Biggest Boner (you've ever pulled with a bass)

RareBear · #1 11-11-2006, 04:47 PM

Sometimes we have misconceptions--especially in our youth-- and do things to a quality instrument that we regret. What is the biggest, stupidest thing you ever did to an instrument that you regretted?

I'll start: I once owned a Guild Starfire hollowbody with a sunburst finish but a big belt buckle scratch on the back. I up and thought I could refinish it myself and add a pickup. I totally screwed it up and after several attempts to resurect the bass from my stupidity (over many years), I finally just put it out by the curb last week. (I began the screwup in 1980, so I was kinda young and uninformed. It sat in my basement and each attempt to fix it up was a disaster.) It was a great medium scale bass the way it was and I turned it into a lesson on what not to do.

You're up.

Jerry Ziarko · #2 11-11-2006, 05:13 PM

This is an easy one, rather two. The first was, in the late 70's I left rehearsal and was talking with the keyboard player before getting in my car. I got in the car and drove away. All was well except one small detail. I left my Ric 4001 in the middle of the road. I got the call when I got home, but the KB player had some fun with me first before telling me what I had done. It seems his brother was driving down the street, and saw the case at the last second before hitting the brakes. (black case, dark road)
The second one was when I just got home from purchasing my brand new G&L L2000. As I was opening the case to take out my new gem, I didn't open the case completely. With the bass half way out, the case suddenly slammed down. The metal tab that connected the top of the latch with the bottom hit the top horn. It not only went through the clear coat, but the finish as well. It actually went over an eigth inch into the body. You think that made me sick?

mactac · #3 11-12-2006, 01:29 AM

my dad had a 74 gibson SG that i took apart & WRECKED when i was a kid

he threw it away....

Ale · #4 11-12-2006, 04:34 AM

Last year , after a rehearsal , i actually forgot my bass outside the rehearsal place. When i got home i noticed it , and got back . It was still there

Matt Till · #5 11-12-2006, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mactac

my dad had a 74 gibson SG that i took apart & WRECKED when i was a kid

the threw it away....

You win for sucking the most!

hartke20g · #6 11-12-2006, 11:13 AM

i was given a 70s aria shortscale bass (looks exactly like the Ventures sig) and i just completely destroyed it. i did a VERY bad job trying to defret it, and it now has 'valleys' in the fb. i tried to refinish it too, taking off the vintage white paint. i broke the pickup mounts taking them off, and i completely disassembled one of the pickups in the hopes of winding it. i also cannibalised the electronics for some other projects. basically, i'd have to rebuild the whole thing if i wanted it to work again.

if only i knew more about it back when i started.

Neb Maro · #7 11-12-2006, 11:21 AM

Worst things I've done with a bass is get one and not play it for six months. Oh to think of where I could be now.
Also, a while back I played in a gig without knowing what the hell I was doing. Fun stuff to look like a dork in front of a hundred people.

Jazzdogg · #8 11-12-2006, 12:45 PM

When I was 16- or 17-years-old I used a Sears belt sander to re-shape the ebony fingerboard of my upright bass

As it happens, my efforts didn't effect playability (thank goodness!). I still get chills up my spine and feel mildly nauseated whenever I think about some of the boneheaded moves I made as a kid - the hubris of youth

The_Ryst · #9 11-12-2006, 01:00 PM

the title is misleading

I'm still in my youth and...well it means something else to me idk why haha

BrandonBass · #10 11-12-2006, 01:05 PM

haha i never mess with my instruments ever the reason is...

when i was a kid my dad has this acoustic guitar lying on the couch and while fiddling with it i broke a string, i was so damn scared and thought my dad was gonna kill me if he finds out(i thought strings where irreplaceable or expensive back then). turns out he never asked about the incidents...

its not until years later that i find out that guitar strings are relatively cheap and replaced very often....my dad never replace his strings until they break

Marcus · #11 11-12-2006, 01:09 PM

My first bass was a Fender MIM Precision.

After a year, I added a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup in the bridge position and paid through the nose for it to be installed.

I then swapped the P pickup with a DiMarzio Split-coil. Hmm..

I then swapped the bridge for a BadAss II... and then I yanked the frets out.

In short, I did a ton of work on the bass to make it sound like something it simply could not. It was like trying to get blood from a stone. That said... let that be a warning to all!

Last I saw of my bass it was parted out and sold on Ebay.

Trevorus · #12 11-12-2006, 01:13 PM

I did a bad refin to a guitar of mine, but it's still useable right now. Luckily...

beyondhairy · #13 11-12-2006, 01:17 PM

did a crap job defretting and selling my first bass ever

i miss that thing, it was a Cort P-bass ::sigh::