Your most expensive gear mistakes?

[ezbass]

No really mistakes, but picking up a ‘63 P Bass when I only went out to buy an MIM ‘50s reissue and hearing Peter Kastner play a Rob Allen MB-2 on YouTube; both resulted in inflated expenditure.

[PatrickJ]

1. Purchasing an expensive cabinet unseen / without trying it because lots of folks on Basschat say it's awesome 

2. Trying to find an OD / Distortion pedal that I actually like the sound of

3. Naively thinking anything smaller than a 4x10 cabinet is too small to gig with.

Edited September 29, 2019 by PJ-Bassist

[Al Krow]

7 minutes ago, PJ-Bassist said:

1. Purchasing an expensive cabinet unseen / without trying it because lots of folks on Basschat say it's awesome 

2. Trying to find an OD / Distortion pedal that I actually like the sound of

3. Naively thinking anything smaller than a 4x10 cabinet is tool small to gig with.

1. Am I the lucky beneficiary of (1)?

2. We can help you with that, what sound are you trying to get to? [Where are @dannyboy and @Dosi Y'Anarchy when you need them?]

3. **

 

 

 

**[Deliberately left blank 😁]

[PatrickJ]

45 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

1. Am I the lucky beneficiary of (1)?

2. We can help you with that, what sound are you trying to get to? [Where are @dannyboy and @Dosi Y'Anarchy when you need them?]

3. **

 

 

 

**[Deliberately left blank 😁]

(1) Haha yeah, though I thought I saw you had it up for sale a while ago.

(2) Nooooooooo, no more suggestions I'm already gassing for a Tonehammer PreAmp after listening to @dannybuoy's rendtion of Bernadette he posted on the old school MoTown sound  thread - I think I need to learn to get on with what I have for the time being.

(3) Is now a moot point since I no longer play in a band and have little desire to get back into one in the near future.

[Al Krow]

5 minutes ago, PJ-Bassist said:

(1) Haha yeah, though I thought I saw you had it up for sale a while ago.

(2) Nooooooooo, no more suggestions I'm already gassing for a Tonehammer PreAmp after listening to @dannybuoy's rendtion of Bernadette he posted on the old school MoTown sound  thread - I think I need to learn to get on with what I have for the time being.

(3) Is now a moot point since I no longer play in a band and have little desire to get back into one in the near future.

(1) I did, but I can't find anything that weighs 21lbs that can put out up to 600W at 8 ohms and is actually not too shabby (at all!). It comes in at #6 of my fav cabs of all time, in terms of sheer sound quality, but it wins out on portability! Come on then - 'fess up as to what you really thought about it and why it fell short of what other BC'ers had been saying about it?

(2) There's no right answer here (or to most things gear related). Little story from last night's gig, I accidentally kicked on the drive early in the second set and left it on for 4 numbers three of which weren't in need of drive. Did I or anyone else notice? Like heck they did! So much for tone quest eh? 😁

(3) **

 

 

 

**[Deliberately left blank 😁]

[Deedee]

10 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

Joining basschat.

This ⬆️  Although I must also agree with the below.

10 hours ago, Beedster said:

Ha ha, fair point, although if I hadn't, I would still be playing a crap MIJ Jazz through a Peavey TNT combo, which would have been a far greater mistake. 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Deedee

[chris_b]

I bought a Gibson EB0 for £95 in 1968. That's £1700 (at today's money) spent on a bass that sounded awful. Not a great move for a kid still at school!!

If you're counting money not gained in a sale, I could have got another £6000 if I'd waited and sold both Wals today, instead of when I did!!

 

Edit ~ making more sense. . . . !!

Edited September 30, 2019 by chris_b

[Bluewine]

My Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Bass. I need to sell it.

 

Blue

[lowregisterhead]

1. Knowing full well the scale length and string spacing that suits me, yet still spending eye-watering amounts impulse-buying glittery baubles of basses that are nowhere near those specifications.

2. Knowing a bass is niche, bizarre, impractical and unsellable except at a massive loss, but buying it anyway because I convince myself it's 'rare'.

3. Using basses bought under 1. and 2. for a single rehearsal or one set at a gig, then never playing them again.

[itu]

Any Electro Harmonix effects pedal. High price, low quality, mediocre sound.

Any dist/OD/fuzz that I have not compared with another dist/OD/fuzz. Well, an EBS and one green Muff were just terrible by themselves.

Every drum machine or metronome. Radio channels and records are far better to learn timing.

[knirirr]

Any instrument  I try to sell will be at a loss, no matter what it is, so any purchase I’m not certain to keep will be a big waste. 
Buying an EUB was probably the most expensive mistake, this was due to a combination of not being able to find the ideal BG (which I now have) and too many “you should play upright for jazz” comments. 

[jassthebass]

More of a nearly ... saved by the manufacturer !!

 

A couple of years back I purchased a Mike Lull JT4 & unfortunately it had problems where some of the the grub screws would 'un-wind' during a gig but wouldn't at home (obvs due to do with me moving about at the gig etc.). Because it cost a pretty penny, I ended up being really aggravated !!

I sent an angry email to Mike Lull guitars & to my surprise they very kindly sent me a whole new bridge  - A guy called Paul Schuster was the guy I dealt with, a really nice chap !!

All's good that ends well

 

 

Edited September 30, 2019 by jassthebass

[dmccombe7]

Probably had a few over the years but in order of how useless they were :-

Ric 4003 - always wanted one and after getting it in 80's i found it very limiting in tone. Think i had it about 3-4mths.

Shergold 4 & 8 string twin-neck bass - again early 80's (possibly late 70's) was huge Genesis fan me being just 9.5 stone it was just too heavy for me.

WAL fretless -  My dream bass at that time and again 80's only to find it had a dead spot Eb on G string and WAL weren't interested. Traded for a Fender Jazz. On hindsight after many years with varying basses the dead-spot may have been down to strings or something other than the actual build but i'll never know.

Dave

Edited September 30, 2019 by dmccombe7

[uk_lefty]

All the money I sank in to my MIM Jazz to then trade it in for just £250 against my brand new Stingray. 

Any and every amp I bought brand new and sold at a big loss. 

A Brice six string bass that was just awful. 

Probably my Stingray IF I ever want to sell it. Can get a good quality used Lefty stingray around 900. I bought a new one for double that... 

[odysseus]

Bought a brand new Dingwall NG2 5 string. Fantastic bass, but the band I bought it for folded 2 weeks later, and I have no further use for a 5 string, and nobody locally has the money to buy it. Rookie error.. 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, knirirr said:

Any instrument  I try to sell will be at a loss, no matter what it is, so any purchase I’m not certain to keep will be a big waste. 

Even when you buy used?! 

55 minutes ago, jassthebass said:

More of a nearly ... saved by the manufacturer !!

So the best you can come up with is "I didn't lose a thing?" 😁

39 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Ric 4003 - always wanted one and after getting it in 80's i found it very limiting in tone. Think i had it about 3-4mths.

I've recently been offered a 4003 in a trade for one of my herd. Have you just saved me a whole bunch of heartache?

3 minutes ago, odysseus said:

Bought a brand new Dingwall NG2 5 string. Fantastic bass, but the band I bought it for folded 2 weeks later, and I have no further use for a 5 string, and nobody locally has the money to buy it. Rookie error.. 

Some bed time reading... 

😊

[knirirr]

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Even when you buy used?!

Yes, even then.
The last bass I sold was a decent quality popular model which I would have thought even I could avoid making a loss on as I bought used and it (unusually) had frets. But no; I had to pay import costs when buying and commission when selling.
 

[pkniech]

18 hours ago, Heathy said:

I could say everything in the past 15 years, as my tastes have come full circle. It has been a useful learning experience though, and I have owned some great basses along the way.

 

[pkniech]

Can totally agree with you. Some great gear has passed through my hands Basses and amps. Rarely got the price I wanted and regretted selling after. 😔

 

[oldslapper]

Let go of a rare EA cab and a 5 string fretless Stingray at the same time, a couple of years back, for next to nothing.

Sold them to help pay towards us relocating.

After discovering I’d flogged them, Wife said “why did you sell those, when will we be able to afford to replace them? We could have found another way of meeting the relocation”

I should have discussed it first, instead of playing the martyr. 

🤦🏻‍♂️

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Even when you buy used?! 

So the best you can come up with is "I didn't lose a thing?" 😁

I've recently been offered a 4003 in a trade for one of my herd. Have you just saved me a whole bunch of heartache?

Some bed time reading... 

😊

To be honest the Ric just didn't suit what i needed at the time. I have recently considered buying another one. Don't let my youth experiences put anyone of the basses i mentioned. All great in their own right. Just depends what you are looking for 

[rushbo]

I too, have fallen under the curse of the five-string bass... I've tried three times now, with three lovely instruments - a gorgeous. entry level Attitude, a Spector and a lovely Squier P Bass. They all sounded great, looked very cool and were all playable instruments - although the Spector weighed about as much as aircraft carrier... I just didn't get on with them. The 'B' string, for the most part, was a glorified thumb rest and I found myself playing the occasional low 'D' just because I could, rather than because it suited the song. 

They weren't really expensive mistakes as I managed to get what I paid for them back - and every time I see a bassist with one, I have a bit of a wobble, until I remind myself of all the packaging involved in sending a five-string bass through the post, when I inevitably sell the damn thing. 

[Al Krow]

31 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

After discovering I’d flogged them, Wife said “why did you sell those, when will we be able to afford to replace them? We could have found another way of meeting the relocation”

Sounds to me you could make your relocation money back (and then some) by flogging your missus to the highest bidder on basschat! 😂

[Al Krow]

12 minutes ago, rushbo said:

I too, have fallen under the curse of the five-string bass... I've tried three times now, with three lovely instruments - a gorgeous. entry level Attitude, a Spector and a lovely Squier P Bass. They all sounded great, looked very cool and were all playable instruments - although the Spector weighed about as much as aircraft carrier... I just didn't get on with them. The 'B' string, for the most part, was a glorified thumb rest and I found myself playing the occasional low 'D' just because I could, rather than because it suited the song. 

They weren't really expensive mistakes as I managed to get what I paid for them back - and every time I see a bassist with one, I have a bit of a wobble, until I remind myself of all the packaging involved in sending a five-string bass through the post, when I inevitably sell the damn thing. 

...oooh 5 string Spectors. You've just touched on my latest crush.

I find with 5 strings that it's good to actually play the low B string rather than just use it as thumb rest, but maybe that's just me 😉 😁

[uk_lefty]

48 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

After discovering I’d flogged them, Wife said “why did you sell those, when will we be able to afford to replace them? We could have found another way of meeting the relocation”

I should have discussed it first, instead of playing the martyr. 

It's a trap!