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New bass - Am I sick??


noisedude
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Dear Basschatters,

Help me! I'm experiencing something that I expect is quite common but totally new to me.

I scored a very nicely priced Ibanez DWB3 Doug Wimbish signature off the 'Bay and it came today. The thing is absolutely brand spanking new. The case is tolex, the sort that scrapes quite easily on the corners, and it's got one mark on it. The guitar doesn't even have those surface scratches from shirt buttons and straps that a fastidious collector would T-cut out.

Big deal. I've had lots of new guitars before, and more expensive ones too.

So why am I now already looking at cheaper alternatives for sweaty club gigs? Surely I bought it precisely for such packed and noisey nights and yet I'm convinced that I'm going to dent it the first time I turn round too fast near the wall at rehearsal. I'm actually scared of denting this bass, even though it's technically already 2nd-hand!

Maybe it's the untarnished gold hardware or maybe it's the gloriously unblemished finish. I don't know. But can someone tell me why I'm not happier at getting exactly what I wanted??

Yours in confusion and turmoil,

Noisedude

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[quote name='noisedude' post='132341' date='Feb 2 2008, 12:14 AM']So why am I now already looking at cheaper alternatives for sweaty club gigs? Surely I bought it precisely for such packed and noisey nights and yet I'm convinced that I'm going to dent it the first time I turn round too fast near the wall at rehearsal. I'm actually scared of denting this bass, even though it's technically already 2nd-hand!

Maybe it's the untarnished gold hardware or maybe it's the gloriously unblemished finish. I don't know. But can someone tell me why I'm not happier at getting exactly what I wanted??[/quote]
I'm in a roughly similar situation - got an Aria Pro II Rhino as part of a deal, and it's surplus to requirements. Normally I'd take it down to the Roadhouse for an evening or two doing duty for me at the open mic night, but I don't want to because, although it's the least valuable of the basses I've got, it's (as far as I can make out) absolutely unmarked, and I'd like it to stay that way until I can sell it.

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[quote name='noisedude' post='132341' date='Feb 2 2008, 12:14 AM']Dear Basschatters,

Help me! I'm experiencing something that I expect is quite common but totally new to me.

I scored a very nicely priced Ibanez DWB3 Doug Wimbish signature off the 'Bay and it came today. The thing is absolutely brand spanking new. The case is tolex, the sort that scrapes quite easily on the corners, and it's got one mark on it. The guitar doesn't even have those surface scratches from shirt buttons and straps that a fastidious collector would T-cut out.

Big deal. I've had lots of new guitars before, and more expensive ones too.

So why am I now already looking at cheaper alternatives for sweaty club gigs? Surely I bought it precisely for such packed and noisey nights and yet I'm convinced that I'm going to dent it the first time I turn round too fast near the wall at rehearsal. I'm actually scared of denting this bass, even though it's technically already 2nd-hand!

Maybe it's the untarnished gold hardware or maybe it's the gloriously unblemished finish. I don't know. But can someone tell me why I'm not happier at getting exactly what I wanted??

Yours in confusion and turmoil,

Noisedude[/quote]
Any pics?

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I was watching that bass. I used to own one, and gigged with it regularly. Just go for it - it's a tool (and a very nice one) and you'll kick yourself if it gathers dust at home. Just take care of it at gigs, watch it like a hawk etc!

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[quote name='Mike' post='132495' date='Feb 2 2008, 12:02 PM']I was watching that bass. I used to own one, and gigged with it regularly. Just go for it - it's a tool (and a very nice one) and you'll kick yourself if it gathers dust at home. Just take care of it at gigs, watch it like a hawk etc![/quote]
Yeah someone listed the item number up here I noticed after buying it. At the time I wasn't delighted with the price, it was a decent buy but not an amazing one, but now I see the condition it's in, I'm looking at a pretty professional-grade instrument and thinking that I couldn't have bought a MIM P-Bass for that money.

I have another Ibanez, an SR300FM that's about to have some Quarter Pounders put in, but this is so much better to play that I think that's strictly backup and "I need a bolt-on sound" only now.

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I think that's the problem with GAS and multi-bass ownership. I bought a MIA P bass off Old Horse. I was looking for a beater for open mic nights. When it turned up it was too pristine to use. I just picked up a DJ5 with the same intention - again when I picked it up it was flawless (new - still boxed). I now have 3 basses all near mint - not one I would let an oik with a 7 inch belt buckle use for fun. Sad.................now where's that Squier Affinity.
Problem is, with GAS, you always have a mind for the bass condition, you know if you wan't to trade/sell for your next passion that every ding/scratch (unless it's a desireable vintage) costs about £50.

Edited by martthebass
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What would you think of a handyman who took a budget drill along to jobs and left his high quality Makita drill on the shelf at home becaue it was too good to use just to put holes in ordinary walls?

What would you think of a painter and decorator who owned a set of quality horsehair brushes, but just brought crappy nylon ones that shed bristles along to jobs?

My main bass is my pride and joy,but I use it for everything. It's picked up a few knocks along the way, but that just proves it's been played.

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[quote name='NJW' post='132744' date='Feb 2 2008, 08:05 PM']Noisedude - I need you to do something for me.

Go to your kitchen and get a knife, or find a screwdriver from your toolbox. Then turn your bass round, and give it a good stab somewhere on the back.

It needs to be done.[/quote]
Haha yeah I used (as I keep saying) to sell guitars and I used to tell people I advised banging the new axe on the shop door frame on the way out to get that first dent out of the way. I've even got a couple of guitars I've smashed up deliberately. This worrying protective feeling is new to me.

Photos coming soon.

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if you're going to own a bass you might as well play it?

my main bass that I'm using at the moment is pristine, but i practice on it, play it at rehearsals, and will be doing my second gig with it next Friday. it would be a shame if it got marked, but you have to be pragmatic about these things.

ultimately, they're made to be played, not sit in their cases or hang on a wall looking pretty. what's the point in owning a nice instrument if you're too scared to use it for the reason it was designed and built in the first place?

whether it's a £200 or £2000 bass - if you're afraid to breathe on it, then sell it. I know if i dropped a few quid on a Fodera or a vintage Fender, it would be to play them!

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If you like the way the bass plays and sounds then I would strongly recommend that you take it out and play it! You'll get far more from it that way, using it as it was intended to be used. Anything will acquire some marks if you use it - most of us will know that sinking feeling when you spot a new dent or scratch in your car door when you return to the car park, but it's something you just can't avoid. If you're careful with it and make sure it sits in the case whilst setting up etc, you can minimize the risks.

Personally I couldn't bear to have so much invested in a bass only for it to sit there unused.

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I came to a bit of a crossroad bass wise not long ago. It basically boiled down to me either having one absaloute killer bass that i wouldnt want to leave my room, or two basses that are still brilliant but i wouldnt mind if they got a wee ding.

I chose the two basses, untill the day i can afford to have all three! heh.

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