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How do you treat your bass?


munkonthehill
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After spending a good few hundred on my fender Jaguar, I try and keep it in mint condition.

I see and hear about folks liking the 'roadworn' bass which is fine, but then I hear and see people who have had their bass for a few years and comment on the scuffs, scrapes and bashes on it add to the 'mojo' or 'character'.

Im not anal (oh er) with the care of my bass, but I do like to clean it at least once a week and always have it in a hardcase when gigging (soft gigbag at rehearsals when im not humping alot of my own gear about). I really want my bass to look showroom perfect for as long as possible. the inevitable knock or scratch will happen, but i want the finish to shine and the chrome to blind haha.


Now im not looking for a fight or anyone being a bit arsey,(so dont bother commenting), all im looking for is what peoples views are on the care of their bass, im hoping to get educated in why pristine and roadworn are prefered in different people.

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I would like to keep my basses in pristine vondition, but when it comes down to it I can never be bothered to care what they look like.

My Bongo is in pretty much perfect condition still, but the ray has many bumps and dents. This is a result of taking it to gigs without a case (we have a small car!) taking it to work where it gets scraped around the floor, chewed on and sucked. I play it a lot, and there is gunk on the pickup and on the fretboard. Yeah, I would prefer it if it was clean, but in the end it really doesn't matter. It's a great bass. It sounds and plays great which is all that really matters.

I would never buy a reliced bass, I don't see the point. But I also don't really see the point in keeping it perfect, when it will never stay that way forever.

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I try and look after them,but don't cry to myself if I do manage to ding one

Having said that,I bought a brand new Customshop BCR Eagle and was scared to play it and scratch it,sold it,bought a brand new BCR customshop Widow,which fortunately had some minor paint inperfections,so not scared of playing it :)

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[quote name='Lorne' post='683568' date='Dec 14 2009, 12:01 AM']I try and look after them,but don't cry to myself if I do manage to ding one[/quote]

plus the one.

basses are tools and they get the odd scar, but as long as it's nothing that affects the instrument then i'm not bothered.

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I love the roadworn look, but to be honest, i wouldnt have the heart to let it happen to my own bass, to be honest, being the cheap*ss i am, id probably be thinking "Oh no!, thats another £30 off its value :) ) but if it where vintage it would be "Oh yaa a dent, thats another £50 yayaya"

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I look after all my kit but I do play a lot so it stands to reason that kit can have accidents. I own a few older basses which are in good nick but would be described as older i.e a few knocks etc. I think there is a danger in not wanting to play instruments for fear of damaging them. The first knock is the end of the world but the second is usually much less of a big deal. It certainly pays to try and look after kit, just a balance between that and not being able to enjoy an instrument for fear of the worst happening.

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yeah I agree with everyone, although i am determined to keeping my bass immaculate, there are afew marks, one on the headstock where it may have hit either my drummers drumkit, my guitarist himself or possibly a speaker stand. who knows, but when i noticed it the next day I did feel a bit grumpy, however I did get over it very quickly.

Im aware these things happen, but im not about to start throwing it about as I like the knocked about look, thats what wifes are for hahahaha

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I try to keep my gear in the best nick that I can,but a few minor knocks are pretty
inevitable if you play out regularly-I dinged the headstock on my Shuker on a mic
during it's first gig.
Having said that,my main Fender Jazz is covered in dings and has paint coming off
where it's been bumped against mics,fallen off stands,etc, and from general wear
from lots of gigs.I actually like it this way-it feels 'played in'. Best of all,I've had it from new
so all the wear on it came from me..... And it looks cool.

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I always try to keep all my gear in tip top condition. Whatever condition I acquire them in is how I want to keep it. For example, my Stingrays are both in immaculate condition, you'd never know they were 2nd hand. My 1982 P-Bass on the other hand has loads of knocks and dings. My Shuker is somewhere in the middle, only having a couple of very minor dings. They all receive the same amount of love and care, no matter what condition. As long as I personally haven't done any damage to them, I'm a happy bunny :)

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[quote name='munkonthehill' post='683556' date='Dec 13 2009, 11:52 PM']Im not anal (oh er) with the care of my bass, but I do like to clean it at least once a week[/quote]
Once a week!?!! I've been playing guitar shaped things off and on (mainly off) since I was a kid and last week was the first time I've ever cleaned one. :)

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[quote name='munkonthehill' post='683556' date='Dec 13 2009, 11:52 PM']Now im not looking for a fight or anyone being a bit arsey,(so dont bother commenting), all im looking for is what peoples views are on the care of their bass, im hoping to get educated in why pristine and roadworn are prefered in different people.[/quote]

why are you on basschat then :) seriously though you might not want to see one of my basses lol. I personally am not so bothered about the condition because none of my basses are showroom perfect to begin with, i like a bit of charachter. As i always like to say "it doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to work!" Also that's an interesting point about the resale value. I fixed that problem by building my own bass, so it has no resale value to begin with!

[quote name='Al Heely']I am intrigued, do you manage a creche or work in a kennels?[/quote]

Or, well y'know... yeah.

Edited by EdwardHimself
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There are those on this very forum who have seen and played my basses & I'm sure they will all attest to the fact that I keep all of my basses in pristine condition. I use them all a lot professionally and work them very hard, but I hate chips, dents & scratches with a vengance. I suppose that after spending so many thousands on equipment, I really do make sure I look after it. Although, the one thing I am looking forward to is looking at my Fender Jazz in twenty years' time and seeing all the wear I've put on it personally. Honest gigging wear and tear, not factory made facsimilies! :)

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Some of you may know I tend to buy very rarely and keep for a long time. My old bass (the Vester) has about 3 tiny dings on it, over 15 years of use. Apart from those, and the wear from my popping fingers just below the g string in front of the neck pup and a lot of fret ware its immaculate.

My Roscoe is just slightly polished where my forearm rests against it, and I've polished the back of the neck from a very fast satin smooth to a ver much slower gloss with my LH thumb already :). Other than that it is (and will stay if I can possibly help it) pristine.

I hate dings!

Same with my cab (currently immaculate) and rack!

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[quote name='Duarte' post='683565' date='Dec 13 2009, 11:59 PM']I would prefer it if it was clean, but in the end it really doesn't matter. It's a great bass. It sounds and plays great which is all that really matters.[/quote]

I know this is all personal taste but i hate to play a dirty bass, first of all for the feel, clammy under your hands eeeuuuuwww :) , and second of all the maintenance issue, fingerboards drying out, hardware rusting and seizing up etc. issues with the finish, clean off your acidic sweat and it will last longer.

Watch your quality builder or craftsman when they finish work, tools CLEANED and then put away. Tools are expensive and only really need to be bought once if respected, and after all basses are our tools of the trade.

Dave

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A double bass can be an accident waiting to happen, but I take as much care as I can over my basses and amps. Back in the bag as soon as the gig is over. But I'm not paranoid and if someone catches his foot on it at a gig I take it in my stride. Equally important to make sure it's all in good working order - and that goes for the leads, outboards etc. I suspect that if you did a poll the majority of BCers would concur?

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totally the same as yourself though i dont clean it that often and like to keep it in the hardcase at all times :)
Fender 'Roadworn': i don't see the point in paying a few hundred more for a battered guitar. especially when your paying [b]ATLEAST!![/b] £400 more on the Pbass.
Give me £300 and i'll do the job for you :rolleyes:

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All of my basses are in excellent condition. I always take my basses to gigs in their cases and when the gigs done, the bass is the first bit of my gear that gets packed away straight into its case. I saw a drummer in a previous band I was in drop a drum case onto a top of the range Roland keyboard and bread 2 of the keys off it. Not good.

Other than that they all get a good clean about once a month. I#'ve invested a lot of money in them, so I keep them looking good.

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