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Has anyone ever just give you an instrument
- Thread starter Chris cook
- Start date
I was gifted an Ibanez bass and Acoustic bass amp, along with a strap, tuner, and instrument cable, from random people here on TalkBass! Someone was offering it up to go to a good cause. I had a flute student in my middle school band that also played bass but came from a family who could never afford it. I submitted my claim, along with others, and they chose me and my student to give the bass! That student is off to college now and still had and used the instrument as of his senior year in high school.
My uncle also gave me a free instrument. It was his Dad's, my grandfather's, 1954 Martin D-28 guitar that bought brand new in '54. I never knew my grandpa because he died when my mom was 13, but he was a multi instrumentalist who also taught band and music in public schools like me. My uncle inherited it after my grandma died, when I was around 21 years old. After a few years of owning it he passed it down to me because it was too loud an instrument for him to sing over. He had it fixed up by a Martin specialist in Portland, (new bridge fabricated and a few cracks sealed), and let me have it. It's the best and most full sounding acoustic guitar I've ever heard. I will pass it down to my children or niece/nephews when the time comes.
My uncle also gave me a free instrument. It was his Dad's, my grandfather's, 1954 Martin D-28 guitar that bought brand new in '54. I never knew my grandpa because he died when my mom was 13, but he was a multi instrumentalist who also taught band and music in public schools like me. My uncle inherited it after my grandma died, when I was around 21 years old. After a few years of owning it he passed it down to me because it was too loud an instrument for him to sing over. He had it fixed up by a Martin specialist in Portland, (new bridge fabricated and a few cracks sealed), and let me have it. It's the best and most full sounding acoustic guitar I've ever heard. I will pass it down to my children or niece/nephews when the time comes.
My first rickenbacker bass was gifted to me.
I've given away a musicman stingray classic , a neck-through rickenbacker copy , and twin reverb amp.
I'm trying to find a used Geddy Lee bass so I can gift it to someone.
I guess it's pretty common for musicians to give away things.
I've given away a musicman stingray classic , a neck-through rickenbacker copy , and twin reverb amp.
I'm trying to find a used Geddy Lee bass so I can gift it to someone.
I guess it's pretty common for musicians to give away things.
Yes, and it was the reason I took up the bass. It was this one, an old Ibanez Soundgear GIO with a broken tuner and loose wire.
A friend said said "you gave me this old bass from the flea market years back and I never fixed it, take it back and learn how to play bass". So I took it, though I don't remember ever giving it to him. Anyhow, I soldered the pickup wire back, bought a used tuner for it, and now, six years later, can play primitive I-IV-V blues. So it was sort of like giving it to myself? Since then I've bought lots of cheap basses and refurbished a half dozen, for the fun of it and to get a blog post out of it. I generally donate them to my kid's old high school music department or to a neighbor's kid. Weirdly, often in life I give stuff away then somebody gives me a better version of what I donated. Here's one the school got that was fun to get working again, an old Harmony pointy headstock short scale bass:
A friend said said "you gave me this old bass from the flea market years back and I never fixed it, take it back and learn how to play bass". So I took it, though I don't remember ever giving it to him. Anyhow, I soldered the pickup wire back, bought a used tuner for it, and now, six years later, can play primitive I-IV-V blues. So it was sort of like giving it to myself? Since then I've bought lots of cheap basses and refurbished a half dozen, for the fun of it and to get a blog post out of it. I generally donate them to my kid's old high school music department or to a neighbor's kid. Weirdly, often in life I give stuff away then somebody gives me a better version of what I donated. Here's one the school got that was fun to get working again, an old Harmony pointy headstock short scale bass:
So Anyway, I've been given unused guitars, because some of my friends & relatives think I should be able to play one. I can't.
I've inherited some instruments and I've also given away some instruments.
Sometimes I find it more logical to give something away than to sell it.
I've inherited some instruments and I've also given away some instruments.
Sometimes I find it more logical to give something away than to sell it.
I gave away my first bass to someone I thought could use it after college (it was a single pickup Memphis). I gave two kids who were learning some electric guitars (an electra and a pretty cheap hofner). A few months ago I left some stuff in my car foolishly and had a pedalboard and a guild starfire (newer one, not vintage) stolen. Came to practice a few weeks later, and one of my best friends in one of my bands bought me an exact replacement of the starfire. I didn't know what to say, and I got a little teary. It was so nice! Of course, now I feel like I owe him forever. It does feel good to help someone out, especially someone you think could use it or could use a little nudge to get into music.
Back in the 80's I gave a Ric 4000 to a friend who was moving out of state (I had bought a Jazz).
More recently, another friend had left three basses at my house for his use when he visited from out of state. He passed away suddenly, and his family didn't want them back. I was only interested in one (a very nice mid-90's Guild ABG), so I sold the other two, and tried but failed to get the family to accept the proceeds.
More recently, another friend had left three basses at my house for his use when he visited from out of state. He passed away suddenly, and his family didn't want them back. I was only interested in one (a very nice mid-90's Guild ABG), so I sold the other two, and tried but failed to get the family to accept the proceeds.
A friend found this Fender Wildwood II left behind in her rental house and gave it to me.
My Cousin gave me a 2-12'' w/reverb Silvertone tube combo amp in the early 70's. I was playing guitar (SG) then in a Garage Band. I sold it to an accordion player, after I switched over to Fender Bass , (Wish I had kept it!) Also a Sax player I know gave me a Cornet (I used to play Trumpet in grade school ), but I was unable to 'get my lip back"....
Wow! My wife bought me a Kala bass ukulele a couple of years ago as a Father's Day present, but that's it.
That Ibanez Les Paul copy you got could be worth something if it's well kept. People bought them because they were so much cheaper than the Gibsons and most got trashed, modded, refinished, etc. because they were just inexpensive knockoffs. But they apparently were much better made and better sounding than the real thing and are now becoming more valuable. A friend of mine has his father's Ibanez Les Paul and says it's worth quite a bit more than his father paid for because it's one the rare models that are still in mint condition 50 years later.
I was given my grandfather's old Truetone archtop after he passed away. I didn't even know he had this thing. The neck needed reset and the action was at least an inch high. I eventually ended up breaking it with my ignorance.
I sort of commandeered my father's fretless Peavey foundation when I first started playing. It'd been sitting untouched in the basement for years, as he'd moved on to a Carvin 6 string. Eventually it just became my bass. Still have it.
I bought a hardshell guitar case off a guy once for $25. He said "you can have the guitar inside for free". I opened it up and there was a MIM strat in there! Looked like a kid did an awful job trying to relic it, but for free, I didn't mind. Ended up selling it after a while, as I've never gotten on well with strats.
I sort of commandeered my father's fretless Peavey foundation when I first started playing. It'd been sitting untouched in the basement for years, as he'd moved on to a Carvin 6 string. Eventually it just became my bass. Still have it.
I bought a hardshell guitar case off a guy once for $25. He said "you can have the guitar inside for free". I opened it up and there was a MIM strat in there! Looked like a kid did an awful job trying to relic it, but for free, I didn't mind. Ended up selling it after a while, as I've never gotten on well with strats.
Not a bass, but a really close friend gave me a nice guitar about 6 years ago. LTD M300FM. Its packed with EMG 81s, a Floyd Rose Special, neck-through body, and reverse headstock. A serious shredder.
I've been loaned plenty of basses tho. Acoustics, uprights, and a couple 6 string LTD's that were needed for recordings and fill-ins.
Oh and I've been given pedals a few times too. A couple Crybabys and a dirt pedal when I was a kid.
I've been loaned plenty of basses tho. Acoustics, uprights, and a couple 6 string LTD's that were needed for recordings and fill-ins.
Oh and I've been given pedals a few times too. A couple Crybabys and a dirt pedal when I was a kid.
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I got my Harmony bass for Christmas when I was like 15. My mom later said she paid like $30 from Sears. But we didn't have a lot of money so I appreciated it dearly. 30" scale, plywood/plastic, beyond cheap hardware that wasn't even standard design. Some frets could be lifted out with my fingernails. Inlays were falling out too.
Once I played it enough to know I was gonna stick with it, I took it to shop class at school. Pulled the frets and inlays, made new inlays from dowel soaked in dark walnut stain. Leveled the fingerboard, epoxied the frets back in. Made a jig to hold a file to make them all the same height in relation to the fingerboard. Yeah not proper but a ton better than it was. Filed down the plastic nut. Drilled the binding by hand and put plastic rod in as side markers. The string hold down piece broke, so my dad made one at work out of stainless rod, along with some neck shims. I clamped down the tuner cases to tighten them up and eliminate them from going out of tune. I put thread sealing tape in the bridge saddle screws to keep them from vibrating down as I played. By the time I was done, it was a pretty decent little bass. After shielding the cavity with aluminum foil, the electronics were the best part. Pots were always nice, and the pickups are still the loudest of any of my basses. They look exactly like Gibson humbuckers, they're probably just good copies. The pickup spacing appears to be the same as a mini Rickenbacker. It only weighs 6-7 lbs. I still have it and like to play it around the house. It's worth more to me than probably anyone else.
Once I played it enough to know I was gonna stick with it, I took it to shop class at school. Pulled the frets and inlays, made new inlays from dowel soaked in dark walnut stain. Leveled the fingerboard, epoxied the frets back in. Made a jig to hold a file to make them all the same height in relation to the fingerboard. Yeah not proper but a ton better than it was. Filed down the plastic nut. Drilled the binding by hand and put plastic rod in as side markers. The string hold down piece broke, so my dad made one at work out of stainless rod, along with some neck shims. I clamped down the tuner cases to tighten them up and eliminate them from going out of tune. I put thread sealing tape in the bridge saddle screws to keep them from vibrating down as I played. By the time I was done, it was a pretty decent little bass. After shielding the cavity with aluminum foil, the electronics were the best part. Pots were always nice, and the pickups are still the loudest of any of my basses. They look exactly like Gibson humbuckers, they're probably just good copies. The pickup spacing appears to be the same as a mini Rickenbacker. It only weighs 6-7 lbs. I still have it and like to play it around the house. It's worth more to me than probably anyone else.
1977 A guy gave me (50$ donation) a Gibson EB3 lined fretless. He was a hack and learning to play the bass cut into his time spent curating his bong collection. An extreme scratch and dent that I played into sawdust.....
About 15 years ago a boutique amplifier builder who I'm a vendor to sent me a floral design MIJ Fender Tele as a Christmas present.
Reversing the topic in the mid 1970's I gave a Sekova Jazz copy to my neighborhood buddy.
He became a famous animator & graphic artist who sadly passed away a few years ago.
I had reached out to him years back after seeing his name online, a blast from the past after he had gotten big in his chosen field. His first words to me were that he still had that bass...
About 15 years ago a boutique amplifier builder who I'm a vendor to sent me a floral design MIJ Fender Tele as a Christmas present.
Reversing the topic in the mid 1970's I gave a Sekova Jazz copy to my neighborhood buddy.
He became a famous animator & graphic artist who sadly passed away a few years ago.
I had reached out to him years back after seeing his name online, a blast from the past after he had gotten big in his chosen field. His first words to me were that he still had that bass...
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A friend of mine has given me many instruments over the years. What I remember is a Reverend thunderfish bass, an Ovation mandolin, a mexican Strat. a brand new american 60's anniversary Strat and a PRS guit also. A very generous friend. There are probably others but that's all I can remember at this age.
