'Letting go' of basses

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Just spent the last few hours trying to decide (mentally) which of my basses I should sell. Just pulled one out to make sure it was all OK and take a few snaps, but damn it's so good, I just can't do it.

Plus, I know I'll never find another one in such condition. I think this bit is the root cause of all the angst as I feel like if I sell it, I won't ever be able to undo what I've done.

I struggle periodically with GAS and did well in the abstinence challenge for the first few months until I caved in. Since then it looks like I'll have at least four incoming in 2019 and really should make some room.

It's the actual making room bit (i.e. selling them) that I find really difficult unless there is a really solid reason to do so. The ones that I don't get on with tend to not stay too long anyway. It's the ones I've kept and bonded with that are the toughies. 

Aghh, I'm flippin' hopeless me 🙄. I know there are quite a few here that have whittled themselves down to about two or three basses, but anyone else really really struggle with this?

[Lozz196]

Yes, recently let a bass go that I wasn’t using, and wouldn’t use in my band. I still regret it even though it was the right decision to make.

[DoubleOhStephan]

That's exactly how I feel 😕

[bassfan]

Yep. You definitely aren’t alone there! I’m down to 4 that I just can’t part with, all for different reasons. 

I’m ok for space here if you need to rehome them 😉

Edited May 12, 2019 by bassfan

[Delberthot]

I've only ever favoured 1 bass at a time so at the moment I am making sure that I have bonded properly with my Geddy Jazz before putting my Sterling up for sale.

At one point years ago I owned 7 basses at one time but I will only ever play 1 at a gig so the other 6 were sold

Maybe something to do with the 140 odd basses I've owned over the years making it easier to sell them every time

[Chiliwailer]

But do you need to sell them Warren, or do you just think you should for some reason?

You’ve got some great gear, a lot of which gets played/gigged, and some others that are stunners for a ‘collection’ type vibe. 

In any case, the trick when selling is NOT to get them out of the case and play them once you have decided to sell them. If they aren’t basses that you’re selling because you don’t like them, then the reason you bought them will make you keep them! 

I’m down to 2 basses now, the last one I sold was a killer to sell (needed the cash) as it was my 66 P Bass in near mint condition, and a damn fine bass too. I left it in the case for a couple of months before selling it to a close friend, the trick was not to play it again until he handed over the cash. Truth is, with two great basses still in the house, I can’t and don’t complain about selling it. So the toughest part is playing them when you’ve decided to sell them, as you’ve found out! Just leave them in case, and sell them but don’t play them if you want to. Or just keep them and grow old pleasantly and unashamedly greedy  

Edited May 12, 2019 by Chiliwailer

[TheGreek]

1 hour ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

anyone else really really struggle with this?

Me...

[Reggaebass]

I’ve just done exactly this today, I got my  fender P bass out to photography and put up for sale, as I haven’t really played it in about a year , as I mainly use my jazzes or Sandberg.       I had totally forgot how nice it sounded and felt, and really couldn’t put it down , so it’s staying now 😁.  Really this just reminded me of why I bought it in the first place 🙂

[Shaggy]

Letting go.........of a bass.......

[howdenspur]

I feel your pain, I'm about to go into letting go mode. Well, that's the plan...

[Barking Spiders]

Certainly much more difficult than giving exes the Spanish archer 😉 . At the start of this year I had 7 basses. Now I'm down to just 3. I did um and err, put them up for sale on EBay, only to take them down again. It was only the parlous state of my finances that made me take the plunge. A few months on and I don't regret it either. Three does me just fine.

[Paul S]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

But do you need to sell them Warren, or do you just think you should for some reason?

 

The third question is 'do you want to sell them'.  Regardless of the answer to the first 2 questions, if the third answer is 'no' then absolutely and categorically don't.

Seller's remorse is a particularly painful thing, isn't it, because when all said and done the only person you can blame for no longer owing that fantastic bass is yourself.  And there are few feelings worse than being the architect of your own misery.  However compelling the reason for selling seems at the time it does nothing to mitigate that hollow pit of the stomach, kick yourself until bruised emptiness that is seller's remorse.  I am currently wallowing in a pool of self pity over some serious sellers remorse at the moment.  

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, Chiliwailer said:

But do you need to sell them Warren, or do you just think you should for some reason?

You’ve got some great gear, a lot of which gets played/gigged, and some others that are stunners for a ‘collection’ type vibe. 

In any case, the trick when selling is NOT to get them out of the case and play them once you have decided to sell them. If they aren’t basses that you’re selling because you don’t like them, then the reason you bought them will make you keep them! 

I’m down to 2 basses now, the last one I sold was a killer to sell (needed the cash) as it was my 66 P Bass in near mint condition, and a damn fine bass too. I left it in the case for a couple of months before selling it to a close friend, the trick was not to play it again until he handed over the cash. Truth is, with two great basses still in the house, I can’t and don’t complain about selling it. So the toughest part is playing them when you’ve decided to sell them, as you’ve found out! Just leave them in case, and sell them but don’t play them if you want to. Or just keep them and grow old pleasantly and unashamedly greedy  

You’re right, I don’t need to sell any, I just feel as though I should. I think. I don’t know. I hadn’t played that particular bass for quite a while, but having done so, I’m going to gig it again as soon as possible. 

I’m not sure I could let any bass go without checking it was OK first. Perhaps that means I’m not destined to sell any 😬

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

11 minutes ago, Paul S said:

I am currently wallowing in a pool of self pity over some serious sellers remorse at the moment.  

It does rather sound like it Paul. Crikey, what did you let go of?

[Linus27]

I have a Fender Mike Dirnt Precision in yellow in mint condition. It's the mk1 version and I've never seen a yellow one before. It's an amazing bass but I really dont need it and I keep deciding to sell it and then changing my mind. I just know that I will never see another one again if I let it go, it sounds and plays beautifully and is in mint condition. I know sellers remource will be high if I let it go so I've hidden it under the bed, out of sight, out of mind 😂🤣

[Paul S]

14 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

It does rather sound like it Paul. Crikey, what did you let go of?

A couple or so years back I found and bought, for very little money, an early 70s Yamaha SB-35.  A straightforward but superb quality, single pup, vol/tone, double cutaway 32" scale beast that simply sang.  The neck was amazing, the tone even better.  Not sure you ever saw it?  But I shifted to 5 string basses, mainly courtesy of Just Jovi, it has to be said.  So, believing i would never use another 4 string bass, I stupidly sold all but one of the 4 string basses (a JV P), including the SB-35.  Just a few months later I have started with this rather fun blues power trio which is the perfect vehicle for 4 string basses - the SB-35 would have been absolutely perfect.  I'm unlikely to ever see another and certainly not for the amount I paid for it.  The buyer is, quite rightly, ignoring my requests to buy it back

This grief is somewhat offset by my new Gibson Les Paul Jnr DC  which looks and sounds rather 'similar' but when all said and done it isn't quite the same.

[Chiliwailer]

29 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

You’re right, I don’t need to sell any, I just feel as though I should. I think. I don’t know. I hadn’t played that particular bass for quite a while, but having done so, I’m going to gig it again as soon as possible. 

I’m not sure I could let any bass go without checking it was OK first. Perhaps that means I’m not destined to sell any 😬

That destiny sounds perfect! 

I try to photograph them, check them out, then store them a while to make it easier not to end up keeping them. Doesn’t always work though, so I have constant temporary withdrawal of adverts. I’m glad my Old Smoothie was permanently withdrawn though, that was a near miss.

Enjoy that gig with the bass. Which one was it? 

[Rich]

I've got some that I could let go without much of a backward glance, a couple that would be a real struggle, and two that are going to my grave with me.

[TheGreek]

When deciding whether to sell you need to factor in that the market currently favours the buyer - look at the high end basses in the marketplace and how they're not selling (currently). Basses at the lower end of the market are selling for silly money - I recently bought a Yamaha (I blame @AndyTravis) for next to nothing.

I'd like to think that the market will pick up again and that we're eventually going to get a decent return for our "investments", whether this is the reason we bought the basses or not. I know I have too many basses but I'm not prepared to sell gear for significantly less than I paid it. I've lost too much money on gear which I haven't had a great deal of use out of and I'm not prepared to do so again.

I'll be holding on to most of my high end gear for the foreseeable.

[mingsta]

Ive got three workhorses, my Sadowsky RHP4 which is undoubtedly my go to bass, a Sire VV75 and a Bongo HH5 for my metal side project. My two fringe basses are my 93 Stringray and a 2010 Stingray 4HH. Ironically I can't sell the two rays as I've had the first one since I was 17 and it's too much a part of my early years to let go of, and the 4HH was a wedding present. So they hang on the wall, largely unused but looking magnificent. 

[silverfoxnik]

Echoing pretty much all of the above.. 

I still have regrets about having had to sell most of the basses that I've owned over the past 40 years or so, but definitely regret the sale of some much more than others.. 

I doubt it'll ever change to be honest. 

Having said that, I'm pretty happy with the bases I still own, so for now, all is well.. 😊

 

[Skinnyman]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

I've got some that I could let go without much of a backward glance, a couple that would be a real struggle, and two that are going to my grave with me.

This entire thread reflects my own feelings exactly. I think I'm now down to my 'ideal' herd - although there are a couple I could get rid of without too much of a problem (my Sandberg, for example. It's a brilliant gigging bass - lots of tonal variety, light, etc - but now i don't gig as much I could easily let it go). But, like Rich, there are a couple that will be buried with me...

My big problem is guitars. I'm a crap guitarist so why do i have so many? And why can't i get rid of any of them?

I need to be strong and cull the herd.

Must.....be......strong......

[Dan Dare]

The only way, in my experience, to make it regret-free (relatively, anyway) is to find something you like even more than the instrument you're selling. Which of course gets more difficult as you acquire nicer instruments...

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

Enjoy that gig with the bass. Which one was it? 

It was this one.

[LukeFRC]

for me selling comes down to either money or space. 
Do you need the money more than you need the bass? 
And do you have the space. 

I live in a smallish house, ideally I would sell a couple of basses because of that... when it comes down to it, one is the bass I've had the longest of any I've had (10-15 years) and has lots of memories. The other is a bitsa I spent more on than I should putting it together and I wouldn't see much of that back, and no one else is going to rate a body built by me and electronics designed and built by me... so no point selling that either...