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Would you throw out an old bass?

#82
73BLow said:
I've been debating the same thing myself. I have an Ibanez acoustic electric and I can't get the Fishman sonicore tuner/eq/preamp to work or I would donate it to one of the local schools. I think I paid around $389 for it new almost 10 years ago and never really used it. Every now and then I try to source a replacement preamp but can't see putting another $100 into something I don't want.

If I leave it on the sidewalk in front of my house I'm sure it will disappear in minutes.
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rtslinger said:
Donate it to a school or Church
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As others have said, give it away. Back in college, I got angry, and put a fist through a beginners guitar. One of the ladies, a person who was not in my circle of influence, saw what I had done. A couple of days later, she gave me her personal guitar. That lady kept music in my life,
I gave two guitars to a local church, two years they sat on a shelf. I got them back. I am looking for homes for an acoustic guitar, and a mini squier.
Recently, while at church, I saw a new face in one of the choirs, a young man, who and his younger brother are being raised by an aunt. I handed over one of basses to him, with the understanding, he can use the bass any way he wants, as long as he is a choir member. His granddad, told me that he would buy an amp. I expect the kid to end in a garage band, something outside of church, his choir leader is not pro-bass. There's more to the story, as it hasn't finished. Apparently someone is giving the kid some flack. I not going to hold the kid to the terms of the verbal contract.

Bottom line (pun intended), find a home for the bass, some kid, somebody, Payforward.
 
#83
sowilson said:
Get it playable and then donate it to Goodwill (keep the receipt). Then at tax time deduct it as a charitable deduction.
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Goodwill is actually not that great. They are a for profit retail chain that has little to no overhead. They do not make contributions to the community, instead keeping the profits. Salvation Army is legit, tho
 
#85
If the thing is genuinely unplayable, then do what you want with it. If it plays okay though, and the electronics don't need a lot of work, I'd do as others have said and donate it to somebody or something. Heck, maybe put a "free to good home" ad on Craigslist or whatever service is local to you. Heck, maybe make a poster and put it on a cork board at a local church or something, chances are somebody knows somebody who'd want something like that - and unlike a lot of consumer electronics or appliances or foodstuffs, a bass guitar doesn't really go "bad" or become obsolete.

In the same vein though, some guitars and basses are made so cheaply as to be hardly playable when they're purchased, and only get worse from there. I'm not your mom, and I won't blame you for tossing it if that's all it's good for.
 
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#88
I found a decent acoustic guitar in the trash a while back. If you put it on the curb, there’s a good chance someone will snatch it up. Donating to a school would be ok, but it sounds like it needs some work. Giving a student a substandard bass might dissuade a prospective future player from Pursuing
 
#90
FugaziBomb said:
Goodwill is actually not that great. They are a for profit retail chain that has little to no overhead. They do not make contributions to the community, instead keeping the profits. Salvation Army is legit, tho
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In any case, who ever you give the bass to get a receipt so that you can support it as a deduction on your taxes. Goodwill, Salvation Army, school systems (especially if they have a program in place to accept donations), do this.
 
#91
Man... donate it to a school. Instruments live forever at schools. Someone used them to learn something, then they graduate and the instrment is picked up by someone else. To me, there is not a better option.

A close second is giving it to a kid who cant afford it. Or a parent of a kid who's broke and needs a christmaa present. These kinds of things change lives at best and at worst the bass will end up trashed where you're talking about putting it anyway.
 
#95
If donate it to an inner city music program or school. For me personally, it would be worth the $20 or so to replace a few pots and wires if need be to make it usable. If it's not playable or beyond functional repair, make it into a decoration.
 
#96
RichardW said:
I have an old bass--the first one I bought as part of a Hartke starter kit. It's an entry level instrument for sure. I haven't played it in in more than 10 years, having moved on to higher quality basses. Never gigged with it. It's not particularly beautiful. The last time I touched it, the electronics were kinda shot; I'm sure they've just decayed. I have no intention of playing it again, so it's been sitting around gathering dust.

I don't think it has any re-sale value and I'm not that much of a gear-head that I would rebuild or modify it.

I feel sort of bad thinking about putting it out in the trash.

What would you do with it?
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Yardsale, churches sometimes collect stuff to raise money in youth yard sales
 
#98
I did just a quick google search, looks like this is an organization in Philly which offers free and low cost music instruction to under privileged teens. I'm sure they have somebody there who would be happy to give this bass a tune-up, it could potentially be something that will change somebody's life.

Landing Page | Rock to the Future

I did something similar a few years ago, I had come into possession of several lower level guitars (silvertone, first act, etc) and a local foundation called Girls Rock was glad to have them.
 
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