I have a Squier classic vibe 51 p-bass. It feels and sounds very different though.
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Ahh!
Yes, this can always be a dilemma! I have found that I sometimes love certain aspects of an instrument, the way it plays or feels, etc but for whatever reason it eventually ends up not getting as much playing time. So I think for me it comes down to:
Do i need the money in order to buy another instrument? (Or at least to keep peace in the house as the collection expands and I need to justify the appearance of yet another new shiny object to the wife)
Do I like having it on the wall so that every now and then I pick it up to play?
Have I purchased another instrument at some point with a similar style, pickup, etc that is getting more playing time when I want that style or tone?
But of course, after saying all that- being practical 
sometimes brings regret in the future once its gone.
I feel your pain- unfortunately no easy answers!
*EDIT: update since I started this thread:
I eventually did sell the Gretch on Reverb to a dad who was surprising his teenage daughter who recently started learning bass. Made me feel good knowing it was going to a good home. My only 2 these days are a Fender Mustang and Sterling Stingray, and at least for now, couldn’t be happier.
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This one makes a big difference to me. It took me 5 years of looking at the harp taking up space that was in the way before I let it go. It went to someone completely into Celtic music who performs regularly. I’m happy to have participated in her upgrade dream.
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My 1976 Olympic white Fender Fretless Precision. Needed money to pay for school. Sold it to a member of the University of Michigan Jazz band. (I’m a Spartan which made selling it all the more hurtful!) I bought it for around $350 (?). I saw what could have been it on Reverb one time and it was sold for around $1700. I had a brass nut installed and the one on Reverb had a brass nut. I ask, how many Olympic white 1976 fretless precision’s had a rosewood neck and a custom brass nut? I would buy it back in a second if I could. It was such a sweet bass that it almost played itself. 
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I just had to have a sad conversation with my BB734A.
Playing the SBV made me realize I am not likely going to pick up my BB for a song.
The BB is a fantastic bass, there’s nothing wrong with it at all. the BB734A is arguably the best production Yamaha bass currently made, and certainly stands up against MIA Fenders without trouble. It deserves the 10/10 reviews it gets. And it’s the chosen axe of my bass hero (and his son, another bass hero).
There’s a few personal preference things here that made me realize that it was kind of a poor fit for me, though.
- It’s heavy.
Or at least it isn’t a light bass. I greatly prefer basses below 4kg. The BB is at least 500g heavier than any of my other basses have been, close to a kg heavier than some.
- It’s brown burst
The color choices for the BB734 are unfortunate. The Matte Black is good if you want a black bass (not really me). The coffee burst is really a nice burst, for a brown burst. But while I thought it looked great, and a better choice for me than black, it just wasn’t me. I’m not a brown burst kind of guy.
Dumb reason, but looks matter.
- It’s a very, very traditional looking bass.
Again, just not really my thing. As should be obvious by my other Yamaha choices and my love for Ibanez and ESP 
I thought about it quite a bit. I’m just not a gear collector - if I am not using something, or know it’s unlikely I will, it’s gone, sold to fund other stuff I want. I’d been picking up my TRBX quite a bit recently and knew that no matter what, I would be playing that one more or less forever. No worries there. But the BB - now that I have the SBV, I have a substantially lighter P/J that also has great tone, looks that I am totally down with, and neck feel very similar to the BB (pretty similar geometry.)
So, I threw the BB up for sale for a high used price (for here) - almost $600US. And it sold pretty much right away.
Kind of sad, it’s a really, really great bass, but all that adds up to it just isn’t me.
And another lesson that Howard Should Not Buy New Basses. Oh well
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I’m glad you got to spend some time with the BB734, it truly is a great bass.
I agree, it is heavy (my BB735 was even heavier) and the brown burst is a so-so color.
I hope you don’t regret selling down the line, but I know you probably did what you feel is the right thing.
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Yeah - there’s no doubt it’s a world-class bass. Love the feel, the neck is really well done. Tone’s fantastic too.
Just not me.
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All part of the journey @howard.
I often think about the scaling down thing, but it’s not for me.
I like the variety I have, however, am dialing in the exact variety I do want.
The urge to just buy buy buy is gone, but specific tone/feel/look is there to stay. The ESP LTD RB-1004 is up for sale, getting bites but way too low.
The BB735A will take months to get, so no 5 string for a while (sold the TRBX304 in hours).
The only other bass I have on my list at the moment is a fretless, and no real burning desire to get one. A Rick maybe one day, but have to actually play one. The desire to have it just to have it is gone though.
It’s great you know what you want and need, that’s a great feeling.
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I don’t know if I regret it per se, but I sold Blue. I loved her, she is gorgeous, but she wouldn’t get played. Much the same situation as @howard BB734. I have the Paranormal which has a huge growl, and the Sire which is very mellow; all the sounds I could want out of a Jazz are right there.
I never thought a cheap, used Squier P bass would get so much playing time.
A little sad at that, but I think I am maturing as a bassist and have a much clearer vision of what I am looking for.
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Yup. The 734 ticked every box on my want list. I just didn’t want it. Cosmetics and aesthetics are important.
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It’s so weird too. Lots of years, the color choices for the top BBs have been great. But for the current models, the BBP gets that awesome blue… or a relatively retro burst that I actually dislike. And the BB734 gets a nice yet still brown burst and black.
The 434 is better for choices but still pretty average. The 234 has some great choices.
It’s like they inverted the “premium color” idea. Except for the blue on the BBP34, which is amazing.
Many years they used a really, really awesome red for the top BBs. This cycle it’s only used for the Peter Hook signature BBPH (because it was the color of his original BB1200S).
If my 734A had been that color I might still have it. Maybe not (due to the weight) but that translucent red definitely rules for aesthetics.
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Exactly! great red, lots of great color choice… on the entry level model.
A few colors but nothing amazing on the mid-tier.
The top two tiers get brown, black, and an admittedly incredible blue on the highest end model.
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Not a big fan of red in general but I do like the cherry red colour on the Guild Starfire bass. It really depends on the shape of the bass which colours I like.
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That’s the color I had on my BB235, except I changed out that white pick guard for a black one, which IMO looks much better.
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I regret buying too many basses, more so than ones I sold off. Had a silly time with bad GAS and bought/ sold at least 20 basses, over 3 years. Luckily most were used, so I didn’t lose money in most cases.
The only one I did really regret selling, was the Vintage vibe Squier Jazz like the one that Josh plays. It was the first ‘proper’ bass that I bought. Found it recently for sale again online and bought it back. Since then I have sold all my guitars, amps and pedals and now have just one bass. Really trying hard to keep it this way now, one bass and one Darkglass Element headphone amp. Time to knuckle down and start to actually practice and not spend all day watching bass videos on YouTube and on forums like this 
!
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Yay, another happy member of the Few Basses club
I’m a big fan of only having 1-2 nicer instruments too. I’m not a collector, I just want one or two I really like.
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Makes perfect sense to just have 1-2 nice instruments at a time!
It is hard to stop looking though .
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I am seriously thinking about joining your club too @howard
Not for any other reason than it seems such a waste having great basses sat doing nothing other than collecting dust.
It is however very difficult to do
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