 2015 ES-Les Pauls left but those are Gibson Memphis.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: the mojo hobo on February 01, 2016, 06:48:51 PM
And there are 2013 and 2014 EB basses out there.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Denis on February 01, 2016, 07:06:26 PM
And Gibson's USA website only lists one 2016 model bass available; a Memphis ES Les Paul for $3499...
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 02, 2016, 02:59:59 AM
As of now, SameDayMusic has one new 2014 Thunderbird available (also one used one.)  On first glance, it looks like Woodwind & Brasswind have Gibsons all over the place. But it looks like what they really have are a few blemished/used 2014/2015 SG Standards. 
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Chris P. on February 02, 2016, 03:13:11 AM
This must have just happened then.  Or maybe I was in the wrong music stores.  I was in Amsterdam just a few weeks ago and the prices were the same as always.  In fact, I thought they were pretty high.  I was just in a few stores, though, that I chanced across.  It's not like I have an extensive knowledge of Amsterdam stores; I don't.  I did see a vintage Hofner in one that I wasn't expecting to see, though.

I work right behind that shop with the Höfner. Amsterdam has some nice shops, some you have to know where they are..
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 02, 2016, 04:38:30 AM
I work right behind that shop with the Höfner. Amsterdam has some nice shops, some you have to know where they are..

My friend has just bought a used short scale bass.  It is some kind of off brand, but it actually sounds pretty good.  I asked the owner if he had short scale strings because she has had such a hard time finding any.  He said he didn't have any.  Then he told her in Dutch that that was the first time in ten years anyone had asked for short scale strings.  I guess he thought that was quite an odd request.  I didn't try to play that Hofner.  I had just been in another store and they seemed really particular about people playing basses or guitars in the store.  Lately, I've become more interested in Hofners, though. I think that's mostly because I found a new Hofner Igntion that was $100 off the regular price.  It arrived while I was still in Holland.  I am surprised that a bass so cheap sounds so good.  Also, with a neck/shoulder problem it's so easy to play it's so incredibly light--a true hollow body. 

If I had known you were in the shop right behind that, it would have been great to stop by and visit.  The people I was with were Dutch but not from Amsterdam.  They kept asking me where I wanted to go and I didn't know enough about Amsterdam to make many suggestions.  I'm more familiar with Friesland, Groningen, and Brabant.  As for finding shops in Amsterdam, we were lucky to find anything since we didn't know much about where we were going and kept having to refer to a map. 
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: amptech on February 02, 2016, 05:31:29 AM
Amsterdam has some nice shops, some you have to know where they are..

Like bierköenig:-)
I recall walking around in Amsterdam a sunny day in 2004, with my wife. I had tried to order some hardware from a part supplier, but they had no distributor in Norway. They did have one in amsterdam, so I thought that it was a good excuse for me to check out a nice guitarshop while on vacation.

The shop was Muziek de Plug, a small store outside the city centre. What a nice little shop, lots of oddball old instruments. I ended up buying a les paul flattop from '78 (guitar) at a really good price. He had a nice 50's junior that he brought out for me to check out, since I liked gibsons. I did not expect such a nice atmosphere in such a big city..

But when I told him I wanted to order parts from the supplier that claimed he was the main distributor in Holland, he just smiled and said he didn't recall but I was probably right ;D
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Basvarken on February 02, 2016, 06:15:48 AM
I bought my Les Paul Bass at De Plug.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Dave W on February 02, 2016, 08:47:22 AM
As of now, SameDayMusic has one new 2014 Thunderbird available (also one used one.)  On first glance, it looks like Woodwind & Brasswind have Gibsons all over the place. But it looks like what they really have are a few blemished/used 2014/2015 SG Standards.

Woodwind & Brasswind is owned by Guitar Center and has a common warehouse with GC, MF and Music 123. And you're right, they don't actually have any new 2015s in stock.

Same Day Music, Zzounds and American Musical are three independent companies that share a common warehouse and inventory. The first two claim to have a new 2015 SG Standard in stock but American Musical doesn't, so I doubt they have anything but a blemished one.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: westen44 on February 02, 2016, 10:00:20 AM
Woodwind & Brasswind is owned by Guitar Center and has a common warehouse with GC, MF and Music 123. And you're right, they don't actually have any new 2015s in stock.

Same Day Music, Zzounds and American Musical are three independent companies that share a common warehouse and inventory. The first two claim to have a new 2015 SG Standard in stock but American Musical doesn't, so I doubt they have anything but a blemished one.


What SameDayMusic is claiming to have is a new 2014 Thunderbird for $1299 and a "non-new" one for $1489.  The new one is Walnut and the non-new one is heritage cherry.  Whether this is real or if it's like Woodwind and Brasswind who are listing new basses they really don't have, I don't know.  I mean I had to wait for four months to get a bass from Sweetwater while they were telling me it would be available at any time.  And Sweetwater from what I gather is supposed to be one of the more reliable ones. 

Someone had told me quite some time ago to not bother going to Woodwind & Brasswind because they had been bought out by somebody.  But I kept going there anyway because of habit.  Also, it seemed they had a lot of used basses (all they've got now, too,)  but sometimes that's what I'm mostly interested in. 
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Basvarken on February 03, 2016, 02:38:02 AM
The price of the 2015 Thunderbird has already been raised back a bit to 1111 euro (was 999)
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: uwe on February 07, 2016, 02:32:33 PM
I bought my Les Paul Bass at De Plug.

Sounds like a sex shop. Of course, what wouldn't be in Amsterdam.
Title: Re: Serious price drops...
Post by: Highlander on February 07, 2016, 04:08:13 PM
A hash cafe...? :mrgreen: