worst you've broken a bass.

[SamanthaCay]

I'm afraid not… That was over 30 years ago I was too young to have the foresight to try to preserve the instrument in any way. I am pretty sure I burned the evidence!

Ha yeah hindsight is 20/20 as they say I destroyed a few guitars in my youth as well

 

[Yango]

I'm ashamed to say it, but a myself and a friend reduced his first instrument to splinters after he bought a new one. I'm not sure why, but he decided that it had to go the way of Hendrix and Townsend's guitars. We tossed it off his balcony multiple times, did the axe with it on his cement garage floor, whacked trees with it, jumped on it, threw it down stairs... pretty much anything you can think of... although, I don't think we set it on fire, come to think of it. We probably weren't allowed to play with matches.

 

[Antisyzygy]

My p bass's output Jack ripped out and tore all the wires attached to it out. It also broke the the pickguard. What's your story?

Recently I tried pulling a 9v battery out of my acoustic bass and it totally ripped the black battery connector off the wire. I had to rewire it, and the wires were so short it was a PITA. To add insult to injury, one of them had fallen in the fricking guitar body so I had to fish it out.

There's nothing else substantial I did myself really aside from dings here or there, which happens.

My tech's router broke once and took a huge gouge out of the side of the cavity being made, but I covered it up with a pickup ring. That sucked but he didn't charge me for the work or parts, and gave me a free setup + strings so I walked away at least content but not happy. I don't think it was 100% their fault, but part of me wonders. You can't tell it happened anymore since it's covered up, otherwise I might be more upset.

 

[CicadaSilence]

Sawed the heastock off my Beatle Bass copy...I was bound and determined to make a headless bass. The project ended right after I cut off the headstock and realized I was in over my head. I wish I hadn't done that to my very first bass, no matter how crappy it was.

I like this story. More Beatle Basses should be decapitated.

 

[Mikey F]

When I was 15 I filed down frets to try to get rid of fret buzz. Super smart.

 

[godofthunder59]

I broke my 67 Gibson EB3 in half pounding a E bar cord at the seventh fret. The bass just folded. I did fix it good as new.

 

[Jackers]

I smashed a neck pickup on stage while slapping once.

 

[stigbeve]

I've only chipped the clear on the bottom (near strap button) of an '82 Stingray I used to own.
Still, it broke my heart.

As far as cabs, I used to have a Basson 210. Thing was huge and heavy for a 2 x 10. One time when setting
up our band's studio we kept getting feedback from the monitors, so my dumb arse sets my bass down against
the cab with the bass volume still up. Feedback starts and I think it's the monitors again. But no, it destroyed one
of the speakers. Basson was still in biz back then so just ordered a replacement and all was good.

Second time I blew both speakers when my cord turned the level up all the way on my B3K (knobs are taped now).

Ended up giving the cab away with 2 blown speakers but stole a Tecamp 410 off of Craigslist

 

[veebass]

I have broken a truss rod in a 4003. Very bad feeling when the nut sheared off. Wasn't a huge amount of pressure required either. I then learned how to extract and replace a 4003 truss rod.

 

[Kustom_Thunder]

i was playing the closing song of my old bands set a cupple years back when my bass started to go out of tune. i then became aware the the action was getting relly high. then the neck just came off of my p bass poped out and fell to the ground. in a fit of rage I decided to throw the whole mess off the stage brakeing the head stock off the neck.

that was a fun night

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

I was doing an impression of old school Elvis Costello one evening for the entertainment of a couple ladies I had at my place. doing the crazy dance while playing and singing "Pump It Up" on my trusty yamaha classical guitar.
kinda got out of hand, as they were enjoying it.
I danced myself right into my upright bass, snapped the neck right off the body.
the look on the girls faces was priceless as I kept playing and singing.

Took it to a reputable luthier and he reset the neck, added a support block, and it plays just fine even today. granted, it is not a high end bass, just a Cremona SB-3 I think.

but damn, that dance got me what I looking for that evening and then some, so it was worth it. totally worth it.

And this was not in my 20's either, I did this when I was like, 38 years old.

 

[bolophonic]

I have honestly never broken a bass in my life. Couple of dings and dents.

 

[thabassmon]

Compared to these stories I've done next to no damage. The worst I've done was my strap slipped off the peg and the neck hit a grand piano. It caused some minute cracks where the tuner stay screws are
The piano had a bigger ding.

 

[PWRL]

So far, the worst I've done is to accidentally bang the headstock into a mic stand and leave in impression of the knurled knob on the side of the headstock. What should have probably been the worst was not bad at all. My old Rick 4001 fell out of its old case, as the latches were vintage as well, and it fell out, flipped over in the air and landed between a big old sea chest and my other Rick in its case. I thought it would have a tuner smashed off or a cracked neck, but there was only a small ding that blended in easily with the other dings from years gone by.

 

[blowinblue]

I broke a string once. I've been on medication ever since.

M. M.

 

[Brundlefly]

If what you mean "broken" is my ham fisted attempt at wrangling some kind of sound out of the thing........what was the question again?

 

[I Need a six...]

In the early 80s sometime, I watched in horror as my Alembic Series 1 fell over from its guitar stand and the headstock (well, the part of the neck where the tuners are) broke right off. I was positively horrified. A drunk woman jumped on the stage on my side and ran across the front of the stage toward the guitar player (figures, right?). It was quite a scene, the headstock flying violently from the strings releasing suddenly. We stopped the set, I regained my composure, and packed the parts up as best I could. When I got home, I check with the old piano tuner in town that built his own soundboards and pin blocks, figuring he knew a thing or two about glueing wooded things under a lot of tension. He managed to glue the headstock back on. I wish I knew what glue he used, but I can't remember. We let it sit for 4 days, then we put strings on, raising them to pitch slowly. The repair held, and I played the bass for another 3 years, finally selling it to another player, with full disclosure about the repair, who played it for many years, when I finally lost track of him.

Watched a buddies Ric 4001 get knocked off it's stand by a drunken idiot at a college gig, the head snapped off and whanged back into the body, leaving a nice big ding. He wept bitter tears of woe. In my hack college band, the drummer took an overzealous solo, flung a stick and put a nice drumstick head-sized ding between the bridge and rear pup on my Jetglo Ric. More bitter tears.

Wow, in high school i beat the crap out of a kid who chipped the paint on my bass, I'd hate to see what would happen if some drunken fool broke my alembic or rickenbacher, I know I'd end up In a jail cell that's for sure.

 

[thunderbird&eb-3_564]

Great stories everyone!!! Keep 'em coming!!!!!!

 

[Stealth Fighter]

So no brokenness but I had a cat knock over a p bass once, it was fine and still in tune.

Did the cat live?

 

[SamanthaCay]

Did the cat live?

Well yeah, it was my fault for leaving it out in a stand and half obscuring a door way.
I had also taken a mouse away from her the day prior which may have played a part.