I like discontinued basses. Am I alone?

[ctmullins]

My favorite basses are the ones that were never produced in the first place.

 

[Polfuste]

I like discontinued bass: my #1 is a Ken Smith burner 1998; only produced between 1991 and 1998.

 

[JRA]

i have two kapok branded (chinese) axes that are wonderful main players (after some upgrading). i purchased them ~10 years ago and then they disappeared.



i voted "me too!"

 

[The Mighty 'V']

When I think discontinued basses, I think of these three.
Only ones I have any desire to own...

There was a Peavey T-40 in natural finish in a Boney M clip from '79 I had watched a moment ago; I didn't know that one had been around already that early! It was in late '82 when I saw one for the very first time.

 

[allen_m]

Peavey USA. My T-40s, and the T-45, T-20, and Foundations I no longer own. Discontinued and never to return unless Eastwood takes a stab at them.

 

[Crash 56]

I miss my Peavey B-Quad five fretless. Rare as hens teeth now.

 

[Alivefor5]

These:

 

[BigBigGuy44]

All of my favorite basses have been discontinued as well. I've always wondered if being discontinued plays into that. Do we subconsciously like something more or want something more simply because of it being no longer available?

 

[nickpc]

From left to right:
Squier CV 70's Jazz V (still in production)
Charvel Surfcaster 425SLX
Fender Special Edition Deluxe PJ (still in production)
Peavey T40
Sadowsky NYC Vintage
Fender Standard USA Jazz
Silvertone SB11 (still in production as the Revolver)
Peavey Foundation

Of the discontinued models, only the USA Jazz was bought while still being made.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

All of my favorite basses have been discontinued as well. I've always wondered if being discontinued plays into that. Do we subconsciously like something more or want something more simply because of it being no longer available?

Maybe the lack of fresh supplies focuses the mind?

 

[bigdaddybass12]

About 20 yrs ago I had a friend who bought a yamaha 6 string bass. he paid about $2k for it. A couple of years later he saw the same one on clearance for $699. Made him a little upset. Discontinued are great if you buy it discontinued !!

 

[G On Bass]

The Carvin SB5000 is a great bass. I'd love to have one again. As far as traditional US Fenders, to me they all look the same for the last few decades so I'm not sure what is discontinued or not. I do sometimes want to take another run with a Fender Modern Player Jazz Sating V:

 

[electracoyote]

Well, though I don't intentionally seek them out, I seem to be late to the party a lot and end up scrambling and doing many hours of legwork tracking down a discontinued model that was readily available when it first came out. And it was usually a lot cheaper. The heart wants what the heart wants.

 

[micahwc]

I don't own one because I was too stupid to buy it when I tried it, but I love the Squire James Johnston Signature Jazz Bass. Never heard of the guy or his band, but I liked the bass a lot.

 

[dalkowski]

"If you love something, set it free." See my sig.

 

[electracoyote]

When I think discontinued basses, I think of these three.
Only ones I have any desire to own.
View attachment 4310065

Those are beauties all.

I own that SBV in the same yellow finish. Actually a pretty good player with good tone, and a head-turner at gigs. I recently went on the hunt for its guitar brother, the SGV300. The originals are like unicorns, and even the 90's reissues are hard to find for a decent price. The Japanese shops hoarded them and are now selling them for ridiculous prices. Finally found one in the $600-$700 range and jumped on it. Now I have a matched set!

This stuff will drive you crazy if you let it.

 

[sleddogn]

I've owned probably 10 or more gibby's over the years, this one has always been my favorite, was only produced for one year...

 

[jd56hawk]

Those are beauties all.

I own that SBV in the same yellow finish. Actually a pretty good player with good tone, and a head-turner at gigs. I recently went on the hunt for its guitar brother, the SGV300. The originals are like unicorns, and even the 90's reissues are hard to find for a decent price. The Japanese shops hoarded them and are now selling them for ridiculous prices. Finally found one in the $600-$700 range and jumped on it. Now I have a matched set!

This stuff will drive you crazy if you let it.

I'm betting they go for $1,000 and up these days.
Consider yourself lucky.

 

[GretschWretch]

I don't have a particular discontinued bass that I like, but I do like a color that's no longer readily available from Fender: British Racing Green. I don't think it's even available from the Custom Shop.

However, I feel like to a degree we are living in a golden age in the sense that it all comes back around eventually. Several models we now take for granted as classics had long stretches where they weren't available. The EB-3 and Thunderbird weren't available for much 80s, for example. Any guitarists out there remember the Squier '51? It did so poorly at first that they blew them out on overstock.com for less than $80. Then when the interwebz became obsessed with them as a modding platform, you could barely touch them for $150 used, and eventually Fendwr brought them back. I have a feeling that CNC and the plethora of cheap, niche marketing options make it likely that you'll eventually see cult classics once again.

Ach! With you, always the British Racing Green. I like the color too, but only on cars.

 

[muggsy]

What in the ever loving heck is that? I love it!

EBMM Big Al 4SSS with all rosewood neck. Here's another pic with my other EBMMs, though I just sold the 30th Anniversary Stingray. The Bongo may also count as discontinued since you can't get the HSp pickup configuration any more.