2024 Gear Abstinence Thread

[ezbass]

Another month and I’m still in! Something is wrong 

[Franticsmurf]

Alas I must gracefully bow out. A new project called for a couple of new effects (phase and vibe) and I've just handed over a few coins for a Sire BG5 electro-acoustic bass. Pedals due today, bass by the end of the week. 

 

Good luck to the rest of you still hanging in there. 😀

[ezbass]

On 02/09/2024 at 09:11, ezbass said:

Another month and I’m still in! Something is wrong 

This is unprecedented, 9 months gone and still here, despite proper, raging GAS (yes I’m looking at you Stuart Spector and your tempting design). An NS centre pin, support doohickey is currently tickling my fancy, which I could call an essential accessory, to aid comfort of playing, but I don’t think I’m kidding anyone. Must resist.

[bass_dinger]

Two Hiscox Lite Flite bass cases, last Friday.  Am I out?

 

Not part of the signal chain, and are currently used by my grandson to play The Floor Is Lava.  So, not even bass-related, in the eyes of Small Boy #2!!

[Richard R]

I say you're still in.

[ezbass]

I think I may have found a way to stave off the bass and 2nd tier GAS, buy camera lenses and golf clubs!*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*However, this devil may care attitude may bleed over into that which must not be bought. 😬

Edited October 6 by ezbass

[Simon C]

On 06/10/2024 at 20:19, ezbass said:

I think I may have found a way to stave off the bass and 2nd tier GAS, buy camera lenses and golf clubs!*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*However, this devil may care attitude may bleed over into that which must not be bought. 😬

My 2023 strategy was similar, though bike and ski stuff for me.  Bass gas was held of by doing “research” - I.e. have no fixed idea about which bass I wanted to buy with 2023s work bonus, but look at what was on the market place here and in some of the physical music shops.  The SE Bass Bash also helped. The research was fun and all was resolved with a scouting visit to GuitarGuitar on New Year’s Eve , then down on again in Jan 2nd to pay for the 2nd hand Rick 4003W that was hanging on the wall but didn’t get as far as their web site.  

 

[Shockwave]

On 16/01/2024 at 16:33, Shockwave said:

I was hoping to break my 2024 duck and get back to playing bass this year (Having been out of the game for quite some time and having my last bass stolen). 

 

Sadly I lost my job, marriage and home after a nightmare 2023 so it looks like I will likely be able to be abstinent this year! 

I do wish you all luck though! 

 

I am officially OUT of this years thread. 

 

I got myself into a slightly better financial position and bought myself a bass (I literally haven't owned a bass in a couple of years)... I did have to push the boat out with Paypal Pay in 3. I hope I have made a right decision (Historically, I have not been a fan of P-J basses, however watching Vincen Garcia and his Yamaha BB basses have made me reconsider... But then again this is equipped with EMGs and Reverse P...)

 

Custom built by Stas Pokotylo Monarch PJ bass. Ukrainian based Ex-Fodera luthier. It has some loving wear on the body but I am excited to receive it. There is very little on these online outside of Ukraine, but I fell in love with the understated looks. It's a real risk for me especially buying it online, but who knows I might be quite surprised! (I guess I could always trade it out otherwise!)

 

Edited October 20 by Shockwave

[Richard R]

That is lovely!!

If it sounds anywhere near as nice as it looks (and I bet it will) that's a keeper.

 

[OliverBlackman]

2 hours ago, Shockwave said:

 

I am officially OUT of this years thread. 

 

I got myself into a slightly better financial position and bought myself a bass (I literally haven't owned a bass in a couple of years)... I did have to push the boat out with Paypal Pay in 3. I hope I have made a right decision (Historically, I have not been a fan of P-J basses, however watching Vincen Garcia and his Yamaha BB basses have made me reconsider... But then again this is equipped with EMGs and Reverse P...)

 

Custom built by Stas Pokotylo Monarch PJ bass. Ukrainian based Ex-Fodera luthier. It has some loving wear on the body but I am excited to receive it. There is very little on these online outside of Ukraine, but I fell in love with the understated looks. It's a real risk for me especially buying it online, but who knows I might be quite surprised! (I guess I could always trade it out otherwise!)

 

What a way to do it! I’ve never heard the name and surprised it ended up at Fair Deal Music of all places! Also surprised Fodera are allowing him to straight up copy their designs….

Regardless you got a really sweet deal there.

[ezbass]

16 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Also surprised Fodera are allowing him to straight up copy their designs….

You can definitely see the Fodera influence in there, but I also see some Yamaha vibes too. Sweet looking bass.

Edited October 20 by ezbass

[DaytonaRik]

Still in Tier 1 - but a new drum rack clamp has seen me bow out of the Tier 2 challenge!  Rats!  In my defence, it is to allow me to fit a laptop mount which has been bought as an early Xmas gift to the rack...I throw myself upon the mercy of the court!

[OliverBlackman]

1 hour ago, DaytonaRik said:

Still in Tier 1 - but a new drum rack clamp has seen me bow out of the Tier 2 challenge!  Rats!  In my defence, it is to allow me to fit a laptop mount which has been bought as an early Xmas gift to the rack...I throw myself upon the mercy of the court!

Early Xmas present? We’re in October 😂 nice try!

[DaytonaRik]

6 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Early Xmas present? We’re in October 😂 nice try!

 

I've only been bought the laptop arms - I already have a suitable length of rack tubing, lock rings etc...just needed the clamp...honest!

[tauzero]

22 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

In my defence, it is to allow me to fit a laptop mount which has been bought as an early Xmas gift to the rack...

 

Do you buy Xmas gifts for all your musical equipment?

[OliverBlackman]

52 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Do you buy Xmas gifts for all your musical equipment?

Hang on….. I’m being framed now 😅 I wasn’t expecting this twist!

[Richard R]

7 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Do you buy Xmas gifts for all your musical equipment?

Genius idea as it is,  " I bought an Ashdown amp as a present to my beloved Ibanez" is not going to fool anyone!

 

And I don’t actually understand what @OliverBlackman has bought, so on that basis he must be guilty of something 😁

[OliverBlackman]

20 minutes ago, Richard R said:

Genius idea as it is,  " I bought an Ashdown amp as a present to my beloved Ibanez" is not going to fool anyone!

 

And I don’t actually understand what @OliverBlackman has bought, so on that basis he must be guilty of something 😁

I now feel guilty for not buying my bass a Christmas present in its 7 years of life. I didn’t know I was mistreating it so badly!

[tauzero]

4 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

I now feel guilty for not buying my bass a Christmas present in its 7 years of life. I didn’t know I was mistreating it so badly!

 

Not even strings?

[DaytonaRik]

On 21/10/2024 at 12:13, DaytonaRik said:

Still in Tier 1 - but a new drum rack clamp has seen me bow out of the Tier 2 challenge!  Rats!  In my defence, it is to allow me to fit a laptop mount, which has been bought as an early Xmas gift, to the rack...I throw myself upon the mercy of the court!

 

Corrected!  The difference that punctuation can make, but I do agree that buying equipment for my current gear is a neat work around!

[neepheid]

Right, need an early adjudication for next year, as I intend to go again.  Am in the process of getting my final purchases worked out and done before the end of 2024.  Hit a snag.

 

I have already paid for a bass but it has a very long lead time on its arrival and while it was supposed to arrive in late December the ETA has slipped into next year.  This in and of itself is not a problem with regard to the rules - the money's already out of the account in this calendar year.  The problem lies in the fact that it was supposed to be a mod project - a challenge to myself to see if I can cruft together a NEW bass for £150 and it be giggable.  This was inspired by my G4M "rat" bass which started as a "how bad can a £150 bass be?" question and ended up as a very decent £300 bass.  So I decided if I could do it again but in half the budget

 

Now I fully expect the pickup to be utter bollox, so before the end of the year I'll score something cheap that gets good reviews (probably a Tonerider), but who knows how ropey the tuners and electronics will be?  It's kinda chicken and egg - I won't know until I get the bass.  But if I buy gear early next year (bass is slated to arrive in January) then I'll fall at the first hurdle.

 

TL:DR would the body of the kirk be willing to grant me an exemption to be able to buy replacement tuners next year should the stock ones turn out to be utter garbage?  I tried so hard to get the bass to arrive this year (I ordered it on 18th September FFS!) but due to factors beyond my control that isn't going to happen (unless something magical happens).

 

If you wanna be meanies and make me gamble I guess my spares box won't grumble, but I thought I'd ask before going down the route of buying stuff I might not need (or need but might not fit!)

 

Thank you for reading my shaggy dog story, and I await your adjudication...

[rOB]

12 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Right, need an early adjudication for next year, as I intend to go again.  Am in the process of getting my final purchases worked out and done before the end of 2024.  Hit a snag.

 

I have already paid for a bass but it has a very long lead time on its arrival and while it was supposed to arrive in late December the ETA has slipped into next year.  This in and of itself is not a problem with regard to the rules - the money's already out of the account in this calendar year.  The problem lies in the fact that it was supposed to be a mod project - a challenge to myself to see if I can cruft together a NEW bass for £150 and it be giggable.  This was inspired by my G4M "rat" bass which started as a "how bad can a £150 bass be?" question and ended up as a very decent £300 bass.  So I decided if I could do it again but in half the budget

 

Now I fully expect the pickup to be utter bollox, so before the end of the year I'll score something cheap that gets good reviews (probably a Tonerider), but who knows how ropey the tuners and electronics will be?  It's kinda chicken and egg - I won't know until I get the bass.  But if I buy gear early next year (bass is slated to arrive in January) then I'll fall at the first hurdle.

 

TL:DR would the body of the kirk be willing to grant me an exemption to be able to buy replacement tuners next year should the stock ones turn out to be utter garbage?  I tried so hard to get the bass to arrive this year (I ordered it on 18th September FFS!) but due to factors beyond my control that isn't going to happen (unless something magical happens).

 

If you wanna be meanies and make me gamble I guess my spares box won't grumble, but I thought I'd ask before going down the route of buying stuff I might not need (or need but might not fit!)

 

Thank you for reading my shaggy dog story, and I await your adjudication...

No idea but sounds like an interesting project

[tauzero]

14 minutes ago, neepheid said:

TL:DR would the body of the kirk be willing to grant me an exemption to be able to buy replacement tuners next year should the stock ones turn out to be utter garbage?  I tried so hard to get the bass to arrive this year (I ordered it on 18th September FFS!) but due to factors beyond my control that isn't going to happen (unless something magical happens).

 

As it was bought with the intention of upgrades, and it's potentially a minor improvement, I think it should get a pass.

[ezbass]

Hmm, buy some tuners and other hardware in advance (if you know the sizes of course)?

 

In other news, another month and I’m still in! I don’t feel right  

[neepheid]

16 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Hmm, buy some tuners and other hardware in advance (if you know the sizes of course)?

 

In other news, another month and I’m still in! I don’t feel right  

 

The whole source of the dilemma.  Bass won't arrive this year.  Cheap bass, no idea what size of tuners I might need.  Standards may be out the window!  I'm doing my best - will be buying a pickup ahead of time...