The joy of playing a nitro bass.
 

Nitro basses are kind of rare and expensive by today's standards.

I suffer from G.A.S. like most of you, but it seems to have stopped with my basses. I used to have 15 different basses, all of them being poly painted modern basses.

I picked up a Fender 71' P bass last year and I can't keep my hands off of it.

Argument of just nitro vs. nitro over poly aside, this bass rocks.

I have since sold all of my basses and currently have two 71' P basses and one 62' Reissue. They are all beat, worn down and amazing.

I can understand why people like a shiny new bass. But my three basses have relieved all of my GAS.

As I get older, I'm starting to realize that the less you have of something, the more you enjoy it. I'm enjoying these 3 basses more than I have ever with my previous 15.

I like nitro, I like poly. Most of mine have poly finishes because they're cheaper but I do have one with a nitro finish. Not a Fender, though ;) Wherever you find your happiness, it's all good.

I enjoy the way they look. My 71 tells a story, especially since I know the guy who owned it since day one.

I hope my 61RI looks just as cool decades down the road. I can give my kids something to show them their dad was cool at one time.

I've seen pics of your SVT head on TB, that thing has tons of mojo.

I dig nitro. However, a '71 P bass has a poly finish, not nitro. Nitro ended at Fender around '68, IIRC. :cool:

Yeah I've read various things. Whatever it's painted out of, it's sure aging/peeling/checking beautifully.

It's sunburst, it looks very similar to a friend's 61 in terms of wear.

Well let's hope that hum it developed is gone when I pick it up this morning ;) Yep, one of the very first SVT's made. Love it. Getting a Heritage too, but my 69 is really special!

The poly on my '71 P is worn/peeling/flaking too, but very differently from nitro, IME.

..and my nitro 2011 Highway Jazz cost me just $580 brand spank in new! Hardly expensive.
That said, I hope you continue to enjoy your '71:sly:

I recently sold my flatback, which had a ton of mojo. It was just too heavy for me to transport, and I felt too guilty throwing handles and casters on her. She doesn't deserve such abuse.

I get you
 

I've not experienced worn out basses for I love shinin' brand new ones (infact, nobody disrespects RoadWorn, Nash's and Esp's Ltd/Wilkinson's Vintage bass as much as I everyday do) but yours are truly distressed items at least, so I hear you...

Lovin' shinin' brand new basses I had a luthier made Fender parts Steve Harris West Ham United Precision. Unlike MIJ signature one, mine is out of select alder (so, much lighter) sport 21 fret bird's eye maple neck (1,625") and fingerboard, Seymour Duncan Antiquity split pickup, midflat 45/105 strings (the only thing I had the wrong way: an experiment, nothin' more) hand painted West Ham United historical crest/bindin' stripes, and it's completely nitro finished.

Cheers,
Wallace

I love ALL basses but my nitro painted 60th Anniversary P is my true love (don't tell the wife!!).

I never thought about it until now. Looks like I am starting to lean in the direction of 3/2 in favor of nitro. None of the nitro basses are old. But they clearly have something going tonally or they wouldn't be here.

I've had many jazz basses (all poly), none of them compare to the tone of my roadworn, she just sings....

I doubt it has much to do with the finish..:cool:

I recently bought a 57RI neck, and I can't stop playing it. The body its on has no pickups or electronics or paint. Just a pickguard and a bridge. The rest of my basses have poly finishes. All but one have a gloss finish on the back, as does the 57 neck. My hands tend to stick on the poly, but it seems that the nitro begins to "sweat" after a few minutes of playing and my hands can just glide all over the place. YMMV

Not a fan of nitro at all. Allways has a tacky feel to it and makes thing look more plastic like somehow to me. Ones Ive owned have been gibsons from 70's and 90's.

I love nitro finishes! They actually break down over time, showing the player wear, and they just feel right. Playing a poly encased bass with sweaty hands gets all sticky and uncomfortable, for some reason nitro just doesn't do this for me.

And it's easier to spray than poly ;)

Man! I was going to say the thing I don't dig about nitro is the sticky feeling it gives when you have been sweating and/or its really hot. Either way I feel everything has its place. I dig great sounding, good looking basses. I have no set guidlines. Prefrences change all the time.

I don't have a nirto bass but I do have a nitro Gibson Les Paul. All I can say is lucky you. I love the way nitro looks, but it's WAY too easy to damage. And I like the way the instrument sounds, but my hands stick to the neck like glue! I've discussed this in the guitar forums and there are lots of "folk" solutions, but they don't seem to much work except for the real one which is let it age naturally. It's clearly a personal thing where some people have the sticky problem and some don't. Those of us who have it it drives us nuts. And powder and what have you don't really work well. And cleaning gunk off nitro with something as mild as rubbing alcohol turned out to not be a good idea! Luckily damage was not too serious.

I can dig the history behind nitro, but there are reasons people gave up on it! I love the overall feel of the instrument compared to poly, but there ARE compromises to be made here!