My Ibanez 7-string that I sold to cover for my wife's poor spending habits
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The one that got away.
- Thread starter Paulabass
- Start date
I had a Schecter Stiletto Custom 4 in natural finish in high school. I saved up enough money to buy it and my parents surprised me and payed half for me. I LOVED that bass. Long story short, I left it at a friends house, and never saw it (or my "friend") again. I looked around at used one the past few years, but never had the extra cash to get it.
Fast forward to this past November. I was online looking at used gear at Guitar Center and found one that was too good of a deal to pass up, and was only about 30 minutes from my house. I saw it on Tuesday morning, and really didn't have the extra money to buy it, but told myself if it was still there on Thursday I was buying it. I couldn't pass up that deal. I showed my girlfriend (she knows the whole backstory) and she thought it was a good idea to buy it.
Well Thursday came and it was gone...total bummer. Then Christmas morning my girlfriend (now fiance) walks out with the bass! I lost it! I think I even shed a tear. Turns out she bought it the day after I told her, and hid it at her parents house until Christmas. I've been using the Schecter as my number one ever since!
Fast forward to this past November. I was online looking at used gear at Guitar Center and found one that was too good of a deal to pass up, and was only about 30 minutes from my house. I saw it on Tuesday morning, and really didn't have the extra money to buy it, but told myself if it was still there on Thursday I was buying it. I couldn't pass up that deal. I showed my girlfriend (she knows the whole backstory) and she thought it was a good idea to buy it.
Well Thursday came and it was gone...total bummer. Then Christmas morning my girlfriend (now fiance) walks out with the bass! I lost it! I think I even shed a tear. Turns out she bought it the day after I told her, and hid it at her parents house until Christmas. I've been using the Schecter as my number one ever since!
Two that got away:
1. 72 Olympic white Jazz bass. Stolen from me in 1979 when four guys jumped me on the street and kicked me unconcious.
2. 66 Candy Apple red Precision with rosewood fretboard. Stolen in 1980 from my band's practice room.
Wish I had both of them sometimes, but to be honest, I like what I have now just fine.
62 jazz no finish just oiled. bought for $700 sold for $2000.00 - so no real complaints. I didn't have it very long, and everyone who did that I knew died of cancer...so maybe it was radioactive.
Elrick master series 6 string that was a monster but I was not down for a monster at the time.
Elrick master series 6 string that was a monster but I was not down for a monster at the time.
1993 Musicman Stingray: Stolen
1999 Ampeg 60's reissue baby bass: Sold it because my Ex-Girlfriend was terrible
1999 Ampeg 60's reissue baby bass: Sold it because my Ex-Girlfriend was terrible
maybe my old Warwick thumb basses. I've been playing bass for 23 years and about 15 of those years my main bass has been one of the Warwick thumb basses. I used to be totally against modding basses but I would mod the hell out of these two if I still had them now.
Started with the bo5
If I had it back I would take it apart. And find someone to make me a copy of the body in acrylic and rebuild it like this but as a 5 string and with the black hardware and pickups. Then maybe try to find a fretless neck for the original body.
This thumb nt5 was my longest running main player (around a decade) mods for this would would be paint. I'd go black, white, maybe Carolina blue.
This is my current main player. Warwick thumb NT6 with Delano pickups and Audere 4 band. Absolutely love this bass. And wouldn't do anything that could possibly change its sound.
Started with the bo5
I must say that from 1975-1990. I bought and sold both guitar & basses. as a second job. ( With my Brother ) That said, there a quite a few I wish I kept.
1- 1963 Jazz. Olympic White.
2-1964 Jazz Black matching headstock.
3-1965 Jazz Heather Gold.
4-1966 Jazz Sunburst Bound/Dot neck.
5-1958 Precision Two Tone Sunburst Gold Guard.
6-1963- Precision Lake Placid Blue Tort Guard.
7-1966-Precision Olympic White. Tort Guard.
8-1972 Rickenbacker 4001 Azul Blue.
9-1959 Gibson EB2 Natural Banjo tuners.
10-1984 Wal Mark 1 Fretless.
There were a few more. But these 10 were special. Oh the good old days.
1- 1963 Jazz. Olympic White.
2-1964 Jazz Black matching headstock.
3-1965 Jazz Heather Gold.
4-1966 Jazz Sunburst Bound/Dot neck.
5-1958 Precision Two Tone Sunburst Gold Guard.
6-1963- Precision Lake Placid Blue Tort Guard.
7-1966-Precision Olympic White. Tort Guard.
8-1972 Rickenbacker 4001 Azul Blue.
9-1959 Gibson EB2 Natural Banjo tuners.
10-1984 Wal Mark 1 Fretless.
There were a few more. But these 10 were special. Oh the good old days.
When I was a teenager I had a fireglo Ric 4001 that got away, but my 4003 is a fantastic replacement.
I also had one of these:
I also had one of these:
Thankfully I haven't (yet - knock wood) had any incidents related to lost basses - though I've been through a few bungled deals that eventually sorted themselves out thanks to a highly skilled local luthier who saved my bacon twice!
But - in the interest of telling a real - true story, back in 2011 I had a very valuable, hand made mandolin absconded with. I won't talk exact value - but it cost me essentially the same $ as a high end Alembic bass.
I had just completed my 3rd bluegrass set with my band at a small annual festival in Plymouth, CA - an obscure little town 40 miles SE of Sacramento near the Cosumnes River and the Amador / El Dorado county line.
I split the festival in my Volvo having loaded this mandolin in a white Calton Case as well as a Martin HD28, a German plywood double bass - my camping gear and a laptop computer.
The weather was hot so I headed East instead of West with the intention of getting in a quick dip in the previously mentioned Cosumnes River.
I parked on the side of the road in Fiddletown near the river but it wasn't till after my swim that I realized I'd left my rear passenger side window cracked about a 1/2 an inch.
When I got to the river I found three 20 something kids smoking. I asked them if there was a better place to dive into the river and they pointed upstream - so I hoofed it about a 1/4 mile further - took a dip and then headed back to my car...
....only to find my security system triggered and a dashboard message stating "security breach - check vehicle."
It took about 5 seconds to sum up what had happened - the thief had eyeballed my car - spied the cracked window, and noticed the easily snatchable Calton case. So he grabbed what he could - probably with an intention to take more but the alarm on this car is notably loud - but not loud enough for me to hear it a quarter or a mile up a river.
When I calmed down, I immediately contacted my pals at Mandolincafe.com - a site that gets thousands of hits a day and that maintains a stolen instrument registry.
I then called the El Dorado County Sheriff and filed a police report.
When I got home I wrote a thorough description with serial number and explanation of the incident and posted it everywhere I could online - Mandolin Cafe, Facebook, any stolen instrument registries I could find and I emailed it to dozens of music stores all over the West. I checked CL constantly in the Bay, Reno, LV, Portland, Sacto wherever I could.
Exactly one month from the date of theft, while driving through Golden Gate Park en route to work in Marin, my cell rang and a friendly voice explained that he'd just found a beautiful A. Lawrence Smart Mandolin being sold for an implausibly low price at Skip's Music on Auburn Blvd in Sacramento. The caller was slightly glum when he said - "I put a deposit on this instrument, took note of the serial number and then went home and googled it. Then I realized I couldn't own this thing, cause it's your stolen mandolin!"
After that call I contacted the El Dorado County Sheriff and the dominoes began to fall.
The Sheriff visited Skip's music and found out the thief sold the instrument to a "fence," who in turn traded the mandolin for a Marshall amp and $1000 at Skip's - and that apparently Skip's did zero in the way of due diligence to find out the provenance of my mandolin.
The Sheriff obtained 411 on the Fence - forced him to cough up and return the amp and $ to Skip's and to rat out the thief who (surprise, surprise) turned out to be one of the three kids I'd first met at the river.
I eventually arranged to meet the Sheriff at a Peet's Coffee at the Nut Tree in Vacaville and got my mandolin back after 5 weeks! I still play it - frequently, and am way more careful with it and all my other instruments.
Per the El Dorado Sheriff - both the thief and the fence received felonies!
This one didn't get away!
But - in the interest of telling a real - true story, back in 2011 I had a very valuable, hand made mandolin absconded with. I won't talk exact value - but it cost me essentially the same $ as a high end Alembic bass.
I had just completed my 3rd bluegrass set with my band at a small annual festival in Plymouth, CA - an obscure little town 40 miles SE of Sacramento near the Cosumnes River and the Amador / El Dorado county line.
I split the festival in my Volvo having loaded this mandolin in a white Calton Case as well as a Martin HD28, a German plywood double bass - my camping gear and a laptop computer.
The weather was hot so I headed East instead of West with the intention of getting in a quick dip in the previously mentioned Cosumnes River.
I parked on the side of the road in Fiddletown near the river but it wasn't till after my swim that I realized I'd left my rear passenger side window cracked about a 1/2 an inch.
When I got to the river I found three 20 something kids smoking. I asked them if there was a better place to dive into the river and they pointed upstream - so I hoofed it about a 1/4 mile further - took a dip and then headed back to my car...
....only to find my security system triggered and a dashboard message stating "security breach - check vehicle."
It took about 5 seconds to sum up what had happened - the thief had eyeballed my car - spied the cracked window, and noticed the easily snatchable Calton case. So he grabbed what he could - probably with an intention to take more but the alarm on this car is notably loud - but not loud enough for me to hear it a quarter or a mile up a river.
When I calmed down, I immediately contacted my pals at Mandolincafe.com - a site that gets thousands of hits a day and that maintains a stolen instrument registry.
I then called the El Dorado County Sheriff and filed a police report.
When I got home I wrote a thorough description with serial number and explanation of the incident and posted it everywhere I could online - Mandolin Cafe, Facebook, any stolen instrument registries I could find and I emailed it to dozens of music stores all over the West. I checked CL constantly in the Bay, Reno, LV, Portland, Sacto wherever I could.
Exactly one month from the date of theft, while driving through Golden Gate Park en route to work in Marin, my cell rang and a friendly voice explained that he'd just found a beautiful A. Lawrence Smart Mandolin being sold for an implausibly low price at Skip's Music on Auburn Blvd in Sacramento. The caller was slightly glum when he said - "I put a deposit on this instrument, took note of the serial number and then went home and googled it. Then I realized I couldn't own this thing, cause it's your stolen mandolin!"
After that call I contacted the El Dorado County Sheriff and the dominoes began to fall.
The Sheriff visited Skip's music and found out the thief sold the instrument to a "fence," who in turn traded the mandolin for a Marshall amp and $1000 at Skip's - and that apparently Skip's did zero in the way of due diligence to find out the provenance of my mandolin.
The Sheriff obtained 411 on the Fence - forced him to cough up and return the amp and $ to Skip's and to rat out the thief who (surprise, surprise) turned out to be one of the three kids I'd first met at the river.
I eventually arranged to meet the Sheriff at a Peet's Coffee at the Nut Tree in Vacaville and got my mandolin back after 5 weeks! I still play it - frequently, and am way more careful with it and all my other instruments.
Per the El Dorado Sheriff - both the thief and the fence received felonies!
This one didn't get away!
In the early 1980's I had to sell 6 of mine because I was 23 and had to take care of my baby girl.
1965 Fender Jazz Bass (refin)
1968 Fender Telecaster Bass
1968 Fender Coronado II Wildwood Bass
1978 Music Man Sting Ray Bass
1979 Music Man Sabre Bass
1976 Gibson G3
I had a whopping $1500 tied up in them. They'd be worth a bit more nowadays.
Yes, but your baby girl is priceless. Keep the grove.
Picked up a G&L L2000E for cheap in Orlando. It was originally canary yellow. Someone spray painted it black after that and that's why I got it cheap. I refinished it in surf green and I loved it. Sold it on eBay when I lived in Portland OR to help out a financially strapped ex. No regrets helping her but I'd love to have it back.
There was CAR '70's Jazz Bass that I didn't pull the trigger on some 12 years ago.
Also, I always wanted a Steinberger XL-25. Years ago when there was more inventory, I probably could have bought one for a reasonable price. I never made it happen. I'm still interested but the current asking prices are pretty silly.
Bones
Also, I always wanted a Steinberger XL-25. Years ago when there was more inventory, I probably could have bought one for a reasonable price. I never made it happen. I'm still interested but the current asking prices are pretty silly.
Bones
I paid $325 for the Sting Ray from the newspaper classifieds and $250 for the Sabre from Danny's Guitars.
I had 10 grand in the bank and had 3 weddings (1 to completely pay for and 2 to help with) in a span of 1-1/2 years. So, I sold a 1996 Alembic Rogue 5, 2007 Stingray Blue Dawn, G&L ASAT bass once played by Tom Hamilton (w/paperwork), Carvin SB4000 and an Ovation Magnum. Everything was taken care of and everyone was happy...it was worth it for my kids.
I miss my old Alembic EVH, it was such a gorgeous bass. Had to sell it (at a to low price) cos I was in a tight spot. It al worked out in the end though. My current Alembic copy is scary close to the real thing and I am very content with it.
I traded in an Epiphone acoustic guitar on an EV bass bin that I needed. Regret that too. Should have borrowed the money instead.
I'm crying for youIn the early 1980's I had to sell 6 of mine because I was 23 and had to take care of my baby girl.
1965 Fender Jazz Bass (refin)
1968 Fender Telecaster Bass
1968 Fender Coronado II Wildwood Bass
1978 Music Man Sting Ray Bass
1979 Music Man Sabre Bass
1976 Gibson G3
I had a whopping $1500 tied up in them. They'd be worth a bit more nowadays.
