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Sell Sentimental Bass?

Lowbrow

Lowbrow

Gold Supporting Member
Apr 22, 2008
7,057
9,368
Allentown, PA!
#1
Dilemma. I have a great bass that I bought new in 1982, which I played on countless shows during a very active period thru 1990.

It’s been retired and closeted for about, gosh, 30 years now? Wow. Weird to write that.

So — naturally I’m still a GAS-driven shopper, and I still need what it takes ($$) to scratch that itch.

Opinions — pass the bass on to someone who’ll play and love it or continue to hang on to it for sentimental reasons??
 
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#3
Lowbrow said:
Dilemma. I have a great bass that I bought new in 1982, which I played on countless shows during a very active period thru 1990.

It’s been retired and closeted for about, gosh, 30 years now? Wow. Weird to write that.

So — naturally I’m still a GAS-driven shopper, and I still need what it takes ($$) to scratch that itch.

Opinions — pass the bass on to someone who’ll play and love it or continue to hang on to it for sentimental reasons??
Click to expand...
seller's remorse is for real. I tend to keep all my basses- hence my collection has doubled in recent years. I say keep it.
 
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#6
I get the feeling you might regret selling it since you're having to ask. Personally though, I don't see the reason to hang on to something you don't use, haven't used in a long time and most likely are not going to use. Honestly, if it's been closeted for 30 years, how much do you really even like it? I've not even been alive 30 years so I can't imagine just keeping a bass (or any other material thing) around that long without using it. I would sell.
 
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#11
I’ll buck the trend (as usual) and say that you should let it go. Your bass can go to a carefully chosen up-and-coming player and be as inspirational to them as it once was to you.

There are so many threads around here with people complaining about the state of music and the prices of everything -including basses - is going up globally. A lot of families and future players might not be able to afford the start up cost… Why not help someone get into the game and help ensure that there will be at least one new excited bassist in the world after you’re gone?
 
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#14
Several years ago, during a discussion regarding selling a bass, my wife said it was her favorite of my basses and said I should not sell it. She followed up by saying, "You always regret selling a bass and wish you hadn't sold it, so you are not allowed to sell any bass at all any more."
She did not; however, forbid me from buying more basses.
So, I would advise you to keep the bass. If you sell it, you will have seller's remorse.
 
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#15
HardNHeavy said:
lol...i have same problem...tho i do play the closet queen every now and then.....its a MIA 83P fullerton or something. It has F stamped on tuners and the microtilt adjustment for neck...big boomy sound.

whenever i think bout selling it.......i apologize to the bass after:rollno:
Click to expand...

you should definitely sell that one to me, my birthday year
 
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#16
Lowbrow said:
It's a white G&L L-1000 with a rosewood board.
Click to expand...

So you are saying a P bass on steroids is not going to turn into a P bass. I suppose that is true, but I feel like you might like it if you force yourself to play the bass a bit. There was probably a reason you played it for as long as you did.

It might be a bad question, but have you tried swapping strings on the L1000. I have two sentimental basses that I do not play as much. However, they are easy candidates for trying out strings and I actually found that I like one of them significantly more with TI Jazz Flats on it. I ran DR Sunbeams on that bass for 10 years before I tried flats on it. It needed the flats.

^See how I redirected OPs GAS towards strings there... It may end up being a temporary redirection, but now whoever buys this L1000 will buy one with a fresh set of strings.
 
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#17
My closet queen is my Avatar and namesake, a ‘65 Gibson EBO, bought in ‘85. Haven’t played it out in 10-15 years. I’ve been thinking about bringing her out for a song or two. Sell it, be buried with it, or let my kids sell it when I’m gone? I might be opting for #1 soon. It does deserve to see the light of day. I don’t need the money (yet) and these old Gibsons don’t have the crazy allure and resale value as same age Fenders. If it was worth 4K+ like an old Pbass I’d have said my goodbyes already!
 
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#18
I held on to a Steinberger L2 that I bought new in the early 80's and used on countless gigs. It was around # 150. The builder at the factory actually came up to me at a gig & told me that he had made the bass. I switched to P Bass & the closeted L2 was sold to a fellow in Hong Kong in the early 2000's.
Never thought I'd part with it but it's really it's just a tool. I don't miss it.
 
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