Ugliest sterling ever. Suggestions?

[tbonesullivan]

No you weren't. Besides, the value of this bass probably increased now

Uh no. The value is definitely down. Musicman does some of the best finishes in the business, from the wood up. They are highly resilient and look great. You took a bass that had a finish that was on only 20, and stripped it off. Removing the original finish? down in value. Unless you have an car body shop put on a new coat of paint, whatever you put on now will not be nearly as good as the original finish.

 

[Gustaf]

Uh no. The value is definitely down. Musicman does some of the best finishes in the business, from the wood up. They are highly resilient and look great. You took a bass that had a finish that was on only 20, and stripped it off. Removing the original finish? down in value. Unless you have an car body shop put on a new coat of paint, whatever you put on now will not be nearly as good as the original finish.

You americans should know about supply and demands, that's kind of your thing aint it?
Here's the deal, even if it had the best paint job there is, no one wanted to buy it due to its plain ugliness (no demand, less value).
By removing the extraordinary paint I made it look better (higher demand, higher value). There's a far better demand for a good looking sterling than an ugly looking one, hence the increase in value. I'd say my chances of selling it with a profit drastically increased now. I intend to keep it and play it though.

I might come off as rude with that comment, but I don't really buy into the collector's view that this bass should be kept as is just because it happens to be rare. My basses are tools and if a tool aint up to my standard, I'll modify it so I can use it. This bass is way better off being played on stage with me than being on the wall because no one want's to be seen in public with it. Besides, this bass is 12 years old and barely used while it still sounds great, that says alot about what the aesthetics can do to a great instrument. While I'm at it, I can continue to be a bit controversial and say that I'm not that overly impressed with the paint job. I can't say that it's better than any other guitar or bass that I own.

 

[Soulkeeper]

Yes, you removed a premium paint job, and yes, in this particular case that is totally understandable IMHO.

In universe A the value goes down, in universe B the value goes up, and I believe we live in universe C. Aaanyway ... all that is irrelevant, as long as you don't plan on selling it anyway.

Do keep us posted on the progress, though. There are not many DIY threads about MM basses - probably because DIY is so seldomly needed - so this is interesting.

 

[bassmonkeee]

Uh no. The value is definitely down. Musicman does some of the best finishes in the business, from the wood up. They are highly resilient and look great. You took a bass that had a finish that was on only 20, and stripped it off. Removing the original finish? down in value. Unless you have an car body shop put on a new coat of paint, whatever you put on now will not be nearly as good as the original finish.

They don't use magic paint. They don't sprinkle unicorn dust in there that makes the player better and the women prettier. He's already stated that he got it for an absolute steal of a price because no one wanted the bass because of the finish and it was given away for super cheap.

From his second post in the thread:
"I bought this for aprox. 500€, or around 750$.. A used sterling over here (in sweden), usually goes for around 1200$ or more if it's in real nice condition. "

Why would he take the bass to a car body shop? My refinished daphne blue Bongo looks every bit as professional as the original Musicman finish. It was done by the guy who does Sadowsky, Lull and many others. People can paint instruments professionally in Sweden, too. Something tells me he's not planning on taking a can of Krylon to it in a living room with 6 cats.

Musicman does consistently amazing finish work. But, let's not romanticize the process of putting paint on a piece of wood.

If he can get a bass in the color of his choosing for less than what he'd pay for a used Sterling, assuming he could even find one, how in the heck has he screwed up in any way? Answer: He hasn't.

 

[l4st.ninja]

I totally agree man, I've just recently scored a mint 'used' classic ray in the coral finish for less than half the cost new, and I'm not too keen on the 'fiesta red' colour so I'm going to have it changed by a pro to period match as closely as possible the old pre-eb 79-81 'random' sunburst/tobacco burst finishing. Yeah I know that will drop the market value, but the bass is not going to be sold, and I love it to bits.. just not the finish, sorry EB.. though they always do a lovely job with the coat in terms of QC (It's not magic, but pretty close lol). I figure its only me playing it so who cares, I intend to 'play' it and not hang it on the wall, or store it and then wait some years and then sell it off to a collector.

Once you get into that vein of thought, you can end up with a bass you hardly use or are afraid to because of the fear of dings, scratches, dents or any other accidents, which to me are sometimes unavoidable no matter how well your instrument is cared for. Plus, if it makes you feel good rather than looking at an instrument with dissapointment, then who cares right? I don't think anyone has the right to object to any modifications someone might make to an instrument they own. Give advice sure, but at the end of the day it's not yours, and every bass player is unique.. and the same goes with how we approach our instruments

It's prob a bit late now, but I'd love to have seen a pic of the end result, even clear coated that would be a tasty slab of wood

They don't use magic paint. They don't sprinkle unicorn dust in there that makes the player better and the women prettier. He's already stated that he got it for an absolute steal of a price because no one wanted the bass because of the finish and it was given away for super cheap.

From his second post in the thread:
"I bought this for aprox. 500€, or around 750$.. A used sterling over here (in sweden), usually goes for around 1200$ or more if it's in real nice condition. "

Why would he take the bass to a car body shop? My refinished daphne blue Bongo looks every bit as professional as the original Musicman finish. It was done by the guy who does Sadowsky, Lull and many others. People can paint instruments professionally in Sweden, too. Something tells me he's not planning on taking a can of Krylon to it in a living room with 6 cats.

Musicman does consistently amazing finish work. But, let's not romanticize the process of putting paint on a piece of wood.

If he can get a bass in the color of his choosing for less than what he'd pay for a used Sterling, assuming he could even find one, how in the heck has he screwed up in any way? Answer: He hasn't.

 

[Soulkeeper]

Once you get into that vein of thought, you can end up with a bass you hardly use or are afraid to because of the fear of dings, scratches, dents or any other accidents

Seriously, I'm considering giving my Trans Red SR5 a trip on its own down the stairs just to screw up the finish, because it's much too pristine right now, not the smallest scratch on it, and I find that this inhibits me when I try to ... y'know, actually use the darn thing. :/

I even bought a SBMM Ray5 so I wouldn't have to worry about the SR5 so much. Yeah, I feel almost like I'm sick in the head, but that's just how some of us are wired.

If I just had a cat that would use it as a scratching board, I could shout at the cat for ten seconds and be done with it ... to get over this materalistic bass angst fetish neurosis thing.

Seriously. This is why I tend to buy my instruments second-hand and preferably pre-scratched.

 

[five7]

Seriously, I'm considering giving my Trans Red SR5 a trip on its own down the stairs just to screw up the finish, because it's much too pristine right now, not the smallest scratch on it, and I find that this inhibits me when I try to ... y'know, actually use the darn thing. :/

I even bought a SBMM Ray5 so I wouldn't have to worry about the SR5 so much. Yeah, I feel almost like I'm sick in the head, but that's just how some of us are wired.

If I just had a cat that would use it as a scratching board, I could shout at the cat for ten seconds and be done with it ... to get over this materalistic bass angst fetish neurosis thing.

Seriously. This is why I tend to buy my instruments second-hand and preferably pre-scratched.

I agree, I don't get along with new things either. Once, I rebuilt a toyota pickup and got it painted, looked great. Drove it to the grocery store, backed into a cart, put a big scratch in the tailgate. Was so mad I kicked the bumper and broke my big toe. Sold the truck the next week, bought another one with scratches and dents all over it and drove it in peace. No new instruments or cars for me. lol

 

[l4st.ninja]

Haha, yeah I mean don't get me wrong I love things looking new etc, but it's maintaining that in a gigging environment that gets a little sketchy. I'm a player who is active onstage, so I tend to get a lot of wear tear, even just from palm pressure/movement on the top coat. The worst example of this was when I had a warwick corvette, in a satin finish.. I tried like crazy to keep it perfect and store condition, but bumps and bruises kept happening, guess that's the curse of a unfinished or wax finish bass. My current one other than the ray is an ATK which I've had for years, it's been dented in a few spots, finish is chipped in places, paint is scratched at points, finish worn through on the arm contour just from palm/forearm pressure over the years, but it's still a good player.. and I'm not afraid to get into playing with it when I'm at a gig.. I had a ray HH once, a GC special in white/gold hardware and I played that at a gig, but was standing like a tree the entire night, I was too afraid to get any of the hardware even blemished lol

But my big point, for the previous comment was not so much wear and tear but more that you have to be happy with what you play.. and let's not kid ourselves, that can also include aesthetics.. I'm not happy with my coral ray, I think it looks a little bit too 'pink' in tone, so I'm going to get the finish changed.. same as the original poster, that paintjob didn't fly, so change it.. might not make the purists happy, but at the the end of the day.. whosoever playeth and owneth the bass can doeth what thou wilt

Seriously, I'm considering giving my Trans Red SR5 a trip on its own down the stairs just to screw up the finish, because it's much too pristine right now, not the smallest scratch on it, and I find that this inhibits me when I try to ... y'know, actually use the darn thing. :/

I even bought a SBMM Ray5 so I wouldn't have to worry about the SR5 so much. Yeah, I feel almost like I'm sick in the head, but that's just how some of us are wired.

If I just had a cat that would use it as a scratching board, I could shout at the cat for ten seconds and be done with it ... to get over this materalistic bass angst fetish neurosis thing.

Seriously. This is why I tend to buy my instruments second-hand and preferably pre-scratched.

 

[Gravesend Black]

Haha, yeah I mean don't get me wrong I love things looking new etc, but it's maintaining that in a gigging environment that gets a little sketchy. I'm a player who is active onstage, so I tend to get a lot of wear tear, even just from palm pressure/movement on the top coat. The worst example of this was when I had a warwick corvette, in a satin finish.. I tried like crazy to keep it perfect and store condition, but bumps and bruises kept happening, guess that's the curse of a unfinished or wax finish bass. My current one other than the ray is an ATK which I've had for years, it's been dented in a few spots, finish is chipped in places, paint is scratched at points, finish worn through on the arm contour just from palm/forearm pressure over the years, but it's still a good player.. and I'm not afraid to get into playing with it when I'm at a gig.. I had a ray HH once, a GC special in white/gold hardware and I played that at a gig, but was standing like a tree the entire night, I was too afraid to get any of the hardware even blemished lol

But my big point, for the previous comment was not so much wear and tear but more that you have to be happy with what you play.. and let's not kid ourselves, that can also include aesthetics.. I'm not happy with my coral ray, I think it looks a little bit too 'pink' in tone, so I'm going to get the finish changed.. same as the original poster, that paintjob didn't fly, so change it.. might not make the purists happy, but at the the end of the day.. whosoever playeth and owneth the bass can doeth what thou wilt

If you don't like the color - you may just trade it to someone who likes coral red. As far as I know it is discontinued color so it can make your bass more valuable in trade.