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Past basses ya still think about

#21
For the most part I don't regret or miss anything I've sold in the past, but there are a couple exceptions. One is a general regret, that I didn't buy up a bunch of '70s Fenders when they could be readily had for cheap back in the '90s. I remember going to a guitar shop and seeing a whole row of '70s Precisions on the rack for $5-600. Cost me a lot more to get one later on.

The one bass I kick myself for letting go was an Alembic Europa I picked up on a road trip to Nashville in the mid-'90s. For some reason they had it on ridiculous discount, 50% off, which was $1,600 back then. I was 20-something and didn't know what I had, and when it didn't really fit with the kind of music I was playing and I panicked a little at having spent the money, I put it on consignment at a shop. They told me a guy drove up in a black Porsche, played a few notes on it, and bought it on the spot. I got back everything I spent on it, and it was not one of their iconic "Series" models, but it was still my one and only shot at owning that brand without winning the lottery.

In general, with the high prices across the used market these days, it's hard to do anything more than put everything you've got into one purchase. So my general regret is just not buying/trying more when it was more affordable and more available in person.
 
#22
I honestly don't remember my past basses. They were all starter basses and not to be missed. If I ever sell my current stable, or break one of them, I'll probably be revisiting this kind of thread with regerts.
 
#23
2006 Fender MIM Precision in Midnight Wine. My son played it for 3 yrs as part of the high school jazz band. I've regretted selling it ever since.

My P.jpg
 
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#25
Chris cook said:
I've had so many basses over the years.
There's 3 I still think about,
I ordered a new MPC OUTLAW in 1978 , I don't remember exactly what I paid but I do remember
it was alot in 1978 dollars . It was stolen in 1984 by a drummer/coke head/fkn thief who I jammed with once in a while. I knew he did coke, I didn't know he was a theif . Until my MPC OUTLAW was gone . It's 30 yrs later and if I ever see him again I'm gonna F*** HIM UP .
#2 My KRAMER XL-8/ Orderd in 1980 was also stolen in 1987 from my house. It was the only thing in the entire house that was taken by whoever broke in . I hate THIEVES especially when I'm the person they choose to thieve from.
#3 My Tobias GROWLER 5 was all me , to this day I don't know what I was thinking at the time , I loved the bass , I sold it so I could buy an engagement ring for a girl, we eventually broke up , And she sold the ring , that I sold my Growler for.
STUPID STUPIDER STUPIDEST thing I think I ever did.
NEVER AGAIN .
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that's alot of "ouch" during the 80's when it was suppose to be the best decade ever for music, but not for thieves i guess.
Yeh i would be pi**ed off too!

The 3 basses i got rid of i had no regrets over. A BC Rich Warlock with neck dive, a charvelle p bass that just sounded cheap and a Hondo P that weighed a ton.
 
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#27
My first bass was a VOX hollow-body. I can't remember much about it except at the time, it didn't have the word FENDER on the heastock, and when I was 16, that was important. I wish I had kept it. I've never seen another one since . . . anywhere. And it was a gift from my parents to help me get started in a band. I sold it for $75 to buy a Fender P bass, that I sold later to buy ham radio equipment. I sold off all my comic books (I had some #1's like Silver surfer, Iron man, etc) to buy even more ham gear. Sold all of that stuff to buy a G&L L-2000 fretless and a DB. Sold those later for whatever reason. I wish I had kept the VOX bass, and the G&L. My DB also. NEVER sell your DB. Even if you're naked and starving. And never sell a G&L that's all set-up and plays nice. What was I thinking? Wish I still had the VOX. And the L-2000....and the comic books.
 
#28
Deluxe version of an 80's Guild Pilot. Solid flame maple body, etc. I got it for $50 and felt good selling it for $250-ish. I feel kind of stupid now because it was a nice bass. I horse traded an EBMM 30th 5 string that I didn't care for at all at the time. Wish I had that one to revisit. Worst sellers remorse is a fantastic Warmoth build by Zo's Guitars. Wonderful bass but I wasn't into 5s at all at the time. I think I sold that one for $300 to a young guy who really needed a bass. UGH!
 
#29
I’ve owned and sold so many basses over the years. Most I don’t really regret. But I wish I never sold my early 90’s Hamer Chapparal. I have regretted it every day since. I know it looked really 80’s/90’s, but it played and sounded so great!
0D3752A9-8068-41CC-8E8B-B542F1A00DD4.jpeg
 
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#34
I played a 1970 Fender P-bass (back when all the Fenders were MIA) from about 1972 to 1988. During that time, it was the only bass I owned. In '88, I kinda "semi-retired" it because the band I had started playing with had a light system that didn't agree with it. I ended up selling it on the cheap to a guitar-player friend who wanted to learn to play bass. Then the SOB turned around and pawned it. I waterboarded him until he revealed to me the name of the pawn shop where he pawned it. I went there, but it was gone. That was back around 1989-1990. They still haven't found that guy's body. (JK) I still remember that bass fondly.
 
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#35
Chris cook said:
There's 3 I still think about....
Click to expand...
i'd never missed an ax (ever) until i joined TB: the ones i've dumped would/could have brought me a small fortune from all the vintage/cool bass-seekers on TB! :D but in the normal scheme of things, no, i don't miss any of them... it was nice, but good riddance! :laugh:

i'm sure i'd miss any instrument in my current stable, however, because i actually had a hand in their making (parts axes).
 
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#37
3rd bass I ever bought was a Warwick Fortress One Masterman, this was probably 1995. All the guys I loved (Dave Matthews Band, 311, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Big Head Todd & the Monsters) all played Warwicks and I wanted one so bad. One day there was an ad in the paper (remember those?) from a finance company that said basically 'silent auction on a repossessed Warwick bass' so I dialed their number on the rotary phone (remember those?) and offered $650. A few weeks later they called and said I won!

It was purple with a wenge neck and gold hardware. Kept it for a year or two and have no idea why I sold it. Would love to have another one just like that.


Secondarily, I would love to have back all 5 Steinbergers I had. Not that I would play them, but the fact that I sold them for around $600 each when now they get $4000+ makes me sick!
 
#38
First brand new bass I ever purchased; a bright red Kramer headless Voyager four string bass. I played it only one time at a house party before it walked away along with its case during load out. Talk about a gut punch. Made me extremely diligent from that moment forward and have not lost a single piece of gear to theft since then. Second is not a bass guitar, but a set of Moog Taurus II bass pedals. This one was all me. I was broke and hawked them for $20 to get by and make paying it back easier, thinking what kind of loser wouldn't be able to cough up $20 plus interest by the end of the month? End up losing them. Now I know what kind of loser!
 
#39
Fiesta Red Squier CV 60s Precision. Lost in the fire. Aside from it being a relative inexpensive bass, I had it dialed to within an nth of perfection. Stock except pots/knobs, and jack. Chromes with that pickup? Magical.
Lightweight, sturdy, great looking, played and sounded amazing.
 

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