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Lollipop '66 J I've owned 31 years, do I keep it?

Thumper

Thumper

Supporting Member
Mar 22, 2000
5,272
10,994
74
Syracuse Ut
#1
A little history: I'm the second owner, the first bass player to own it, it sat in it's case 11 years under a bed before I bought it in 1983, it was still wearing the original strings. I played it off and on through '98 when I went 5 string and only practiced with it once or twice since then.

It shows some wear on the back of the neck and is otherwise mint with undisturbed solder except for, wait for it, I had Michael Dolan re-finish it in 2001 or so. I had worn the gloss off of the finish (near the neck where I anchor) and used it for an excuse to refinish in all black because I never liked sunburst (still don't). Mr Dolan didn't want to refinish it, but I talked him into it (his big concern was depreciation). He did a fantastic job and it would pass for original except I would never misrepresent it as such.

So the issue is I don't use it, won't use it and have discovered I am at heart a Pbass player, whether 5 or 4 string. Those skinny J necks feel like toys and I actually cramp up when I play it. Plus, after 12 years of the bass merry-go-round, I found I just don't care for the J bass tone.

So I have plenty of basses, why not keep it? I'm thinking about trading it for a '66 or older Pbass I would actually play. What to do?
 
#3
Why refin it when you weren't even playing it? Haha. I have lots of stories like that also...

Will be a bit of a value loss on the refin but not really if you want a P anyway...trade it. You can probably get a pre-CBS P for it.
 
#4
I had no real reason to re-finish it other than I thought it was SO UGLY but also that I would use it more than I did, I still was buying 5er Jazzes at the time but still wanted to keep a 4 around. I'll put some photos up tomorrow (on the Kindle now).
 
#6
Dang. I wish you had posted this a few months back. I sold my refin'ed '66 P, in part because I just couldn't handle the nut width. I would have traded you!

I guess it will be no surprise my vote is sell it. Buy another '66 that you'll play. Or get johnk_10 to build you one that looks and feels like the best '66 ever made - and most likely pocket some change.
 
#10
Yeah, no need to beat me up, I've done it plenty in the last couple of years. Never thought I'd get rid of it, and may not. It was the first good bass I ever had. From 1968 to 1983 I played a Vox Delta IV, so the Jazz was a real upgrade.

I even tried putting XL Chromes on it a coupla years ago and got a fairly decent tone, but can't get past the toothpick neck. Oh well, it looks great on display in the living room, no hurry to move it, I've got plenty of great basses, more than I can work into a decent rotation, and don't need the $.
 
#13
Nitro for sure. I had the best local luthier do an evaluation (post refin) for insurance purposes (he now does them for Gruhn (or however you spell it)), forgot to tell him it was a refin, and he couldn't tell. I told him after the fact, he was upset on several levels.
 

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