What do you do with a bass that "died?"

[klyph]

I am still interested in the question of what people do with a "dead" bass in general, apart from my individual situation.

There is a wood turning club near me. If the bass in question was nice looking wood like yours, I would strip the electronics and hardware and donate it to be sliced into turning blanks. I did this many years ago with an SD Curlee bass. Plain/painted wood can go into the scrap bin, or the wood stove.

 

[GIBrat51]

I'd make a clock out of it; hang it on the wall; and die with a smile, knowing that it will be a bone of contention for my kids; Throw the @#!!*$ thing away, or keep it 'cause it's a family heirloom. Or, leave it to the most obnoxious brat, and make sure it winds up on their wall...

 

[hrodbert696]

So follow-up to this thread: I took it to the local music tech shop today (the same ones who looked at it before) and dropped it off. It will probably be a while, but they say they'll refret it, remove the board, fix or replace the truss rod, possibly install a set of carbon fiber rods to stiffen it, and put it all back together. The job will cost as much as I paid for the bass in the first place, but I figure it's worth it to get a unique instrument playing again.

 

[DWBass]

Contact Johnny Lee Long. I'm betting he could bring this bass back to life.

 

[hrodbert696]

Update: She lives! It took a while, but the shop finally completely rebuilt the neck and added carbon fiber rods. I got her back a couple of days ago and am getting reconnected. Plays like a dream now. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me that the repair was worth it. You were right.

 

[Geogio]

It's been about fourteen years since I started playing, and now a new milestone - one of my basses died on me. By which I mean, it needs a repair that I'm unlikely to have done.

The bass is "Looney Toon" - a 5er made by John Toon out in Kansas City (he used to be on TB, but haven't seen him in a while). It's one of a kind, very light and perfectly balanced, which is part of why I love it. It has a slim 35" scale set neck, which is great to play but is also probably the problem. I had to have it heat-treated to straighten out a warp some years ago already. Now the neck is bowed and the truss rod is frozen. I think it may just be too slim to stay stable at its scale length. Since it's a set neck (and custom) I can't just swap it out, and fixing it would mean disassembling and rebuilding the whole thing. That looks to cost about as much as I paid for it in the first place, and given the history, I'm concerned the problem might just happen again.

So what do you do with a bass that you can't play any more? Throw it in the trash? Make it a wall hanging? Leave it in a gig bag to collect dust in the basement and let your kids throw it out when you die? What?

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I just noticed that you set this bass next to a wood burning stove. Do you always store your bass next to a wood burning stove? Or is it just a prop and a woodsy down home pose or are you trying to scare the truss rod into working again? Is the truss rod actually frozen?

 

[hrodbert696]

I just noticed that you set this bass next to a wood burning stove. Do you always store your bass next to a wood burning stove? Or is it just a prop and a woodsy down home pose or are you trying to scare the truss rod into working again? Is the truss rod actually frozen?

That was an old picture I happened to have of the bass from seven or eight years ago. My office/practice space had that stove but we almost never actually used it.

 

[ac100X]

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I would make this playable.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Bury it in the yard

But then it grows and you have rake up Bass leaves in the Fall.

 

[direktor]

I would fix it no matter what the cost!

@hrodbert696, I'll buy it

@REMBO, gimme a day or two, my Zelle is [email protected]

 

[GoesThump]

Leave it in a gig bag to collect dust in the basement and let your kids throw it out when you die? What?

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This is what I'd do. Not what I'd recommend, mind you, but what I'd be likely to do.

Seriously though, I'd go for the "remove the fret board/fix the rod" approach if you really like it/have the cash. If not, sell it as-is w/full disclosure & see if you can get a few bucks. I bet someone will go for it as a project.

GT

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Update: She lives! It took a while, but the shop finally completely rebuilt the neck and added carbon fiber rods. I got her back a couple of days ago and am getting reconnected. Plays like a dream now. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me that the repair was worth it. You were right.

YAY!!!

Glad it is back to a player.

ENJOY!