20 years ago, my parents gave me a Les Paul triumph bass for high school graduation. I was a **** up and finished a year late, and the 'rents were happy to see me pass that milestone. BUT - I was a kid into extreme music, and this bass just fell short in every way. The sound, the looks, etc. So I traded it away within a year on a wireless (and got raked over the coals). For the past 10 years or so it has constantly been on my mind, since I have come to appreciate Les Pauls so much. I kept saying to myself "What a stupid little **** I was...If only I had appreciated it then and saw it for the gem it was..." etc. So I looked one time to see if there was any out there. I found one in Jersey, was gonna buy it...but it didn't work out. So 2 weekends ago I'm looking at a damaged Gibson Thunderbird on ebay and I did another search for a Les Paul triumph bass. and found it...THE ACTUAL BASS - I owned and pissed away 20 years ago: It had a few unmistakable marks on it, so I knew it was mine. Needless to say I bought it and it is now hanging on my living room wall. I'm still sorta in disbelief I actually own it again. The stars were aligned, the gods were smiling on me, pure coincidence er something like that. Yes, it's the same house too.
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Long lost bass recovered...20 years later
- Thread starter oddgrowth
- Start date
awesome.. if the pics are any indication, from then to now..it looks like whoever had it did not beat it up at all, and the condition is still very close to when you got rid of it!!
I had a black one, only it had a volume knob on the upper 'horn' area. I sold it for $220 in a GC parking lot(idiot). At least I got what I paid for it...
Looks to me like maybe the cover has just been flipped around.
Cool story. Not many of us get to make good on the stupid decisions we made when we were young and knew everything there was to know.
Cool story!
That's pretty amazing! The pics really emphasize the "time warp"!
I feel as you did about my first bass that I foolishly got rid of mostly because I thought P-Basses were for "old guys" and blues players. I didn't think a P could get that "prog rock" tone that I was so in love with... I was such a Rush fanatic I convinced myself I'd never be happy unless I got a Ric. I had so much to learn.
Anyhow - congrats! Maybe I'll get lucky and dig up my first P-Bass. (Hitting Craigslist and eBay now...)
I feel as you did about my first bass that I foolishly got rid of mostly because I thought P-Basses were for "old guys" and blues players. I didn't think a P could get that "prog rock" tone that I was so in love with... I was such a Rush fanatic I convinced myself I'd never be happy unless I got a Ric. I had so much to learn.
Anyhow - congrats! Maybe I'll get lucky and dig up my first P-Bass. (Hitting Craigslist and eBay now...)
OP, are your parents still around? If so, I'm sure that touched them.
Funny, that's what I was thinking too. Especially if you ever told them how sorry you were for letting it go the first time. It's not often that we get to experience a happy ending after we make mistakes. I'm happy for you!
Rosewood on the fretboard looks different too.
20-year-old flash camera. Different colored carpet. Totally expected, plus a few lemon oil treatments can do that too.
