Agent 00Soul

Maybe I just don't have the GAS gene. Then again I still have/use the first electric I ever bought as a teenager in 1983 which freaked someone out on a different thread. The wife jokes are pretty funny though. (I assume they're jokes??) Mine built me a storage rack for the instruments that I do own. I can't believe I never thought for that. It's great!

Do most of you live in private houses? I've only ever lived in flats as an adult and I've found that the lack of space (as well as being left-handed) is a great check on either GAS or accumulation.

I have my first electric guitar too. I got in when I was 14 in 1983. It's a lefty Fender from the late sixties so worth some money now (but it wasn't in the 80s or most of the 90s) and I still use it occasionally, but I've mostly hung onto it for this reason combined with sentimental value.

I'm not sure if you are a lefty like me, or the photo is reversed as sometimes happens online. I've found that lefty's need to be extra-cautious when flipping equipment because when something is gone, it's often really gone. And finding a replacement or even something similar if seller's remorse sets in is very difficult indeed.

That is my dream situation! I'm currently nosing around Shake Some Action that you suggested too.

Starting a project is more likely. I've found interesting bands are harder to come by as you get older. Unless you know a large network of likeminded people already. Sites like Bandmix haven't cut it. I'm just not sure it's even possible at my age. This is uncharted territory for me. But I appreciate all the suggestions!

I remember them telling me that they were made by LaBella. Lots of the companies like Sadowsky that make strings "on the side" job out their own spec designs to only a few string companies as they are the only ones tooled up to make them en masse. They certainly don't sound or behave like regular LaBellas. Unless I am suffering from the placebo effect.

That sounds great! I'll check them out. Thanks!

I took my own advice and prompted two different AI models about the instrument in the photo and they both bombed. They thought it was a Burns Vista Sonic. Fail.

My rule about this is that if you just don't care, sell it. If you have even the slightest hesitation, hold on to it until you don't anymore because any money you earn will eventually get spent and then you will have nothing anyway. And once the instrument is gone, it's gone.

Based on all the stuff I’m reading on this forum, can I assume to say that, at 57, I am about the average age here? If so I have a question: Can anyone recommend strategies for finding people our own age to play music with? Specifically, either originals or less common stuff like garage rock, shoegaze, trip hop, or Cavern Club/Hamburg-style beat. The only options I have found locally are either weekly blues jams – I’ve never had any interest in that – or ads for pub bands who want to want to play covers to get people dancing – also not my thing. I moved to west London 5 years ago and it’s become apparent to me that all the interesting stuff is in east London, but the people there are in their 20s and 30s so that’s no good either. Do I have to face the facts that maybe it’s time to hang up my bass strap and pass the torch to the young’uns?

The Black Label flats were my favourite. Our rehearsal space in Brooklyn was down the street from the old Sadowsky factory so I just used to walk over and buy them direct. The current Blue Label flats that replaced them sound quite similar, but a bit more modern and hi-fi I've found. I still love them.

This is especially true for we left-handed players. Finding a lefty instrument in a shop was pure luck and they often weren't interesting (and almost always painted black for some reason). The internet made what seemed impossible, a decent selection of all kinds of lefty instruments, possible for the first time.

I bet AI could answer that if you input the photo and use the question you asked us as your prompt.

I saw Men I Trust in London in 2024 - the bass really stood out in the live mix.