The One That Got Away

[alembic1989]

I guess we've all been there, waiting with some money put aside for THAT bass you've been waiting for to turn up for sale.

In my case earlier this week the bass of my desire was up on ebay..a fretless Ibanez Affirma 4 string..in lovely condition. The original asking price was perhaps slightly more than its worth...but because I faffed about waiting for the price to come down ( and it did!)..... another less fussy bassist bought it.

" He who hesitates is lost"

YUP.

The one that got away!

Gutted.

Anyone else have a similar tale of woe?

[BreadBin]

I really wanted a fretless Retrovibe Zygote that was on eBay but couldn't quite free up the cash in time. It sold for £270.

A couple of months later I was buying a fretted Zygote from David@retrovibe, happened to mention the fretless one - imagine my dismay when I found out it was the only one in existence. I was properly upset I can tell you. 

[Doctor J]

26 minutes ago, alembic1989 said:

I guess we've all been there, waiting with some money put aside for THAT bass you've been waiting for to turn up for sale.

In my case earlier this week the bass of my desire was up on ebay..a fretless Ibanez Affirma 4 string..in lovely condition. The original asking price was perhaps slightly more than its worth...but because I faffed about waiting for the price to come down ( and it did!)..... another less fussy bassist bought it.

" He who hesitates is lost"

YUP.

The one that got away!

Gutted.

Anyone else have a similar tale of woe?

Ibanez had a pile of Affirmas at NAMM. It may have gotten away but not for much longer new

[AndyTravis]

3 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Ibanez had a pile of Affirmas at NAMM. It may have gotten away but not for much longer new

 

[fleabag]

29 minutes ago, alembic1989 said:

 

In my case earlier this week the bass of my desire was up on ebay..a fretless Ibanez Affirma 4 string..in lovely condition.

I did a search of sold listings on that bass and nothing came up ? It should have done as it was only this week you said it sold. Just curious about the bass

[alembic1989]

8 minutes ago, fleabag said:

I did a search of sold listings on that bass and nothing came up ? It should have done as it was only this week you said it sold. Just curious about the bass

It was listed as " no longer available ".. I was in contact with the seller, who told me it was sold to a chap in Germany..must've sorted it outside ebay I reckon.

[alembic1989]

14 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Ibanez had a pile of Affirmas at NAMM. It may have gotten away but not for much longer new

Wow!

Any idea of the prices?

[Doctor J]

No idea, but it should make it easier for you to land one either way

[alembic1989]

3 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

No idea, but it should make it easier for you to land one either way

I hope it has the same spec as the originals..including the Piezo.

Thanks  mate..that's great news!

Edited February 11, 2018 by alembic1989

[alembic1989]

21 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

I really wanted a fretless Retrovibe Zygote that was on eBay but couldn't quite free up the cash in time. It sold for £270.

A couple of months later I was buying a fretted Zygote from David@retrovibe, happened to mention the fretless one - imagine my dismay when I found out it was the only one in existence. I was properly upset I can tell you. 

I remember that bass!

I ummed and Ahhhhed about that too...never realised it was the only one!

[BreadBin]

4 minutes ago, alembic1989 said:

I remember that bass!

I ummed and Ahhhhed about that too...never realised it was the only one!

I still haven't quite got over it! I even messaged the seller trying to track down the new owner but no reply 

[fleabag]

35 minutes ago, alembic1989 said:

It was listed as " no longer available ".. I was in contact with the seller, who told me it was sold to a chap in Germany..must've sorted it outside ebay I reckon.

Yeah that figures

He must have done a private deal off Ebay and cancelled the listing.  Ebay keeps a list of SOLD ITEMS  so if it sold through Ebay, you can find it, but not if the seller cancelled the auction

Edited February 11, 2018 by fleabag

[RobF]

On 11/02/2018 at 19:46, BreadBin said:

I really wanted a fretless Retrovibe Zygote that was on eBay but couldn't quite free up the cash in time. It sold for £270.

A couple of months later I was buying a fretted Zygote from David@retrovibe, happened to mention the fretless one - imagine my dismay when I found out it was the only one in existence. I was properly upset I can tell you. 

That was Not one of my brightest moves BreadBin.

[LeftyJ]

 My "one that got away" eventually did end up with me, just 11 years later! I spotted a unique solid white Status S2 Classic headless for sale on Leftybass.com, with the white epoxy Roman numeral fret markers of the John Entwistle Buzzard model. I'd never seen another one like it, and despite never having played a Status before, I had to have it! But I was too late, it had just been sold to someone in the US. 

Just before the summer of 2017, 11 years later, it popped back up for sale. In Israel this time! The guy bought it through Leftybass.com when he was studying abroad in the US. He already had a potential buyer, but the guy kept doubting and asking for more pictures. Finally the bass was sold to me, and I've been hooked to Status Graphite ever since. 

 

[Reggaebass]

37 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

 My "one that got away" eventually did end up with me, just 11 years later! I spotted a unique solid white Status S2 Classic headless for sale on Leftybass.com, with the white epoxy Roman numeral fret markers of the John Entwistle Buzzard model. I'd never seen another one like it, and despite never having played a Status before, I had to have it! But I was too late, it had just been sold to someone in the US. 

Just before the summer of 2017, 11 years later, it popped back up for sale. In Israel this time! The guy bought it through Leftybass.com when he was studying abroad in the US. He already had a potential buyer, but the guy kept doubting and asking for more pictures. Finally the bass was sold to me, and I've been hooked to Status Graphite ever since. 

 

It just goes to show , everything comes to those who wait,  they are stunning, I’m looking at these myself 😍

[TrevorR]

Here’s a photo of my “The one that got away”...

Spandau Ballet at Live Aid, 1985

I popped into Denmark Street back in 2000 or so on the hunt for a 1970s Pro Series Wal to go with my Mk 1. I went into (I think) Music Ground and asked if they ever got any in. The guy behind the desk said, “Not seen any of those in for a while. But funny thing is we just got a couple of the newer type in... they’re hanging at the back.” I went over to have a look and there were two. A walnut fretless and a maple fretted one with an added finger rest that looked strangely familiar for some reason. And for a decent price too.

The store guy said, “What do you think?” “Lovely, but I’m not really looking for a Mk 1 at the mo...” “No worries. We’re selling them for that bloke who’s in East Enders who used to be in Spandau Ballet.. He’s not using them any more.” “Oh, nice. They’re lovely basses!”

Mentioned it to my wife a couple of days later. “Yeah, the bass he played at Live Aid.” “You should have bought it.” “Really?” “Yes! of course.” “Oh, ok. I think I will!” By which time, of course it was my “one that got away...

[mikel]

I had the opposite. Back in the early 70s I lusted after a Gibson Les Paul, but finances would not allow, so I bought an SG instead. It was a lovely instrument but I never lost the desire for the Holy Grail, the LP. I started playing guitar again in the late 80s and I decided I would have my dream. I was in the local music shop and the guy gave me the LP standard and plugged it in. It was awful, I hated the fat neck, the weight was just silly and access to the top frets was difficult . I put it back with a rueful smile and saved myself a lot of money. Lesson learned, don't put anything or anyone on a pedestal without knowing exactly what you are getting. Or, try and check its for you.

[chris_b]

12 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

I popped into Denmark Street back in 2000 or so on the hunt for a 1970s Pro Series Wal to go with my Mk 1.

The store guy said, “What do you think?” “Lovely, but I’m not really looking for a Mk 1 at the mo...” “No worries. We’re selling them for that bloke who’s in East Enders who used to be in Spandau Ballet.. He’s not using them any more.” “Oh, nice. They’re lovely basses!”

I saw that bass. Martin Kemp's JG with the leather scratch plate and the switch on the pickups. Maybe slightly before 2000. One of the best sounding basses I've ever heard. They wanted £1000 for it, which I thought was too much for me, as a 5 string player, to pay for a 4 string bass. Even one that good. It was gone by the next day. I mentioned it to Pete Stevens and it was bought by someone in South Wales, who had dropped it over to get Pete to look at it, on his way home. Pete thought that those basses sounded so much better because they were made before the switch to metric sized wire. The imperial size wire in the pickups made a difference to the windings and so to the sound.

[Acebassmusic]

Mines actually TWO that got away! Mid-nineties and my desire for a Wal had been ongoing for about 10 years by then. At that point I'd never seen one in the flesh but all the photos in the bass mags and video on the telly had fueled the lustfull GAS I was feeling. I was living in Huddersfield at the time and had graduated as a mature student (with family, mortgage etc) about 4 years earlier. I'd been playing a pre EB Musicman Sabre for the last 8 years which was not a hard task to put up with......but GAS persisted. After many hours overtime and saving what we had my wife said why don't you treat yourself to a new bass. Yes please! I'd been down to the Embassy in Mansfield before and lusted after all the delights they had adorning their walls. Maybe they might have something of interest.....

I'd looked through their advert in Bassist which listed what they had and then called them on the Thursday to check their stock etc. During the conversation (I think it was Dave Shields) dropped the fact that they had a matching pair of fretted and fretless MK2 Wals. They were the other shop owner, John's personal basses that he had made with some elm facings from a tree in his garden. Both 5 string, gold fittings, great condition, hard cases, set up etc......I was feeling a bit excited but new there would be a catch. "He really wants to only sell them as a pair". "Darn it....ok, how much?"........"£1500"........"So that would be £3,000 for the pair then. Well out of my budget"........."No. £1,500 for them both!"

At this point my mind starts working hyper speed as to which of the kids I should put up for auction to bridge the gap between the money I had (£1,100) and the £1,500 they were asking. I couldn't commit on buying the Wals as I knew I didn't have the money and wouldn't put it on the credit card. (Our credit card at that time was for emergencies only!). That Thursday night me and the wife talked about the basses and she said "I think this constitutes an emergency doesn't it?" Phew...the kids were safe!

Now, with hindsight, what I did next was logical but maybe not smart! In the past I had always checked bases out in person before buying just to be sure they were OK etc. and so I thought it would be wise to do the same this time. Instead of pleading for a day off or calling in sick at work on the Friday I decided that I would go down first thing on the Saturday morning, check them out with a 99.999% certainty that I would bring them home with me! I mean what could possibly go wrong? They hadn't been advertised in the magazines, no internet lists of equipment for sale etc. The chances of someone visiting the shop in out of the way Mansfield, seeing those particular basses and buying them in the 8hrs the shop would be open on the Friday were miniscule....or so I thought.

At this point you'll be ahead of me in the story. Saturday morning came around. Kids, wife, money and Musicman packed in the car and down to The EmBASSy for just after opening time. "I've come about the pair of Wals we spoke about"..... "Sorry, we sold them late yesterday afternoon." I didn't cry...honest, but my wife could see on my face I was gutted. She insisted that as we had all travelled down together I might as well continue to have a look around and see if there was anything else I liked. My mind was at this point a bit distracted as I was mentally kicking myself and half heartedly checking out their stock. One of the first they offered was a fretted and fretless pair of Sei headless 4 strings for £1,100. "Sei...nah thanks, never heard of them" My mind was obviously not functioning properly! I'd got it into my head that I was going home with a 5 string and it would be a Wal. Eventually after several hours of checking their stock I decided on a bass that was to be my main axe for the next 10 years a JD Calibas 5 string. If someone had shown me a picture beforehand I would have said it looked "Ok". In the flesh it was "Oooh".

I guess looking back it was actually 4 that got away 2 Wals and 2 Sei! Here's the 2 Wals that got away W3648 and W3649 and my Calibas….

Edited December 23, 2018 by Acebassmusic

[Rich]

There have been three, all in the dim distant past, all snapped up by someone else while I hesitated.

1. pre-EB Ray for £250

2. Shergold 8-string for £195

3. mint SWR 800w power amp for £150

I kicked myself especially hard for no.1.

[NikNik]

My one.

A 1960 stack-pot Jazz came on the market back in the early '90s. The seller only wanted £1k for it but £1k was a difficult bit of cash for me to raise during a recession. After a week or so, I raised the money and made the call; it was gone.

That still grates on my tits to this day.

[josie]

I've been lucky twice. 

First time, went to buy my first ever guitar and got bitten in the leg by a beautiful, silly-cheap, 2nd-hand as-new Faith Venus in Johnny Roadhouse. Didn't have the knowledge or confidence to grab her on the spot. Walked up the next day with my heart literally thumping, surely by now someone else has recognised how gorgeous she is and she'll be gone? But no, she was still there, and is with me now and is named in my will to my favourite acoustic guitar player. 

Second time, at my local Americana festival I'd seen and heard a hollow-body bass I didn't recognise but immediately knew I "needed" - a Gibson EB2. Went to visit my son in Nashville a week later - he is always up for guitar store crawls - and in the legendary Gruhn Guitars found a 1966 faded cherry that sang in my arms but was way over my budget. I literally dreamed about her that night. We went back the next day and there she was with a sign saying "Rob". I almost cried - until it turned out Rob was the sales person I'd talked to, who said with a broad grin "I knew you'd be back!" She's still in Nashville, I don't expect ever to get her back to the UK, but my son is an occasional bass player (mainly a drummer) so she's in good hands and there whenever I go back - with the excuse of seeing my grand-sprogs 🙂 

[Geek99]

Mine was a jap natural 75 RI jazz bass in unusual rw board with pearl blocks

 

partner said “keep it, it’s pretty” but I sold it for a large profit. Stupidly. Sold here, in this very boutique 

[GeeCee]

I think I remember that Calibas from the old Yahoo JD group.  Do you stilll have it or what did you replace it with?

[Acebassmusic]

41 minutes ago, GeeCee said:

I think I remember that Calibas from the old Yahoo JD group.  Do you stilll have it or what did you replace it with?

Yes I did put pictures up on that site. Haven't been there for a long time. I sold the Calibass to a Pastor from Detroit in 2004. He was over in Scotland on holiday, saw my advert and bought it! I replaced it with a Ken Smith BSR 6 string.