Battle scarred babys

[ricky22]

hey, its nearly a year since i got my first rick, it feels like forever.Now I dont know what i would do without it.
When i got my baby it had already had quite a hard life, having been played my a proffesional bassist with a nationaly touring band (the view).
It had been dinted, knicked and bottled.
All these marks, in my oppinion, add to its character. They are what make it my bass, not just any old rick.
Recently i have found myself more and more being drawn to gigged, 'beater' basses.
Just wondering if anyone has any pics of their 'Battle Scarred Babys'.
when i get a chance later i will post a few pics of mine.

btw im not saying in anyway i admire people not taking care of their basses and guitars, all my other guitars are pretty much mint cond. My bass already came with bumps and bruises, short of a refin it will be keeping them, for me a new finish would make it not the same bass.

so get your pictures out !!!

james

[kiramdear]

What 'ump?

I love beater instruments. No preciousness and a good price.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=384319

[ricky22]

hey, i have been drooling over your 4001 since you posted thoes pics,
some might question the buckle rash, i say it is a sign that it has been loved and used for what it was created.

[kiramdear]

THe walnut finish is too rare and sweet in my opinion to mess with. I'll leave the rash and enjoy the genuinely relicked look of that original finish. No problem for me.

In general my feeling is this: Preciousness is the death of art.

[dog]

I just don't know. I have also looked at many used basses that were beat up. What would worry me is how all the dings, dents, and scrapes came to be there. Especially when I see many dents in the headstock. Since I know that wood can take only so many impacts, it would worry me. Have all these impacts weakened the headstock, neck, or either of the wing joints? What about the fretboard? Is there hidden damage that is waiting for the next blow before it actually breaks? Sorry fellas, but beat up, well used, 'reliced' basses are not my cup of tea. As for that fine walnut pictured above in the link? It is just worn, not damaged.

[rickenbrother]

There is a difference between honest playing wear which I can accept and appreciate on a used instrument and abuse and neglect, which I cannot accept.

[kiramdear]

Right, where do you draw the line between use and abuse? A badly gouged headstock would be a red flag. But I think most real problems will be evident to an experienced eye. For me, it's always important to actually see and play before I buy. Also because I'm not a collector, I need to know that the playability is for me before I buy. I have real particular likes and dislikes about guitars.

[cjj]

OK, here's a few of mine:
http://frogweb.net/bass.htm

[ricky22]

hmmmm, well i suppose what im refering to is worn, damaged is a different cake, but i suppose if you think about it worn can become damaged.
im not botherd about scratches in my finish, wear where somebodys arm has rested for years, i would say that not of these things would put me off buying an instrument, seperating wings, cracks and fracture lines, they are caused by other things, not love.
i would say you can tell the difference between a bass that has been played constantly for 30 years, and one that has been miss treated for a few years.

and dont get me wrong, non of these feelings ihave about look effect my basses.
i still give the rick a good clean, check over and maintinence check regualy.
I do however use it rather than look at it, so when i clean it there is dirt to clean.
after saving for a very long time for my rick i now treasure it, i plan on keeping it for the rest of my life, i do however like the fact i can honestly see where shes been and what shes done.
i would rather some finish wear and chips than a covered up neck repair.

[Lost Coyotes]

Being mostly a buyer of used instruments, I like them to be as clean as possible. I won't decline to buy one just for normal wear and tear, but the problem is not knowing how stuff happens. Anyone can accidentally bump and scratch things, and I do too, but others just have no regard for their stuff.

I once saw a bass player (one of the few San Diego bands to "make it big", americana/roots-rock band from the late '80s - early '90s), get pi$%ed off and throw his bass, mid-song, at the tech- from all the way across the stage. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the bass had a hard landing. A few years later one of his basses was offered on eBay, proudly advertised as "owned and played by so-and-so!" which was all I needed to know.
"I think I'll pass"...

[ricky22]

haha, true, i dont understand how anyone can miss treat their instrument like that.
my rick is my pride and joy. i could never do anything to intentionaly harm it.
it is by far the best playing bass i have ever picked up.
I feel lucky to own it. i dont think i could ever 'leave my mark on it' in any way other than embeding songs into the woods memory by playing it so much

[kiramdear]

James I think it's cool that you know exactly how your bass got to look like that, you know the man who owned it before and it saw so much glory, that's the kind of provenance that gives it a value even above the market price. And you can enjoy the look because you are informed as to its cause.

[ricky22]

yeh i love the fact it has a story. its almost as much a talking point as how amazing the bass looks and sounds.
i dont know if i could buy a second hand bass and not know its provenance, i think thats part of the appeal of buying used.

[cjj]

I bought the above noted battle scarred 4001 mostly because it was too good to pass up. It's a bit beat up, but is a great player and for $700 (a couple of weeks ago), a good deal. I don't know anything about it other than the friend who I bought it from found it in a pawn shop several years ago.

I'm going to try fixing up some of the chips, etc. I figure I can't really mess it up, so it'll be a good one to learn on. One of these days I'll probably get it refinished to factory specs, but until then, I'd like to get it looking a bit better.

[kiramdear]

CJ, has that crack been mended? I presume so. I think I saw this bass online a while back. The rest of the damage is nothing, but as was said earlier, it would be nice to know exactly how that break occurred. But if it plays well, that's 95% of the battle won at a good price too. Congratulations!