Beat up Bibles

[Bassngtr]

I love the analogy, especially this weekend. IMO it fits. Isn't this place about sharing who we are as well as bass talk?

I do not baby my basses. I have a ~2000 Fender USA 1975 Jazz bass which has seen hundreds of gigs but looks like I just unwrapped it. And my current #1 Sire M2, only a couple years old, has some serious love marks. I think they are badges of...something...not sure what. Maybe I am clumsier than I used to be.

Peace to all.

 

[Jhengsman]

In both cases you have people who believe in only one and you have other people who have many copies with different translations/ design team characteristics that have variations. The more copies or basses with different characteristics you have and use the harder it is to naturally "relict" your gear versus the the person who only has the one and makes do with it.

 

[TheReceder]

Any Bible should be appreciated for the words that are in it... be it shiny and new or old and beat up.

Any bass should be appreciated for the notes and sound that the owner is able to produce, not just the evidence of a long life, or a shiny blemish free finish.

 

[Stewie]

Most of my clothes seem to be raggedyass, but my basses are pretty much shiny. is it Easter? I thought that one always came on a Sunday

 

[iiipopes]

When I was a church going child, I found myself embarrassed at time to sit next to my mother as her Bible was beat up and used and not shiny and new like the well-to-doers in the pews next to us.

Her Bible’s yellowed pages were torn and falling out; scotch tape kept the spine together and almost ever page had a rainbow of highlighters marking important scriptures and important passages. There was even index tabs for quick reference to a Book or two.

My mother noticed how I winced at times when she pulled out her beat up book and turned along with the pastor to the scriptures at hand. But one day she pointed out the difference between her book and those of the fashionable pious. She said those people didn’t read their Bibles as they were likely pulled from the shelf for Sunday use only. She said our Bible looked this way because we read and used it daily. She said this is how a Bible should look.

Are we able to view guitars in the same light? Might that naturally relic’ed bass be the one? Played night after night in a smoky club or session after session in a studio? Scratches, dings, nicks, scratches and all? Could it have that magical mojo owner p(r)layed to find?

Shall we shun the shiny closet classic that sat under the bed for years days after it came home and the disappointed owner forgot about all those hopes and dreams?

Happy Easter! I appreciate the post. Yes. The other extreme are those "relic'd" guitars and basses that are artificially made to look beaten but don't have the authentic wear and mojo that real, played, paid dues instruments have. I am an Episcopalian and we have an analog: the books of common prayer (BCP) in the pews that contain the order of service used along with the bibles to read along with the lessons. My favorite BCP's are the same: yellowed, dog-eared pages, spines giving way, as they have helped countless persons worship along the way. Worse, as you observe, are those with only a few pages that show a little wear in the Sunday service section of the BCP. So I agree completely. Now, that does not mean that we should neglect or mis-treat either. I keep my instruments in as good a condition as possible so they last a long, long time. But real wear accumulated over the years is a sign of loving use, both instruments and books of worship. Happy Easter!

 

[bigdaddybass12]

My wife's bible is like that. I sent it off to a book repair company. the repaired the spine, secured loose pages, new cover, one of the best things I have done for her. E-bible? its good. But there is something about holding a bible, you glance thru pages while you look for the specific scripture. You see the 'marked verse' that means a lot to you and bring it back to remembrance.
Bass? you are correct, I have a very nice 5 string that I have owned for 22 years, used to play it every weekend, now my gig is a small acoustic style & a 4 fits better. Now it sits in a case, I practice on it every several weeks to stay 'familiar' with a 5. None of my other basses mean much to me. I will buy one & say this is my keeper, year later it is gone. If they were beat up, not a big name, frets wore down, I would probably let it go. I am not a big relic'd fan. There are plenty of $4000+ basses that never leave the house afraid of getting scratched. I would do the same thing. Then we get too old to play & wished we played that 'Fodera' at church or the club!

 

[TrevorG]

I don't know about religion but that opening post might inspire a poetry corner on this site!

 

[Bass Man Dan]

Pick a car:

 

[gln1955]

Pick a car:View attachment 4660361

The one on the left. It has obviously been driven, so it must be good. The one on the right just sat in someones garage.

 

[Bass Man Dan]

The one on the left. It has obviously been driven, so it must be good. The one on the right just sat in someones garage.

Absolutely. Only question is how much more is the left one worth?

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Pick a car:View attachment 4660361

I don’t think the OP was comparing functional basses to non functional basses, but your visual analogy is understandable.

As for my experience, and most often it was with acoustic guitars, I’ve seen many very expensive guitars that were kept in pristine condition simply by not being played. I find that circumstance a sort of a waste, and always wished that flawless expensive instrument could find its way into the hands of someone less able to afford it, but more able to enjoy it by actually playing it more frequently.

I don’t consider my gear as abused, but I definitely wouldn’t call my gear “mint condition”. There is a certain amount of wear that occurs when an instrument is played. It can be kept at a minimum, but it can’t be kept at zero.

Buying an instrument and never playing it is very much the right / choice of the buyer, but all my stuff gets used and reflects that fact.

 

[Bass Man Dan]

I don’t think the OP was comparing functional basses to non functional basses, but your visual analogy is understandable.

As for my experience, and most often it was with acoustic guitars, I’ve seen many very expensive guitars that were kept in pristine condition simply by not being played. I find that circumstance a sort of a waste, and always wished that flawless expensive instrument could find its way into the hands of someone less able to afford it, but more able to enjoy it by actually playing it more frequently.

I don’t consider my gear as abused, but I definitely wouldn’t call my gear “mint condition”. There is a certain amount of wear that occurs when an instrument is played. It can be kept at a minimum, but it can’t be kept at zero.

Buying an instrument and never playing it is very much the right / choice of the buyer, but all my stuff gets used and reflects that fact.

I agree.

 

[Lammchop93]

A naturally reliced bass is a sign of a great bass in my opinion. It means someone loves it enough to play it over and over and over.

 

[blastoff99]

While discussion of used instruments with great mojo v. new shiny pretty ones is of course acceptable, using that as a vehicle to get in some religious talk is not, not even during the time when the three Abrahamic religions have commemorations going on.