Stickers.

[Eschaton]

I have to go on a little rant here.

It EATS me up when people put crappy stickers all over a really nice bass.
Having said that, I LOVE stickers. Cool stickers, unique stickers, etc. But there is a time and a place.

Now, I'm not saying all stickers, on all basses are bad. But when you buy a $1000+ bass and slap 30 of the first stickers you can find on it, just to have stickers on it, I personally think it kind of ruins the look of a nice bass.

I just picked up an Ibanez SXR650 5 string (will post pics soon)
What happened was the guy, in an attempt to sell his bass, scraped all the stickers off the front of the body (ruining the finish), and left them on the back, the neck, neck joint, etc.

It took me 2 hours with a hair dryer, a pack of razorblades, and a bottle of ronsonol lighter fluid to clean this guitar up to "decency". But I'm going to have to sand, reapply, and buff out the poly finish anyway.
Tsk Tsk Tsk.

Now I'm all for "your guitar, do what you want with it." and I've seen some REALLY cool collage jobs on guitars and basses. But I feel it should be done with taste. (Even if that taste is you being in a punk band and your guitar looking like you just pulled it from a trash compactor [sometimes, it just works!])

Thoughts, feelings?

 

[Muddslide]

I think it's personal preference and depends on the bass, genre of music, etc.

In the past I have put a sticker on one or two instruments to where I thought it looked relatively classy, but in general I prefer not using them on my own instruments. When I see them on other people's instruments, sometimes I think it looks cool but most times I don't care for it. But that doesn't matter--not my stuff.

My cases, on the other hand...I've had some with more stickers than you can count, but I do that more not for looks but because my cases are instantly recognizable that way. Back when I was gigging a lot on a bill with multiple other bands it was nice to just see at a glance that my stuff was still where I left it (which, of course, didn't prevent anyone from taking the instrument and leaving the case. This never happened to me though.)

 

[bholder]

I think the conclusion of all such threads is that nobody is ever going to agree on matters of "taste", value, and personal preferences.

 

[Eschaton]

It's hard to put into words how I really feel. I guess it's more that, the guy I got this Ibanez from had a nice instrument and he really didn't give a hoot about it. There was WADS of cat hair in the pickup cavities and the bridge. The stickers that he chose consisted of two big "Guitar Hero" stickers, three big "Activision" stickers, two random flame stickers (the type that you would decal your kids "Cars" backpack with, on either side of the neck joint, about 8 little halloween eyeball stickers, and little red and gold stars stickers.

Now It's not nearly as bad as it sounds, I have most of it cleaned up. It's a really nice instrument. To me it's like taking a Carl Thompson, or a Fodera, and leaning it up against the wall in a closet instead of taking care of it.

I do like some sticker jobs though. Like I said, I love stickers.

 

[scourgeofgod]

I have to go on a little rant here.

It EATS me up when people put crappy stickers all over a really nice bass.
Having said that, I LOVE stickers. Cool stickers, unique stickers, etc. But there is a time and a place.

Now, I'm not saying all stickers, on all basses are bad. But when you buy a $1000+ bass and slap 30 of the first stickers you can find on it, just to have stickers on it, I personally think it kind of ruins the look of a nice bass.

What about 1 sticker on a $35,000 bass?

 

[Eschaton]

What about 1 sticker on a $35,000 bass?

SACRILEGE! Just kidding... Flea can do no wrong.

 

[Muddslide]

What about 1 sticker on a $35,000 bass?

That's a D. Boon sticker right there. Always acceptable!

 

[scourgeofgod]

SACRILEGE! Just kidding... Flea can do no wrong.

Yeah it doesn't really bother me either, even though it's insane.

 

[tangentmusic]

If I'm looking around pawn shops and see a bass with a bunch of stickers on it, I pass.
Deal breaker for me personally.

 

[kcole4001]

I used to have a Maple Leafs sticker on my '71 Tele bass. I took it off when I traded it.
And I don't believe in $35,000 basses.....to me that's just a Jazz owned by a famous guy...

 

[scourgeofgod]

That's a D. Boon sticker right there. Always acceptable!

Eh, any sticker is still a sticker imo, but to each their own, if anybody wants to put stickers on their bass more power to them, not my bass to worry about.

 

[kcole4001]

One must also make the distinction between vinyl and paper based stickers.
The vinyl ones are relatively easy to remove, the papers ones are the real problem.

 

[scourgeofgod]

I used to have a Maple Leafs sticker on my '71 Tele bass. I took it off when I traded it.
And I don't believe in $35,000 basses.....to me that's just a Jazz owned by a famous guy...

It was estimated to be worth $35k before Flea ever owned it though, it's a 61 shell pink Jazz, possibly the only one in existence.

 

[kcole4001]

Just sayin' I am NOT paying that much for any bass, and I don't buy into the vintage value idea, but that's another issue.
I don't care if it summons the spirit of Jaco every night at midnight to give you free lessons....

 

[the general]

If had a cheap bass that was pretty beat up, I'd throw some stickers on there. My first bass was like that. Would I do that now that I have better stuff? Absolutely not.

 

[Eschaton]

I think my limit for a bass would be ~ $10,000 give or take. Unless it was something REALLY special. But vintage would have nothing to do with that. I think vintage stuff is really cool but it doesn't really do it for me. Closest thing I've ever had to vintage was a '64 Kay Short scale epiphone copy. It was neat, but I didn't buy it for the vintage-ness

 

[7dollarbologna]

What about 1 sticker on a $35,000 bass?

Wow! I've never seen flea sans stingray.

 

[Eschaton]

Eh, any sticker is still a sticker imo, but to each their own, if anybody wants to put stickers on their bass more power to them, not my bass to worry about.

See, that's how I feel about it. Until it is my bass. I wouldn't have bought it if it was irreparable but still it's a PITA

 

[FretNoMore]

Why would it eat you up? It's not your bass.

 

[Muddslide]

Eh, any sticker is still a sticker imo, but to each their own...

Nah, you're right. I just mean..D. Boon!

I don't play much guitar these days. Have an old beater acoustic. But sometimes I need one for recording. The last two electrics I bought were super cheap, but they work well. Both, though, were covered in stickers and took me forever to get 'em fairly clean.

The one I'm keeping, someone Sharpie-markered a big black upside down cross on (*rolls eyes*) and if I can't get it completely off, I may be putting a sticker over it to cover it up, just because I can't stand looking at the stupid thing.