2024 Gear Abstinence Thread

[paul_5]

Made it to the end of July before buying a Spectracomp. Not a bad little compressor - not sure that it'll stay, but certainly fun to play around with.

[Stub Mandrel]

Trusting that a new PA amp and other PA bits doesn't count.

 

Getting dangerously close to some new machine heads or a pedal board...

[bass_dinger]

I seek an adjudication from fellow Abstainers.

 

In 2023, I knowingly purchased a £150 bass with a twisted neck, and had planned to buy a new neck when funds allowed.  Full story here 

This month, the credit card bills for the new neck are due - thus, I am paying for the new neck (along with shipping, import duty and other taxes) in August, amounting to nearly £600.

 

So, my question is, does this repair of a 2023 item count as a repair (which leaves me still in the game). Or does the fact that I willfully purchased something pre-broken make it a project rather than a repair? If so, am I out of game for 2024?

 

Further arguments to consider:

1. Double Jeopardy.  I was out of the  2023 Gear Abstinence Thread for the purchase of the same bass (plus its sister bass). Can I be convicted twice for the same "crime"?

 

2. Substance over Form. If the repair costs four times as much as the bass, is the repair the substantive purchase that we should be considering,  and not the minimal purchase cost of what was effectively a neckless bass guitar. 

 

3. If I pay to have this same bass refinished in 2025, would I be out a third time for the same bass? And if so, does it feel right that a project spanning three years should cause me to fail the Gear Abstinence challenge in three successive years, when I am seeking to reduce my expenditure on new bass guitars by spreading the costs. 

 

Yours, taking this thread far too seriously, 

 

Bass_dinger 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3 by bass_dinger
A better case for the defence....

[Jackroadkill]

Glad I didn't sign up for this; I've just seen a bass I really need.  I may have to sell a guitar....

[OliverBlackman]

1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

I seek an adjudication from fellow Abstainers.

 

In 2023, I knowingly purchased a £150 bass with a twisted neck, and had planned to buy a new neck when funds allowed.  Full story here 

This month, the credit card bills for the new neck are due - thus, I am paying for the new neck (along with shipping, import duty and other taxes) in August, amounting to nearly £600.

 

So, my question is, does this repair of a 2023 item count as a repair (which leaves me still in the game). Or does the fact that I willfully purchased something pre-broken make it a project rather than a repair? If so, am I out of game for 2024?

 

Further arguments to consider:

1. Double Jeopardy.  I was out of the  2023 Gear Abstinence Thread for the purchase of the same bass (plus its sister bass). Can I be convicted twice for the same "crime"?

 

2. Substance over Form. If the repair costs four times as much as the bass, is the repair the substantive purchase that we should be considering,  and not the minimal purchase cost of what was effectively a neckless bass guitar. 

 

3. If I pay to have this same bass refinished in 2025, would I be out a third time for the same bass? And if so, does it feel right that a project spanning three years should cause me to fail the Gear Abstinence challenge in three successive years, when I am seeking to reduce my expenditure on new bass guitars by spreading the costs. 

 

Yours, taking this thread far too seriously, 

 

Bass_dinger 

 

 

 

 

I think the rules were that if it is a like for like parts replacement you’re fine. 

[neepheid]

4 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

I seek an adjudication from fellow Abstainers.

 

In 2023, I knowingly purchased a £150 bass with a twisted neck, and had planned to buy a new neck when funds allowed.  Full story here 

This month, the credit card bills for the new neck are due - thus, I am paying for the new neck (along with shipping, import duty and other taxes) in August, amounting to nearly £600.

 

So, my question is, does this repair of a 2023 item count as a repair (which leaves me still in the game). Or does the fact that I willfully purchased something pre-broken make it a project rather than a repair? If so, am I out of game for 2024?

 

Further arguments to consider:

1. Double Jeopardy.  I was out of the  2023 Gear Abstinence Thread for the purchase of the same bass (plus its sister bass). Can I be convicted twice for the same "crime"?

 

2. Substance over Form. If the repair costs four times as much as the bass, is the repair the substantive purchase that we should be considering,  and not the minimal purchase cost of what was effectively a neckless bass guitar. 

 

3. If I pay to have this same bass refinished in 2025, would I be out a third time for the same bass? And if so, does it feel right that a project spanning three years should cause me to fail the Gear Abstinence challenge in three successive years, when I am seeking to reduce my expenditure on new bass guitars by spreading the costs. 

 

Yours, taking this thread far too seriously, 

 

Bass_dinger 

 

 

 

 

 

Well I appreciate you taking this thread seriously.  I think repairs are fair game, rules say as much, so I reckon it passes for this time.  That refinish you're proposing next year, well, it's an odd one but I would say that it's frivilous, even if the bass had no finish it doesn't stop it performing as a bass so I would argue that's an elective and therefore put you in jeopardy.  How bad is the finish as it stands now?

[neepheid]

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Trusting that a new PA amp and other PA bits doesn't count.

 

Getting dangerously close to some new machine heads or a pedal board...

 

PA isn't bass specific, so you'll only be ruled out for extra credit.

[bass_dinger]

7 minutes ago, neepheid said:

That refinish you're proposing next year, well, it's an odd one but I would say that it's frivilous, even if the bass had no finish it doesn't stop it performing as a bass so I would argue that's an elective and therefore put you in jeopardy.  How bad is the finish as it stands now?

There is no finish on it at all - the previous owner stripped it off. ("I took the neck off. So, I may as well totally ruin it by taking the finish off too...").  I don't know what the original finish was, but I am guessing some kind of clearcoat with staining.

 

I wondered if the refinish would count as a repair and a return to original - or if, as @neepheid says, a frivolous upgrade from a perfectly functional bare wood.  Functional, but prone to damage (knocks, accidental staining, build up of skin oils). 

 

Consider this - the neck repair involved applying a finish to the replacement neck, and that is judged to be a repair that is acceptable within the rules.  So, should the body refinish likewise count as a repair?

[OliverBlackman]

3 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

There is no finish on it at all - the previous owner stripped it off. ("I took the neck off. So, I may as well totally ruin it by taking the finish off too...").  I don't know what the original finish was, but I am guessing some kind of clearcoat with staining.

 

I wondered if the refinish would count as a repair and a return to original - or if, as @neepheid says, a frivolous upgrade from a perfectly functional bare wood.  Functional, but prone to damage (knocks, accidental staining, build up of skin oils). 

 

Consider this - the neck repair involved applying a finish to the replacement neck, and that is judged to be a repair that is acceptable within the rules.  So, should the body refinish likewise count as a repair?

IMO refinish is a repair. The bass isn’t currently as the factory intended so putting a finish on it is getting it back to a state that it was to begin with.

[Richard R]

9 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

PA isn't bass specific, so you'll only be ruled out for extra credit.

 

Yep, only a tier 2 failure. 

You could avoid even that if you promise not to play your bass though it 😉

 

[ezbass]

I’ve managed to talk myself out of the Cali76! Do I have split personality disorder, or have I been abducted by aliens and had the GAS secreting gland removed?

[Stub Mandrel]

On 04/08/2024 at 12:55, Richard R said:

 

Yep, only a tier 2 failure. 

You could avoid even that if you promise not to play your bass though it 😉

 

 

Too late... 😬

[BillyBass]

I'm still in but only because Andertons haven't got the Z7s in yet.

[Stub Mandrel]

Whoops... I'm out. After telling three of my nearest and dearest that I'm going to a music shop but I definitely won't buy a bass.

 

But how could I pass on this.

 

Marcus Miller P10. Second hand but as new. £499. Completely different from all my other basses.

 

[Richard R]

Very Nice.

Hope to see it at the SW Bash.

[neepheid]

8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Whoops... I'm out. After telling three of my nearest and dearest that I'm going to a music shop but I definitely won't buy a bass.

 

But how could I pass on this.

 

Marcus Miller P10. Second hand but as new. £499. Completely different from all my other basses.

 

 

Your glorious exit has been recorded, sir.

[OliverBlackman]

There’s been a lot of nice NBDs recently… I’m getting twitchy 🤣

[Richard R]

10 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

There’s been a lot of nice NBDs recently… I’m getting twitchy 🤣

 

We could collectively celebrate a

No Bass Day.

[OliverBlackman]

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

 

We could collectively celebrate a

No Bass Day.

That sounds like those end of life parties people now throw instead of funerals… were acting happy but really inside we’re still very sad! Having said that I picked up my p bass for the first time in months and I’m happy again!

[TorturedSaints]

Well, I wasn’t technically opted in to the 2024 competition, but seeing as I was GAS free for the last 2 years, it was a fair bet.  However, in order to play sfz fp crescendo dynamics on the bass guitar with the concert band, I needed a volume pedal (I wasn’t quick enough to do it with the volume knob😮). So now I have a passive EHX volume pedal for that, and I’m out of the running for 2024. 

[MacDaddy]

I bought an Ibanez UB804 last week, so I'm out.

I regret nothing! 😆

[neepheid]

Right, before I deal with that, here's August's report:

 

Two more drop out, leaving 21 remaining.

 

4 months to go - you can do it.  Maybe.

[neepheid]

@TorturedSaints, @MacDaddy - despite your late registration, I have nevertheless documented your journey on the road to hell paved with good intention!

[TeresaFR]

Oh, I bought a Nu>X C-5RC wireless unit so you can mark me down as out since the 5th August.

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, TeresaFR said:

Oh, I bought a Nu>X C-5RC wireless unit so you can mark me down as out since the 5th August.

 

Noted, but to keep it the same for everyone (and so I don't have to go back in time and revise my monthly reports), I mark it down as the date of reporting.