Do you recall "The One that Got Away"?

[baileyboy]

The only bass I regret selling is my first Fender Precision. It was black/black, maple neck, either a '76 or '77. I rationalize this now by telling myself it was more than likely a boat anchor.

 

[jamro217]

Wow. I know they say misery likes company, but I never thought much about it. After reading some of these stories I don't feel so bad. The good thing I forgot to mention about the Jazz Bass was that the bassist in the music shop owner's band bought it and it got lots of good use that made many people happy.

 

[JW56789]

Oh sure, I can see her standing in front of me in memory like it was right now . . . . oh, basses, hell, I've had lots of those !

 

[GreyBeard]

I had this nice Ibanez ATK305 and in a stupid moment, sold it.

 

[Clark Westfield]

2012 FSR American Standard Hand Stained Ash Jazz

Should have jumped on it.

Regret it often.

 

[Gyver]

Way back in the early 90s there was an Alembic on consignment at a local music store. Pretty sure it was a Series I, but back then I didn't know much about basses other than I knew Alembic was top-of-the line stuff. I do remember it was listed for $1000 and had LED fret markers. Later I found out that my mom went to buy it but the guy had taken it off of consignment before she got there.

 

[twinjet]

Before discovering reverb.com I was regularly going through the bass guitar listings on ebay when, one evening, I came upon this uniquely natural yellow stained (as I thought) precision bodied bass listed out of Australia. Turns out the body wood wasn't stained at all but got its beautiful golden look from its Huon Pine, a protected wood from the Tasmanian Rainforest area of Australia. Reasonably priced, it seems like I thought about it throughout the night with the idea of purchasing it first thing in the morning. Much to my sadness....it had sold. Making it worse, still haven't seen anything like that since.....the one that got away.

My one that got away led to me finding a sweet G&L L-2000 that has been with me 6 years.

 

[fakeneckplate'65]

Basically as new Warwick Thumb NT for $1200 sold at a local shop. Sat in the shop for months & I found out it didn't include a case as described & passed.. I still regret it.

 

[Flaked Beans]

I have three:

-Fodera AJ6 (the original double-cutaway). Like-new condition, on the rack at Rudy's for $3200.
I couldn't sleep the night after I played it. This would have been around 1998.

-Pre-fire Dingwall Voodoo Bass Z2 (essentially, the earliest version of the Sklar bass).
Could have bought it NOS for $1600. Didn't have the money. Probably about 2004.

-A Warwick Streamer Stage II, probably from the early '90s.
Wenge/afzelia with factory EMGs. Just one of those basses that did everything right. $1400 at the time.

Oh well...

Yup at Rudy's shop one of the first solid body AJ single cuts for $3800. And for some reason (evil x wife) didn't buy it.

/edit/ late '90's/

 

[PrairieThunder13]

An '89 alembic distillate... i met it the year i graduated high school, but the "funds weren't in order" yet..... never saw another since. That thing was nice...

 

[tvbop]

Not a complete bass, sold loads with no regrets at all, but a Fender RW P body. Lightweight and rang when knocked...Man that would have made a super P bass.

 

[Auspuff]

P-Bass, made one year, and I passed on it, after haggling over a $50.00 price difference, at Guitar Center, Hollywood.

Finally picked up this Jazz, as a consolation prize. And, I love it!

 

[ryan morris]

I let one go that I have regretted for the last 20 years.. In 2000/1 I bought a '91 or 92 Warwick Streamer Stage I (from some long gone site (probably Bunny Bass)). It was the most beautiful bass I had ever seen and it was the best bass I had ever played. Such a nice quilted maple body, perfect action, Alembic pu's and electronics in it, tone for days. I think I sold it so I could get a Spector NS4 CRFM and an Alembic Spoiler (back when you could pick them up for $800-900 each). I still search for that Streamer though (as if I'd be able to afford it nowadays anyway). It was THE bass that got away. The only photo I can find of it.. was me playing in my room as a little 18/19 y/o kid (what is that wrist angle??) and another from a show at a coffeeshop. Otherwise, I'd think it was a dream.

 

[Gunga Din]

Often.

An original 1960 stack-pot Fender Jazz. Undervalued at time of sale but I just couldn't raise the cash quickly enough. By the time I did, it was gone.

 

[350125g0]

I didn't have the money for a Fender Rascal when they first came out... now they're rare as hens' teeth and they cost a premium because the used instrument market is out of control. It's a real bummer.

 

[Saint]

I feel like I’ve been pretty lucky over the years and actually gotten more rarities (El Toro, MM 79 Sabre, Fender Performer) than lost, but I still have my regrets.

The biggest regret --and totally my fault-- I found a Kubicki Factor Bass at a GC in New Jersey about 8-10 years ago. I played it for a while and really liked it. It was around $900 --and I didn’t buy it. And I was making enough money back then that funds weren’t an issue. Still bang my head on the wall occasionally over that one.

Also just turned down a Fender Dimension HH Active for $800 a few months ago. Was probably the right thing, but I second guess myself from time to time.

 

[80jazz]

I was yard sale-ing with my mom about 2007-8, I was in high school and basically on a guitar player. One house had 3-4 cheap acoustics out and I asked why so many and she said her son ran a music shop before he died and these were some he had leftover. I talked a bit more and she said she had several nicer ones if I wanted to look. Most metal pointy style guitars. But one bass. A neat bass. It was an early-mid 70s Jazz bass. Still had the OHSC and dealer tags. The guy was a dealer and custom ordered this bass in a nonstandard Gold, it was block and bound, and was the absolute coolest bass I had played at that time(still probably top 5). I knew I couldn’t afford it as I literally spent all my savings to get my first car a few months before, so I almost didn’t want to know. I thanked her for showing me and for the stories and she said “you bring me $700 today and it’s yours.”

My heart sank, and still does. I tried to explain to my parents what a rare opportunity it was. They said it was all scratched up and declined to loan me the money. Definitely not their fault, but man…. I wish I had that bass today. Easily worth double, even then.

I wonder if this was a '71 in Firemist gold?

If so, I would at least weep on the inside.

 

[RickBlair]

The one that got away from me was living in my house. My son played bass and went through basses like crazy. He had a Modulus Jazz bass that I played on some gigs and really liked. One day he told me that he had sold it to buy something else without letting me know that he was intending to sell it. I was ticked off but there wasn't anything I could do at that point.

Rick B.

 

[nonohmic]

AVRI 58 P for $999 in GC circa 2016ish, with the start of some beautiful checking. Sounded incredible. Went home to 'think about it'.

 

[andvari7]

It was a Modulus Quantum 6 prototype with Lightwave pickups. There were two made - a 5 and a 6 - for NAMM, and the 6 was up for sale. It had the benefit of leading me to the Basslab STD-VI, a bass I had wanted since college, and is the bass I own, to this day. Blessing in disguise, I suppose.