I mean currently they're "mine" which is to say they are in my possession. They won't be forever, as I may sell them, trade them, and ultimately when my time comes they will belong to someone else. But as to how I know they're mine? None of my basses are 100% stock. Several are parts-basses that I've assembled based on hardware, pickup, aesthetic preferences. The bad solder joints are there as proof.
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What makes it your bass?
- Thread starter Dlew919
- Start date
SR300E. I bought it in summer 2019.Paint is chipped from the jack tunnel, after I tried to put a wireless in there. A bigger bit is missing, from when we fell off my cycle.
SR600E. I bought it in July 2021, with the money I got from my girlfriend's will.
SR2600. It was bought in October 2023. I lifted it from the wallhanger in the shop and thought 'Mine'. I'd gone to try it out as being as light as the 300E, with the active/passive switch of the 600E.
I LOVE that first one in the row. If I show up at your gig and that bass disappears, I had nothing to do with it
This one is mine. Tru oil finish on that gorgeous birdseye neck, sketchy body refinish included. Audere Pre - Nordstrand pickups. Sounds like a beast.
A few things that make each of them 'mine':
- I paid for them
- On each one, bass side of the front pickup cover is worn smooth from my thumb riding it as an anchor (and the plastic ring on my '90 Peavey actually has a small indentation from years of being used as a thumb anchor)
- Solid pickup covers on my jazz, because I don't like feeling exposed pole pieces
- Low-but-not-slammed action - just a bit of buzz when digging in, fast all the time
- The fact that they are ridiculously clean, free of major dings/dents/scars because I'm so meticulous (or maybe obsessive) about things staying shiny and nice
$299 and it holds its own against a lot of other basses I have played. Not all, but a lot!!
I designed it and I built it.
Even my parts bass was my own creation.
Even my parts bass was my own creation.
My fretless PJ: I gathered the parts and put them together.
My Schecter Stiletto Session: Apparently I'm the only person who bought this model.
My Schecter Stiletto Session: Apparently I'm the only person who bought this model.
Was tempted to add another snarky response, but will instead tell a short story. In 2004 our house was broken into and (among many other things) a pretty unique bass was stolen - it was my 1995 (ish) Fender P-Lyte which I had converted to lined fretless. In addition to that mod, there were marks on the lower bout from when I would percussively hit it with my wedding ring during a certain song. The bass turned up in a pawn shop about a year later - a friend of mine spotted it. The pawn shop owner quizzed me about the details over the phone to see if he was convinced it was mine (I had no receipt, etc.). I described the marks in the wrong place, so he wouldn't give it back to me. I didn't feel like quibbling, so I bought it (again) for something like $200. Always thought it was somehow tainted after that though, and ended up giving it to a friend.
In my case- for my #1 bass it's a warmoth build I custom ordered all the parts to my specs and put together ~17 years ago and then gigged all over creation with so it's full of battle dings and road scars that are mine and mine alone. No pictures of it because my kids made stickers with their pictures on it and put them on that bass (and I love that) but I don't put photos of my kids faces on the internet- so that's that.
For my #2 bass, it's this JMJ that I modded a lot. It's now a JC MJT JMJ, lol!
- the mods:
For my #2 bass, it's this JMJ that I modded a lot. It's now a JC MJT JMJ, lol!
- the mods:
- swapped to a custom WD tortpickguard
- copper shielded all cavities
- rosewood thumb rest
- swapped to custom pink moog-style knobs
- carved a forearm cut
- carved a contoured heel
- redrilled the neck and heel to fit a contoured heel neckplate (currently in the process of carving/engraving a blank nickel neck plate to swap this fender-branded one for)
- stripped the "road worn" daphne blue off and sent to MJT for shell pink nitro refinish
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That’s easy!
The precise non-professional application of grounding paint in all the body cavities.
The precise non-professional extra grounding of pots to the bridge, grounding paint, etc.
The precise non-professional task of wrapping a straw with copper foil and inserting it into the wire hole for the neck pickup wires to go through.
But… The most important…
A golf club address label on the back of the neck plate.
The precise non-professional application of grounding paint in all the body cavities.
The precise non-professional extra grounding of pots to the bridge, grounding paint, etc.
The precise non-professional task of wrapping a straw with copper foil and inserting it into the wire hole for the neck pickup wires to go through.
But… The most important…
A golf club address label on the back of the neck plate.
I LOVE that first one in the row. If I show up at your gig and that bass disappears, I had nothing to do with it
I'll keep that in mind when completing the police report Rich
It was my son's take on what I thought was the best finish ever, Clapton's Crash #1, that I saw him playing on the Concert for George. We discussed adding some colors and avoiding the gray. And that's also where any similarity between Clapton's and my ability to play.
I forgot about my #3 which never actually gets played-
- an 80s Peavey Patriot that was my first bass as a kid. I had to replace tuners and then in my teens I stripped the finish off and painted it a blue that's since fallen off. In my 20s, I tried to Jaco it and ripped the frets out, filled them with wood filler and epoxied the neck.
It's a boat anchor, but it's my boat anchor!
True, but resale value is never a factor in my decision of whether or not to buy a bass. I figure if I'm considering resale value then I'm not really committed to keeping the bass. In which case, why am i buying it in the first place?
