Yes. My first two basses were gifts from my parents and I'll never part wih them,a Yamaha SA70 and a Peavey T40.
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I've got 2 + 1. And they all have sentimental value.
My main is a 98' Ken Smith Burner: awesome bass. Just perfect to my hands, my ears. And my forty birthday gift from my loved lady. A GAS killer.
My backup is a 04' PJ i built during a course with french luthier Xavier PETIT (who is sadly gone to build basses for Jaco and his mates.. RIP Xavier... ). This bass is my baby: we started on a monday with wood blocks, and the bass was born on friday in the same week. Thrilling experience, unforgettable; under eyes and hands of a real passionate and professional guy.
My +1 is an awesome 96' CIK Squier jazzbass which is my lady's bass. She didn't played it for years and her bass became my house work horse. Her neck is ridiculously exceptional. It plays like butter
I would never sell any of them. And i don't need any other bass.
My main is a 98' Ken Smith Burner: awesome bass. Just perfect to my hands, my ears. And my forty birthday gift from my loved lady. A GAS killer.
My backup is a 04' PJ i built during a course with french luthier Xavier PETIT (who is sadly gone to build basses for Jaco and his mates.. RIP Xavier... ). This bass is my baby: we started on a monday with wood blocks, and the bass was born on friday in the same week. Thrilling experience, unforgettable; under eyes and hands of a real passionate and professional guy.
My +1 is an awesome 96' CIK Squier jazzbass which is my lady's bass. She didn't played it for years and her bass became my house work horse. Her neck is ridiculously exceptional. It plays like butter
I would never sell any of them. And i don't need any other bass.
Not originally, but the stable of instruments I've settled into, each member has a unique character one way or another, so although it's not exactly "sentimental" like an heirloom or something I feel like each is an aspect of my bass "voice" and I can't see selling them, even if I'm not playing all of them as much. I don't know if "sentimental" is the word or if it's more like they're "personal" and unique. I like jazz basses but I just don't get excited about playing a basic J bass off the rack.
"Def Cats" is my Carvin SB4000. The name refers to how I got it; with the consolation-prize money from being on Jeopardy. It's become my main player, and with the story for how I got it, how could I let it go?
"Batgirl" is my Yamaha BB415. It has Adam Hughes' autograph on it (the artist who did the Batgirl image). That's a unique thing.
"Looney Toon" is a custom five-string by Kansas City luthier John Toon. Definitely my best bass for feel - so light and perfectly balanced, great neck.
The other two basses don't really have names - the Godin A4 is both an ABG and fretless, so it kills two birds with one stone, plays and sounds great, and is my main bass to use in church. The other is a LPB parts bass, P body and J neck, both MIM Fender components. I suppose that's the least personal of my basses, but we all know you gotta have a basic P bass, right?
I have sold the Squier bass VI. It was great, I just wasn't using it and needed money for other gear. Otherwise I still use everything in this picture.
"Def Cats" is my Carvin SB4000. The name refers to how I got it; with the consolation-prize money from being on Jeopardy. It's become my main player, and with the story for how I got it, how could I let it go?
"Batgirl" is my Yamaha BB415. It has Adam Hughes' autograph on it (the artist who did the Batgirl image). That's a unique thing.
"Looney Toon" is a custom five-string by Kansas City luthier John Toon. Definitely my best bass for feel - so light and perfectly balanced, great neck.
The other two basses don't really have names - the Godin A4 is both an ABG and fretless, so it kills two birds with one stone, plays and sounds great, and is my main bass to use in church. The other is a LPB parts bass, P body and J neck, both MIM Fender components. I suppose that's the least personal of my basses, but we all know you gotta have a basic P bass, right?
I have sold the Squier bass VI. It was great, I just wasn't using it and needed money for other gear. Otherwise I still use everything in this picture.
Sentimental?
No.
I'd sell them in a pinch if I had to.
But I've upgraded them to a degree.
I've spent too much money upgrading these basses to my liking.
So I try not to get to that point.
No.
I'd sell them in a pinch if I had to.
But I've upgraded them to a degree.
I've spent too much money upgrading these basses to my liking.
So I try not to get to that point.
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Only one of them has a sentimental value. It was a custom made carbon fiber guitar which I won't name. It was a real POS upon arrival. You could say it was DOA. A quasi miscarriage of some sort, a painful horrible birth of a mutated bass guitar. Fascination of the abomination. It was truly the king of turds. The luthier would not pick up my phone call. So I went to a reputable guy and had him sort it out.
After $$$$$. hours and getting it sorted out, it plays better than anything I have and that includes the Prima Artist, F bass AC6, Freedom Custom Guitar Dulake, Nordy, and a bunch of other really high end guitars which have absolutely no sentimental value.
Because this thing gave me such a headache, I am going to have this thing cremated with my body when I die. I just hope they can burn carbon fiber in the furnace. I've written this into my will. This thing is going to die with me when my time comes up. At least I will have a bass guitar wherever I end up after I die. I just hope they have an amp, cabinet, cables, strings and an electrical outlet in the other world. LOL
After $$$$$. hours and getting it sorted out, it plays better than anything I have and that includes the Prima Artist, F bass AC6, Freedom Custom Guitar Dulake, Nordy, and a bunch of other really high end guitars which have absolutely no sentimental value.
Because this thing gave me such a headache, I am going to have this thing cremated with my body when I die. I just hope they can burn carbon fiber in the furnace. I've written this into my will. This thing is going to die with me when my time comes up. At least I will have a bass guitar wherever I end up after I die. I just hope they have an amp, cabinet, cables, strings and an electrical outlet in the other world. LOL
I always think that people whose first instrument doesn't hold any sentimental value are a bit... I dunno. Unemotional? Psychopathic seems a little extreme. I'm not the most sentimental person myself, but instruments are a special case.
For me, there are three. My first bass, a Peavey International series, that I played my first gigs with and it actually has the thinnest, fastest neck (with 24 frets too). Sadly it's in need of repair, I'm going to replace all the electrics and hardware. My second bass is an MIA Jazz that my dad paid half for after I passed a whole bunch of exams. Main bass, now has EMGs and it's beautiful. Then there's my Gibson T-Bird, the first bass I paid for entirely out of my own money. They don't make them in black anymore either, so that's cool.
To be honest, as much as they have sentimental value due to getting them at various points in my life, I think it more comes down to how well I gelled with them and how easy I found them to play. I have a Gretsch that's cool as hell... But I just never really clicked with it. I've never been able to get quite the tone I wanted from it with either flats or rounds, the electrics have been unreliable, the bridge is a PITA. Looks great sat in my living room, but I can't bring myself to love the damn thing.
For me, there are three. My first bass, a Peavey International series, that I played my first gigs with and it actually has the thinnest, fastest neck (with 24 frets too). Sadly it's in need of repair, I'm going to replace all the electrics and hardware. My second bass is an MIA Jazz that my dad paid half for after I passed a whole bunch of exams. Main bass, now has EMGs and it's beautiful. Then there's my Gibson T-Bird, the first bass I paid for entirely out of my own money. They don't make them in black anymore either, so that's cool.
To be honest, as much as they have sentimental value due to getting them at various points in my life, I think it more comes down to how well I gelled with them and how easy I found them to play. I have a Gretsch that's cool as hell... But I just never really clicked with it. I've never been able to get quite the tone I wanted from it with either flats or rounds, the electrics have been unreliable, the bridge is a PITA. Looks great sat in my living room, but I can't bring myself to love the damn thing.
Mt MTD 435 was like a part of my soul. I connected with that instrument like no other. I needed money and sold/traded it even despite this. Why? Well despite the constant regret, I realized something. I can always get another one later and it's just a tool like others have stated. It's actually a bit absurd if you think about it for a while to have any connection to an inanimate object. I mean it only has monetary value, it doesn't actually render spiritual value. That's just your nostalgia for the instrument.
Now if I had an instrument my grandfather had given me (had he played), then I'd be attached to it because it was his. Not because it's a certain type of instrument.
Now if I had an instrument my grandfather had given me (had he played), then I'd be attached to it because it was his. Not because it's a certain type of instrument.
My MIM Geddy Lee was my first bass bought after a ten year hiatus and my present to myself for two years sobriety. I almost foolishly traded it away a few weeks ago for something else because I now also have a USA Geddy. My wife stepped in and told me I'd regret it. She's always right and my mint MIM Geddy is still in the case and I bought the bass I was going to trade it away for anyways as a four year sobriety gift.
I've bought & sold nearly 200 guitars & basses over the past 35 years.
I keep my Geddy Lee Jazz because it is a great bass, & it was a b-day gift from my wife.
All others are fair game for sale or trade.
There are a few I've sold over the years that I miss a bit, but overall, no regrets.
I keep my Geddy Lee Jazz because it is a great bass, & it was a b-day gift from my wife.
All others are fair game for sale or trade.
There are a few I've sold over the years that I miss a bit, but overall, no regrets.
Certain instruments do have added sentimental value over others depending on whether or not they were gifts, your first, your most trusty, the one you were playing when you first met your spouse, etc. That doesn't mean they are the best you own, usually your first bass is a student model or some other marginally useful thing with issues (= cheap). The question is how strong is the attachment? If you needed cash for car repairs, rent or emergency surgery, would you hold onto the bass and figure out another way to raise funds?
Yes Sure do, in the picture is the my 1983 MIJ Squier 57 bass. As you can see she has been through the wars with me. Every dink, scratch, and piece of wear and tear is from my our gigs together over the past 25+years.
She, and the Ampeg combo i used, were my only equipment from about 1988 - 2008, when i had to put her in for a set-up.
I arrived handed over the bass, and waited for her to come back.
To my shock i was told the truss rod was maxed out and the neck had a twist in it that would mean it stays in the workshop for at least 6 weeks. So i left, i was shaking at the thought of not having her, and to make matter worse i had to find a bass to cover all my gigs. The more i thought about it the more i became nacious...to the end i had to pull over the car, get out and walk about to calm my now racing pulse down.
The thing is i never knew about this "attachment" until push came to shove. In the end i got her back and all was well till a car smash one night on tour in 2008 broke my neck and she became to heavy for me to play. She was in the accident with me, and from the reports of the smash my only concern was that she was OK.
Anyways to fast forward this story, i got the bass in pristine condition, it actully sat in the corner of a room, in a big black bin liner all taped up with only the last tuner sticking out for over a year before i even played it.
A friend of mine wanted me to sell it for him, but in the end i gave him the £125 for the bass out of guilt that no-one was interested in buying a Squier Bass.
But one gig my current bass went down, so the next gig i decided to take the Squier as a spare.
Ended up having to use the Squier and never put her down.
I have great memories of her, the dinks in the neck i remember them happing, as i do with the wear and tear on the body....which most of was due to a fire she was in and survived. Lost the pup and electronics which got melted, but the rest of her was saved, so just replaced what was lost. On the edge of her body you can see where the laquer melted, ran, then reset once cooled.
So i do have an emotional attachment with her because she is a very recognisable bass and is associated with me, maybe its i am associated with her?
She, and the Ampeg combo i used, were my only equipment from about 1988 - 2008, when i had to put her in for a set-up.
I arrived handed over the bass, and waited for her to come back.
To my shock i was told the truss rod was maxed out and the neck had a twist in it that would mean it stays in the workshop for at least 6 weeks. So i left, i was shaking at the thought of not having her, and to make matter worse i had to find a bass to cover all my gigs. The more i thought about it the more i became nacious...to the end i had to pull over the car, get out and walk about to calm my now racing pulse down.
The thing is i never knew about this "attachment" until push came to shove. In the end i got her back and all was well till a car smash one night on tour in 2008 broke my neck and she became to heavy for me to play. She was in the accident with me, and from the reports of the smash my only concern was that she was OK.
Anyways to fast forward this story, i got the bass in pristine condition, it actully sat in the corner of a room, in a big black bin liner all taped up with only the last tuner sticking out for over a year before i even played it.
A friend of mine wanted me to sell it for him, but in the end i gave him the £125 for the bass out of guilt that no-one was interested in buying a Squier Bass.
But one gig my current bass went down, so the next gig i decided to take the Squier as a spare.
Ended up having to use the Squier and never put her down.
I have great memories of her, the dinks in the neck i remember them happing, as i do with the wear and tear on the body....which most of was due to a fire she was in and survived. Lost the pup and electronics which got melted, but the rest of her was saved, so just replaced what was lost. On the edge of her body you can see where the laquer melted, ran, then reset once cooled.
So i do have an emotional attachment with her because she is a very recognisable bass and is associated with me, maybe its i am associated with her?
Attachments
Only one of them.
Back in '84, I bought my first bass from a friend in high school for a cool $50. Three years later, that friend was killed in a car accident.
The bass is a short-scale Fender Mustang knockoff and is barely playable. But it is named "Binky" after my friend - and I wouldn't part with it for anything.
Back in '84, I bought my first bass from a friend in high school for a cool $50. Three years later, that friend was killed in a car accident.
The bass is a short-scale Fender Mustang knockoff and is barely playable. But it is named "Binky" after my friend - and I wouldn't part with it for anything.
A few, very much so, others not. Like the fool I can be, the ones I feel the greatest sentimentality for I've sold.
Ever notice how sentimental is spelt and sounds a lot like semi-mental??
No, they're just tools some are good for one job some are good for others.
No, they're just tools some are good for one job some are good for others.
If I could bond with an object, and hang onto it for sentimental reasons, I would have an amazing collection of guitars, basses, and amplifiers! To me they are tools, or pieces of wood. I have sold them when I wanted to, or needed to put the money somewhere else. I get another one later. I suppose I am not a very materialistic person.
I once bought a vintage Gibson ES-125TD for $100. I could have sold it for quite a handsome profit, but instead I sold it to a friend for what I had in it. He loved that guitar and would play it whenever he stopped by. He was studying jazz at the time, and all he had to practice on was an old beater acoustic. I loved listening to him make that Gibson sing, and I knew he couldn't pay me what it was worth, so I decided to place it in the right hands. I actually got to see him perform with it, years later, and knew I had made the right decision.
I haven't seen him in years, but I bet he still has it.
I once bought a vintage Gibson ES-125TD for $100. I could have sold it for quite a handsome profit, but instead I sold it to a friend for what I had in it. He loved that guitar and would play it whenever he stopped by. He was studying jazz at the time, and all he had to practice on was an old beater acoustic. I loved listening to him make that Gibson sing, and I knew he couldn't pay me what it was worth, so I decided to place it in the right hands. I actually got to see him perform with it, years later, and knew I had made the right decision.
I haven't seen him in years, but I bet he still has it.
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lovely, just lovely drool
I think most humans are touched with a level of sentimentality to some degree. There are some basses from my youth that I either sold or were stolen that I'd love to have back. Mostly they were the ones that were great
playing and sounding basses and some were just unique. The ONE I'd most like to have was an'82 G&L L2000
fretles I had bought back in '93. Sure it weighed a ton, but it had "mojo", the tone, the feel.... It was just an awesome bass and one I worked hard to get because I was in college and made layaway payments on. Alas
it was "stolen" from a "friends" apartment one day. The unique ones (though they weren't of the same caliber)
were just that, different than the run of the mill though I didn't appreciate them as much at the time. An '85-'86
Ibanez Axstar, an '89 Rickenbacker 4003S Bloodstar though I didn't love the tone, it was a great looking bass.
About 5 years ago I got back into playing and acquired about 12 basses since and recently had an awakening
I don't play all of them so decided to sell some and fix/modify some. My 1st recent bass is 2010 mim Jazz deluxe, but last year I bought a Mia jazz deluxe so I decided to make the mim a full custom blackout fretless because it does mean something to me, though I wouldn't have played it so I decided that's what I'd do to it. The sale of the other basses paid for the fretless build and to fix an '88 G&L L2000. So I kept 5 basses that mean something to me and are real players and will ALL get play time and I'm much happier with my collection.
playing and sounding basses and some were just unique. The ONE I'd most like to have was an'82 G&L L2000
fretles I had bought back in '93. Sure it weighed a ton, but it had "mojo", the tone, the feel.... It was just an awesome bass and one I worked hard to get because I was in college and made layaway payments on. Alas
it was "stolen" from a "friends" apartment one day. The unique ones (though they weren't of the same caliber)
were just that, different than the run of the mill though I didn't appreciate them as much at the time. An '85-'86
Ibanez Axstar, an '89 Rickenbacker 4003S Bloodstar though I didn't love the tone, it was a great looking bass.
About 5 years ago I got back into playing and acquired about 12 basses since and recently had an awakening
I don't play all of them so decided to sell some and fix/modify some. My 1st recent bass is 2010 mim Jazz deluxe, but last year I bought a Mia jazz deluxe so I decided to make the mim a full custom blackout fretless because it does mean something to me, though I wouldn't have played it so I decided that's what I'd do to it. The sale of the other basses paid for the fretless build and to fix an '88 G&L L2000. So I kept 5 basses that mean something to me and are real players and will ALL get play time and I'm much happier with my collection.
There are a couple that I wish I could have back, but for the most part I don't get too attached. Right now, though, I have the most interesting array of players I've ever had, assembled and selected with a lifetime's worth of learning; so, who knows how this will end up?
