Aagh! I scratched my baby!!!

man, I have this really beefy leather belt, and the buckle is huge, and very sharp appearantly. I scratched my mia jazz bass, luckily nothing through the surface. I clean it with furniture cleaner, and it looks brand new. but it sure does suck...sorry to hear that.

 

When I have to wear a belt to a gig, I turn the buckle to the left of center as far as I can. I'd rather look like a dweeb than have my babies get belt buckle rash. I also will not play them with a cellphone, pager, or anything else clipped on my belt. Those go in the gig bag, or on the top of the amp if I'm on call and need to have them close.

 

Leave 'em!

The only reason to want to keep a bass in perfectly flawless condition is if you want to sell it - and I bet you don't. I'm not saying start plastering it with Homies stickers or anything, but the first few scratches and dings take the pressure off you in the way you handle your bass. Now you can start treating it like a workhorse instrument instead of an objet d art!

I used to baby the hell out of my new Rick until I accidentally put a little ding in the headstock - sure, I stomped and swore like a sailor, but it got me over the babying stage and now I can rage all over it!

-72

 

When I first got my Jazz bass I was the same way, I was almost afraid to touch it it looked so nice in its sunburst but then I got over it, and got down to playing it like a bass should be played

Of course, I'd baby the hell out of a Rick, it'd get a glass air tight case.. which I'd break with my jazz bass after looking at it too long

Just tell people you're trying to be like Jaco jk

 

I wear my bass above my belt... so i don't scratch it like that.. but i did take a chip out of my rays matching head stock awhile back.. not a huge piece but if you look at it from about 5 feet away you can see it. oh well. adds character

 

Ditto that... leave 'em - you can only get worse by trying to fix them. Trust a person that tried it some years ago (fortunately with a relatively cheap bass).

 

The tech I go to is a luthier and he told me there really isn't much you can do about those little nicks and scratches. He suggested car polish no.7 to clean the body of my pedulla and pedulla's site even says the same thing! He says he uses the Green can of No7 car polish in his shop and NOT to use that "stupid" Dunlop cleaners... No7 might clear up those scratches... or maybe a luthier can buff them out for you with their machine. not sure, didn't really ask him....

 

huh? a dweeb. I wear my belt bucle to the left all the time. Frankly its one of the least dweeby things i can do cause im the only one doing it. They always say create your own style. Well im music and fashion i feel im doing it in both aspects.

 

bassism,
Feeling the same way as you do about my instruments, I thought I'd remind you that Mike Lull's shop is in the Seattle area. (Bellvue I think...) and he does repairs.
Check with him maybe. Jim T.

 

I have a built in protection for the back of my basses. No belt buckle will ever touch them.

Its called a gut....
Dan

 

My bass has an oil finish.
I can sand away nicks and scratches and reapply oil.

 

Get a grip ... things could be worse. The scratches could've been put there by someone else!

 

I've seen and heard many stories of scratches being minimize with this stuff.

Use two things: McGwire's rough cut and McGwire's fine polish. They're actually car wax. The first one will make most minor scratches in car paint SEEM to disappear, while the second one buffs it out to a high gloss.

 

I bought some of that No.7 car polish and cleaned up my PentaBuzz. All I can say is it really makes the polyester shine. Take out tiny scratches? Not really..... But hey, just be happy with what you got! My penta has a tiny nick on the headstock and tiny scratches everywhere....it could be worse....

 

Well, I felt that way with the first scratch in my '71 jazz bass. Of course that was in 1971. By now my bass looks like Jaco's and everyone tells me how cool it is.

Also my Paul Reed Smith 5 string has lots of wear marks on the front of the body.

My other basses do not have signs of wear...yet.

(I don't quite understand the style of no pickguards that many builders are using these days....those suckers are on there for a reason)

If there are no marks on your instrument, you haven't played it enough!

I used to show pictures of Victor Wooten and his very trashed looking Fodera to my students...the guy was Bass Player's bassplayer of the year because he plays his bass...all the time, judging by the condition of his bass.

If you want to keep your bass in perfect condition, put it in a glass case and put it on display in a museum.

Just take care of your instrument as best you can, and try not to worry about it.

Jeremy Cohen

 

i felt the same way about my btb. its wierd after playin it for a couple months i figured that i scratch the surface with my right thumb nail when i anchor it. now even tho i wish the marks werent there, i dont mind becuase they are like "battle wounds".
it makes the bass "my own".