2 MIJ Fenders from the 90's, and a 76 P bass that kinda stunk but I could have sold it for a lot more now than I did 20 years ago.
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3 basses that gave you the worst case of seller's remorse
- Thread starter stringthrough
- Start date
D'oh x3:
I had a 79 stingray in college. Traded it for a portastudio.
I had a 78 Ripper. Sold it for 400, then found out what the hell it really was worth.
I had a real garage find Rick 4003. It was really really rough. Bought it at a gas station for 100, and sold it for 75. Realistically, the repairs to restore it (a refin and a nut, basically) would have been less than half it's restored value today.
I also had a 92 Stingray fretless. I had to sell it for rent. That one still hurts, because I was past youthful stupidity.
I had a 79 stingray in college. Traded it for a portastudio.
I had a 78 Ripper. Sold it for 400, then found out what the hell it really was worth.
I had a real garage find Rick 4003. It was really really rough. Bought it at a gas station for 100, and sold it for 75. Realistically, the repairs to restore it (a refin and a nut, basically) would have been less than half it's restored value today.
I also had a 92 Stingray fretless. I had to sell it for rent. That one still hurts, because I was past youthful stupidity.
Not 3 from be but 1. It was a Lakland Daryl Jones with Aero pups......sigh....oh to have a time machine and slap myself for that sell.
I should have never sold...
...my 94 EBMM Stingray pau ferro fretless...
...my 97 Hamer 12 string bass...
...my plywood Juzek, my super loud 50s Kay, my blonde 30s Epiphone upright....
....BUT I'm very blessed to have played them for the time I had.
...my 94 EBMM Stingray pau ferro fretless...
...my 97 Hamer 12 string bass...
...my plywood Juzek, my super loud 50s Kay, my blonde 30s Epiphone upright....
....BUT I'm very blessed to have played them for the time I had.
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i reluctantly sold two custom pre-EB music man basses that were made for Randy Jackson when he toured with Journey back in the day. they were custom graffiti painted and were, without a doubt, the best sounding basses i've ever owned. the controls were custom mounted and recessed into the side-edge of the guitar next to the output jack.
sigh, when his daughter called ( and she's the sweetest kid ever...) and said she'd like them back because they're special to her, what else could i do?
edit: i know that's only 2 basses...i've never sold another one since...
sigh, when his daughter called ( and she's the sweetest kid ever...) and said she'd like them back because they're special to her, what else could i do?
edit: i know that's only 2 basses...i've never sold another one since...
OLP MM2 in natural/maple. Great bass for so little money. Such a customizing platform. Gone, though I know I could get it back from the owner.
Early 90s Warwick Fortress I in natural wax finish (no tint). Such an elegant bass, super top notch build quality, full wenge neck. At some point it wasn't what I really needed, and I wish I had been able to afford to keep it while getting the bass that did serve my needs.
Old Yamaha RBX250. It sounded pretty good, but it was oh so comfortable to play. That neck, the total weight, everything. Wish I had invested into improving this one's electronics (the only real weak point I could find on this bass other than aesthetics - kind of bland) instead of embarking into that boat anchor custom I made after having this one. I also know the owner, and perhaps could coax it out of him with enough enticement...
Early 90s Warwick Fortress I in natural wax finish (no tint). Such an elegant bass, super top notch build quality, full wenge neck. At some point it wasn't what I really needed, and I wish I had been able to afford to keep it while getting the bass that did serve my needs.
Old Yamaha RBX250. It sounded pretty good, but it was oh so comfortable to play. That neck, the total weight, everything. Wish I had invested into improving this one's electronics (the only real weak point I could find on this bass other than aesthetics - kind of bland) instead of embarking into that boat anchor custom I made after having this one. I also know the owner, and perhaps could coax it out of him with enough enticement...
Biggest regret: '74 Ric 4003
Honorable Mention: Phoenix Phantom Precision copy. Amazing sounding bass. I should have just put a Jazz neck on it.
Honorable Mention: Phoenix Phantom Precision copy. Amazing sounding bass. I should have just put a Jazz neck on it.
I was lucky enough to do the opposite. I traded a really nice Korean DJ4 with Hansen pups and later bought an even nicer one, a pound lighter, with Aero pups. Where there is TB, there is hope.
Now...can we talk about remorse from missing a nice deal on a great bass by *that* much? A '69 Precision and an MIJ PB70 come to mind...
An early 70's Carlo Robelli jazz bass copy. Have never heard a Fender that was it's equal , that thing had freak of nature pickups and an awesome neck. I didn't sell it , the headstock snapped off. I held on to the parts for a few years then threw everything but pups and tuners away. didn't know you could fix that kind of break back then (80's)
I WILL say that I don't miss the neck dive of the Kramer OR the Guild. But yeah the DMZ was a keeper.
My last sell was a Squier VM Precision PJ. Pretty new, but I stopped playing it after getting a SBMM Ray34.
That Squier was great to play, and I guess I'll have a hard time finding that value for money. However, I think I'll rather have a pure P now if I get another P bass. The Ray34 covers all the bases that I used that J pickup for, and then some. Still ... a little sting of regret there.
The other basses I've sold had good reasons to go. I don't miss them.
That Squier was great to play, and I guess I'll have a hard time finding that value for money. However, I think I'll rather have a pure P now if I get another P bass. The Ray34 covers all the bases that I used that J pickup for, and then some. Still ... a little sting of regret there.
The other basses I've sold had good reasons to go. I don't miss them.
1980 G&L L1000 hog/maple, big hex, made xmas week
1983 G&L L2000 alder/rw, among the first pointy stock G&Ls
1984 G&L SB-2 maple/maple, slab body with two MFD singles
They were all great basses and cooler than all the rest I sold but ultimately when I decide to sell, I rarely have remorse. I have a thing about basses that don't get regular rotation. I just don't like to hang on to them just for the sake of collecting. Somehow I have way more remorse about past amps I have sold: Aguilar DB 680/728, 70s SVT, mint-ish V-4B, Trace V4...
1983 G&L L2000 alder/rw, among the first pointy stock G&Ls
1984 G&L SB-2 maple/maple, slab body with two MFD singles
They were all great basses and cooler than all the rest I sold but ultimately when I decide to sell, I rarely have remorse. I have a thing about basses that don't get regular rotation. I just don't like to hang on to them just for the sake of collecting. Somehow I have way more remorse about past amps I have sold: Aguilar DB 680/728, 70s SVT, mint-ish V-4B, Trace V4...
Maybe a little odd, because the three basses I regret parting with the most were all relative cheapies.
I've owned quite a few nice basses. At one point I owned a trio of matching '64 Fenders--a P and two Jazzes (one fretless)--all in burst with tort guards and (of course) rosewood fingerboards.
I also had a '76 Gibson Ripper I loved a lot.
Anyways, in 35+ years I have bought, sold, traded and lost more basses I than I can possibly recall (and that is leaving aside guitars and other instruments.)
But the three that I still miss are:
Epiphone Limited Edition Ripper reissue (I actually had two of these at different times...one natural maple finished, one black. Not much like the original Gibson Rippers, but great basses. Just could never find a case to fit them.)
No-name 1970s bolt-neck MIJ Rickenbacker 4001 copy, Jetglo. This was a good bass. I would really love to have it back or find another Fakenbacker 4001 with a bolt on neck.
and the one I miss the most---
ca. 1980 Tokai P-bass clone. I bought this one for $75 in a Tulsa pawn shop around 1982. Not sure how old it was when I purchased it. It more than paid for itself at a gig that same night. For the better part of the next 15 years, this was my #1. In fact, there were some periods in which it was the only bass I owned. Another sunburst/tort/rosewood job. Just a stellar example of a P bass. In all the time I owned it it never let me down. I played more gigs than I can count with it, recorded with it, loaned it to friends, gave lessons on it and really treated it rather roughly. I changed strings on it once or twice and gave it a set up at the string changes, but otherwise I never had to give it an adjustment and hardly ever even had to tune it!
For sentimental reasons alone, this is the bass I most regret parting with. I still look for it to pop up on CL, eBay, Reverb...
Aside from that Tokai bass, the only other instrument I regret getting rid of to anything like the same level is a 1973 Fender Tele guitar. Best sounding Tele I ever heard and the nicest neck of any electric guitar I've ever put my hands around.
I've owned quite a few nice basses. At one point I owned a trio of matching '64 Fenders--a P and two Jazzes (one fretless)--all in burst with tort guards and (of course) rosewood fingerboards.
I also had a '76 Gibson Ripper I loved a lot.
Anyways, in 35+ years I have bought, sold, traded and lost more basses I than I can possibly recall (and that is leaving aside guitars and other instruments.)
But the three that I still miss are:
Epiphone Limited Edition Ripper reissue (I actually had two of these at different times...one natural maple finished, one black. Not much like the original Gibson Rippers, but great basses. Just could never find a case to fit them.)
No-name 1970s bolt-neck MIJ Rickenbacker 4001 copy, Jetglo. This was a good bass. I would really love to have it back or find another Fakenbacker 4001 with a bolt on neck.
and the one I miss the most---
ca. 1980 Tokai P-bass clone. I bought this one for $75 in a Tulsa pawn shop around 1982. Not sure how old it was when I purchased it. It more than paid for itself at a gig that same night. For the better part of the next 15 years, this was my #1. In fact, there were some periods in which it was the only bass I owned. Another sunburst/tort/rosewood job. Just a stellar example of a P bass. In all the time I owned it it never let me down. I played more gigs than I can count with it, recorded with it, loaned it to friends, gave lessons on it and really treated it rather roughly. I changed strings on it once or twice and gave it a set up at the string changes, but otherwise I never had to give it an adjustment and hardly ever even had to tune it!
For sentimental reasons alone, this is the bass I most regret parting with. I still look for it to pop up on CL, eBay, Reverb...
Aside from that Tokai bass, the only other instrument I regret getting rid of to anything like the same level is a 1973 Fender Tele guitar. Best sounding Tele I ever heard and the nicest neck of any electric guitar I've ever put my hands around.
My Ibanez Musician 940, factory fretless. Only bass I bought new, on layaway after a summer of hard work.
My Ibanez Rick copy, built like a tank and sounded (enough) like a Rick. Great neck.
My Ibanez Musician 940, factory fretless. Only bass I bought new, on layaway after a summer of hard work.
(I miss it so much I had to list it twice...)
My Ibanez Rick copy, built like a tank and sounded (enough) like a Rick. Great neck.
My Ibanez Musician 940, factory fretless. Only bass I bought new, on layaway after a summer of hard work.
(I miss it so much I had to list it twice...)
A fretless Warwick corvette standard (German) . I still don't know why I sold it
As an owner of a fretless Corvette Standard, this saddens me to hear. I don't think I could ever let go of mine. Not only is there a sentimentality about being the only player of it, but damn is it a fantastic bass and I'm smitten by it
Why on earth would you get rid of a Rick 4k?
Well, I haven't owned that many basses.
But the two I do regret selling is:
My black Jerry Jones Longhorn and my 28 5/8" bass build out of baritone Warmoth parts.
But the two I do regret selling is:
My black Jerry Jones Longhorn and my 28 5/8" bass build out of baritone Warmoth parts.
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