• 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.

Ever do something so incredibly stupid...

Joe Nerve

Joe Nerve

Oct 7, 2000
18,619
38,939
New York City
www.joenerve.com
Disclosures
Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
#1
...and bass related, that you couldn't admit it to anyone. I did.

What's the dumbest bass/music related thing you've ever done. Maybe if someone tops me I'll spit mine out.

I'll get the ball rolling with this, the 2nd dumbest bass related thing I did. Sold a 75 P bass about 8 or 9 years ago for $200. The neck was slightly warped so I figured it was worthless.
 
#2
I took a brand new 78 Antigua Pbass and spray painted it with Krylon brown. Because, I dug the cola brown P the John Deacon was sporting at the time. That thing subsequently was stripped and painted so many different colors that the body glue joints actually started to come apart. god, what a tool I was as a kid. I destroyed such a beautiful and rare finished bass :rollno::scowl::spit::bawl:
 
#5
I didn't buy an MTD Czech made Grendel for like $350 despite the fact that the neck literally felt made for my hand. It may not be a "boutique" bass but I haven't played any neck that felt that comfortable. Was too into the 4001 I had at the time which I loved the sound of but hated the neck. Nowadays I'm much more about playability.
 
#6
When I first started playing bass in HS (early 80s) I had bought and sold many basses that are now considered collectibles- early 70s 4001 Ric, mid 70s Fender P, just to name a few. I don't remember getting much money for them. I've since bought some great basses, but still wish I had hung onto them, if not for sentimental reasons, then monetary value.
 
#7
My band (reluctantly) let a friend of theirs on stage to play bass on a couple of songs. He brought his bass, and ran through my board and amp. Really cool guy, I was in a generous mood and really eager to help him. I hit the tuner so he could tune his bass, not realizing I had set my tuner to a half-step flat. He tuned to Eb. The set was in standard. He totally stunk it up and realized what happened. He stared daggers into me the rest of the night.

And I sold a 60's Thunderbird IV on a whim. It had the quintessential T-Bird tone. I have yet to hear its equal. I sold it for a song because I didn't think it was a good slapper (the truth is, at the time, I was not a good slapper). I shoot myself in the head with the finger gun every day over that.
 
#9
I once traded two Aguilar GS112's for a Berg HT322 with a blown 12" and creases in BOTH 10"s. My fault, since I didn't check out the cab closely enough. Oh well... Even with the messed up drivers, it still sounded awesome.
 
#11
buzzbass said:
I took a brand new 78 Antigua Pbass and spray painted it with Krylon brown. Because, I dug the cola brown P the John Deacon was sporting at the time. That thing subsequently was stripped and painted so many different colors that the body glue joints actually started to come apart. god, what a tool I was as a kid. I destroyed such a beautiful and rare finished bass :rollno::scowl::spit::bawl:
Click to expand...

I'm going to cut a switch.
 
#12
When I first got my Warwick back in 02 and was in my band at the time, I had no concept of eq. What to eq, how to eq, etc. I would turn all the knobs on my bass full on thinking it would make it as loud as possible. The controls are blend, volume, stacked treble/bass. So i was resting my thumb on the neck pickup, which is also the pickup that was 100% on, with my bass and treble dimed. Talked about scooped. I wouldn't even touch the eq on the amps in the rehearsal rooms we'd book. So I have no idea if the eq was set flat, scooped, mid bumped, etc. I had no clue. Some days with very little volume on the amp I'd cut through like a knife through butter. Other days I'd be clipping the **** out of the amp and couldn't hear myself even through the quieter parts of my band's songs. I was such an eq noob. Now I know better
 
#14
I played an entire set with my Motorhead tribute tuned to E, with the guitarist in Eb.:eek: It was a pretty big show too... I'm also the lead singer so I didn't think to check my tuning between songs. I can laugh now, but that was probably the worst mental state I've ever been in - incredibly hungover, spent 5 hours driving back from an out of town gig the night before, running on waaaay too many Red Bulls, shaking so much I thought my heart would explode. That was about 3 years ago, never had one of those vile things since.
 
#16
SlavaF said:
I played an entire set with my Motorhead tribute tuned to E, with the guitarist in Eb.
Click to expand...

I kinda did this in reverse. At a festival gig during the afternoon, I tuned up in the sun, knowing we tuned to Eb, but because of the sunlight, didn't think to notice I tuned to standard. First tune out of the gate was really bad. Quite embarrasing having to tune immediately after the first song, and everyone knew why. :eek:
 
#17
A. Sold my pre EB StingRay (from around 1978 or '79) because I wasn't playing it at all, and it was worth more to Dan Lakin than it was to me. I bought a Guild Pilot with the money.

B. Bought another pre EB 'Ray years later- got a deal on it, paying exactly what Dan had bought the original one for, but this one was a dog- heavy, unbalanced output with a really weak G string, and the EQ centers were way different from my original one. It only reminded me how great my first one was.

C. Got rid of a Hamer Cruise bass because I kept breaking the G string at the saddle. Shoulda just tried more strings.

D. Didn't by a G&L L-1000 when we were an early G&L dealer (1981). There was an L-1000 in natural ash with an ebony board that kept telling me to take her home....

But the two worst ain't bass related, both guitar related. First, I passed on buying a black-faced Twin Reverb with JBL's in favor of a Gibson Medalist for only $100 less. 1973, I figured that Gibson was as good as Fender (the guitars were, so the amps must be as well). Plus, the Medalist had FOUR speakers (4x10) instead of two, and it was twice as tall. The owner of the store (I later started managing that store...) was even going to let me make weekly payments on the extra $100. But I bought the lame sounding solid-state Gibson that had no useful sound anywhere in the knobs...

Second was selling my Kalamazoo-made Epiphone Casino with the rare long neck for $175 to buy snow tires. Figured since I had a Les Paul I had no need for the hollow-body... Of course, the Les Paul didn't make me sound like Duane Allman , Clapton, or Mike Bloomfield, and now 30 some years later I realize the Casino was the perfect guitar for me...

John
 
#18
Me being nervous on stage:
A song in our set ends with me rolling volume off to fade out. I pause in between for a sip of beer, and next song starts. Meanwhile I forget to turn my volume back on and I didn't realize it! Band plays through song while I'm on stage panicking about my signal, frantically checking my amp and my cables, everything but the obvious answer. It took me an entire song of being out to realize what happened.

Needless to say - it was hard to get back into the gig after that happened on second song. I just wanted to leave and bury my head! :hiding:
 
#20
Blueszilla said:
I kinda did this in reverse. At a festival gig during the afternoon, I tuned up in the sun, knowing we tuned to Eb, but because of the sunlight, didn't think to notice I tuned to standard. First tune out of the gate was really bad. Quite embarrasing having to tune immediately after the first song, and everyone knew why. :eek:
Click to expand...

Awe man that's the worst, but at least you managed to tune sooner than later. Between the awful stage sound and my brain not working, I only realized and tuned down for the last third or so of the set. Afterwards I was told we had a cool atonal thing going on, so at least a few people enjoyed it :hiding: man I felt terrible after that show!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back