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Have anyone given a bass as a gift?

anyone given you a bass as a gift?

  • yes

    Votes: 95 63.3%

  • no

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Total voters
    150
#41
when the bass i had played at every gig, and i emphasize EVERY gig, was stolen...the girl i was dating in college at the time surprised me with an ibanez atk. i still have the atk and have since replaced the stolen ibanez saber bass. It took a long time for me to find another saber.
 
#42
I got this bass for my 14-year old son in a trade, earlier this year. An '01 MTD Heir 5 with flamed maple top. It was in really good condition, with just a nick or two in the headstock, and previous owner made all the right mods: Audere 4-band preamp, Dunlop Straploks, Hipshot "A" bridge, and a fully shielded rear cavity.

He was playing his first bass - a Brice (Rondo) HXB-405. I thought I'd reward his progress (and killer marks in school) with a better quality bass. When I handed it to him, he was pretty excited at first and very appreciative. It's pretty rare for a dad to get a bear-hug from his teenage son!

After he played it for about twenty minutes, the studio went silent then I heard his Brice come out. I asked him why he wasn't rocking his new bass, he shrugged and said, "I kinda like my old one." I pressed him on it a bit, and he said it really sounded awesome, but finally admitted that the neck felt weird to him. I won't lie - I was a little disappointed that he wasn't :hyper:.

We rapped a bit more about playing, and he told me that his biggest issue was the neck width (it's 1-3/4" at the nut...all the way out to 19 mm spacing at the bridge). He said his small mitts aren't big enough to comfortably reach the B-string (his Brice is about 1-1/2" at the nut and about 17.5 spacing at the bridge).

I felt bad that I just sprung it on him without having him play it first, and he felt bad that he was given a nice gift that he wanted to groove, but couldn't. Moral or the story: gift recipients have different needs in instruments that may not be obvious to us givers. Sometimes the best intentions can wind up going south. Fortunately, in this case, we sold his MTD and when he's ready to upgrade, we'll go out together and find something he likes.
 
#50
Maybe not as a gift, but a token for hard work.

I gave my Squier CV 60's P to my wife's Uncle for helping us pump out, rip out, and haul everything out of our once finished basement during the 2010' floods in New England...It was a lot of work and emotionally exhausting.

I know it was a lot of work for a week straight, he was there from early am til late afternoon.

I miss that Bass a lot, but I know he would appreciate it and he was surprised.
 
#51
I have 2 kids, both old enough to appreciate the JetGlo Rics I gave them as a sort of "early inheritence". My boy plays guitar, and recieved my 620, my daughter sort of plays bass, and got the 4003. They were given these Ric's on Christmas '10. I felt I had too many instruments, and still feel it was a good thing to do, though of course I sometimes miss the Ric's.
 
#52
My parents gave me my first bass, a red Squier Bronco, for Christmas when I was 9 .... My second bass (when I was 12) they paid half but since then its been all me! I was ecstatic when they gave me that bass but I would never ask them to do it again as my quality (aka price) standards have went up :p
 
#53
Many times. When my two sons were in their early teens, I bought one a guitar and one a bass. They're now in their 30's, and they both still play guitar and bass (or is that bass and guitar?!) ;) Music-related gifts have been a consistent theme, and they've always been very well-received.

Sometimes when they want a fairly expensive bass or guitar, I'll kick in a portion of the cost as a birthday or Christmas present. Helps them out, and it's always a gift that they appreciate and remember.
 
#54
ive had 4 basses for birthdays,
my first bass was a stagg fusion 4 string for my 14th
my second was a westfield 5 string warwick copy for my 15th
for my 16th i got an ashton 5 string acoustic
and im 18 on the 21st of june and a very large double bass shaped package has just arrived and is taking up the whole hallway :)
 

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#57
I have given many musical instruments to extended family and inlaws. Gave a MIM Jazz fretless w/ badass and swr wm10 to the music program at my Junior High ( as we called them in the sixties ). I would say at least 50 % of the time I been kicked as a person when the recipient sells the instrument. I am not a good provider for the home, in fact barely make above minimum wage. It hurts when I see that attitude by family. Still I do it. I want the kids to have the equipment to learn. I will probably be dead in a decade or two, that's my legacy. My nieces are the best, they get it in the heart. My nephew in Spain gave me my gift back saying he couldn't play, fine by me. He is a good guy and I respect him quite a lot now more than ever. As you can tell I don't have children, married late in life. I will post this for now so it can be googled....Chuck Lavaty
 

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