So many basses...no time

[AndyTravis]

Just bought an amazing Status bass, my main bass is a custom shop jazz, I have two basses I had made for me and a bass I’m half heartedly selling which I made from bits myself.

I have some posh meters ov-1 headphones and a sonic port to practice/record ideas with.

I don’t have an amp as I had a 600w Ashdown rig and then quit my band due to family commitments. I had planned to get a little combo for home...but haven’t bothered.

While my playing hasn’t slipped, I’m not finding much time. Even less as of Wednesday when child number 4 arrives.

I love having the gear, but I’m starting to feel weird guilty pangs having about £6000 worth of basses and playing a couple of hours a week in no particular meaningful fashion.

I think it’s more the idea of having stuff I don’t need. 

I think I’ve posted this to ask if anyone has been in the same boat? I’m not going to be gigging any time soon, and in all honesty the idea of jam night busking and meeting for band practices without gigs makes me roll my eyes around in my head.

I’ll come back to this in the morning and probably wonder what I was going on about - I’m not sleeping much 😂

I did the same last night but about iPhones and how the smart phone is ruining the world...while simultaneously typing on a smartphone 🙄

Getting the feeling I might be knocking it on the head soon, just haven’t got the time to invest enough to enjoy it. a bit sad that really.

So - have you got gear sitting gathering dust, what are you thinking about doing with it?

 

 

 

[Grangur]

2-3 basses isn't so many in quantity. As a new Dad, the money could be an issue for some follk. If you need money to feed the children, then you can't argue against needing to sell, or gig to get more money.

As for they amount of money, I guess £6k is the new value?

Well I guess you won't be able to get all that back if you sell. So, the damage is done. In any case, you need to be realistic in terms of what they would sell for.  

Good luck with the family. Stop feeling guilty. Get some sleep, and deal with problems as they come up.

Everything seems worse in the middle of the night.

[uk_lefty]

Not the same value of gear but I recently had similar guilt over my amount of music stuff that rarely got its proper use. Don't get me wrong, I play in a band I enjoy that makes me a few quid on the side, but I never get time to practice at home, and definitely don't get time to practice other music or play around with settings on pedals. I recently moved on a cab, some pedals and a bass I wanted to love but couldn't get on with the string spacing. Losing the bass was sensible, but I really lost out on the cab and should have just stuck it in the loft, especially as I really could have done with it at the next gig I played after selling it! 

I would ask myself: Do you have gear you like to practice with for the rare opportunity? Would you lose too much selling now? If you could join a band today what realistically do you need out of what you already own?

Edited April 2, 2018 by uk_lefty

[funky8884]

I have some Bass's gathering dust, its not worth selling them as I will play them one day.

I also have a Valve Amp thats sitting around - I paid so much for it and will not recover 1/5th of the price if I sold it. I will use it one day 

Edited April 2, 2018 by funky8884

[BassBus]

One question I'd ask of yourself, and there is no right or wrong answer to it, but who is making you feel guilty?

[Gottastopbuyinggear]

I’m a bedroom guitar player, weekend warrior bass player. My bass gear is mid range - MIM fenders.  

On the guitar front I have a Les Paul, American Tele, Strat, and a few other pieces in absolutely pristine condition, and I’ve probably played two of them this year on one occasion each. What am I thinking of doing with them? Absolutely nothing - situations change and I’m positive I’ll come back to them at some point, even though I’m unlikely to ever gig as a guitarist.

If you don’t need the cash, have the space, and have some sort of emotional attachment to your basses and they’re not just tools, then I say hang on to them. In x years time you’re more likely to regret selling them to hanging on to them.

[Grangur]

Something I would add...  You say about getting a small combo?   Don't. Get something modest in size that you can practice with, but big enough to gig with.  Maybe sell the Fender to finance this and keep the bitsa as a stand-by bass.

Point 2.... Stop buying New year. Buy second-hand on EVERYTHING. New gear is for guys with no ties and responsibility.

BtW I have 5 Warwicks and an Ibanez. I don't gig, but practice at home with a Mark Bass LM3 and a BF One10. Guilt is only for those who should sell to pay for food ect.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Grangur

[Gottastopbuyinggear]

19 minutes ago, Grangur said:

Something I would add...  You say about getting a small combo?   Don't. Get something modest in size that you can practice with, but big enough to gig with.  Maybe sell the Fender to finance this and keep the bitsa as a stand-by bass.

Point 2.... Stop buying New year. Buy second-hand on EVERYTHING. New gear is for guys with no ties and responsibility.

Just to offer an alternative view to this, if you’re not likely to gig in the near future then personally I’d stick with the Sonic Port. I use Amplitube on my laptop for all my home playing and it’s great - near silent so not likely to disturb the rest of the family, the sound when playing along to something is much more “integrated” if you see what I mean, and it’s not big enough to attract any questions about why I need "that massive great thing".  I do have a small guitar amp (I decided once that I 'needed' a real valve amp...) but I never use it, and it’s wrapped up in dustbin bags in the shed at the moment.

YMMV etc.

[Woodinblack]

I have a stupid amount of stuff, 8 basses (down from 10), probably 10 guitars (I genuinely don’t know exactly even where they are), 4 keyboards, 3 sound module, gr55, few sound boards etc. 

Sometimes I feel guilt about it but all of my later stuff is paid with gig money and all the other stuff paid for with giving up smoking money. And then I think, well, why should I feel guilty as it isn’t hurting anyone.

[lojo]

People have sports cars , motorbikes and golf clubs etc , don't but new unless you can afford the depreciation and always look at your gear as cash assets that could be sold if the bad times come . Until they do your gear is just like cash in the bank. 

Edited April 2, 2018 by lojo

[Angelus]

My other guilty pleasure is cars, I have the same amount of basses as I do cars. The difference is, if I sell all my cars I’d get about £100k, if I sold all my basses, I’d get £100. The main difference is the fact the cars cost a lot to keep up, MOT, Insurance, Servicing and maintenance. A guitarist I played with years ago once said “ if it’s not eating any bread, why sell it if you don’t need the money? “. I’ve sold basses I regret and I’ve sold cars I regret. The basses more as I didn’t need to, as it wasn’t costing me anything to keep them, the cars are more justified as they were costing me. 

 

If you need the space or money......... If not, I’d keep what you have. As I’ve found out, now that the kids are all grown up, married and left home ( withe the exception of a 22 year old daughter, but that’s a whole other story ), you’ll want to go back to enjoying playing again. 

[Mastodon2]

Don't feel guilty about the cash tied up in the gear - if you bought new the value has already been hammered by depreciation so that money is gone. Unless you need that money to feed your kids and pay your bills then you're better off holding onto the gear.

As for feeling guilty about not being in a band, assess what you get out of playing bass. For some people it seems that being in a band is the only reason to play and some even go as far as to say they must be doing gigs, even jamming with friends and writing songs isn't enough. I got into playing instruments as a way to understand how music worked, for me playing with others has never been a big priority. I do enjoy the chance to play with others but I'm happy just to play on my own, working bits of songs out, playing along with songs and improving my own bass-craft and musical knowledge.

If you only play bass for the sake of getting on stage then maybe it is time to pack it in if your kids will keep you from gigging in the next few years at the least. However, surely you must get some enjoyment from actually having the instrument in your hand and playing it? For that alone, it has to be worth getting it out of the case every now and then and keeping your hands working?

[paul_5]

Been there, done that. It gets better Andy but it takes time.

[AndyTravis]

Hiya.

thanks for the replies.

1. by no means destitute - just guilty for having nice gear I’m not using.

2. The status and Custom shop I am the second owner, I think £6000 was a number I pulled out of the sky, although looking at status and fender prices recently...

[Burns-bass]

29 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Hiya.

thanks for the replies.

1. by no means destitute - just guilty for having nice gear I’m not using.

2. The status and Custom shop I am the second owner, I think £6000 was a number I pulled out of the sky, although looking at status and fender prices recently...

Hi Andy, I’m in the same position (baby number 2, not 4!) I’ve got about £15k tied up in gear, but before that it wasn’t closer to £30! I sold two pre-CBS basses here and feel much happier because that money has been spent on the house and on getting rid of any debts.

I have one bass and one upright I’ll jeep regardless of what happens, the others I don’t have any attachment too. If I sold them, it would be fine.

I wouldn’t do anything rash, but a bit of reflection is always useful. Playing music is a great thing to do, and can brighten up the darkest of times.

Edited April 2, 2018 by Burns-bass

[Dad3353]

7 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

...I have one bass and one upright I’ll jeep regardless of what happens...

A new way of relicing, perhaps..? 

[dmccombe7]

I can understand your dilemma having lot of gear in the house but not using it but as others have said so long as the family are ok and there's no desperate need to sell i would hang onto them. Once the kids are all at school and things have settled down a little who knows maybe you will have time to rethink playing in bands again. Good basses are hard to come by.

Dave 

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

A new way of relicing, perhaps..? 

Nice! 

You have to love Americans.

[josie]

I figure a good bass guitar (or several) is better than money in a bank account, which only benefits the bankers. What I am less comfortable with is knowing that some of them should really be in the hands of better bass players. I do play them, but to a pathetic standard compared to what I've heard when some of my friends or teachers play them - a couple of times I've been tempted just to give one away to someone who would do it justice. I've named some of them in my will to be sure they'll be fully appreciated after me.

[Gottastopbuyinggear]

1 hour ago, josie said:

I figure a good bass guitar (or several) is better than money in a bank account, which only benefits the bankers. What I am less comfortable with is knowing that some of them should really be in the hands of better bass players. I do play them, but to a pathetic standard compared to what I've heard when some of my friends or teachers play them - a couple of times I've been tempted just to give one away to someone who would do it justice. I've named some of them in my will to be sure they'll be fully appreciated after me.

With respect, and in the nicest possible way, what nonsense!  If you can afford them and they give you pleasure, and you do actually play them, then why shouldn’t you have them?!  I don’t agree with collectors buying instruments and locking them away in bank vaults, thus denying anyone the pleasure of playing them, but who’s to say that you don’t get more appreciation out of your instruments than someone who may be more technically accomplished?  

That’s just about the middle bit, by the way - the beginning and the end are fine!

[Grangur]

1 hour ago, josie said:

I figure a good bass guitar (or several) is better than money in a bank account, which only benefits the bankers. What I am less comfortable with is knowing that some of them should really be in the hands of better bass players. I do play them, but to a pathetic standard compared to what I've heard when some of my friends or teachers play them - a couple of times I've been tempted just to give one away to someone who would do it justice. I've named some of them in my will to be sure they'll be fully appreciated after me.

Money in the bank: even today there are places you can invest money that will appreciate more than almost any bass will.

If you leave your basses in your Will to an accomplished player there's no certainty they will appreciate your basses. Just because they CAN play them better doesn't mean they will play them. They might even sell them the week they get them.

[josie]

1 hour ago, Grangur said:

If you leave your basses in your Will to an accomplished player there's no certainty they will appreciate your basses. Just because they CAN play them better doesn't mean they will play them. They might even sell them the week they get them.

These are not just random accomplished players - they're three friends whose faces I've seen light up playing those specific instruments, and also who I'm confident will value them for being mine.

I'm lucky to have enough musician family and friends that I can be sure my basses and guitars will be cherished and not just sold off. Those three don't include my grandson, who at this rate will take over my Aerodyne long before I'm ready to part with it :-)

[DaytonaRik]

I have a number of guitars that I should dispose of as I've pretty much moved exclusively to bass but 2 were gifts, one is an instrument spec'd to my exact requirements no longer in production and the last is a lovely 30 year old Godin that is just a joy to pick up and play.  If owning them brings you joy/happiness and it's not to the detriment of your family then keep hold of them.

Edited April 2, 2018 by DaytonaRik

[stewblack]

I used to wonder why I kept all those bass guitars, amps, cabs and associated paraphernalia. I hadn't played in a band for four years and at the time hadn't touched a bass in at least twelve months. I turned 54 and after being told I was too old by several bands I realised that playing music was a thing of the past.

Idly browsing Join My Band last year I responded to an ad. Didn't get the gig. Never really expected to don't really know why I was looking. Then they contacted me. It was a cheeky request to dep for the guy who got the gig ahead of me as he was unavailable on New year's Eve. Part of me thought I'm too rusty, I'm kind of done with music anyway and shouldn't I be offended, maybe just a little?

Long story short I did the gig, am now their number one dep, before playing I got my amp checked over by an old mate not seen for years and now he and I have formed a band, I also joined a soul band doing some really cool covers and just got asked to write some lines for an originals band. 

Rather obvious moral is you don't know what the future may hold nor how you will feel about music. Keep your beloved instruments, pick them up whenever you feel like it, leave them alone without guilt or remorse the rest of the time. Oh, and say yes to any and all opportunities that come your way, you can always walk away later if they're not what you want.

Good luck with number four.

 

[SpondonBassed]

On 02/04/2018 at 02:02, AndyTravis said:

Just bought an amazing Status bass, my main bass is a custom shop jazz, I have two basses I had made for me and a bass I’m half heartedly selling which I made from bits myself.

So... four with pedigree and a mongrel/bitsa.

That's your answer.  Put the four good'uns into trust so that each child inherits one and just play your bitsa.  It sounds like you are attached to your bitsa more than the others.  Then stop getting SWMBO in the club so that you never have to drop serious cash on a bass ever again.

I hope everything goes well for you and your lady on Wednesday and I look forward to your NABD (New Ankle Biter Day) post.