I used to love the smokey smell when opening my uncle's old P-bass case. For me, it's the smell of Rock & Roll.
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Basses kept in smoky rooms
- Thread starter commonplayer
- Start date
I've got a "Smoked" guitar (Yamaha Image) and it's pretty easy to get the smoke smell off the instrument. Just take it all apart and give it a good cleaning with Dow "scrubbing bubbles" bathroom cleanser. Clean soap off with rags soaked in distilled water. Dry. Smell gone.
But the problem doesn't end there. In my case (or should I sat TO My case) the previous owner fabrezed the daylights out of it. Well, you can't get the smoke out of the fur in the case and smoke + Febreze = sickening smell enough to make you barf!
And the bad news is I'm too cheap to buy another nice hard case so every time I put the guitar back in the stinky case it acquires a new stink. Happily it does wear off out side the case, but it takes a while.
So IMHO a smoked bass is a good deal and the smell can be cleaned off (don't use Febreze!) but plan on getting a new case or gig bag if the smell is really driving you nuts.
Sorry, but I hate this bad, incorrect use of science. dna is only active in living things. dna determines the characteristics of growing and living things. The wood in a bass is dead, not growing or living. While one can extract and analyze dna from a dead piece of wood, it is not active and in no way can affect a basses tone, etc.
It is sad that you are not kidding.
^I love this post!!^
Aren't you guys gigging musicians? Suck it up
man there are some ocd whipy dudes around these parts
Well, I love mojo, and many times, mojo consists of old bar smoke.
I have a '64 Precision (LPB) that has more mojo than you can shake a stick at.
Someone mentioned DNA? My bass has my DNA (blood), plus some from my late girl singer (R.I.P. best friend). She always chewed Clorets Gum, and when it came time to sing, she would take it out of her mouth, and place it on my headstock till the song was over, at which time she would lift the gum off and pop it back in her mouth. I noticed last week, that there is still some specs of green on the headstock from almost thirty years ago. Did I remove it? Not on your life!! MOJO LIVES!!
I am a major nonsmoker and hate the smell of cigarette smoke! This bass would have to be something really special to even get me to consider it. Even then I would probably find a way to try to eliminate the smoke odor.
I am fortunate that most of the KC metro area now has a public smoking ban so I don't have to come home from a gig smelling like an ashtray!
I am fortunate that most of the KC metro area now has a public smoking ban so I don't have to come home from a gig smelling like an ashtray!
Do you think guitars exposed to smokey environments have cancer?
What on earth makes you think that a smoker wouldn't take care of his instrument??
What?
You asked "Under what circumstances were you raised that people not wanting their stuff to smell of 20 years of stale cigarettes bothers you THAT much?"
The answer is a smoking environment.
Yeah, but why does being raised in a smoking environment mean that you have an issue with people who don't like smoke? Smelling of smoke doesn't make your instrument any more 'legit', so why does it matter?
Value? Depends if you are ok with the smoke. If so, a deal, perhaps. If not, perhaps a deal killer.
Me?
Deal killer. Just like certain other flaws or drawbacks and deal killers. Some see a line between patina, use and even neglect. Some do not.
But hey, I don't smoke, so I have zero interest in having that smell in my house or car. I put up with it long enough to get through an occasional gig in a smoke environment. But even in winter, I've the windows in my car open a bit, post gig, driving home, to try to "air out" that smoke/smell from my gear before I bring it into the house.
But whatever works for you.
It is amazing what the human body will tolerate if forced to do so. I too was "used" to cig smoke (parents, then military, then clubs) and I have hosed-up lungs to prove it. Now that I'm rarely around it, it is virtually intolerable.
Of course, when I was in France a few years back, I was amazed how quickly I got "used" to it. Ick.
Ahh, arguments on the internet. Gotta love 'em. This one boils down to one group that doesn't care for being in smoky settings and the opposing group (I assume smokers, who can't smell much of anything anyway) who are upset that others could possibly be bothered by their habit. <sigh>
On topic: As someone who's bought and sold used instruments and other items, I have to echo the 2nd poster's view: there are lots of people who WILL NOT buy an instrument that smells like smoke and there are practically no people who will only buy an instrument if it smells like smoke. If you're interested in resale, a bass that reeks of smoke (and won't come clean) will make for a difficult and potentially lower-paying resale. Not impossible, just more challenging.
On topic: As someone who's bought and sold used instruments and other items, I have to echo the 2nd poster's view: there are lots of people who WILL NOT buy an instrument that smells like smoke and there are practically no people who will only buy an instrument if it smells like smoke. If you're interested in resale, a bass that reeks of smoke (and won't come clean) will make for a difficult and potentially lower-paying resale. Not impossible, just more challenging.
Because they don't take care of themself.
When buying a used instrument, one is often left wondering how the previous owner treated the gear. It's a major consideration and here's usually no way to be sure- and certainly this would be more true for amps, mixers, rack gear than for a wood instrument, but the chemicals in second hand smoke damage electric components just as surely as they damage the lungs of smokers and those around them. For all the posturing about how a stinky bass smells old school, the general idea of a society is to progress and gain knowledge as we go along. We now know a lot more about the acute dangers of second- hand smoke than we did even 15 years ago. It's widely publicized. So, while I have all the sympathy in the world for those addicted to smoking, to continue a habit that you know is actively harming those around you as well as yourself, is not a sign of a responsible person. Therefore, it seems logical to me to question how they treat their gear.
If you showed up to buy a bass and the person's place was a total mess, trashed, just no sense of self- respect at all, wouldn't you question how well he/she treated the bass? It's the same thing to me. Absolutely no disrespect intended to those who smoke. They've been duped by big business interests who spend a lot of time trying to get them addicted, so again; sympathy.
I lol'ed. Chill out, he's either kidding or past the point where you should even care.
All my basses/instruments are exposed to smoke. IMO, the cases and any fabric can soak up the smell of smoke. I find it very hard to believe smoke can penetrate wood through lacquer. Clean your gear and it should be good.
As for playability, no, smoke will not affect it. As for value, plenty of people make a point to list their gear as "Kept in a smoke free environment", which leads me to believe it can affect the value.
As for playability, no, smoke will not affect it. As for value, plenty of people make a point to list their gear as "Kept in a smoke free environment", which leads me to believe it can affect the value.
