How does one get over bass / instrument hoarding?

[Humbled]

I've slimmed it down to about eight or ten basses and maybe a dozen guitars.

It gets to be a storage pain after a while (which was the main thing), and hording nice instruments that I didn't use at all started to make me feel actually guilty in a way.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I simply stopped shopping for gear, but it still creeps up on me sometimes.

My most recent purchase is an ultralight GK amp. My guitar amp is in the shop for a month, & GC's timing for their Labor Day sale was perfect.

I started cruising their site for a replacement amp & found a tiny used amp that I could use as a replacement while my regular amp is in the shop.

 

[foolforthecity]

The first step towards a cure is admitting that you have a problem.

Oops, wrong meeting.

Is it?

 

[jaco944]

Well I just put 6 on Craigslist tonight.....I'm a little sick to my stomach but then I remembered I have Carvin Vanquish being built, a Schecter Model T on the way and I'm thiiiiiiiiiiiis close to popping on another MM. There is no help for us hahaha....but we are mostly among friends.

 

[Menorahman]

I have many other musician friends that just have an instrument or two and play very well, they sort of look at me sideways and scratch their heads when they see a new bass. They are polite but I do get embarrassed.

I also get a little embarrassed which is kinda silly. There is one friend though who has definitely acted judgmental towards my collection which is a bit irritating. It's probably because he doesn't have much money and sees it as a huge waste, but it's not really his business and I let him play any of them.

 

[VWbug]

I also get a little embarrassed which is kinda silly. There is one friend though who has definitely acted judgmental towards my collection which is a bit irritating. It's probably because he doesn't have much money and sees it as a huge waste, but it's not really his business and I let him play any of them.

I would agree, it's your money to do with as you deem fit. I also do sort of get the candid looks friends give as if to say "why?" Or " another? What's wrong with the other one" I can hear the differences in bass makes but maybe we over do that? Because most folks I play with are good with a basic good tone. I do wonder at least for myself, if this hobby can be an experience in excess. I'm not a great player but I'm not horrible either. I'm no Marcus Miller with another toy at sound check. There's nothing I play that can't be done well on a P bass or Jazz. Other folks have planes trains and automobiles... What you do with your bucks is your business, I can only speak for myself. I think I can waste my time distracted by "basses" for tone, comfort and inspiration instead of spending more time digging in and getting more proficient. A lot of double bass guys have one bass and bond with it to get all the texture, tone and passion they are feeling, I've come to admire that quality of just having a decent quality bass and playing it to death rather than window shopping for all the other bells and whistles that really aren't necessary for me. But we all have to decide for ourselves. YMMV

 

[blowinblue]

Usually a wife will help you end a bass hoarding problem.

So true. A level-headed spouse will help keep the bass and gear hoarding in check.

The advice about wives putting a break on hoarding is bad advice. If someone is in the way of you satisfying an urge which is deeply rooted in brain chemistry or past trauma, you will end up hating that person. The root cause needs to be addressed or you can destroy a relationship.

I respectfully disagree. If my wife's good sense about family purchases and budgeting makes me think less of her then I have a much larger problem than bass hoarding. My wife has a say in every bass purchase I make. Judging from my gear profile, I'm not suffering. If our relationship hinged on whether I had free reign to buy any and all basses that struck my fancy that would be a shallow relationship, indeed.

Edit: Whenever the subject comes up my wife says no to selling any of my basses.

M. M.

 

[foolforthecity]

I would agree, it's your money to do with as you deem fit. I also do sort of get the candid looks friends give as if to say "why?" Or " another? What's wrong with the other one" I can hear the differences in bass makes but maybe we over do that? Because most folks I play with are good with a basic good tone. I do wonder at least for myself, if this hobby can be an experience in excess. I'm not a great player but I'm not horrible either. I'm no Marcus Miller with another toy at sound check. There's nothing I play that can't be done well on a P bass or Jazz. Other folks have planes trains and automobiles... What you do with your bucks is your business, I can only speak for myself. I think I can waste my time distracted by "basses" for tone, comfort and inspiration instead of spending more time digging in and getting more proficient. A lot of double bass guys have one bass and bond with it to get all the texture, tone and passion they are feeling, I've come to admire that quality of just having a decent quality bass and playing it to death rather than window shopping for all the other bells and whistles that really aren't necessary for me. But we all have to decide for ourselves. YMMV

And I fully believe that bonding with one instrument brings a familiarity and resultant tightness you can't get any other way... but I just can't help myself. I can't be monogamous with all these beautiful ladies surrounding me.

 

[GretschWretch]

It's like when you find the right woman . . . THE one. You just stop. As someone whose, in the eyes of others, accumulation of basses over the years has gone from distracting to dismaying to appalling to horrifying, with the bass that was delivered today I may have hit my stopping point. I've got my trifecta of electrics (acoustics and uprights still are a work in progress) and can quit looking. I will have one bass loaded with rounds, one with flats, and a fretless with tapewounds. I can begin selling.

Funny thing, of the keeper basses the fretted basses were at best mid-level in their day (mid-1967 through mid-1969) and priced out at no more than $200 in the catalogs. Yet I find I prefer them to more pristine, more prestigious, more pedigreed basses of mine that are in much better condition. With one of these basses in my lap it's like, "Yes, HERE, here is contentment. I need look no further."

 

[VWbug]

It's like when you find the right woman . . . THE one. You just stop. As someone whose, in the eyes of others, accumulation of basses over the years has gone from distracting to dismaying to appalling to horrifying, with the bass that was delivered today I may have hit my stopping point. I've got my trifecta of electrics (acoustics and uprights still are a work in progress) and can quit looking. I will have one bass loaded with rounds, one with flats, and a fretless with tapewounds. I can begin selling.

Funny thing, of the keeper basses the fretted basses were at best mid-level in their day (mid-1967 through mid-1969) and priced out at no more than $200 in the catalogs. Yet I find I prefer them to more pristine, more prestigious, more pedigreed basses of mine that are in much better condition. With one of these basses in my lap it's like, "Yes, HERE, here is contentment. I need look no further."

It's like when you find the right woman . . . THE one. You just stop.

I was just reminded of that video posted on another thread of Will Lee closing out his Late Night carreer. He says something along the lines of "Everyone one of my 30 Basses has something not quite right with it"

I'm glad you're happy but I wonder if perfection for most of us is unattainable and to just have a "decent" one isn't such a bad thing to settle for?

 

[Menorahman]

Thought about selling my Aerodyne guitar and bass, but then I probably wouldn't be able to find them again. Stupid sexy instruments.

Everything is either too rare, worth too little, filling a specific role, or all of the above. Like, do I NEED my Fender Select P? Probably not, but it's my only pure P. My blonde Certain J? The only J I have made of Ash. My Certain Woody J? Poplar body, walnut top, walnut neck, kingwood fretboard...too unique. Carvin LB20? All koa body + koa neck...too hard to find. Guild Dearmond Jetstar? Not worth very much and is fairly rare. Maybe I can just get down to 30 and try to keep it there.

 

[VWbug]

Thought about selling my Aerodyne guitar and bass, but then I probably wouldn't be able to find them again. Stupid sexy instruments.

Everything is either too rare, worth too little, filling a specific role, or all of the above. Like, do I NEED my Fender Select P? Probably not, but it's my only pure P. My blonde Certain J? The only J I have made of Ash. My Certain Woody J? Poplar body, walnut top, walnut neck, kingwood fretboard...too unique. Carvin LB20? All koa body + koa neck...too hard to find. Guild Dearmond Jetstar? Not worth very much and is fairly rare. Maybe I can just get down to 30 and try to keep it there.

Maybe I can just get down to 30 and try to keep it there.

 

[hrodbert696]

So apparently you can't say poopie here without it being censored and called, "poopie".

There's a no profanity rule because it's an all-ages forum. Used to be the mods handed out citations for it, now they have a bit of computer magic that just censors automatically.

 

[hrodbert696]

Thought about selling my Aerodyne guitar and bass, but then I probably wouldn't be able to find them again. Stupid sexy instruments.

Everything is either too rare, worth too little, filling a specific role, or all of the above. Like, do I NEED my Fender Select P? Probably not, but it's my only pure P. My blonde Certain J? The only J I have made of Ash. My Certain Woody J? Poplar body, walnut top, walnut neck, kingwood fretboard...too unique. Carvin LB20? All koa body + koa neck...too hard to find. Guild Dearmond Jetstar? Not worth very much and is fairly rare. Maybe I can just get down to 30 and try to keep it there.

That's a splendid exercise in hoarder's rationalization. Sure, it's hard to find a koa/koa instrument. So what? What do you need to have a Koa/Koa instrument for? What does the Koa DO that your other basses can't? Are you running a museum for curious bassists to come look at and marvel over all the peculiar specimens?

Hope that doesn't sound negative, but you asked how one gets over hoarding. You get over it by being rational with yourself rather than rationalizing.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Pratice.

 

[Binary1]

I'm glad you're happy but I wonder if perfection for most of us is unattainable and to just have a "decent" one isn't such a bad thing to settle for?

A good point.

"Perfection", in my mind, is indeed unattainable. I used to have that way of thinking and rationalizing to myself. "Well, I need this one because x, this one because y, this one because z, ad nauseam. There was never an end to it; the goalposts were always moving. Meanwhile, I would keep focusing my energies on the collecting and not on the playing.

Since I ditched this way of thinking, I am a better player. I found an American Standard Precision that plays and sounds great and I went with it. I am much happier now.

That's a splendid exercise in hoarder's rationalization. Sure, it's hard to find a koa/koa instrument. So what? What do you need to have a Koa/Koa instrument for? What does the Koa DO that your other basses can't? Are you running a museum for curious bassists to come look at and marvel over all the peculiar specimens?

Hope that doesn't sound negative, but you asked how one gets over hoarding. You get over it by being rational with yourself rather than rationalizing.

Agree with the above.

 

[bassrich]

1. Figure out what sound you want
2. Get the basses that have that sound
and once you have them you wont need others and Boom Gas/Hoarding is Gone

 

[Muddslide]

The hard part for me is that the monetary value of many of my basses is less than what I deem worth getting rid of them for. For example, I have a Jazz bass (SX refin'd body, Fender USA hardware/pickups and Aerodyne Jazz neck), I don't play it all that much, but I love that goddamn neck so much. If I parted it out or sold it, I'd probably get $500 bucks, and down the line, if I want a Jazz bass with Aerodyne neck, it'll probably cost me more than $500 and a bunch of aggravation to replicate this one.

My situation is similar, but not really by choice. It's a matter of economic reality. I have owned many nice and vintage instruments in my time, sold most gear off when I became a father. I regret parting with only a very few of the things I've sold off.

I do not mean to sound like I'm whining...my family is better off than the vast majority of people on the planet, but we went from two decent incomes to one after my wife had a near-fatal car accident a couple years back. We have medical bills out the wazoo and help financially with my mother-in-law and stepson, so it's been a squeeze and a struggle for awhile now.

I often talk here about how I personally don't want an excess of gear or other stuff (and this is sincerely true) and that one doesn't have to spend a fortune these days to have a perfectly good, giggable instrument (and I absolutely believe this) but I don't begrudge anyone who has the means or desire to own three dozen basses that cost $4000 each. That's their business and I am honestly glad for them.

One of my GAS cures, then, is that I rarely have any leisure cash. Impulse buys are out of the question, even though it also helps that I don't have a big desire to own a lot of stuff.

What I've learned is that I should appreciate the instruments and other things I am fortunate to have, practice and continue trying to improve as a player instead of fawning over new gear, and I have become somewhat skilled at modding and upgrading inexpensive basses.

If you start with a bass or guitar that is comfortable to you, has a neck that's true, can intonate and hold tune, that's the bulk of the battle. I buy new wiring harnesses, jacks and (usually) pickups, and bridge, tuners and nut (as needed...I typically don't feel the need to automatically replace these, but it happens) and I end up with nice instruments that weren't a big investment, have the qualities I like, and I don't have to worry about them.

Of course, good new strings and a setup can also do wonders for a bass that's been sitting neglected at a pawn shop...

 

[VWbug]

A good point.

"Perfection" is, in my mind, is indeed unattainable. I used to have that way of thinking and rationalizing to myself. "Well, I need this one because x, this one because y, this one because z, ad nauseam. There was never an end to it; the goalposts were always moving. Meanwhile, I would keep focusing my energies on the collecting and not on the playing.

Since I ditched this way of thinking, I am a better player. I found an American Standard Precision that plays and sounds great and I went with it. I am much happier now.



Agree with the above.

Since I ditched this way of thinking, I am a better player. I found an American Standard Precision that plays and sounds great and I went with it. I am much happier now.

Me too! Lol

 

[darkinners]

I know that feel.I've gone thru this.
Last year I read thegearpage everyday(multiple time a day)
And last year I bought 3 basses, 7 guitars, 4 amps and too many pedals that I don't bother to count.


I regconize the problem, I stopped reading TGP and this year till now I only bought 1 guitar 1 bass and no amp no pedals

I mean TB, TGP are very resourceful site for guitarist and bassist but for people like me lacks self control.
Don't dig too deep in this sort of forums lol.