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How important is having the original hardshell case to you?

To me this is comparable to people who categorically reject relic'ed instruments as not having the “mojo" or "character" of instruments that have signs of years of use, mojo and character being completely imaginary qualities that have nothing to do with the actual sound, feel and performance of the bass. The same thing applies to original hard shell cases.
 
A buddy of mine recently passed up a vintage P Bass that was, in his words, one of the best basses he’s ever played because it didn’t include the original hardshell case and that was the big dealbreaker for him.

His choice at the end of the day, but I think he’ll regret it. I feel like if it played and felt how I wanted I could get a new hardshell case from Fender. Thoughts? Do you feel the same way Is it a resale value thing for you? An authenticity thing?

He could have just bought a year-specific Fender case on reverb, ebay. I got rid of my hard plastic Geddy Jazz case because I couldn't fit it under my bed. Used an old Fender hard shell case instead.
 
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A buddy of mine recently passed up a vintage P Bass that was, in his words, one of the best basses he’s ever played because it didn’t include the original hardshell case and that was the big dealbreaker for him.

His choice at the end of the day, but I think he’ll regret it. I feel like if it played and felt how I wanted I could get a new hardshell case from Fender. Thoughts? Do you feel the same way Is it a resale value thing for you? An authenticity thing?

To each his own. But I don't get it - the bass is the most important part of the equation. It might be important to have A case, but not THE case. The only reason I can think of is that he is considering resale value later - but if that is true, why purchase "one of the best basses he's played ever" in the first place?
 
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This is weird, I know, but...

I prefer hard cases to gig bags. That seems to be weird enough on TB, but it's not the weird part. While it doesn't have to be the original case, I hate it when it's a branded case and it's not the same brand as the bass. For example, I just bought a Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass. These don't come with a Fender case as standard, and the store had no Fender bass cases, so they threw in a Warwick RockCase for nix. Less than five minutes after getting it home I had removed the Warwick badge...

I'm sure it's a manifestation of an obsessive compulsive disorder. I'm the same with sports shoes/socks. If I'm wearing Nike trainers I have to wear Nike socks or plain, unbranded ones. I won't wear (say) New Balance socks with Nike shoes. I know this is weird. I know you're all judging me now. I'm OK with it.

I feel you on this one. I was about to buy a gig bag for my Martin dred. I thought about buying this nice new fender gig bag for it but could get over the fact that it was branded Fender for my Martin. Got a Mono instead since the Martin gig bag is not that good for a high end instrument. I felt the same about my MM Bongo. Could bear buying a fender gig bag, got a Mono instead
 
I agree with many of the others in that it is most definitly not a deal breaker for me, even with a vintage bass, especially if the price takes it into consideration. It's nice if it's possible to have the original case though. Heck, I dumped the extra cheapo case my sherwood green Adam Clayton Jazz came with for an upgrade almost immediately.
 
It is nice to have the original case as it then appears "complete" but is by no means a deal breaker. If it's an incredible bass I would buy it and then buy the period specific case for it afterwards.

As has been said, most hard cases stay in the closet anyway, mine do anyway, when I gig I transfer them from their hard case to a padded gig bag for transportation. Hard cases are generally too heavy and bulky. My P Bass flops around in its hard case and is much better protected in a gig bag.

I love to keep my SR5 in it's hard case whenever possible though as it has that unique smell that you get with Musicman basses and this smell transfers to the bass. Love it! Gibson cases smell great too!
 
On a valuable or collectible bass, the OHSC is very important to me but it's not a deal breaker! I do expect the selling price to reflect that the case is gone.

About 8 years ago, I bought a 1966 Fender CAR P Bass. No case. No biggie. About a year and a half later, I found a '66 OHSC on eBay for under $100. No one showed much interest in the case and I won the bid at an excellent price.

Point is, we can almost always find an OHSC, sooner or later on eBay or Reverb.com or Craigslist. And if we can't find the case, we can always live with and enjoy the bass that we bought minus the case.
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Always nice to have the original, unless it's totally trashed. I'm okay with a replacement from the same brand, or a generic if I have to. Would hate to pull brand A Bass out of a case with brand B's logo on it, even tho I have no real reason, it's just a case, ya know...

That said, I put a Fender strap on my G&L, kinda an inside joke between me and myself, not sure anyone else got it. . .
 
This is weird, I know, but...

I prefer hard cases to gig bags. That seems to be weird enough on TB, but it's not the weird part. While it doesn't have to be the original case, I hate it when it's a branded case and it's not the same brand as the bass. For example, I just bought a Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass. These don't come with a Fender case as standard, and the store had no Fender bass cases, so they threw in a Warwick RockCase for nix. Less than five minutes after getting it home I had removed the Warwick badge...

I'm sure it's a manifestation of an obsessive compulsive disorder. I'm the same with sports shoes/socks. If I'm wearing Nike trainers I have to wear Nike socks or plain, unbranded ones. I won't wear (say) New Balance socks with Nike shoes. I know this is weird. I know you're all judging me now. I'm OK with it.
Wanna start an official OCD bassists club? I'll join!