The one that got away

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I had the opportunity to buy a lefty Ovation Magnum for $750 - probably the only one ever made - a bass that had belonged to Steve Miller's bassist Gerald Johnson (who is a lefty too). The bass was signed by Steve Miller and it was a time when Steve Miller was selling a huge amount of his gear through Guitar Showcase in San Jose. I stupidly did not buy it because it was insanely heavy...

 

[jaco944]

I had the opportunity to buy a lefty Ovation Magnum for $750 - probably the only one ever made - a bass that had belonged to Steve Miller's bassist Gerald Johnson (who is a lefty too). The bass was signed by Steve Miller and it was a time when Steve Miller was selling a huge amount of his gear through Guitar Showcase in San Jose. I stupidly did not buy it because it was insanely heavy...

I bought and sold 2 Magnums within a six month period...wish I’d kept the 1st one.

 

[MichelD]

Last year, I came across a pristine-looking '70s V4-B for $600. It was the week I was moving from Chicago to California, and the dude selling it was way the hell outside of the city. In Chicago I never had a car. I wasn't going to spend $80 renting a zip car and driving two-hours round trip for something that might not be worth it. Besides, it wasn't the best use of my moving funds.

$800 seems to the low end price on any I see these days.

Thanks for the tip.

I've got a '74 that needs work and I figure I could probably buy a decent used 200 or 300 watt Class D amp for the amount fixing my V4B will cost.

 

[MichelD]

I mean, it's heavy. But when paired with a 212AV, I don't think there's a single amp I like more.

If I was gigging I'd probably have a V4-B for studio/home use and then the smallest possible Class D head for live use. You're going to run through the front of the house anyway. If the sound guy knows what he's doing, it'll sound good.

I'm kind of in that situation. Even before it crapped out on me, I left my V4B at home. I have a 32 year old Roland Cube 60 bass amp that I have played dance halls, bars and fairly large clubs with through front of house.

 

[Diminishedfilth]

Just recently, I was shopping for a solid go-to 4 string, thinking another Warwick or a Stingray. Then an American Precision showed up on Reverb, from a local shop, as well. It took me a few days to commit to it, got the money on a Friday, had a busy Saturday, so I decided to go get it that Sunday. Sure enough, the Reverb ad disappeared Saturday night.
The bittersweet ending to this event was that on that Sunday night after, something called a Fender Select Precision Bass popped up on Craigslist. It was a 2012, and I was into Euro 5-strings back then, I had a CIJ Geddy Lee around that time, that met all my 4-string needs, so I wasn’t paying much attention to Fender offerings at the time. Anyway, I already had the money, and it wasn’t too much more than I would have paid that Reverb shop, with sales tax included. So, sent a reply, picked it up the next morning.
Now, the “bitter” part is that I’ve turned it into a case Queen. The gentleman I bought it from is a guitar player, so it’s flawless. Since I bought it, it hasn’t left the house, and before I do pull it out, I wash my hands and make sure my finger nails are trimmed. Where I play at home is a little cramped, so I put bath towels on any sharp corners.
I have no illusions about it becoming a sought after collecter’s piece anytime soon, but I certainly don’t want to devalue it. You never know, though. I mean, I looked at getting another Mark Hoppus Jazzcision like the one I had a few years ago, and I practically gave the one I had compared to what I see for asking prices.

 

[ejaggers]

I guess I can no longer whine

057912

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Do you have any bass guitars you remember being for sale that you just for some reason or the other were not able to buy or were too indecisive that you left it too long before someone else bought them?

I have a few in mind, not that my life depended on getting them, but they were:

!. A pre-CBS sunburst P-Bass I was offered with Traynor amp for $500 in 1975 I couldn't afford because I was just married and saving to buy land to build a house.

2. A local shop had one of those Dan Armstrong Ampeg lucite basses I just couldn't bring myself to spend on.

3. Same shop had a vintage Danelectro short scale for sale on another occasion. I was gonna bring an amp up to try it out but it got sold before I could.

I am not a trader by any imagination, with all the Basses I’ve owned in the last 45 can be counter on one hand. As for my amp situation, I really didn’t have a pro rig from 1978 to until 2011 relying on borrowed gear for gigs, and for the most part, been using my Eden gear since. And they are going to the grave with me.

 

[OldFenderPlayer]

My "One That Got Away" was a "hippy-refinished" 1968 Fender Precision Bass, and it took me 17 years and two basses to get over not being able to make it mine.

In 2000 I was a month away from buying a house and had all my cash wrapped up in the down-payment. At this time a poorly refinished '68 Precision found its way to a local (now closed) shop - the Fret N Fiddle in Charleston, West Virginia. It looked bad, played great, sounded better and priced right at $850 --- just the combination I was looking for. But I couldn't hit my savings account or take on the credit, so I passed. It was sold from their website to someone in Boston.

For the next several years I kept my eye out for a similar one, but with no luck. So in 2009 I bought a Bill Nash 57-Pbass and it was my No. 1 for many years. Then in 2017 a "hippy-refinished" 1967 Precision Bass came up on the local Craigslist; it played and sounded better than I remember the '68 sounding 17 years earlier, but I had to hold off on buying it for a week since a 19-year-old had been promised it, if he could come up with the cash in a week. He couldn't get the $2k, so I bought it for $1.8k. I wrote about the buy and posted a few "as found" pics: NBD 1967 Fender Precision Bass.

I was honestly rooting for the guy to come up with the cash, since I already had a decent stable of great electric basses, and I thought it showed character that he was interested in a beat-up old war horse like that bass, which is my new No. 1.

 

[Dan B]

Several:
1) an ESP (not LTD) Viper 5 string that was on Reverb. It had its bumps and bruises but it was at a really good price considering it was a CS ESP. Was a bit out of range but I could've done it without much pain.

2) ESP Horizon 5 string (several of them in fact). Either it was because I didn't have the money at the time or it was in the wrong finish and had the wrong pickups (I'm looking for one that has the EMGs and isn't in cherry sunburst).

3) MTD Kingston Super 5 that had a bridge upgrade, black knobs and tuners, and a case. Oh, and it had the maple fingerboard which looked better than the laurel board they also offer. Again, out of range somewhat.

4) Squier Deluxe Active 5; surprised me in a good way. I loved the phenolic fretboard, the hot pickups, and the general fit and finish of it. Would've been a good mod platform for cosmetic stuff, but when I called Guitar Center about it it sold.

5) Hayman 40/40 being sold at a stupid good price. Well, it was so good it disappeared from Craigslist very quickly. Welp.

6) SGC Nanyo 5 string that was one of the higher trim options. Again, sold super quick.

 

[jd56hawk]

Do you have any bass guitars you remember being for sale that you just for some reason or the other were not able to buy or were too indecisive that you left it too long before someone else bought them?

I have a few in mind, not that my life depended on getting them, but they were:

!. A pre-CBS sunburst P-Bass I was offered with Traynor amp for $500 in 1975 I couldn't afford because I was just married and saving to buy land to build a house.

2. A local shop had one of those Dan Armstrong Ampeg lucite basses I just couldn't bring myself to spend on.

3. Same shop had a vintage Danelectro short scale for sale on another occasion. I was gonna bring an amp up to try it out but it got sold before I could.

Do you have any bass guitars you remember being for sale that you just for some reason or the other were not able to buy or were too indecisive that you left it too long before someone else bought them?

I have a few in mind, not that my life depended on getting them, but they were:

!. A pre-CBS sunburst P-Bass I was offered with Traynor amp for $500 in 1975 I couldn't afford because I was just married and saving to buy land to build a house.

2. A local shop had one of those Dan Armstrong Ampeg lucite basses I just couldn't bring myself to spend on.

3. Same shop had a vintage Danelectro short scale for sale on another occasion. I was gonna bring an amp up to try it out but it got sold before I could.

I still regret letting this one slip away.
Not easy finding another.

 

[NoSlapForYou]

Wow. That's stunning.

I actually regret not buying this one. I saw it before I joined this site. I've seen 5 strings with a similar color scheme since, but never another 4.

SOLD - Blue and Gold Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray

 

[Black_In_Mind]

There was a Greco jazz bass that popped up on ebay not long after I picked up my first jazz bass that made me drool.

It was similar to this but had both the Greco bridge cover and pickup cover, thumbrest, and "Greco Super Sounds" on the headstock. IIRC the asking price was a bit on the high end but I didn't care as I fell in love with the bass just from the photos. The problem? I could afford the bass but since it was the end of the month (when I have the least amount of disposable income after bills are taken care of) I would have risked not having enough money for food or gas to carry me till the next paycheck so I had to let it go. It sold a week later and I have yet to run into another Greco bass like that one.

 

[jamro217]

I appreciate all of you trying to cheer me up over my loss, but it feels almost cruel to 'like' a post where someone else suffers from such devastation.

 

[m-j]

My case was never got away, but not really able to use. The pic in my sig has my very first MIJ Fender Precision bought in 1988. Getting the opportunity to meet one of my bass heroes 15 years later I thought, "Heck, why not get him to sign the back of the headstock." OK no problem. Follow that with more meetings of other bass legends over the years and a band providing all their signatures, and next thing I know, the front and back body, along with the headstock, has autographs. Yes, I can play the bass, but only had it for backup, and when brought to gigs, never left my side.

Last year via Craigs List I was able to snag same exact bass, but one year older, so now I can use that one as my backup, and hopefully the one with autographs will be sold and pay the bill when my kids get to Harvard (sarcasm alert).

 

[DELACIUS]

I posted these in other threads, so I looked them up & copied them here. They still stand!

The first that comes to mind for me... I had my eye on a Pedulla Hexabuzz in Emerald Green at Kurosawa in Japan since November/December 2017. I had saved the link in my favorites and I'd open it occasionally to dream, looking at the pictures. My wife and I were even planning a trip to Japan in February. I was planning to go to the shop to try, and buy if I liked it. Around the middle of January, the instrument was sold. For me, that is "the one that got away" I regretted the most.

July 2019 on Reverb, there was an Alembic Epic 6 that sold for $1425. I just missed it by 2 days. I would have purchased if it was still available on my payday.

From TalkBass Classifieds, there have been a few "Basses that got away." All missed due to lack of money at the time.

This Ritter Jupiter 6 sold by @DELACIUS

This FBass AC6 sold by @Mik Walker

This Pedulla MVP 6 sold by @DarnellBass

This Wal Mk3 6 sold by @BWorm

Some GAS items in general, without specific links: I've always liked the Fender Steve Bailey signature and they occasionally appear between $1500-$1800, depending on their condition. A few times, I noticed Rickenbacker 4003sw on Reverb for $1200! I never seem to have the money whenever one appears for sale. I remember a used Roscoe SKB 3006 on Guitar Center for $1500.

Now that I see this post I'm thinking, ritter got away from me too... That was a great bass

 

[mongo2]

Easy for me...an early '60s Epiphone Newport bass (2+2 headstock) that I loved the sound of. It was in a local shop and I would frequently visit just to play it for a while but I couldn't afford it at the time. Shortly after it sold I found a used Epiphone EB0 for less than 5% of the cost of the Newport so I went with that for a similar thump.