Can I say "No" to sharing my bass at a jam?

[mcblahflooper94]

Yes

[MD]

If I'm the house bass player, I leave my good bass at home. When sitting in, I'll always bring my own; and still, leave my good bass at home.

[smcd]

Originally Posted by Anthony Fury

So you've never been on the internet before, I assume? Looks like it's not going well for you.

Sometimes, people on the internet use like to use sarcasm, arcane imagery, colorful language, or any combination of those things to express their feelings.

Maybe one day when the internet connection in your retirement home is faster, you'll begin to appreciate some of the silliness borne of the internet.

There's silly language: "If some teenager didn't show proper respect towards my '62 J bass, I'd immediately transform into a unicorn with a flaming afro and drop kick the kid into PsychedelicLand!
And then there's psychotic language: "If some teenager didn't show proper respect towards my '62 J bass, I'd slap him right in the mouth".

Help is available. Reach out to your family.

[bluesbassbkf]

It's not a squire , if they don't understand oh well, that's all ya need to be mr nice guy and they drop it or something,,it's yours tuff!

[slick_tu]

Originally Posted by malthumb

I went to Tom Bowlus' Ohio / Michigan area GTG several years ago and left four basses in his basement on stands and on his pool table for anybody to play who felt like playing them.

I think a GTG is a different situation. I always understood that sharing is expected at GTGs; otherwise, don't bring your bass.


.

[Mind Eroded]

Originally Posted by esa372

...and if some half-wit Neanderthal grinds his belt buckle in to back of your "gear", scraping away the finish down to - and into - the wood, because he thinks it adds "mojo", what do you do?

Do you shake his hand, and say, "Wow, man! Thanks for making my 'gear' even better! Would you please spill some beer on it, too?!"

Nah... I'm just not into that.

You always have to describe the most extreme situations just to drive home your point. Thats the reason in my initial post I wrote "respectable" person, you are correct, I wouldnt hand over my instrument to any bum off the street. Also I dont live in Texas so I can honestly say Ive only seen about 3 people in my entire life who have worn a belt buckle...I'm just saying if I am at a jam and somebody needs to use my bass, i'll offer it up instead of conjuring every possible doomsday situation in my head of "what might happen to my bass"..its called not being an over protective paranoid person..

[Baker69]

In one way it would mortify me, I would be watching like a hawk in case it got damaged, but one of the good things about being a lefty is that I am extremely unlikely to find myself in this situation !

[bassvid75]

And if its a friend or a famous bassplayer?
In that case no again? Humm maybe one tune

[mattattack187]

Just be polite and let them know it's nothing personal. Shouldn't be a problem.

[esa372]

Originally Posted by Mind Eroded

You always have to describe the most extreme situations just to drive home your point. Thats the reason in my initial post I wrote "respectable" person, you are correct, I wouldnt hand over my instrument to any bum off the street. Also I dont live in Texas so I can honestly say Ive only seen about 3 people in my entire life who have worn a belt buckle...I'm just saying if I am at a jam and somebody needs to use my bass, i'll offer it up instead of conjuring every possible doomsday situation in my head of "what might happen to my bass"..its called not being an over protective paranoid person..

"Paranoid"? ...I see.

Well, then let me just put it this way:
Every time I have lent gear to someone, it has come back in worse condition.

Yes, I have had a great buffoon - who was a well-liked, and "respectable" bass player - dig his belt-buckle into the back of my bass at a jam, so it's not an "extreme situation" to me. (...and it happened in Los Angeles, not Texas.)

I'm not "conjuring up doomsday situations in my head"; these things have happened. As I said before, I've had too many bad experiences loaning and sharing gear, so I don't do it anymore.

I'm glad it hasn't happened to you, and I hope it never does, but in my experience, people are clumsy and careless with borrowed gear. "Once bitten, twice shy" is not paranoia; it is common sense.

[Mind Eroded]

Originally Posted by esa372

"Paranoid"? ...I see.

Well, then let me just put it this way:
Every time I have lent gear to someone, it has come back in worse condition.

Yes, I have had a great buffoon - who was a well-liked, and "respectable" bass player - dig his belt-buckle into the back of my bass at a jam, so it's not an "extreme situation" to me. (...and it happened in Los Angeles, not Texas.)

I'm not "conjuring up doomsday situations in my head"; these things have happened. As I said before, I've had too many bad experiences loaning and sharing gear, so I don't do it anymore.

I'm glad it hasn't happened to you, and I hope it never does, but in my experience, people are clumsy and careless with borrowed gear. "Once bitten, twice shy" is not paranoia; it is common sense.

sorry to hear, I guess our past experiences just dont match up in regards to this issue. BTW and this is way offtopic..that is an insane Bach cover on your yt link!..you got some major skills, my friend

[lfmn16]

Originally Posted by smcd

And then there's psychotic language: "If some teenager didn't show proper respect towards my '62 J bass, I'd slap him right in the mouth".

Help is available. Reach out to your family.

OK, we all get that the politically correct police don't want anyone to say anything that could potentially make anybody uncomfortable any time any where for any reason.

Now, give it a rest and get some of that help that is available. Some of us enjoy a little hyperbole in their humor. No one with an IQ greater than their belt size could infer that he was actually advocating assaulting someone because they didn't like a bass.

[affprod]

For me, it depends on which bass and who is asking. There are a few in my collection that I am super careful with, to the point of protecting the area where my arm rests with a microfiber cloth. No way anyone else is going to touch it. Some of my newer basses, especially the 90s all look the same Fenders, that musicians I know are welcome to play at a jam. But the answer is always no to someone I don't know. If that makes me a bad person, sorry about that.

[pocketgroove]

Originally Posted by lfmn16

OK, we all get that the politically correct police don't want anyone to say anything that could potentially make anybody uncomfortable any time any where for any reason.

Now, give it a rest and get some of that help that is available. Some of us enjoy a little hyperbole in their humor. No one with an IQ greater than their belt size could infer that he was actually advocating assaulting someone because they didn't like a bass.

FWIW, I laughed.

[2milehighspike]

Originally Posted by Mind Eroded

sorry to hear, I guess our past experiences just dont match up in regards to this issue. .

There ya go, Maybe its sinkin in. Myself and others take real offense to being called a dick, germophobe, selfish,etc, when we try to share and the people we share with don't treat our precious gear the same way as us. I work my a$$ off to get the gear I own and I use it to make a living. If you want to share YOUR gear thats fine, but don't expect everyone else to feel the same way. Peace

[Mind Eroded]

Originally Posted by 2milehighspike

There ya go, Maybe its sinkin in. Myself and others take real offense to being called a dick, germophobe, selfish,etc, when we try to share and the people we share with don't treat our precious gear the same way as us. I work my a$$ off to get the gear I own and I use it to make a living. If you want to share YOUR gear thats fine, but don't expect everyone else to feel the same way. Peace

Never called anyone a "dick" for not sharing their gear. Just said it might come off as "dickish" in certain social situations, which I am entitled to say. Sorry if you are offended by my views. The germophobe comment was in response to someone who said they are scared that other people might get their sweat on their sacred bass, which I found pretty funny. Also, like I said, I was just expressing my opinion and I don't "expect everyone else to feel the same way". In my opinion, THERE IS a degree of selfishness that comes into play and whether you want to admit that or not is your choice. To me, gear is just gear and I dont play squiers or rogues..I have/had basses worth well over 1k.

As the great George Costanza once put it "Why can't there be some things just for me? Is that so selfish?"
to which Jerry responds: "Actually, that's the definition of selfish."

There are people out there who don't respect other's gear, and I hope those who are considering lending out their gear can use their sound judgment, instead of just making blanket statements like "I will never lend out my bass to anyone"..IMO that is selfish.peace.

[giacomini]

Originally Posted by TolerancEJ

Actually, my old drummer absolutely hated anyone else using his kit. His skill/technique is excellent, but the next person that wants to sit down doesn't care about the skins/cymbals if they don't belong to them. Skins & Cymbals can get quite expensive. One drummer will always hit another drummer's kit harder for that reason.

At the very least, he would sometimes compromise by asking others to bring their own snare drum.

The drummer in my last band is like that too. If we had any shared gigs that his set was to be onstage, he'd ask the other drummers to bring their snare and cymbals, no exceptions.

And I think he's right.

[Vince Klortho]

So do I. That is certainly not too much to ask.

[rockinrayduke]

Originally Posted by slick_tu

It hasn't happened to me, yet, but if I go to a jam, and someone asks to try my bass or use it for a song, is it OK for me to say no? Or would that be very bad manners on my part? What is the most tactful way to decline?

I have a Fender Custom Shop P, and I would rather not let someone else play it. After all, most guys probably wouldn't let me fondle their girlfriends if I asked, right?


.

For the blues jams I used to do I'd bring a Squier II P-bass that was set up for my playing tastes. It was a beater but it was a beater I could play all night and be happy. That's what the jammers could use. I did not lend out my personal bass to the players, which pissed a few of them off. Guess they thought playing my bass would make them sound better or look cooler.

The Squier was a good sounding P-Bass and if you can't make that sound good then playing my own bass isn't going to make any difference. No one has the right to borrow your bass unless you allow them to play it, so no it isn't impolite, just protecting your investment. If anyone's going to ding my bass it'll be me.

[Anthony Fury]

Originally Posted by smcd

There's silly language: "If some teenager didn't show proper respect towards my '62 J bass, I'd immediately transform into a unicorn with a flaming afro and drop kick the kid into PsychedelicLand!
And then there's psychotic language: "If some teenager didn't show proper respect towards my '62 J bass, I'd slap him right in the mouth".

Help is available. Reach out to your family.

Do you do most of your trolling in AOL chatrooms? Like in "Flirts Nook 14?" I'm guessing AOL because that's the only thing people in retirement homes and volunteer Christian centers have the mental capacity for.