What bass do you regret selling? Was it love?

[vinorange]

I just saw a pic of a bkack 4001 on bass players united and it reminded me of a regretful sale.

Hopefully this won't sound like our tune (Simon Bates from the 80s.......)

I bought a 74 ricky 4001 from music ground in leeds in 2000. It was stripped to the wood and sporting incorrect tuners, incorrect bridge and a jazz pick up in the bridge position. Having sourced all period correct parts, it was rewired and refinished back to original vintage white. It played like a dream, having been chosen on playability and I let it go about 4 years ago.

Unfortunately I sold it to fund a modulus VJ4 which happens to be the only other bass I regret selling.

How stupid is that.

Edited February 14, 2017 by vinorange

[scalpy]

Traded in a MIM P from the 80s with a bill Lawrence pickup for a 50w JCM800, which promptly spent the rest of its career breaking down. Top of my gas list since joining here- a nice solid P.

[Muzz]

I sold a Jetglo 4001 in the mid-80s for a couple of hundred quid. I'd have it back, just so I could get the proper money for it. I certainly wouldn't keep it...

[mybass]

In the days of black and white I traded in a 4001 stereo for a Gibson Les Paul Bass, had a new neck put on to make it 34" scale with a bass clef inlay at the 12th fret, by Dick Knight. Fantastic job done, I later sold or traded or swapped it.
Any Basschatter got this bass, I wonder?

[Bassassin]

My first decent bass was a 1981 Washburn B20 Stage series, which I sold after 3 or 4 years to buy an Aria Pro RSB Deluxe. Those Washburns - built to an incredibly high standard by Yamaki, a fairly short-lived high-end Japanese manufacturer - are like the proveribial rocking horse droppings these days and I do wish I still had it. The Aria was a great bass and far more practical & versatile, but as far as build and craftsmanship's concerned, the Washboard was in a completely different league.

More recently, I kinda wish I'd kept a lovely SQ serial Precision I managed to pick up for a steal. Never been a P user but this one was something special, sounded & played sublime and the wood and quality of finish were just mouth-watering. At the time, renovating & selling instruments was a necessary supplement to my income so I had no real choice - but still...

[RhysP]

My Zons because they were superb & I'll never be able to afford basses like that again.

[AndyTravis]

I went through a crap separation with my first daughters mum.

During that time I bought a Custom Shop 64 jazz, Olympic White, Matching headstock - the best neck I've ever played, 8lbs, just a stupidly resonant bass - sounds silly but notes 'spoke'.

Recorded and gigged it, some of the best times of my musical 'career' - sold out some big venues on that last tour.

Anyhow, things took a turn and I met Mrs Travis. To get married I sold said white jazz bass. Broke one part of my heart while another was healed forever.

That was 5 years ago.

Then, a twist of fate...

https://instagram.com/p/BP-i_3Tgl3U/
https://instagram.com/p/BP8li26AKRL/

It's home. Such a special bass.

[TheGreek]

Errrr...regret selling nearly everything I've sold....in particular?

Both my Status Kingbasses, Veillette Citron fretless, my 92 MM Ray (lovely neck, far better than the 2004 that I replaced it with), a Shuker Jazz fretless...

Please don't make me re-live this....

[Skybone]

My Jetglo 4003, and possibly a blond '89 Stingray.

[vinorange]

That reminds me that in my search for "that bass" I may have regretfully discarded more than just the ricky and my modulus.

I had an imported usa g&l l2000 before they were popular. I imported it for around £500 from the US. It was black with the slimmer jazz style maple neck and played like a dream. My only reason for selling was that there were that many tonal options that I could never settle on the right one (aka my own ignorance).

That's 3 then. There's probably more.

[Norris]

My azureglo 4002. I part exchanged it for next to no value on an Aria SB-1000. That is a cracking bass too but I do miss that Ric. My current 4003 is not as nice

[Marty Forrer]

1964 red L series Fender Jazz. It had the mojo, but I was in desperate need of cash in the mid 90s. Also an EUB I made myself I know where it is, but the guy won't sell it back to me. He's had it for 19 years now.

[Painy]

A few years ago I sold my Warwick Streamer Stage 1 5 string to help fund my divorce from the former Mrs Painy so that I could marry the current Mrs Painy.
Given the massive price increase Warwicks have undergone in recent years in unlikely to ever afford another.
However, I did indeed get to marry my wonderful wife and I actually originally joined Basschat to try to sell that bass so I'm grateful to have found this community in the process.

[JapanAxe]

The only bass sale I regret at all was my CIJ '62 RI Precision in Fiesta Red. I bought a Sandberg VM4 and suddenly the P seemed superfluous. There is a sort of happy ending though, as I now have a CIJ '57 RI P in CAR/anodised, and have done the upgrades on it that I should really have done on the Fiesta one!

[vinorange]

It's the basses that are becoming classics and played like a dream that are galling.

A rare 74 white 4001. How stupid.
A rare modulus vj4 that played better than anything I ever owned.

What was i thinking?

On a similar note, aren't those basses that we all thought were crap in the 80s selling for a fortune now?
When did satellite, columbus and kay become good? And collectable?

[Deedee]

There have been a couple of regrets in very recent years.

A 2010 black and maple US Fender P bought from Pestie and sold to Lozz (it was his originally a good while before). It had a few minor dents on the body but played beautifully. The pain of getting rid of this has only been eased by the MIJ 70's reissue P I picked up last year which plays equally well.

The other regret was a 2005 Honeyburst and rosewood 3 band Stingray. The best playing Stingray I have ever had. Sold to BigThumb (I think) as I'd just been rather extravagant and bought a Wal. The Wal spent most of its time hanging on the wall as I was terrified of taking it out to the local Dog & Duck. The Wal therefore departed and I do often wonder where that lovely Stingray ended up. I'd be pretty tempted to have it back should it come up again.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Deedee

[LukeFRC]

I found an old 1975 Cimar Jazz bass in a glasgow junk shop £50 I think. Ash and maple, Horrid bridge and missing a tuner part, with the help of the amazing [b]Bassassin[/b] and a bridge I fixed it up and sold it to a friend. Only way I could justify spending the money at the time.

But it was one of the nicest sounding, most utterly fun rewarding things to play ever.

The annoying thing is that my friend who has it knows that too!

[FinnDave]

I swapped a new Jazz bass for a Precision last November. Bought it back 2 or 3 weeks ago. Bought and sold plenty of indifferent basses over the years, but that was one of the few I missed, and the only one I have bought twice!

[Hamstar8]

A custom shop 62 p bass, ebony fretboard, heavy relic , vintage white, traded at bass direct about 3 years ago, been looking for it ever since... what was I thinking

[Bassassin]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1487114423' post='3237310']
...with the help of the amazing [b]Bassassin[/b]...
[/quote]

[alyctes]

I regret selling my old Yamaha BBN5. My first fiver, and if I still had it I might still be pllaying them.

[miles'tone]

My late-80s Stingray. Translucent red, rosewood board, 2eq, Bridge with mutes, an added Duncan hot jazz pickup in the middle position, worn finish on the top arm contour, tinted flame maple neck, EB "Stingraybass" logo.
Sold in 2002 in Stepney Green to a couple of guys starting a studio.

Any basschatters now own this bass? 🙏

[silverfoxnik]

I've regretted selling quite a few of my old basses over the years;

My first Rick 4001 I traded for a P Bass in 1982, which I then sold - I regret both those going!

But there's been so many other basses that have come and gone since then, I've kind of lost count (or I'm going senile a tad earlier than expected).

Time to make a list I think...??

On the plus side, I'm really happy with the basses I have now, so maybe it's not all too bad! 😀

[ChunkyMunky]

I had a gorgeous Musicman Bongo 5HS (LTD-2007) that I had to sell to eat and pay the bills after I was signed off sick after a head injury at work. That went with a lot of my other gear. As much of a shame as that is, there's always better and I tend to find that the previous basses that we have had and lost before are merely representations of what we like as well as the sentimental ties to go with it.

Happy story in the end, I bought another Bongo 5HH in the end. It doesn't have quite the same mojo as the former Bongo but it makes up for it in other ways. 'Tis better to have and lost than not at all.

[joeystrange]

I sold an early '80s Vox Custom on here a while back.

Part of me kind of regrets selling it but only because it was my first bass and I learned to play on it.
However I hadn't touched it for over a decade and didn't really like the way it played so the other part of me is happy knowing it went somewhere that it was appreciated.