I'd like to sell most of my basses, but can't bring myself to do so

[4000]

25 minutes ago, Bobthedog said:

The important thing is to make a quick decision as to what is to go, BUT, whatever you decide, DO NOT PLAY them after the decision.

 

 

This. Always this. Once I’ve decided something is going, it stays in its case until it’s sold. 

[dmccombe7]

If i've picked you up right. 

You love P bass so keep that one.

You love the Limelight so keep that one

However you have 5er Jazz for Dep work so makes sense to keep that.

I'd sell the other Jazz bass.

Having 3 basses that are workable isnt too bad IMO. Put them in cases and hide them under the bed if space is an issue.

 

Dave

 

 

[Maude]

Unless you need the money, I don't see a problem with owning more basses (or anything else) than you need. 

 

A collection of basses is an interesting, beautiful, playable, talking point that brings pleasure. 

 

A collection of money is just about the dullest thing I can think of. 

 

A collection of money is just a load of vouchers that you can exchange for things later in life if you need to. Basses are exactly the same thing but far more pleasurable to own. 

[leftybassman392]

3 hours ago, Maude said:

 

 

A collection of money is just about the dullest thing I can think of. 

 

Depends how big the collection is...

 

Seriously, if there are no financial imperatives at work, what's the problem? I've been pretty much retired for a some years now, but feel no need to part with any of my instruments just yet.

Edited July 31, 2021 by leftybassman392

[Geek99]

10 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

You should see some other BCers collections of 20+ basses, so your 4...well think on't 😁

I did meet one member who told me he had 30 P basses; I had just sold him another

[FinnDave]

23 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

I did meet one member who told me he had 30 P basses; I had just sold him another

Did he know them all by name?

 

I have only one Precision at the moment, so it's easy - it's called 'The Precision".

 

The four Jazz Basses are a bit of a struggle.

[Downunderwonder]

10 hours ago, Sida79 said:

I've been struggling in the past with DADG...

Not happening then.

 

You are struggling because you are feeding yourself conflicting information.

 

You have a favourite bass, a most versatile bass, an actually most versatile 5 string bass, and a best sounding bass. That's 4 basses that are all ''the best'' at something.

 

If the storage issue is truly critical sell all of them and buy the Fender Roscoe Sig 5 in the classifieds.

 

If there's room under the bed for three basses in cases. Keep the lot.

 

The one that sticks out as surplus to me is the 'versatile' Fender 4 Jazz. The Limelight should cover there just fine.

[Pseudonym]

4 hours ago, Maude said:

Unless you need the money, I don't see a problem with owning more basses (or anything else) than you need.

 

1 hour ago, leftybassman392 said:

Seriously, if there are no financial imperatives at work, what's the problem? I've been pretty much retired for a some years now, but feel no need to part with any of my instruments just yet.

 

12 hours ago, Sida79 said:

...I don't really have a place to store a collection of basses...

 

Space. The final frontier.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

As has been mentioned before, unless you need the money, I would keep them.

As for the space, if you don't have room for four basses in their cases, who are you? Harry Potter living in a cupboard under the stairs?

[Chiliwailer]

1 minute ago, Chiliwailer said:

Try storing them in a one bed flat or house share Warren - then again, you could probably build a one bed flat with all your cases 😂😃

[dmccombe7]

Altho my basses are either on wall hangers or on stands on the floor because i'm using them a lot i keep my cases tucked in behind bedroom door.

The door is always open so they are out of sight. I can get 2 cases behind each door.

Just a thought if space is critical for you. 

Dave 

[Reggaebass]

Make a case table, that’s solved the storage problem with one bass 😁

[police squad]

21 hours ago, ezbass said:

Keep the P and the Limelight. The Limelight is the best sounding J you have it seems, so should easily cover everything the other 4 string does. The 5 goes because you’re playing less and likely to be gigging less too. If you need the extended range, fit a D tuner to the Limelight. 

yep, that's my thoughts exactly

[Doddy]

You're obviously trying to justify keeping all 4, so keep them. Otherwise, you just need to be honest with yourself about which is your least favourite, then bite the bullet and advertise it for sale.

If the Limelight is the best sounding, what makes the Fender more versatile?  But if the Fender is the most versatile, why is the 5 your go to for gigs? 

 

[OliverBlackman]

If you’re a P bass fan and love the way the Limelight sounds. Why not commission a Limelight PJ and sell the jazz basses. That way you can have one P with flats and one with roundwounds. 

Edited August 1, 2021 by OliverBlackman

[Downunderwonder]

38 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

If you’re a P bass fan and love the way the Limelight sounds. Why not commission a Limelight PJ and sell the jazz basses. That way you can have one P with flats and one with roundwounds. 

Because no low B string is a pita covering many tunes. OP already tried DADG and it doesn't work for him.

[Sida79]

Thank you for the great advice, everyone. I think ultimately the solution is me accepting the things I'll lose, not caring as much about it and embracing the things I'll gain in terms both physical and mental space and hopefully concentrating less on fiddling about with the instruments and more on actual music. I will indeed:

 

-Loan out the custom five string indefinitely to a guitarist in one of my bands. He'll definitely use it to record some low end ideas and I should've thought of it sooner.

-Sell the Fender. Just like with my ex Gibson Thunderbird, it's a great bass but it's not unique and I could theoretically buy another one like it if for any reason if I really wanted to.

 

As much as I'd love to have only one bass I'll keep the Limelight Jazz with rounds and the P (which is actually a Limelight PJ) with flats.

 

And then probably buy more Limelights, lol

Edited August 1, 2021 by Sida79

[FinnDave]

I've gone through this cycle far too many times, the psychological weight of having more basses than you can 'justify'  can become overwhelming, but realistically, unless you really need the money or the space, then just put a few out of sight and forget they're there for a year or two. It'll save you money in the long run - no need to ask I know that!

 

For me, the main pressure is space, I have enough wall hanging for 6 basses, but currently have 7, so plan to sell 2 I don't use and buy another Jazz Bass that I will.  The pressure to keep the numbers down comes entirely from myself, my wife always tries to talk me out of selling any of them. Unlike some people, she welcomes new basses and I have to sneak older ones out of the house if they are leaving the family!

[Saul Panzer]

I've only got 4, I'm not sure I'll ever have more than that. I've put off buying a second rack to make sure I don't let the number creep up.

If I get a new one it'll be replacing an existing one with something I want more like a Sandberg P bass.

 

I did consider selling 2 and using that money for the Sandberg, honestly there's only 2 basses I'd feel bad selling and that's my Sire P7 and cheap diy mod platform J.

[Stub Mandrel]

I can justify all 10 of my basses as each one has a distinct features.

 

I don't get having lots of the same bass with similar setups & sounds but can understand some folks enjoying such a collection.

 

Having a collection of beautiful things that you can regularly use and play seems totally sound to me.

 

Mind you I have a large collection of Floras (books about the plants of a region), some of which are little more than lists...

[ezbass]

20 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I can justify all 10 of my basses as each one has a distinct features.

 

I don't get having lots of the same bass with similar setups & sounds but can understand some folks enjoying such a collection.

 

Having a collection of beautiful things that you can regularly use and play seems totally sound to me.

 

Mind you I have a large collection of Floras (books about the plants of a region), some of which are little more than lists...

[sammybee]

I used to have 7 basses (looking back that was absolutely crazy). Now I am down to two basses (jazz and a stingray) and two guitars (strat and a tele). 

 

It is really liberating, when you only have one or two instruments, and you don't have to think about buying or selling gear. 

 

Get them sold, enjoy the space (both physically and head space)!

[Killed_by_Death]

On 31/07/2021 at 07:08, Sida79 said:

Anyone else have this first world problem?

I know at least one person in a developing country with this problem.

One guy had it so bad that he opened a shop to sell gear, do setups, & mods.

 

I've never had the issue, in a developing country or at home, but I just don't develop sentimental relationships with inanimate objects.

They're tools to make Music.

 

Would a mechanic lament over selling a tool?

 

[merello]

Not a single photo....this place has went to the. Puppies! 🐶 

[Geek99]

On 01/08/2021 at 01:32, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

As has been mentioned before, unless you need the money, I would keep them.

As for the space, if you don't have room for four basses in their cases, who are you? Harry Potter living in a cupboard under the stairs?

Or living in London anywhere