• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Am I crazy???

#62
Jah Wobble Fan said:
Seems like you understand yourself, so I will refrain from offering a prescription.

There's a fellow here on TB who traded a bunch of Fender CS basses for an original 59 Precision, his DREAM BASS -- perhaps you saw his thread? I was rather dismayed to see him back posting a week later, the shipping tape still not cold on the box the 59 arrived in, and he's already obsessed with his new deal on a Ric (or whatever it was). I thought his example illustrative of the way one can use shopping as a distraction from the deeper questions (even a relatively simple one, like, what song should I write now that I have this superior music-making tool?).
Click to expand...
Yes... I saw that fella's thread, but didn't follow up. I would like to think that I'd not have traded all of those instruments for the '59. But, who knows? I'm sorry to hear that it didn't satisfy him in the way he'd hoped. I wonder if he has any regrets about his choice.

At least I know I'll not be lusting after a Ric ever again.. in my mind, I had the dream Ric, and now it's gone... that ship has sailed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jah Wobble Fan
#64
Gbass75 said:
At least I know I'll not be lusting after a Ric ever again.. in my mind, I had the dream Ric, and now it's gone... that ship has sailed.
Click to expand...

I agree on the Ric -- I also owned a very nice specimen.
I also answered the P vs. J dilemma to my own satisfaction, which many don't -- so there's that.

As for these so-called "crises" -- predictable developmental stages, really -- GAS is very analogous in a way. I think the "crisis" is an attempt to re-consider options and missed opportunities and the like. You don't gain by avoiding the issue, you are better to jump into it, embrace it,
and hopefully emerge a "better self." Or at least a simpler one. Clapton with his one Strat and a $3 Ernie Ball nylon strap, that kind of zen simplicity.

Meanwhile, enjoy the sturm and drang - and the attendant shopping! My 2 cents at age 52 after numerous "crises!"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gbass75
#65
When I put my guitar together, I used this book, which is quite good:

Invalid Link Removed

It's sold at the Warmoth site (and I'm sure elsewhere as well), so that's probably a good endorsement. The book has been around for a while - my copy is probably 20 years old or so. But the information is still perfectly relevant, though some specific brand names for parts may be dated. The basics haven't really changed over the years. The book is written for guitar, but the principles are the same for bass. I know there are also some books directed specifically at bass building, and some YouTube vids as well, so instruction can be easily found. :bassist:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gbass75
#67
Gbass75 said:
Within the last year-and-a-half I have gone from four basses to one (for the time being)...

I've parted ways with my Epiphone Elite Thunderbird, my Rickenbacker 4001v63, and most recently my Fender AVRI Sonic Blue '63 Precision.

I'm currently left with my CIJ '62 P-Bass; which is a fantastically built bass, and sounds sweet.

Here's my thing...

I recently got it in my head that I'm tired of playing "run-of-the-mill" basses; meaning the same P-Bass that thousands of other players have. I want to play something unique... my own "signature" model. But, that's quite the conundrum when your bass of choice is the Fender Precision.

Oh... and that reminds me... that's the other thing I forgot to mention... I'm just a P-Bass guy. After so many years and so many basses... this is where I've arrived.

I loved my past Rics and T-Bird... and, my JPJ inspired Jazz Bass was my mainstay for years. But, in the end, I've realized that the P-Bass is where I belong. So, it's a bit of a problem if you want instruments that stand out from the crowd, but you can't see yourself playing anything other than a Precision Bass.

With all of that said, I recently ordered a custom built P-Bass from a small builder; and it's awesome... a thing of beauty... and now I've got the bug! I want to commission another build! Is this crazy? Is it crazy to only want to play custom builds and end the cycle of flipping my basses? ...because it occurs to me; these instruments, awesome (to me, anyway) and rare as they are, will never be flipped for what was paid for them. These will be my basses till I die. The ones that go to my boy when I'm gone... and, actually, I think that's kinda cool.

What do you think... am I crazy to bail on the Fender made instrument for my own "signature" basses? Do you think it's a mistake? ...a sign of maturity? ...a mid-life crisis?!?!?
Click to expand...

Well, what are you doing for gigs right now?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gbass75
#69
Jah Wobble Fan said:
Seriously, though, how old are you?
Consumer studies show that ON AVERAGE men 'buy their last Harley' around age 46. After that, consumer spending
tends to plummet. Before 46, there is often a crescendo of sorts in a man's spending on luxury items, perhaps due to his having more
expendable income with the kids out of the house, perhaps because of the "last hurrah" factor. All of which is to say, perhaps your
nominally 'indulgent' spending is age related. Or perhaps, like me, you are a fetishist who saw Precisions in your youth and can't refrain
from lusting after the object of desire regardless of how good a specimen might already be in the collection.

As an aside, on the question of "midlife crisis" -- as people live longer, I am noting a NEW crisis among my male friends -- it is an
"age 60 late-life crisis," you might say, akin to "mid-life," wherein a man is apt to make some dodgy, dangerous and invigorating choices.
When I was a kid, 62 year old neighbors moved to the desert to ride double-passenger tricycles. Now sixty somethings I know are getting Pot recommendations and taking up with women (yet again) half their age.

Anyone else note this trend, or is it an L.A. thing?
Click to expand...
I have. My best bud is 65 with a 28 year old wife and they have 4 kids. Two before him and two with him. And it drives him nuts but he'll never admit it.
FF
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gbass75 and Jah Wobble Fan
#78
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Jah Wobble Fan and Gbass75
#79
  • Like
Reactions: organworthyplayer337

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back