mike257 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I've fancied trying out one of the new series P-basses for a while to see how it would sound in the band, so I pinned down a bass playing mate in our rehearsal room last night, and asked if he didn't mind a swap for an hour so I could have a crack at his. He took my Sandberg off to his room, and I ran through a set with his P, which I loved, but when I went to hand it back, his buckle has took a whacking big patch (about 2 inches across) of the stain off my bass, right down to the wood! He was really apologetic, and has offered to pay for the repair, but I'm left wondering just how much it's going to set me back, and if it's likely that a good luthier can match the colour properly. It's one of those tasty redburst stain finishes that shows all the grain. Does anybody have any experience of getting a repair like this done? If anybody wants to recommend me someone who's done this kind of work for you, that'd be great! I've kept the bass pretty damn immaculate and I'm gutted - I don't plan on ever parting with it, and I fully expect that over the years it will get some knocks and bumps, but I'd much prefer them to come from me gigging it like mad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Doesn't help your current predicament but I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone wishing to avoid buckle rash get one of these [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58475&hl=Clarky"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...5&hl=Clarky[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Such battlescars are inevitable. Learn to love them. Its the sound that matters, not the colour (and, if its buckle rash, its out of sight anyway). I never get buckle rash because my belt buckle is tucked neatly away under 46 years of gluttony! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Good call indeed. I never have any trouble with it myself, my Stingray only has the tiniest of scuffs, and that was flung around in a fast heavy band for 3 years. My mate who borrowed the bass usually wears 'em high, but due to straplock complications, we had each others straps on too, so I played his P around my nipples, and he was far more low slung than he's used too, so didn't even realise he was doing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Have a look at Steve robinson's web-site, [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/"]http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/[/url] There are some examples of the work he has done on scrapes and dings. I can recommend him. He has done som egreat work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='674009' date='Dec 4 2009, 10:56 AM']Such battlescars are inevitable. Learn to love them. Its the sound that matters, not the colour (and, if its buckle rash, its out of sight anyway). I never get buckle rash because my belt buckle is tucked neatly away under 46 years of gluttony![/quote] +1 Sorry to add more useless and after the fact advice, but don't lend your bass without conditions, one of them being, 'you break it, you bought it'. A mate won't damage a bass on purpose, but when it's done, it doesn't really matter whether it's done on purpose or not, it's still done and if you ever resell or trade, your bass is devalued. C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmanady Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 (edited) I find this buckle rash thing very annoying,as it is obviously avoidable,by putting the buckle onto one side.Mine is always positioned above my left hip. I know this does not help your problem,i would also be gutted if it was one of my basses..hope you can get it sorted Edited December 4, 2009 by bassmanady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='674009' date='Dec 4 2009, 10:56 AM']...Such battlescars are inevitable....[/quote] That's not true. I wouldn't expect to get my car back with dents if I lent it to someone and the bass is exactly the same. That's why no one ever uses my bass. No matter how much of a mate, they'll never look after it like I would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='674032' date='Dec 4 2009, 11:27 AM']That's not true.[/quote] You've never had a bass for 24 years, have you? Despite being careful, mine has fallen off stands, been knocked of the tops of amps, fallen over when leaning against a car/wall etc. Mine was even left lying on the floor in a car park for 40 minutes whilst I drove a twenty mile round trip obliviously before realising I had left it there (it was still there when I got back - I lost a year off my life that day). I have hit the headstock against singers, ceilings, walls, windows, light fittings etc. I am not sure but I even think the dog has p***ed on it before now. These are not museum pieces, they are tools. Yes, I look after it as best as I can but all the care in the world doesn't prevent the occasional knock. For the record, the bass sounds better today than it ever has - not because of the knocks but in spite of them. And, do you want to know the funny thing. I have never broken a string, it has never not worked, the knobs are still on it, the electrics are silent, the neck is straight as a die, it stays in tune from gig to gig, never mind for a whole set. And its worth more that £3.5K to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 [quote name='chris_b' post='674032' date='Dec 4 2009, 11:27 AM']That's not true. I wouldn't expect to get my car back with dents if I lent it to someone and the bass is exactly the same. That's why no one ever uses my bass. No matter how much of a mate, they'll never look after it like I would.[/quote] +1. General battle scars are to be expected but preventing buckle rash isn't rocket science is it? I'd be gutted too if it were my bass, it's sheer unthinking negligence in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='674040' date='Dec 4 2009, 11:39 AM']....You've never had a bass for 24 years, have you?....[/quote] My Precision is way older than that and very "road worn". It was damaged for the first time when I lent it to another player! That's why the 2 basses that I've owned for the last 10 years and represent several thousand gigs, recordings and rehearsals, both look exactly as they did on the day I brought them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Obviously, I am a klutz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 If I was playing someone else's bass then I'd definitely treat it with kid gloves. Putting buckle-rash on some-one else's bass you should be prepared to stump up for a repair if it's necessary. Though I do like something that a hard-gigging friend of mine said: "Guitars should be played, not polished" I love every single dent and ding in my bass. Just shows that they do spend a lot of time being played and practised rather than hanging on a wall collecting dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Bummer that it has been dinged and not by you! Try looking here for a suitable repairer. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26654"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26654[/url] I can recommend Dave Wilson 'very' highly and I've no doubt he could match the finish for you but he's not exactly down the street from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew-Bass Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Sorry to hear that Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 That's a darn shame about your bass. It's different if you inflict the damage as it's your own bass, but to have someone else do it (and so have no respect for the fact that it's yours) is damn annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatkat Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I am of the opinion that the odd battle scar is no big deal and if you feel that way its not so heart breaking when the inevitable ding occurs.... but I will say if its going to get damaged...I want to be the one doing it, not some careless prat who should take better care of someone elses property... G... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Oh man that's bad news! I do the same as a lot of players... Put my belt buckle way out of the way above my left hip. I'm thinking of getting one of those pads Clarky uses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Sad to hear, but the SP here is not to loan your bass to anyone. Period. I gig my basses professionally all the time, but I always take extra special care of them. I hate scratches and dings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarhead Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 It appears I'm something of a minority, as I don't care if someone dings/dents/scratches my bass, as long as it comes back working, with no broken strings, etc. I quite like how my basses look after they take a good beating, adds character to them, IMO. It's going to happen, what does it matter if you did it or someone else did it? It's not like it affect the sound quality or anything like that. Zach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tee Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 [quote name='Clarky' post='674001' date='Dec 4 2009, 10:48 AM']Doesn't help your current predicament but I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone wishing to avoid buckle rash get one of these [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58475&hl=Clarky"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...5&hl=Clarky[/url][/quote] This is undoubtedly the bass equivalent of elbow pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I think im in the minority as well here. I do feel for you and its quite harsh that a mate would do that but to me a bass is a tool. It should be played and played and played until eventually it falls apart. That is its soul, thats what it exists to do. If that doesnt happen its just a plank of wood :/ Every ding and scrape in my instruments is just more life. I will gladley throw my bass around knowing that its never let me down yet and probably never will. I really hate people who have vintage or expensive instruments and dont play them or wrap them in cotton wool. That 52' Fender P you fantasise about should be played and thrown around because thats what it was born to do. Play it, trash it and then when its fianlly given up the ghost burn it and let its spirit be part of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Tee' post='675656' date='Dec 6 2009, 01:33 PM']This is undoubtedly the bass equivalent of elbow pads. [/quote] Each time I mention these, someone inevitably takes the mick. However, if you have a shiny new bass and think there is a chance that at at some stage you may sell it (rather than keep for life, how many of those are there?) then its amazing how much the buyer appreciates a rash-free rear to the body. Plus I'm OCD/schizophrenic, either a bass has scars/mojo on it already and I'm happy with it like it is (like my vintage P) ... or its shiny and new and I want to keep it looking that way (like my Shuker JJB). Makes sense, huh? Edited December 6, 2009 by Clarky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavyJay Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='674040' date='Dec 4 2009, 11:39 AM']I am not sure but I even think the dog has p***ed on it before now.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanark Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 [quote name='Clarky' post='675701' date='Dec 6 2009, 02:06 PM']Each time I mention these, someone inevitably takes the mick. However, if you have a shiny new bass and think there is a chance that at at some stage you may sell it (rather than keep for life, how many of those are there?) then its amazing how much the buyer appreciates a rash-free rear to the body.[/quote] Why not just stick a cloth over your buckle rather than buying an expensive gizmo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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