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My belt killed my ric :( Help needed!

#42
badstonebass said:
1. If you are worried about a few scratches you should have never played that bass.

2. If you are worried about an instrument you should never take it onstage.

3. Guitars are TOOLS to be USED and with that comes wear and tear.

4. If you guitars AREN'T getting banged up onstage you have no business being onstage

5. Buckle rash is a BADGE of HONOR

A guitar is like a new pickup. You worry about it until you scratch or dent the bed once. After that it's time to get a load of limestone. :D
Click to expand...

All very true, but I can see where the OP is coming from. He did something he regrets (and should have thought about ahead of time) to an expensive bass and he is here venting. Nothing wrong with that.

The longer I have had my Ric (really only since the beginning of this year), the less I want to gig it or trot it around*. Partly because I am falling in love with my new G&L L2500 tribute (which was a quarter of the price used) and partly because I have a 5 year old son that I would LOVE to be able to give him someday to play. It should be worth some nice change in 15 or so years if it stays mint :bassist:

*If this was my only bass, it would be a different story, but since Im almost preferring the G&L these days, I can afford to be picky.
 
#43
I guess if you can look upon your bass as a "tool" it makes the new mojo a little easier to deal with mentally, I've certainly had similar experiences with my basses too. I wear a lot pointy things onstage including bullet belts and studded items, I found some 1/8" foam and cut it to cover most of the backside of my bass. I attach it with 3M blue painters tape which won't harm the finish yet has enough adhesive to last thru a show.

A little too much mojo here :(
thunderbirds011.jpg
 
#44
badstonebass said:
A guitar is like a new pickup. You worry about it until you scratch or dent the bed once. After that it's time to get a load of limestone. :D
Click to expand...

This holds truth to me.

I say try and buff it out, but after that you need to just live with it. I don't gig with anything that I'm not willing to get a few dings in.... Matter a fact I don't own anything I won't gig either.
 
#45
Yeah, well, belts without big knobby buckles scratch less. Plus, if you tuck the shirt over and under the belt, can anyone see it anyway? Or is it just in the front you do that? On that train of thought, noone else but you is really going to see the back of your bass anyhow. Polish it up or clean it up how you will, and try to keep her face all perty' as long as you can!
 
#46
i wear my vegan studded belt EVERYWHERE except for band practice and on stage, get a really cool ribbon belt or somthing and move the buckle out of the way. and you could even wear the stud belt to the gig and change just before you go on.

--i thought about this beforehand :hiding:

i just got a new fender and im rather paranoid about killing it just yet ;)
 
#47
TBird1958 said:
A little too much mojo here :(
thunderbirds011.jpg
Click to expand...

I dunno I kind of like it. If it was clean when you got it and wanted it to stay that way maybe you shouldn't have played it, but as it is I think it still looks good. Mind you I've never minded wear and tear on an instrument.

To the OP: Do whatever you like. Fix it, leave it, modify it to keep it from happening again, doesn't matter to anyone else but you. Personally if I liked the belt and it looked good on stage I'd keep using it and live with the damage on the bass. It's a tool, not the holy grail.
 
#48
:p
TBird1958 said:
thunderbirds011.jpg
Click to expand...

Hmmm, nice wood... I'd use it as an excuse to strip that bass down to the wood and get a natural finish :P

as for the OP... it doesnt take much to understand that a New bass doesnt go well with a Spiked belt... Sorry mate, I know how you feel, first dings are a bitch, but you had that one coming. if it makes you feel any better, further dings wont have the same impact on you... sure, it pisses you off, but, its not the first so hey, what the hell.
:p
 
#52
badstonebass said:
A guitar is like a new pickup. You worry about it until you scratch or dent the bed once. After that it's time to get a load of limestone. :D
Click to expand...

Huh? I've never scratched my pickups in bed before, but when I cuddle with my Jag I usually wake up with a few bad scratches from the pole pieces.

Limestone... Is that a brand of preamp you loaded into your bass?
 
#54
Hey there...feel your pain...

I've always used the polishing cloth over the buckle routine....and you gotta watch out for metal rivets on jeans, too....but it always made me feel like I was putting on a loincloth. And it usually is somewhat visible from side angles to the stage.

So far, my 76 Rick 4001 is in pretty fine shape considering its age by doing this. It still has some finish marks from buttons, etc, but nothing too horrible, and certainly nothing thru the paint (egads).

But, when I got my 06 AFG Rick 4003, I bought one of these:
(a buckleless belt!)

Link Removed

Problem solved.

There are other similar ones, but these guys were the cheapest. Now, I never play bass without this belt.
 
#57
Live and learn I suppose. I really trashed the back of a Jetglo Rickenbacker 4000, took it down to the wood, during one gig many years ago. My girlfriend had given me this really ornate belt buckle, pretty gaudy really but hey it was the '70s, and I didn't think twice about buckle rash. Boy was I wrong. Anyway, that was the last of my basses to ever get a scratch from a belt buckle. I have to say I was heart broken when it happened and was angry at myself for days over it.
 

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