How do you keep track of everything you've owned?

[LeftyJ]

Can't speak for @BassAgent, but to me it's interesting how my taste in basses (and guitars mostly) has developed through the years, and it helps me keep track of what I do and don't like in an instrument. That said, there have been instruments in my life which I would appreciate a lot more with the knowledge and musical taste I have developed since selling them. The lovely MrBassman "No Sweat" (by Human Base, based on their BaseX model) I once owned comes to mind, and the fretless Sandberg Bullet 5 I foolishly sold. 

 

I don't keep a spreadsheet of any kind. I used to keep pictures of everything in my Photobucket account, but Photobucket has long since deteriorated into a huge money grabbing pain in the a** where you'll exceed your free bandwidth as soon as 3 people have even thought about clicking on any of your pics so I don't use that anymore. There are still a load of pics on my 15 year old PC (that I don't use anymore) and a lot on my phone. 

Edited September 11 by LeftyJ

[BigRedX]

I don't. Everything I currently own is in the house and everything else is no longer my concern.

 

At a push I could probably list all the guitars, basses and amplification I've owned over the years although I'd struggle with the synths and studio equipment as there was quite a high turnover of gear lot of it was communally owned by the band(s) I was in at the time, rather than just by me.

[tegs07]

It would be prudent to take some photos of instruments and serial numbers for insurance purposes but in terms of previous belongings I don’t really have any record or a desire to do so.

To be honest I am looking to downsize and am looking forward to getting rid of a lot of my possessions so am more preoccupied with getting rid rather than archiving.

 

[Machines]

39 minutes ago, JoeEvans said:

I would have to rephrase the question - why would you keep track of everything you've owned?

Autism.

 

EDIT: My spreadsheet now has over 100 basses recorded.

Edited September 11 by Machines

[BassAgent]

4 hours ago, JoeEvans said:

I would have to rephrase the question - why would you keep track of everything you've owned?

Because it's fun to see how my taste has developed over the years. Furthermore, there are some basses I'd like to own again someday (if anyone has seen my former trans white Lakland Skyline 55-60 hit me up) and keeping track of serial numbers helps. 

[Beedster]

I don't have the time  

[Beedster]

But if I did.....

 

Little has changed, love Precisions, but started with Stingrays and have just bought one after a 15 year lay off. Suspicious of Jazzes, like a Ric but not enough to ever keep one long, hate anything that looks like a dinner table, even Wals. Who needs a list  

[Linus27]

Not only do I have a list of what I own, but also what I owned but also what I want to own

[cetera]

19 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

Not only do I have a list of what I own, but also what I owned but also what I want to own

Me too!

[JoeEvans]

To be fair, it's extremely sensible to keep a spreadsheet with serial numbers, purchase prices and where instruments were purchased, just for insurance / theft recovery purposes. So as you add new purchases to the list you're going to end up with a full record anyway. Now that I think about it I ought to start doing it myself really...

[bassbiscuits]

Yup I started doing this a few years ago, including instruments, amps, pedals, accessories, cases, the lot.

 

Can’t remember why I started doing it, but over about 10 years now it’s grown to include the bands I’ve been in, notable gigs, any releases I appear on and random facts and figures about further / largest / best paid / worst paid gigs etc. 

 

It’s quite interesting looking back over 38 years of playing, but I’ve only got through about 30 basses, 20 or so amps and a handful of acoustic guitars.
 

Over the last few months I’ve begun boiling it down to the bare minimum that I need, so I’m sure there are much more impressive lists out there. 
 

 

[TheLowDown]

Absolutely! I'm a hardcore list guy, I keep lists of pretty much everything. Possibly as a means of security. 

Edited September 11 by TheLowDown

[admiralchew]

20 hours ago, basshead56 said:

I plan to also record when each bass has had a setup or new strings on the sheet.

I started doing this with regard to set ups, strings, battery-replacements and dehumidifier packs. It's been quite useful!

 

I've kept a record too of various materials, measurements and profiles - I think I just like keeping lists...

 

My spreadsheet started as a way of tracking where I bought basses and pedals from, when, how long the warranty lasted and whether I had registered for the warranty. As things progressed I just carried on filling it out and tracked other details like serials and expenditure and used it to benchmark whether used prices were reasonable.

Edited September 11 by admiralchew

[Stub Mandrel]

I found my spreadsheet and updated it.

 

I have far too many instruments that are not basses and I haven't even started listing harmonicas, the ocarina or jaw harp.

 

 

[ezbass]

9 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I found my spreadsheet and updated it.

Screenshot or it didn’t happen  

[Woodinblack]

17 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I found my spreadsheet and updated it.

 

I have far too many instruments that are not basses  

 

My spreadsheet decided to not go to other instruments, apart from the chapman stick. I mean the keyboards don't have consumables, neither do the EWIs and the guitars, well the only one that has a non rechargable battery is the only one I have changed the strings on in a decade so no point writing those down or I would have to face up to the fact I have lots of guitars that I don't play!

[Bassman Sam]

I photograph every bass I have owned,  including serial numbers and uploaded them to the cloud. If my phone,  computer  etc goes down,  I can still access them.

[mikeswals]

I don't. Once I've decided to let it go, that's it, its out of my life and most pictures (if not all) get deleted. And having owned over 200 basses, I simply couldn't afford to keep everything.

[msb]

I just have the usual assortment of stuff that accumulates. Some classic production basses. Nothing exotic. I have pics of serial numbers and an overall shot each item. I do plan to sell an amp or two. Maybe a couple of basses. Still enjoy what I have.

I know some real collectors , not in that league.

[LowB_FTW]

Thanks to a prompting by this very thread, I now have a Note on my Mac with a table listing all the basses I have, and even a couple I no longer have.

- Make of bass

- Serial Number

- Date of purchase

- Price and place of purchase

 

Mark

[Rayman]

Nah. 40+ years of turnover, three figures in terms of numbers….. I wouldn’t know where to start. There’s pictures of a lot of them in my Dropbox, but there’s so many I’ve long since forgotten about. 
 

I remember the first though, a Columbus Jazz, late 70s (it was new then), but between then and now is a blur. I’d probably get very depressed if I started thinking about all the amazing basses I’ve let go.