buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Hold onto the bass for now as wall art. When more cash is available, consider getting the work done. That's a purdy bass.
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What do you do with a bass that "died?"
- Thread starter hrodbert696
- Start date
The most value you can get out of it would probably be donating it to Goodwill and writing it off if you itemize. Otherwise, sell the parts, you can ship those cheaply. Sell the body locally as wall art. Probably net $100 that way and it’s unlikely you could sell it as a whole as a bass needing $600+ in repairs.
I'm amassing a collection of failed builds from my past (and maybe future) that I'm hoping to make into wall art some day. Or build them into a bar or something. So that would be where my head is at.
As for yours, it may be worth an attempt at fixing (I always love a challenge like that) and like some have said, put super light strings on it if it seems like it's gonna be a chronic problem.
Or yeah, sell it for cheap to someone who wants to get into a project like either removing the board, neck, or all sorts of other uber-laborious tasks.
As for yours, it may be worth an attempt at fixing (I always love a challenge like that) and like some have said, put super light strings on it if it seems like it's gonna be a chronic problem.
Or yeah, sell it for cheap to someone who wants to get into a project like either removing the board, neck, or all sorts of other uber-laborious tasks.
Hold onto it! If you're like me, you'll regret getting rid of it.
I have a USA Fender Precision neck with an annoying twist in it. I replaced the neck, and now the twisted neck hangs on my basement wall as a reminder to other poorly behaved bass and guitar necks.
Thought about making it a hall pass for my classroom.
Thought about making it a hall pass for my classroom.
He was not. I wouldn't be surprised if that were his father or a relative, though. Unfortunately no listing next of kin.
Until you decide a course of action, perhaps downtune a whole step or more and employ a capo to play it as a medium or short scale—if you love playing it and it's playable under these conditions.
If I liked it enough I'd at least get a pro assessment and an estimate for that work if they think it's viable. If not hang it on the wall, or maybe make a floor lamp out of it.
I have a newish Strat neck with a nice looking purple metallic headstock and a bad truss rod. I plan to make a table lamp out of it. A bass floor lamp would go nicely with it.
There’s other solutions as well. Since you’re considering it trash as is, a risky attempt doesn’t mean so much, only ruining something that’s already ruined to you. Have you tried additional washers under the truss Rod nut?
Depending how thick the fingerboard is you could also just get it as close to flat as you can, then level the frets, or even defret and then level the board if it’s a bit more than the frets could take. Depending on what type of truss Rod he used you may be able to slide it out and slide in a new one. It all depends on how much time and money you wanna toss at it, but there are indeed multiple ways to skin this cat.
Cutting the neck off altogether and routing a neck pocket may be the best for long term playability.
Depending how thick the fingerboard is you could also just get it as close to flat as you can, then level the frets, or even defret and then level the board if it’s a bit more than the frets could take. Depending on what type of truss Rod he used you may be able to slide it out and slide in a new one. It all depends on how much time and money you wanna toss at it, but there are indeed multiple ways to skin this cat.
Cutting the neck off altogether and routing a neck pocket may be the best for long term playability.
Anything is fixable. Get a luthier to remove the fingerboard and add carbon fibre reinforcement to stiffen the neck. It won't be cheap, but it'll fix the neck issue, and you'll have an awesome bass back into circulation.
You shouldn't think of it in terms of what it cost, but what it will cost to replace. New high-quality mass-produced basses now cost north of a grand, even from companies known for doing good work economically like Ibanez. A handbuilt multi-laminate bass can easily cost close to that in parts and lumber alone.
If you can't swing the money now, put it away until you can afford the repair. The upside is, as Bruce noted, it should call for removing and replacing the fretboard and trussrod, not the entire neck. You could also ask the luthier if it's possible to install reinforcement in the neck if it doesn't have any; carbon fiber will not add much weight if any, and the work won't be visible when the repair is complete.
It’s a cool artifact, at least. What does it cost you to keep it and/or possibly display it?
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If I wasn't emotionally attached it, I wouldn't sink that kind of money into a bass that isn't really worth that much. There seems to be quite a few posters who would be willing to give it a go, so list it in the classifieds with full disclosure.
