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Retirement Bass

#81
I was more of a fan of the shape of the violin bass,than the music I love the look of the Hofner much better than the Gibson EB1. It's like my favourite Fender of all is the 57/58 two tone Precision pure class. The Rickenbacker every time I saw one used on TV I was memorised by it, even today with all the various designs of basses the Ric is my favourite design of all.
 
#82
Roy Vogt said:
I've probably already got my retirement bass. It's my 1976 Alembic Series 1 medium scale that I bought new in 1976. My wife has been encouraging me to upgrade my String Bass so I'll probably be going into my Golden Years with a better one.
I'm just not sure I'll retire-I'd rather play bass than play golf!:bassist: It's that old saw about doing something you love and never working a day in your life....
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Well, I'm retired. But then, I've been "retired" off and on since I was 24! (Work for a while and save money and then live on savings until it runs out) When I was younger I planned on some "geezer projects" for old age. These included things like my 1955 Zundapp motorcycle that I had saved for restoration and a stack of solid black walnut grandfather clock kits to putter around putting together. Well, crap, now that I actually AM a geezer I really don't feel like bothering. So I sold the motorcycle. Still have the kits. Been so busy with other crap I've no time to "putter". Now I need a car so that puts a dent in any Fodera buy.

But if things ever DO settle down, I think I'd get a much bigger kick out of converting my OLP Stingray to HH and "better" than a real one, (which I'm doing right now) than some uber expensive boutique bass. I'd have more fun rebuilding a Wishbass in my own image than buying a Ritter. Anyway like many here I already own things alike an Alembic and a Ken Smith purchased used for a song back in the day (super deals DO come along!) so I'm already a bit spoiled.

Thus, my bottom line for a "retirement" bass would be some really nice upright. Now there's some cash! So maybe one day if I'm still alive and my hands still work well enough to go back and woodshed an upright again, I'll pick up a nice Bulgarian 5 string upright. Soon I hope! I'm getting tired of cleaning out houses and repairing crap!

Back in college I worked part time for a professor* who told me: "Success is thinking what you'd rather be doing than anything else in the whole world...and then finding someone who will pay you to do it!" He lived it. And pretty much, so have I!

* A. H. Benade author of the famous books on the physics of musical instruments.
 
#83
Munjibunga said:
Here's my retirement bass. It was a gift from the company.

IMG]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb114/Munjibunga/Fodera-whole-01-web.jpg[/IMG]
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What company you work for Munji?!?!!

I don't think I could have a a retirement bass.
My old Jazz will die with me.
My dads 65 Hofner Club Bass will go on to my grand kids.
My TB Valenti may very well be "paid forward" to someone else by that time as far as I know.
 
#84
MikeBass said:
What company you work for Munji?!?!!

I don't think I could have a a retirement bass.
My old Jazz will die with me.
My dads 65 Hofner Club Bass will go on to my grand kids.
My TB Valenti may very well be "paid forward" to someone else by that time as far as I know.
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Unless you chop it in two, that Jazz will making someone else happy when you pass on. I do believe your mojo will help the next owner find the one!;)
 
#85
A Wal, for sure. I adore the sound of them and the look of them, but have never been able to convince myself to spend that much on one instrument. If I sold every other instrument I own, that would pay for most of it, which on some days sounds like a good plan. Other days, I appreciate the diversity that owning different instruments offers me, not to mention the not-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket thing.
 
#92
Munjibunga said:
Here's my retirement bass. It was a gift from the company.

[
Fodera-whole-01-web.jpg
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That dog is awesome!
 
#93
I think it is funny to see young guys posting on a site like TB whining about how their generation got screwed. Funny stuff...

Turn 50 this year, don't ever plan on retiring. I love what I do for a day job and will just slow down at some point. I'll play about 120 gigs this year as well and intend to do that until I can't any more. So no retirement bass for me. I buy what I want now while still being responsible (ie no debt) and saving to help my 14 year old pay for college (unless he goes on the road or something). Have a pair of Skjolds being built right now.

As for the faculty thing, btdt. I think tenure should be abolished but that is another discussion :D
 
#94
nostatic said:
I think it is funny to see young guys posting on a site like TB whining about how their generation got screwed. Funny stuff...

Turn 50 this year, don't ever plan on retiring. I love what I do for a day job and will just slow down at some point. I'll play about 120 gigs this year as well and intend to do that until I can't any more. So no retirement bass for me. I buy what I want now while still being responsible (ie no debt) and saving to help my 14 year old pay for college (unless he goes on the road or something). Have a pair of Skjolds being built right now.

As for the faculty thing, btdt. I think tenure should be abolished but that is another discussion :D
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I didn't say we got screwed, I said we are screwed. Who did and is doing the screwing is debatable and I'd rather gouge my eyes out with rusty forks than turn this into a political thread.

I don't have any debt, either, but savings are hard to build up with average income rate dropping. Feasible retirement plans are harder and harder to come by all the time (most 401K's are a total joke) so I'm not seeing what's "funny stuff"... Care to enlighten me?
 
#95
I'm willing to be you enjoy a higher standard of living than 99+% of the people in the world. The "funny" is the irony of young people on a bass enthusiast site complaining about their "future" and how it is unfair and some previous generation had it better. As for retirement plans, if you're in your 20's you haven't had enough time to get screwed yet. Talk to someone who has been paying into 401/403 for a decade or three and what could happen to the investment come retirement time (hint - it may not be pretty).

But enough about that nonsense. Back to work on finishing a proposal to get more day job work. Already confirmed another couple gigs for May and June as well. The world is what you make of it. And I think I'll make music...
 
#96
Well, again, I didn't really say "unfair" I just said "$#!++Y" because the word "unfair" would imply blame on another party and I've already established that I never did that. And, of course, I don't mean for absolutely everyone, just for many people from a statistical perspective. And, of course, I don't mean relative to developing third-world countries, I just mean relative to the post-war generation that saw an enormous boom in American economics, stemming from growth in nearly every sector. Every boom has its bust so the economy is just on a wild downturn as we move from a society of producers to a society of consumers where our consumption outweighs our contribution on a personal and national level. These are just facts and if you don't think things will get much, much worse for your son's generation, wait and see. Of course, again, I'm only making generalizations and not an absolute statement that will apply to every single man, woman, and child alive but it's a good observation. If you're talking about free money that's available to spend on basses, you're going to see an America that has less and less all the time. As our safety nets vanish, we'll have much more pressing concerns. And the world is what you make of it for those who are lucky enough to be such a position. It wasn't long ago that such a whimsical take on life existed only in fantasy and I don't think it'll be long before it's that way again. I guess we should all make music while we can.
 
#97
nocontrols said:
Well, again, I didn't really say "unfair" I just said "$#!++Y" because the word "unfair" would imply blame on another party and I've already established that I never did that. And, of course, I don't mean for absolutely everyone, just for many people from a statistical perspective. And, of course, I don't mean relative to developing third-world countries, I just mean relative to the post-war generation that saw an enormous boom in American economics, stemming from growth in nearly every sector. Every boom has its bust so the economy is just on a wild downturn as we move from a society of producers to a society of consumers where our consumption outweighs our contribution on a personal and national level. These are just facts and if you don't think things will get much, much worse for your son's generation, wait and see. Of course, again, I'm only making generalizations and not an absolute statement that will apply to every single man, woman, and child alive but it's a good observation. If you're talking about free money that's available to spend on basses, you're going to see an America that has less and less all the time. As our safety nets vanish, we'll have much more pressing concerns. And the world is what you make of it for those who are lucky enough to be such a position. It wasn't long ago that such a whimsical take on life existed only in fantasy and I don't think it'll be long before it's that way again. I guess we should all make music while we can.
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I believe you're right.
 
#98
nostatic said:
As for the faculty thing, btdt. I think tenure should be abolished but that is another discussion :D
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I am an amateur musician, who knows enough not to tell the pros about their job. Since you seem to know how my profession should be organized, what is your background?

As for a retirement bass, all I can say is that I the idea of getting one probably at minimum two years before I actually retire.
 

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