2026 Gear Abstinence Thread

[MacDaddy]

On 02/01/2026 at 14:59, MacDaddy said:

I'm thinking of a new EUB build. It will be a custom job and will probably take longer than a year.

If I order it and don't receive it until next year, am I still in?

 

On 02/01/2026 at 15:01, neepheid said:

 

No, not this year.  You will be out this year, but be OK for next year.  It goes by date of order, not date of delivery.  I appreciate that you probably won't physically acquire anything this year out of the transaction, but it has to be that way round to allow people to complete the previous year's orders and still be in.

 

On 02/01/2026 at 15:12, MacDaddy said:

 

But I've been thinking about ordering it since last year...

 

On 02/01/2026 at 15:22, neepheid said:

 

You snooze, you lose?

 

On 02/01/2026 at 15:32, bass_dinger said:

 

Yes, this is probably the best way to do it, and consistent with precedent.  I bought a bass guitar in bits, with a damaged neck in 2022; paid to have a new neck made in 2023; and paid to have the bass rebuilt in January 2024.  The latter two actions were repairs (and allowed), so I was only out once, for the initial purchase in 2022 (rather than out on the day when the bass was completed and playable).

 

  

 

On 02/01/2026 at 16:25, jeffjohnson said:

Too late

 

In my Happy New Year message to my luthier, sent 31/12/2025  I said I'll be in touch about a new commission and gave some details. 

I would argue that the initial contact counts as the first stage of the ordering process. And as it happened last year I'm still in!

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

 

In my Happy New Year message to my luthier, sent 31/12/2025  I said I'll be in touch about a new commission and gave some details. 

I would argue that the initial contact counts as the first stage of the ordering process. And as it happened last year I'm still in!

 

If you pay the luthier a deposit in this calendar year, I'd say you're out.  Talk is cheap...

[MacDaddy]

3 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

If you pay the luthier a deposit in this calendar year, I'd say you're out.  Talk is cheap...

 

 

I refer the honourable gentleman to his post of 02/01/26 15:01 "It goes by date of order". 

"Order". No mention of payment. 

[neepheid]

Just now, MacDaddy said:

 

 

I refer the honourable gentleman to his post of 02/01/26 15:01 "It goes by date of order". 

"Order". No mention of payment. 

 

Oh aye? Got an order number, have you?

[neepheid]

I should point out that this is banter, I fear I might be coming across a bit too serious. Just digging you in the ribs...

[MacDaddy]

9 minutes ago, neepheid said:

I should point out that this is banter, I fear I might be coming across a bit too serious. Just digging you in the ribs...

 

... then I shall cancel my strongly worded letter to The Times 😉

[Mrbigstuff]

30 minutes ago, neepheid said:

I should point out that this is banter, I fear I might be coming across a bit too serious. Just digging you in the ribs...

I’m pretty sure that’s how it’s taken by all. This would be a very boring and entirely pointless thread if everyone just encouraged each other to give in.

[BassAgent]

4 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

This smells like preventative maintenance to me.  Nah, I'd be inclined to ignore this.

[SimonK]

33 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

I’m pretty sure that’s how it’s taken by all. This would be a very boring and entirely pointless thread if everyone just encouraged each other to give in.

 

...isn't that the point 😈 ?

[Maude]

I like the harshness of it this year. 

"I walked past a shop and saw a nice bass in the window." 

"Get tae f**k, yer oot!" 

😁

[Cornwall Steve]

Every year I promise my wife 'no more new basses and no more new gear'. Every year I fail. But I'm weak you see. And I'm retired and it rains a lot in Cornwall.

Woe is me 

I shall go and disembowel myself 😔

Just get myself another bass before I do.

 

[BassAgent]

10 minutes ago, Maude said:

I like the harshness of it this year. 

"I walked past a shop and saw a nice bass in the window." 

"Get tae f**k, yer oot!" 

😁

🎶How much is that bass in the window🎵

[Richard R]

27 minutes ago, Cornwall Steve said:

 I shall go and disembowel myself 😔

Just get myself another bass before I do.

 

 

Please don't disembowel yourself with a bass - Imagine the headlines!! 😱

 

(And the pain, the mess, and the effect on your poor wife of course. But mainly the headlines in the Sun)

[Stub Mandrel]

Will replacing a missing strap button count as essential maintenance? 

Edited Saturday at 18:00 by Stub Mandrel

[neepheid]

27 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Will replacing a missing strap button count as essential maintenance? 

 

I would imagine so.

[MacDaddy]

28 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Will replacing a missing strap button count as essential maintenance? 

 

Will it be an upgrade?

[BassAgent]

New strap button do sound a lot better.

[neepheid]

16 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

 

Will it be an upgrade?

 

Replacing regular ones with straplocks would be...  Just use Grolschlocks, one free with every beer!

[Cornwall Steve]

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

 

Please don't disembowel yourself with a bass - Imagine the headlines!! 😱

 

(And the pain, the mess, and the effect on your poor wife of course. But mainly the headlines in the Sun)

Nah, wouldn't use one of me basses - it'd be a waste of a bass 🎸

The thought of headlining in the Sun would be too shameful to bear 

I'd rather join Trump's fan club (or would that be even worse 🤔)

Perhaps I'll just try and moderate my GAS obsession.

It'll be tough but promise I'll try

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

 

Will it be an upgrade?

 

It's a Kay. It will probably double the value.

[neepheid]

Just now, Stub Mandrel said:

 

It's a Kay. It will probably double the value.

 

"Can you give me a strap button for my Kay?"

"Aye, that seems like a fair swap..."

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

Replacing regular ones with straplocks would be...  Just use Grolschlocks, one free with every beer!

 

Ah, but I have straplocks in my bits box. Not fussed on them, so will be genuine Basschat washers (also from stock).

[tauzero]

On 17/01/2026 at 10:14, neepheid said:

Well, I'm going to be a meanie and call shenanigans on this one.  Was it necessary to make the MultiFX work?  Presumably the MultiFX worked fine before, it was just a bit fiddlier to select stuff?  You could argue that it's not specifically bass gear, but it's being used to control bass gear and you could argue that a Line6 M5 is not specifically bass gear and then where would we be?  It's a T2 fail at the very minimum, and that's if I'm being charitable.  It's creeping into T1 territory because of the use case.  I would also argue that something which manipulates the signal chain IS in the signal chain.  It's not a strap, is it?

 

Seems like an indulgence to me, but maybe I haven't had it explained sufficiently for my pea brain to figure it out.  Happy to hear any rebuttal of the above.

 

Alters the behaviour of a component in the signal chain, but as that component is general purpose then probably T2.

[neepheid]

Right, let's get @paul_5gate out of the way.  The way I read it, I reckon the majority ruling is T2 failure, but still OK for T1.

 

Everyone OK with this ruling?

[Geek99]

On 17/01/2026 at 17:10, Cornwall Steve said:

Every year I promise my wife 'no more new basses and no more new gear'. Every year I fail. But I'm weak you see. And I'm retired and it rains a lot in Cornwall.

Woe is me 

I shall go and disembowel myself 😔

Just get myself another bass before I do.

 

Out of the running, and also dead 🤦‍♂️