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Scratches = Character?

#3
I like all the dents and dings in my basses. I know that I put them there myself by playing lots of gigs.

I also like the look of a relic bass, but I'm not sure if I'd feel the same connection to all the worn out spots that were put there by the shop that built it. Still looks cool though.
 
#5
envy1400 said:
There may be a thread on this but i didn't see any.
Do you think a beat up bass is cooler than one that looks new? My guitarist says scratches give it character but I like mine to look nice.
How does TB feel?
Click to expand...

I try to avoid bashing my bass into things, but I stopped worrying about minor scratches and dents years ago. I play on a lot of cramped stages, but still like to move around a little and have fun. So, if I make contact with a mic stand or cymbal, I chalk it up to "stuff happens".

And I'm not going to take off my belt, or even bother to cover the buckle. Not to protect a bass that's a "keeper", anyway.

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#7
I don't like them on shiny basses, like my jet black gloss Ibanez SR305. But I do like them on oil finished wood, like my recently acquired Ibanez K5 with a padouk top/back, jatoba/bubinga neck and mahogany body. I like worn chrome, but not worn gold. I like shiny strings and dull frets.

Yes, I'm that weird
 
#8
Some guys try to deliberately weather their basses. Most of them look faked and bad. The worst was a pic that showed up here I believe where it was obvious he took a dremel or some similar tool and randomly grinded away wood. Looked terrible.
 
#12
I do everything I can do keep my gear looking new and to re-furbish used gear I buy. It's respect - like a mechanic for his tools. In a good shop the tools are all spotless.

Do people like their cars to look new and shiny or old and roadworn? If worn is cool, why aren't racecars all beat up looking? They are surely driven hard and for a long time.

There are a few high-end touring musicians in my neighborhood. Their gear is all immaculate, unless it was worn when they bought it.

Sure, you are going to get a scratch or ding here and there, but to me - worn = carelessness.
 
#14
I have a friend who went to LA Music Academy, and there was this Chilean guitarist who was practically a demigod on guitar, but he would spend all day scratching and chipping it with a quarter. Another student apparently went to class dragging his guitar behind him by the headstock. No disrespect to those guys, because I'm sure they are very talented instrumentalists, but that's just stupid. If someone thinks they're cool by damaging their own property, they should throw it under a bus already and spare us their contrivances.

As for the pre-worn stuff... don't even get me started on the Road Worn series...
 
#15
I always keep and care all of my basses/instruments in pristine - dingless & scratchless condition.
A shiny new looking instrument is also a character to me, character of elegance and discipline.
 
#16
I actually share this as a character flaw, but a ding on a bass absolutely drives me nuts. I have actually sold otherwise serviceable basses because they suffered a bruise or two.

I'm the same way with everything else though, cars, etc. It is far from an admirable quality.
 
#19
i have a white bass.. so i dont think scratches would show.. but even if they did, it doesnt bother me. i have strap locks on it to prevent anything major, but a few scratches are ok, i think it does give it character. ive had some gigs where i drink..and the next morning my bass has even more character somehow...chips and all
 
#20
the first US Lakland that I got had obviously been abused. It was scratched (3TB), partly discolored, the figured BEM (2001) fretboard worn to gray in some places, the back of the neck had a distinct place where the bass was had been leaned onto something - part of the neck from that point on was darker. The hardware rusted and dirty, the knobs barely moved, the passive mode switch wouldn't pull out. In one word, OUCH!
I don't have all the pics of the original condition, but that's part of it:
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note the difference of the bridges of the 2 Lakies.
So I took mineral spirits (on Lakland's advice), pure orange oil without solvent, WD40 for metal parts, some cloth. The idea from the start was that I would not restore it to the 'as new' condition, but rather to have a worn bass. I could easily have buffed and even refinished the wood and refinished the chrome on the metal parts but chose not to, only thoroughly brushed away the dirt and removed part of the rust that needed not to be. The hardest point was the neck, which, as you may see, was very dirty, and I also wanted to bring up the beauty of the wood. That, I must admit, I achieved but partly.
So I have a great working horse (current state not pictured) which looks like a 70-ies 'closet treasure'. Trust me, it's clean, oiled, treated, but looks worn, has all the scratches, discolorations and touches of oxidation. I still can make it look 'newer' but I won't. The only part that I regret is the fretboard, but this I may yet come to.
I wouldn't do all that wear myself but I like how it looks now
 

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