2020 Gear Abstinence thread.....

[ProfJames 573]

2 hours ago, ead said:

Hopefully very soon.  Forecast was the end of the month so fingers crossed.

I'll sort out some recordings but please bear in mind my paying is a best absolutely average

Please don't think I am a Jaco!  Just nice to try and hear what is out there and see some new stuff.  It really is a cracking looking bass, I would need to sell a kidney at present as I have bought two Sandbergs and a Magnum in the last three months so I am skint.  Looking forward to hearing it and I hope it lives up to your expectations

[ead 1,202]

The bass is ready, collection on Monday

[Woodinblack 4,553]

51 minutes ago, ead said:

The bass is ready, collection on Monday

That is lovely. Still so tempted but.. Maybe when I get back up to £3k of gigging money!

[Crawford13 351]

On an Alpher related note my fretless is coming along nicely. 

[DaytonaRik 445]

If it's just bass gear then I've done reasonably well...if we're including studio gear...not so good!!!! 🤣

 

[ead 1,202]

Love the board on that fretless.  What's the full spec @Crawford13 ?

[Crawford13 351]

2 hours ago, ead said:

Love the board on that fretless.  What's the full spec @Crawford13 ?

1 piece Sapelle Body

Hard Ash Neck 34" Scale 

Macassar Ebony Fingerboard

1 Nordstrand Zen blade in bridge postion

Hipshot hardware

No controls

Edited October 7, 2020 by Crawford13

[ead 1,202]

Nice; love the simplicity of the entire package.

[Crawford13 351]

3 minutes ago, ead said:

Nice; love the simplicity of the entire package.

Thats the plan, I already have my "fancy" Alpher, and my Alpher guitar, both of which are incredible, so the fretless completes the package...That is until I decide I want a 6er lol

[ead 1,202]

Picked up the bass today.  Absolutely stunning in the flesh and beatiful to play.

[Crawford13 351]

Happy new bass day 

[Chiliwailer 806]

On 10/12/2019 at 20:46, Chiliwailer said:

I’m in  

Only went out last year as I downsized my pedals for a Helix Stomp and cashed in - the irony. 

Was chuffed not to buy a bass in 2019, and ended the year very happy with just my StingRay Special HH. I thought 2020 would be the same. 

But actually 2020 was the year of correcting mistakes... I was seriously lucky to be able to buy back my Lull PJ4 and my Old Smoothie StingRay. The Lull was stupidly sold due to getting back a 66P i once owned (and then sold again) and the Smoothie as we really needed the cash in a minor crisis - that bass has sentimental value too so I’m really pleased i just got it back today. 

I also corrected the mistake of selling my Modulus Flea by getting another, and got a Bravewood Jazz. 

Definitely joining the 2021 abstinence thread with high hopes and financial motivation 😚

Edited October 24, 2020 by Chiliwailer

[Storky 87]

I’m still in this year... kinda, I’ve ordered an Ibanez headless, if it ever comes into stock who knows, and I’ve also ordered a new double bass! So I’m about to crash out, but I’ve done well to hold off until November! And I’ve sold loads of stuff, so I’ll finish the year with less than I started! 😉

[Sibob 1,280]

I am currently mid-abstinence. When my Lakland DJ5 arrived in Sept, I told myself I wouldn't buy anything (other than consumables, per original rules haha) for 6 months.
And so, with best intentions, I'm looking to make no purchases until start of April 2021.

Although that depends if I can find a cheap HX Stomp

First bass after this round of self-induced hell will likely be a Lakland HB-30....in black. Yes please.

Si

[Storky 87]

And, I’m out. The Ibanez arrived but had to be returned as it had a cracked “headstock” (as others I’ve read here). But the double bass arrived in perfect order on a big truck from Germany. Still I made it to November, which is pretty good I think. 

[invertigo 63]

Replaced the wiring and pickups on my kit build P, so I guess that's me out. Reasonable effort at £50 spent all year though, I think!

Edited November 13, 2020 by invertigo

[Woodinblack 4,553]

36 minutes ago, Storky said:

And, I’m out. The Ibanez arrived but had to be returned as it had a cracked “headstock” (as others I’ve read here). But the double bass arrived in perfect order on a big truck from Germany. Still I made it to November, which is pretty good I think.

Do you have pictures of the headstock? Mine was broken and fixed / refunded. Just want to check it wasn't the same one

 

[Storky 87]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Do you have pictures of the headstock? Mine was broken and fixed / refunded. Just want to check it wasn't the same one

 

 

[Woodinblack 4,553]

49 minutes ago, Storky said:

 

Well, not the same neck as mine was the 1505, but the problem looks almost exactly the same as mine did

They need to get that problem fixed, because my replacement, it is one of my absolute favourites and it looks like yours is way newer than mine (my replacement was older), so it is still causing issues.

Also, write to Ibanez UK ( [email protected]) - I did, they were actually surprisingly responsive

 

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by Woodinblack

[Storky 87]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Well, not the same neck as mine was the 1505, but the problem looks almost exactly the same as mine did

They need to get that problem fixed, because my replacement, it is one of my absolute favourites and it looks like yours is way newer than mine (my replacement was older), so it is still causing issues.

Also, write to Ibanez UK ( [email protected]) - I did, they were actually surprisingly responsive

 

 

Thanks for the info; yes I will likely write. Mine was returned to PMT and I’m currently awaiting the replacement (due in about a week apparently).

[martthebass 755]

Still abstinent and now in week 44.......might be the first year in about the last 20 that no gear changes have occurred.  I've been close (very nearly sold my Starry Night Ray and very nearly my unmentionable bass that starts with a 4 and ends in a 3) but all are still present and accounted for.

The above said, the stage time this has been woefully poor for some reason.................. 

[Al Krow 5,005]

I've COMPLETELY failed on gear abstinence - I bought approx. 20 bits of kit during the year!!

But not all bad though... I did manage to move on even more bass gear (lots of pedals in particular) and I kinda feel a fair bit happier with the overall shape of what I've now got e.g. upgraded a BF SC for a BB2 and swapped out a Sire P7 PJ bass for a Yamaha BB735A PJ bass. And to my surprise, I also pretty much managed to break even which was a nice bonus. Normally my gear purchases are funded by gigs, but obviously that wasn't going to get me very far this year!

Some little things can make a big difference e.g. a Minotaur 4.3" strap has made me pick up and love playing a couple of my heavier basses in a way that I've not really done before, or a Zoom B1-4 multifx as an incredible value-for-money swiss army knife of a pedal.

Now what can I bung Santa's way to get me for Christmas?  😊

Edited December 5, 2020 by Al Krow

[silverfoxnik 969]

I'm sure this has been said already (and I'm very late to this thread admittedly), but what is Gear Abstinence exactly? 

I mean, is there a 'gear abstinence bosun' that scientists at CERN are actively looking for?

Or a team of mathematicians trying to solve the 'gear abstinence conundrum' hoping to win the Nobel maths prize for it.. Something a bit like this one maybe?.. which on balance, sounds quite close to gear abstinence actually ..

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang–Mills_existence_and_mass_gap

 

 

 

I mean, when I saw the 'it's the end of the world, help, the Apocalypse is coming! ' movie Deep Impact some years back, there were a few bass players in the final scenes studiously discussing the relative merits of a lightweight bass cab one of them had just bought, musing obliviously about the deep impact such an uber-lightweight cab that costs x thousand quid yet weighs less than - 500 nanograms blah, blah, blah would create in a crappy pub venue with a hollow stage and a big bass trap... 🤔😉😁

[Quilly 441]

So... next year I’m definitely definitely not buying any gear ....and this time I mean it 😬

[dave moffat 1,064]

Managed abstain in 2020 

2021 possibilities include a 5 string and a custom made Frankenuke however any additions will be offset by selling stuff.