2026 Gear Abstinence Thread

[neepheid]

4 hours ago, ezbass said:

Oh, great and wise denizens of the Abstinence Thread, what is your thinking about having a bass defretted, in terms of category 1/2 failure?

 

It's an interesting one, isn't it?  My meanie side instantly thought "fail on all tiers".  It's not a repair (as in it's not faulty just because it has frets when you don't want it to have them), it's a modification.  It would only be OK if you simply yanked the frets out, but I presume the holes where the frets used to be will be filled with something?  That's where it breaks down - those line markers weren't there before.

 

But then I thought on the other hand, you are preventing the purchasing of a fretless bass (or neck) by modifying an existing bass, and strips of wood aren't in the signal chain.

 

I guess my question would be - do you need a fretless for a project or band, or are you just bored?  Intent is important.

[Richard R]

I would say It's a modification not a repair, same as swapping the pickups to get a different sound. The aim of the challenge it to play what you already have, so definitely a T1 fail. Buying a bass for a new project would be too.

 

But the challenge is only to make you stop and think, it's not a religion 🙃

 

[Chadu25]

Count me in for tier 1! Making a commitment to focus on 1 bass, just play and not think too much about gear anymore. 🤞

 

Need to abstain haha

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

I guess my question would be - do you need a fretless for a project or band, or are you just bored?  Intent is important.

No, I don’t need it, but would possibly be doing it to avoid a very attractive fretless P that Bass Direct have.

 

2 hours ago, Richard R said:

I would say It's a modification not a repair, same as swapping the pickups to get a different sound. The aim of the challenge it to play what you already have, so definitely a T1 fail. Buying a bass for a new project would be too.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Chadu25 said:

Count me in for tier 1!

I would concur too, but I thought I’d check.

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, ezbass said:

No, I don’t need it, but would possibly be doing it to avoid a very attractive fretless P that Bass Direct have.

 

 

Well, try willpower first, then try fear of ridicule.  That's my backup coping strategy

 

 

[ezbass]

2 minutes ago, neepheid said:

then try fear of ridicule.

Well over 2 years without a bass purchase, I’d survive  

[Si600]

I'll give it a go for a clean sweep this year. Bear in mind I forget this challenge even exists and buy something I shouldn't.

 

 

Though I am considering an acoustic bass as there may be a genuine need for it this year.