I like discontinued basses. Am I alone?

[Riff Ranger]

nice. Like the Mark series head as well.

Discontinued amps might make a good thread unto itself I can think of a number of good reasons why—beyond business decisions, which by themselves explain plenty—we've moved away from lead sleds, but I just haven't found anything that sounds quite like the Peaveys of my childhood, so I'm still playing them even though we've all entered our forties now

 

[bigtone23]

My favorite discontinued basses are the Ibanez Musician and Roadstar series basses. I wish I never sold my polar white Ibanez Musician MC924 bass. I bought it brand new and owned it for about two decades. It was the heaviest bass I ever owned but I loved it.

The early to mid 80s Ibanez has a special place in my heart, too. I would love to just see the Roadstar II RB650 &/or RB630 brought back. Use the same templates, make them in Indonesia, use whatever hardware and electronics to be able to sell them for about $300. They would crush.

Discontinued amps might make a good thread unto itself I can think of a number of good reasons why—beyond business decisions, which by themselves explain plenty—we've moved away from lead sleds, but I just haven't found anything that sounds quite like the Peaveys of my childhood, so I'm still playing them even though we've all entered our forties now

Peavey should just release a 300W micro or mini head that has that Mark III/IV preamp tonality in it. It's a cool tone and very familiar for anyone that played bass in the 80s and 90s (as well as all the doom guys of the 21st Century).

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Discontinued amps might make a good thread unto itself I can think of a number of good reasons why—beyond business decisions, which by themselves explain plenty—we've moved away from lead sleds, but I just haven't found anything that sounds quite like the Peaveys of my childhood, so I'm still playing them even though we've all entered our forties now

I hear you. Me? I'm riding my Eden gear to my grave.

 

[JimmyM]

Never really thought about it, but I have 4 discontinued basses out of 10 (5 if you count the Dano Longhorn, which goes in and out of production every few years, and 6 if you count my beloved Upton Hawkes upright). And my overall favorite is my Hammersmith PJ, which is OOB. I don't seek them out, but it's worked out that way over the long haul.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Never really thought about it, but I have 4 discontinued basses out of 10 (5 if you count the Dano Longhorn, which goes in and out of production every few years, and 6 if you count my beloved Upton Hawkes upright). And my overall favorite is my Hammersmith PJ, which is OOB. I don't seek them out, but it's worked out that way over the long haul.

OOB?

 

[Riff Ranger]

OOB?

Out of business, I presume.

 

[leegreenman]

I seem to like them discontinued as well, especially the Ibanez ATK.

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I would love to see Made-in-USA Peavey again, too.

I've always wanted one of those, but they're way too heavy for me. They look and sound great though.

 

[Riff Ranger]

I've always wanted one of those, but they're way too heavy for me. They look and sound great though.

I hear they got lighter in later runs, but I don't know how much lighter if they really did. I definitely notice a difference in weight between my four-string and five-string.

 

[bigtone23]

I hear you. Me? I'm riding my Eden gear to my grave.

Same with most of my amps. My modded WT500 will always be in my possession, until death. That, along with the 400RB-III and Peavey Century 200.
FWIW, a '68 charcoal sparkle Kustom 2x12" loaded with a Hydrive & Scorpion 12"ers may be my discontinued cab of choice. It sounds and performs every bit as cool as it looks! Plus, it's 4 ohm, can easily handle 300W, it's 21st Century light and has casters. That's a win/win/win/win.
Shoot, even my beloved Bass Fly Rig (1st version) is discontinued now!

 

[gtlover]

I like to say that all editions are limited - some are more limited than others.

Yeah, I've got a lot of discontinued gear - Fender Jazz Bass Special, "Longhorn" Jazz Bass, "Cowpoke" Precision, Precision Lyte Deluxe, Power Jazz Bass, MIJ MB-5 and a pair of Ibanez Artist basses. All of these were some variation from the "norm"; and were eventually dropped from production in favor of some new idea while the tried-and-true standards soldier on in the background.
My other quirk is collecting old Yamaha bass amps; partly out of nostalgia and partly because I sometimes find great deals. People dump perfectly good stuff because it's unfashionable, obsolete, forgotten or just not the latest and greatest; kinda like how all the alt/indie rockers in the 80's picked up old offset Fenders and 70's MIA axes for dimes on the dollar because that's not what (insert flavor of the day) was playing on MTV.

Then there is the gear, that while still available new, isn't quite the same. I've got an SLM era SVT3Pro - and I'll argue that for better or worse they don't make them like they used to. Maybe it matters to you, maybe it doesn't. What works, works.

 

[The Mighty 'V']

I love Hamer USA basses...

I've had one for 25 years which I sadly had to sell 3 years ago when falling on some financially rough times; The previous owner had refinished it in horrible colours and also totally unprofessionally, so I eventually stripped the paint and left the bass natural and applied a coat of wax. 12 or so years later, I re-invested the profits from selling my 5-string Warwick 'RockBass' Streamer into getting the Hamer properly refinished.

I had to sell my '79 Ibanez Musician MC900 too, which also had long been discontinued. The only bass left is my Vester P-Bass; P-Basses are still around of course, but the Vester brand had vanished again already decades ago.

 

[stingray69]

I have 3 discontinued Yamaha basses with the BB2025x being my all-time favorite.

Slightly off topic, but I also recently purchased a discontinued, long-time favorite of mine - a nearly mint, USA made Peavey Nitrobass 450. This thing just blows my mind how good it sounds even by today's standards. Whether amps or instruments, I think manufacturers can slowly lose sight of just how good a product is, or sounds, as they continue to move forward - trying to keep pace with the trendier fashions of the day.

Along with that progress, I think the killer tone of some eras tends to slip away sometimes. No, the Nitro is definitely not one of those feather weight, stick it in your gig-bag and go type of amps (obviously), but the tone is well worth the extra effort for a gig and I'll be using this as often as possible in the future.

 

[Mr_O'B]

I have 3 discontinued Yamaha basses with the BB2025x being my all-time favorite.

View attachment 4322936

Slightly off topic, but I also recently purchased a long-time favorite of mine - a nearly mint, USA made Peavey Nitrobass 450. This thing just blows my mind how good it sounds even by today's standards. Whether amps or instruments, I think manufacturers can slowly lose sight of just how good a product is, or sounds, as they continue to move forward - trying to keep pace with the trendier fashions of the day.

Along with that progress, I think the killer tone of some eras tends to slip away sometimes. No, the Nitro is definitely not one of those feather weight, stick it in your gig-bag and go type of amps (obviously), but the tone is well worth the extra effort for a gig and I'll be using this as often as possible in the future.

View attachment 4322937

Yamaha basses are highly underrated!

 

[George Dennis]

Never really thought about liking out of production Basses. Have 37 Basses. All but two were out of production when I acquired them. Here are most of them.

Hey @BluBasPlr ... fantastic collection you have there!

Not sure if you're ready for this (or know already) but a diagnosis awaits at the BHPD (Bass Hoarding Personality Disorder) Thread

Be warned, however, the tread is riddled full of GAS suffering enablers who endlessly post pictures of their beautiful bass collections! (Hint hint)

[Apologies for thread-jack ... please resume normal transmission]

 

[Jefenator]

I wouldn't trust any instrument the exact model of which is still in production.

Okay, that's not true.
But I do tend to look for deep discounts when buying used. That usually means my "new" basses are at least 5 years old. That usually means there have been subsequent revisions and/or production relocation, not always favorable - if they're still in a catalog at all.

 

[GretschWretch]

Having given this some recent thought, I've just realized that with the exception of the Gretsch 5440LSB and a couple of my Fenders, every bass I own has been discontinued.

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

Let me see…EBMM Big Al 5, EBMM Big Al 4, EBMM Cutlass, EBMM Caprice, EBMM Stingray Special Chopper Blue (well the last one is tricky but still…the color is discontinued)…

It's not that I like discontinued bass…it's that I love EBMM Discontinued Bass!

(oh and also a Fender Roscoe Beck 5…). Damn, I need to clear some…

I wish I could find ANY bass (Ernie Ball or not) that had the original Dargie Delight and martini(?) glasses on the fretboard. I just loved the looks of the EB DD, as soon as a it came out (and I rarely even drink).

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

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...View attachment 4310440

Booger rules!

 

[Chamber]

I'm a minimalist and own only one serious bass, it is my absolute favorite bass, I bought it while it was still in production but it has since been discontinued. I for sure want a second one, I'ma have to find a decent used one!

 

[B-Mac]

For me, these are the basses I like the most. All discontinued , no longer in production. They all sold well. And don't come up too often on the used market. When they do, they sell pretty quickly.

My least expensive Crafted in China Classic Vibe 60's PBass has increased in value.

My US Geddy Lee isn't discontinued as of yet but due COVID they aren't any available , prices have increased and no new ones are expected until next year.


I think I'm pretty set with these basses for what I do. I don't see myself buying or needing another.


View attachment 4309940
Carvin SB5000
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MusicMan Caprice


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Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 60's PBass

View attachment 4309947
Fender US Geddy Lee Jazz

Just about anything over 10 years old is discontinued so you're hardly alone. Even Fender P and Fender J basses get renamed and are 'discontinued' even though the same thing exists with a different name and some slight variation/tweak to make it a 'new' model.

Of my 101 basses I'd say without checking that at least 90 are discontinued.


Ironic and unplanned that my post follows a 'minimalist' post.