I tried really hard to keep my instruments looking good, but by ding #4 I worry less and less about it. If you play out anywhere, it's inevitable that your instrument will have some "character".
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Scratches = Character?
- Thread starter envy1400
- Start date
I try to take care of my basses, but stuff happens. And I like vintage basses to definitely have a worn look to them. That means they were actually played instead of stored.
I was picky about protecting mine when I began playing in my bedroom. As soon as I got out into dive clubs that began to change. I protect my bass best I can, but after a few other people drop them, you run into your other guitards, etc, you learn to live with it. I always disliked the anal guys who wipe it down every 5 secs. When I see a guitar like Willie Nelson's I think it's the coolest shiz ever. If you collect only, then fine. If you are a player, then bang on it. Give it some dirt.
There are times and places for wearing a tux... I also take excellent care of a bass until I'm 100% sure I'm going to keep it forever.. But:
IMO, if you care so little about what music you are playing that keeping your instrument scratch free is first on your mind, you shouldn't be on a stage (or at least no one should be paying to see you play).
My main bass is very well worn now, but it was brand spankin new when I got it. Every single time something 'bad' happened to it, I made sure to make the rest of that performance worth it. So when I look at my bass, I don't feel anger, hate, or frustration. I see/feel contentment, pride, and not letting a physical thing stand in the way of something WAY more important.
I know not everyone is capable of feeling that way about something, but those people just need to get over themselves and stop thinking of the bass as a status symbol.
IMO, if you care so little about what music you are playing that keeping your instrument scratch free is first on your mind, you shouldn't be on a stage (or at least no one should be paying to see you play).
My main bass is very well worn now, but it was brand spankin new when I got it. Every single time something 'bad' happened to it, I made sure to make the rest of that performance worth it. So when I look at my bass, I don't feel anger, hate, or frustration. I see/feel contentment, pride, and not letting a physical thing stand in the way of something WAY more important.
I know not everyone is capable of feeling that way about something, but those people just need to get over themselves and stop thinking of the bass as a status symbol.
Scratches are damage. No other way to look at it.
Over a long period of use, any instrument or tool will accumulate evidence of wear and use - but the way I was raised, the owner's goal is to keep all tools and instruments in condition as near to new as possible. That displays good care of the tool.
IMO damage such as scratches and dings is tolerable until it becomes visible to others - at which point instruments should be refinished. Wear happens, but it doesn't have to result in a beaten-up look. A beaten-around bass is evidence that the owner doesn't take care of it.
Evidence that I believe this? My refinished '63 P. I did it in the 70's and I'd do it today, given the chipped-up state the paint was in when I got it.
That's my position and I'm stickin' to it.
Over a long period of use, any instrument or tool will accumulate evidence of wear and use - but the way I was raised, the owner's goal is to keep all tools and instruments in condition as near to new as possible. That displays good care of the tool.
IMO damage such as scratches and dings is tolerable until it becomes visible to others - at which point instruments should be refinished. Wear happens, but it doesn't have to result in a beaten-up look. A beaten-around bass is evidence that the owner doesn't take care of it.
Evidence that I believe this? My refinished '63 P. I did it in the 70's and I'd do it today, given the chipped-up state the paint was in when I got it.
That's my position and I'm stickin' to it.
Wear and tear happen. If the owner of the bass doesn't mind, then that settles it. The audience didn't come to admire your pretty bass - it came to listen to your pretty music.
I didn't realize my T-40 was so dinged up until a girl at a show pointed it out-- she said it looked "really old." The bass is a year older than me.....I hope I aged a little better.
This seems pretty extreme considering you devalued your bass by thousands of dollars because of a few scratches...but who cares, its your bass I suppose...so value's worth is only to the owner...
Regardless, I love me some scratches/wear/tear and think they make a bass look cool as hell! Evidence I believe this? My buddy's 66 Jazz...looks like it's been to hell and back and played every gig in between...look at that crater by the bridge PU! WOW!
No way should anyone ever refinish something so beautiful IMO - there's just way too much history to erase that can never be brought back
That's reductive. Technically you're correct, but the vast majority of "damage" is cosmetic-only, having zero effect on the functionality or integrity of the instrument. If you want to refin an instrument simply because it looks worn, then I encourage you to do so. But while I will always have functional damage repaired, the only normal wear I care about is on the frets... this because it will become functional damage at some point.
I haven't done many tux gigs, but I've played with dozens of bands over three decades, and no one has ever cared how much wear and tear was visible on my bass.
+1.
Strangely enough, the only bass I would buy very visibly worn is a Fender.
IMO (or in my little brain), I correlate a well worn (not abused or relic-ed) Fender to an instrument that obviously sounds and plays great. It is worn due to years and years of constant play.
In my experience, MOST 30+ year old Fenders that are in great physical shape are either a) boat anchors and weigh 12 lbs or b) sound/play like crap. There are exceptions of course (I have a 1978 that is in great shape and sounds/plays amazing).
I take care of all of my stuff, but I don't lose sleep if I scratch or ding a bass.
I side with the people who say they try to keep them looking good as long as possible. I do think some basses that are worn out look cool though,
If I'm going to generalize, I'll side with you: I prefer my basses pristine & unscratched.
However, I'm willing to make exceptions. Some of those 40+ year old Fenders that looked like they were buried in a vat of shark meat and then dragged behind the band van from gig to gig are impressively beautiful (sic) in their own right. And I have an 8-string with so much lacquer-checking that it looks like someone must have repeatedly smacked the body against a solid quartz tabletop moments after the finish finally dried...or maybe subjected it to an infinite extreme heat/cold cycle as part of some nefarious science experiement. I really can't imagine what the previous owner of this body did you yield this fine spiderweb lattice of lacquer-checking uniformly distributed over the entire body, but it's so extreme and so unique that I just can't help but think it gives the bass character.
Here's mine. It's got my mojo all over it. For thirty nine years, this bass has been my "daily driver"!! The only bass I own.
Thanks. It's a 1960 Jazz I bought when I was in High school in 1971. I got it for $100.00.
Back then it was popular to mod body shape. It also had a big silver humbucker neck pup on it. I replaced that with the Percision pup. The P pup is a '64. Many friends ask when I'll restore it back to original, but I've played it for so long the way it is, I couldn't imagine changing it. It's part of me And besides, with the P on front (it has a series/paralel switch) I have the best of both worlds!!
Thanks. It's a 1960 Jazz I bought when I was in High school in 1971. I got it for $100.00.
that bass really needs it's own thread...out of this world man (takes hit off of doobie)
I fall to pieces when one of my shiny trophy case specimens gets so much as a microscopic hairline scratch.
However, I love my basses that I purchased "used and abused."
One of my favorites is a Fender MIJ Fotoflame P-Bass that looks like someone alternately dropped down a couple of flights of stairs, then took a can opener to it, and repeated the process a few times. It plays like buttah and sounds like an iconic P-Bass should, and I play it with wild abandon. Very liberating, those character scars of distinction.
(click to enlarge)
However, I love my basses that I purchased "used and abused."
One of my favorites is a Fender MIJ Fotoflame P-Bass that looks like someone alternately dropped down a couple of flights of stairs, then took a can opener to it, and repeated the process a few times. It plays like buttah and sounds like an iconic P-Bass should, and I play it with wild abandon. Very liberating, those character scars of distinction.
(click to enlarge)
Bryan R. Tyler
TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002
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- May 3, 2002
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As this seems to occur far too often, I will reiterate that there is NO RELIC OR RELIC OWNER BASHING allowed. A reliced finish is just as "fake" as a black or red paintjob. There's no need to "earn" a worn finish if that's what you want just as there's no need to "earn" a black finish.
