Expensive Bass Porn

A Las Vegas jeweler is selling this particular custom-made instrument for $250,000. The original story is accompanied by a graphic explaining the fine detail of the bass, ranging from a body formed from a single piece of quilted maple (nice touch) to several 24K gold inlays (superfluous) to diamonds in the knobs and a nut made of Siberian mammoth tusk (you must be joking).

My favorite part, though, is the explanation of the brass frets. It was a structural consideration, as gold would be too soft for playing, and brass was necessary to stand up to the strings. I find it quite hard to believe that this won't end up in a display case somewhere, untouched by playing hands for years at a time.

Also, the new IMN podcast is up - download it here or listen at the site.