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Which Bass do you most regret selling?

#183
SJan3 said:
My '66 Jazz Bass I bought new.
Who new it would be worth so much more than the fretless P bass I took in trade for it.
Live and learn..
Click to expand...

A three tone burst with blocks 66 Jazz is one of my bucket list basses. I've played a few over the years that were absolutely remarkable. Unfortunately they were going for somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000 each

About 12 years ago a guy in my area had one for sale and was (only) asking $5,500 for it. Had I known that they go for much more, I would have snagged it

I also missed out on a good deal on a Wal MK2 about 20 years ago (another bucket list bass).
 
#184
Sold a MIM Jazz 5 which I had spend some $ getting the frets levelled and perfectly setup to my liking. I decided it wasn't getting used so I let it go.....much cheaper than I should have especially looking at pricing they are getting today. Now I find myself wanting a 5 again and kicking myself repeatedly.
 
#185
While I really regret selling a '65 Olympic White Precision and near-mint '66 sunburst P, at least I got good (for the time) money AND I may be able to find these again given the funds.
The bass I regret most for selling is a Kay 5925 ... gone for a $200 money-grab circa 1992. Not a relic or museum piece ... a player that I used a lot.

kay bass.jpeg
 
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#187
I owned the last Tobias Classic Serial # 2044 Michael Tobias made before selling his company to Gibson and I made the worst mistake a person could make by selling a vintage instrument and not only that it was the last one he made. I know what a dumb A%$ I regret it every time I think about it. With that said If someone is out there in TB world that has this bass I will pay you top dollar to get it back, all jokes aside !!!!
 
#188
I also need to mention my Fender Jaguar, it was a Japanese re-issue, the first re-issue since the Jag was dropped in 75. I bought it new for £750, it had an Alder body with Buttermint finish and tort pick guard and gold fittings, it came in a tweed looking Tolex case with all the candy. I've never been able to find another in that spec. If you're thinking of selling an axe, think really hard about it[/QUOTE]

My MIJ Jag is staying with me to the grave!!!! But the one I most regret selling was my 1st Dan Armstrong bass (the original issue). I was screwed like an ugly prostitute on that because I needed rent money desperately! Lesson learned and I haven't been in that 'position' since! (Sorry if I offended ugly prostitutes)
 
#189
bizzybass said:
In 92 or 93 I let go of a yellow Ironbird. Although I regretted it I wasn't in the position financially to own more than one bass at the time.
If I wanted to continue playing with the changing scenery music it wasn't going to be with a yellow ironbird bass. As it turns out the alternative and grunge scene was just as vain as the 80s metal, right?View attachment 3468788
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I would kill to have that in my collection right now.....
 
#190
"Most regret" would be my Pedulla Rapture fretless 5, the single humbucker version. It was lightweight, and played and sounded amazing. I sold it trying to prevent a foreclosure that happened anyway back when the housing market crashed a decade-ish ago.

But there are some "honorable mentions" ...
  • A MIJ fretless Jazz that Mike Lull had done extensive work on, including replacing the fingerboard with a gorgeous slab of ebony.
  • A parts bass fretless precision that was somehow way beyond the sum of its parts
  • My very first bass, a gorgeous swamp-ash bodied, natural finish Peavey Foundation
  • My EBMM Caprice that I had to sell recently
 
#191
nozkcb said:
A three tone burst with blocks 66 Jazz is one of my bucket list basses. I've played a few over the years that were absolutely remarkable. Unfortunately they were going for somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000 each

About 12 years ago a guy in my area had one for sale and was (only) asking $5,500 for it. Had I known that they go for much more, I would have snagged it

I also missed out on a good deal on a Wal MK2 about 20 years ago (another bucket list bass).
Click to expand...
Actually, my '66 had dots on the fretboard but still had the binding. Transitional I think but a very nice bass as well as I can recall.
 
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#192
For years I had a white King Mortone bass stored at my parents' house. When they made the move from the big house to the smaller house, I had to get it 2,000 miles to my home or do something with it. I sold it, and never should have. I realized too late that I had friends in town who would have been willing to keep it for me until I figured out what to do with it.

It was similar to this one...

300px-1957_King_Mortone_Double_Bass_-_Blonde_Finish.jpg
 
#195
Well there are:
3 I wish I had now, yet sold 'cuz they were not my "style": Samick 5 Pearl white & Gold, a late '70's(?) Rick stereo with checkerboard around, and a super rare Moonstone with Bartolini's.
3 that should have sold to me & I wish I had bought when given the opportunity- a 6x2 12-string bass and a 4x3 12 string bass, neither one of which I can really recall the brands of with clarity, and a Carvin 4/6 Doubleneck in Maple natural,
But there is one that I sold that I really regretted and have looked out for ever since- till really recently .
She was a 1978 B.C.Rich Mockingbird in natural Bird's-eye maple.
1333899859856.jpg

I sold her to a buddy who was like a bro to me and she was lost in a bad real estate deal he lived thru. That was almost 20 years ago, I guess. I looked every once in a while at ads and classifieds here & there and never could find any quite like her, even when I had the means to buy. It was in being a member of a forum on FB that this story gets good for me.
Another member of a certain BCRich group posts pics of axes that he sees that are selling and he shares these with the group. One day recently he posts a pic of a 'Bird Bass selling on Reverb, gorgeous birds-eye blonde, all stock. Piques my interest, so I go look at it on Reverb and it seems a bit familiar to me, so I research a little deeper and find that there is evidence to suggest that it could possibly be my old 'Bird, maybe. Either way, I like her & the timing is right enough and so I buy her a ticket to 'Vegas.
When she arrived I was thrilled just to have a way badass, vintage 'Bird again. As I lifted her out of the case I could not help noticing a peculiar, yet familiar "birthmark" that I had not seen in any of the pics. A ripple in the grain of the wood on the back of the thru neck about in the middle of the bass was the unforgettable piece of the puzzle that cinched it- SHE IS MY OLD 'BIRD!!
Mock12.jpg
Mock5.jpg
My regrets about this Bass are now exchanged for a mild feeling of pity for my wallet. That should pass fairly quickly, and if not, I can SOOO live with that!
 
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#199
At this point, none, no regrets. Every bass I've sold has been replaced by or traded for something that I like better. I've only been through 10 basses in 10 years though, so that's not so bad. I currently own 3 and have an eye for one more.
 

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