How much is it worth??

[claydog]

Because of a problem with my left hand I have to quit playing bass. The stretch and pressure of playing puts a lot of pressure on some tendons in my hand and it really hurts. Fortunately I also play sax, it doesn't put the same strain on my hand, so will be able to continue playing music.

So I have an almost brand new L-2500 5 string fretless, in nearly perfect condition, that I am selling but don't really know what it is worth. I would really appreciate any input you could throw my way.

Thanks,
Les

[clanner]

have it looked at by a dostor to see if there is anything you can do to help it.

[Marcy]

Yeah, definately have that arm looked at, there is a lot that can be done for tendonitis/osis. I tend to have a subacute tendonosis that tries to flare up on occasion. Since I am a practicing chiropractor in my non-bass playing life, I have easy access to an ultrasound machine that I use periodically to keep it from becoming a problem (along with some stretches and self-massage). So my shameless commercial is to visit a chiropractor or someone who specializes in musculoskeletal complaints. This is not an insult to MD's, but this kind of stuff is not their forte (they're just not generally trained adequately for it).

[winston]

I had similar problems that caused me to drop out of music school. MDs were useless--misdiagnoses and meds that treated the symptom but not the cause. Chiropractic helped but the real silver bullet was visiting a performing arts/sports movement therapist who got me back to 100%. After this, studies with body-aware bass teachers helped me rebuild my fundamental technique, and I frequently practice in a mirror to make sure I stay relaxed. It's amazing how little energy it takes to play a properly setup bass through a decent amp.

Studying yoga, Pilates, and Alexander Technique have helped me better understand the structure and proper function of my body. Doesn't hurt that my wife is a certified massage therapist who always points out when I do something ergonomically strange both at and away from the bass. I used to have pain and tingling after 20 minutes--now I sometimes play for 4 or 5 hours with little fatigue.

As others have said, "Don't sell that bass just yet." However, many G&Ls are fairly heavy and the extra width of the 5-string neck may cause undue strain. You could probably get $8-900 for an American L-2500, or trade it for a light, well-balanced, slim-necked 4. Good luck and keep us posted!

[claydog]

Thanks for everybodies feedback on my hands. Unfortunately it's not tendonidis. I have Dupuytren's desease on top of other things going on in my hand. About 12 years ago I had an operation on my right hand to straighten out the little finger on my right hand that was pulled almost to my palm with the Dupuytren's. That healed well and my finger has worked pretty good since. Last year I had a "trigger finger" on my left hand operated on. The "trigger finger" was fixed, but it aggrevated my Dupuytren's and the other two problems (I'm not real good with medical terms so don't really know what it is).

One hand specialist, local (Seattle) guy that is very highly recommended and did the trigger finger operation, said there was nothing that could be done and I would have to live with the pain the rest of my life. I got a second opinion from another, a doc recently moved here from Boston and worked with some very famous hand guy, and he said he found two different extremely rare, he's only seen a couple of cases in his entire career, problems with my hands. He said he could do 3 different operations and maybe it would fix it, but there was no guarantee that it would work. It might even make it worse. Even though I love playing the bass, been doing it since 68, I also love playing the sax, been doing that since 64. I am fortunate that I have the sax to fall back on and the problems don't affect my sax playing. So if I quit playing the bass perhaps I will get more time and actually become a better sax player. I'm trying to think positive about this.