Gigging vintage basses; Sinner or Saint?

[doc540]

That's a Tort Guard on my '71 P, and with plenty of sweat on it and me...
So the rest of you Geezers Can Just Back Off!

Dude, you got some serious LA hair goin' on!

 

[Jim Carr]

No LA LA land, Doc, that is a foggy night in San Francisco (circa 2005, IIRC).

For hair DNA, I merely elected to have the finest of Scottish grandmothers
from the Highland (Ross) and Border (Kerr) clans. I am way getting grayer, though, Drat!

BTW, did you have any Neck instability (seasonal) with that '69?
Mine was a handful. I blamed the blocks, and I sold it long ago.
Wish I had not.

 

[maevinj]

My 78 p-bass goes to practice and the studio and thats it. Anywhere else I play bass I take my Essex. it doesn't sound as good or look as "cool" but if it gets stolen then it's easily replaced within a week. No show is worth losing a vintage bass to some crack head who needs a fix.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[doc540]

Yes, definite stability problems in the early '70's.

Of course, that was me, not the guitar!

Before they got famous and too high end to mess with bass guitars, I had the Blue Guitar in Sandy Ego work on the neck. I think Yuris actually did it himself.

They defretted the lower frets and planed the palm of the fretboard flat for some reason unknown to me.

There's a hairline crack from the top of the truss rod hole to the bottom of the fret board material. It hasn't changed for 30+ years now.

Even in the primodial swamps of SE Texas the neck stays true and hardly ever goes out of tune unless the keys get moved.

go figure

I guess whatever it was gonna do, it's done it by now and just settled down. Wait, that sounds like me. Oh my gawd, I've become stable and predictable.

 

[EBodious]

I gig 2 69 J's, a 66 P, and several 70's J's and P's, but I don't "tour", or load my stuff in a truck or van, or fly with them. And when not being used I watch them. One of the 69 J's and the 66 P are very special to me, not because they are old, but because they sound so good, and I want to be able to use them not store them.

so what is that 5, 6, 7 vitage fenders? now i know why you are known as "luckydog!" well, if you believe they should be played, and you can't play all of them....

i could help you out. so far, i've been real good at caring for and playing other people's old fenders.

 

[iplaybasstexas]

i get the great joy and experience of playing a 1972 Fender Tele bass and a 1978 Fender Precision bass(IN WALNUT!)

on my friday gigs at a restuarant. They are insane.......



but if the strap ever broke,.......

 

[Spinal Tapper]

Reviving this thread from last week!

I said I'd throw some pics up when I got a chance = here they are!
Sorry they're not the best, my GF took em, and I don't have any good close ups.

All original 66 jazz - HEAVILY worn. The thumb groove above the bridge PU is literally a thumb crater. I can honestly say I feel the ghost of the bassist who used this before me when I'm playing it. Probably been gigged thousands of times. Unfortunately, I cannot say I'm the one who made it this way - this is from decades of playing. It's my friend's bass and he got a great deal because of the condition of the finish. I personally prefer it that way. He wouldn't trade it for his life (I've asked) and the best part - he has a matching 66 P bass with almost the exact same wear marks. He insisted I use this one for the gig

I'll try and get some closeups and post pix when I get some real good still shots.

Cheers!

 

[Rob Martinez]

Because there comes a point in some basses 'life' when it means more to the owner than just being a musical instrument.

My '73 Rickenbacker may not be what you would neccesarily call 'vintage' but out of the 50 or so years that bass guitars have been around it has seen 35 of them - so it's getting there. I got it in 1976 after saving hard out of saturday job wages and my parents putting up half the money for my 21st birthday. Since then it's seen me through many different bands of hugely diverse genres. It was my first 'top end' bass (back then there were Fenders, Gibsons, Ricks and not much else that would pass for 'pro' grade instruments) and it helped shape me as a bassist. It helped me earn enough gig money to make the difference between my family eating and not eating and survived being sold itself any number of times to pay a mortgage instalment or a couple of weeks groceries (Money was actually changing hands one time when my wife said "don't sell it - we'll get through somehow"). For 20 odd years it was my only bass and even when I had reached an age when solvency was no longer an issue it was still helping pay college fees.

In the last 10 years I have been able to indulge myself with a couple of extra 'top end' basses and a couple of cheapy spare basses, but it's only in the last 4 years that my 5 string fretless has been my main bass and taken over from the Rick.

Of course the Rick is meant to be played and it still does a fair number of gigs (just not every gig like it used to). It's also used for recording and sounds great.

But, one of the reasons that it is in semi retirement is that it has been such a large part in the fabric of my life that I really couldn't bear to see it damaged or stolen. I will never sell it, but what I am going to do is search out for a young bassist (I already have one in mund) who is struggling for a decent bass and when I have assured myself that they have the talent and lifelong passion, and will cherish my Rick as much as I do, I'm going to give it to them.

Excellent. You make the point better than I could have. I have a 74 Rickenbacker 4000 that was my main and only bass for 25 years, now I have a few others, and have retired the Rick. It is an excellent bass, and it will see some playing time in the future, but why risk it when I have newer basses I can replace for less $ easily should something happen (ie stolen, dropped, etc.)?

Also, I think you can be a player AND a collector, I have WAY too many basses, that doesn't mean I can't play, I just have choices.

Still, if all I had was my Rick, I would play it out in a second!

 

[mikeswals]

My '69 J is my favorite recording bass (my producers' too), just simply awesome on tape. Had it out to a gig a few weeks ago too.
Yes Jim, the neck is rock solid on it.

Last weeks gig consisted of my '78 StingRay, and '72 P.

 

[BigKahuna13]

We have the same discussion about vintage airplanes. Fly them or put them in museums.
My opinion is you kill an airplane when you put it in a museum. Same with a bass. They're
meant to be played.

I gig my 77 Ric all the time. It's no longer my primary bass but I'm not gonna put it in a
glass case and hang it on a wall.

 

[fretlessguy]

I play my 74 Jazz on occasion. They were made to play , not worship. But, do use some common sense when taking them out.

 

[jgsbass]

I bought this 74 Jazz in 1975. When I got the bass, it was already stripped to natural and had the covers removed. I played this bass unmercifully and continuously for a looooong time. Modified it until it sounded supreme (was always getting offers on the bass: one time Will Lee played it and made an offer after 2 minutes of playing). Playing was taking its toll on the frets and in '87 it had a major overhaul at Sadowskys ( new frets, his preamp, a new Bartolini humbucker) and i still gigged this baby until the early 90's when I decided it would only go to studios. Although my bands like my current sound, when I trotted it out a month ago ( on Leo Fenders birthday) both the drummer and guitarist took me aside and told me how much they liked that bass. It once did 77 days in a row in Wildwood, NJ where both I and the Zeppelin tribute band bassist played it every night every set.

 

[Kenny Allyn]

Can't imagine NOT playing these out ...

Both the 68 p and 73 J are original, and both appear to have seen many a smokey bar before I ever got them, I see no reason to mess with that tradition.

... They're Fenders ya can't hurt them!

 

[doc540]

Cool pic and cool bass!

You got that happy buddha face goin' ON!

And I remember when my '69J looked just like that. If you are ever in a spot where you are so desperate for money that you consider selling that bass....

contact me....

And I'll help you find another way to raise the cake so you can keep that bass forever!

 

[willgroove2]

nice bass's,I had a '69 P but I moved it because it was almost unplayable due to a neck twist.I only paid 500 for it in '98 and sold it for much more to a guy who parted it out.

 

[mikeswals]

And I'll help you find another way to raise the cake so you can keep that bass forever!

Wow, thanks Doc. I hope to never get in that situation. And yes, it's such a nice one, I certainly plan on keeping it forever and hopefully one of my kids can play it later.

 

[phatduckk]

to me its not a vintage/new issue. i think of it as keeper vs might be on the block.

personally, if a bass is a keeper i actually dont care as much if it gets "hurt". if i know im gonna be keeping it for years and years then a scratch isnt a big deal to me. however if i'm not 100% on a bass im more careful in order to preserve resale value in the event i realize im not keeping it.

so once i decide if its a keeper ill take it anywhere. if a bass fails the evaluation process then it sits in the case till its sold

 

[west*coast*bass]

Why own them if you aren't gonna play them?

Amen, brother.