i love my Fenders, but my 89 Steinberger (BEAD) is easily my favorite bass in the universe! it has a "Sword in the Stone" vibe compared to the others.
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Anybody else that can't choose a favorite?...
- Thread starter Ballin'bass
- Start date
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
So another piggy back question: do you think it's more practical to stick to one bass for a given period of time for sound purposes, I. E. Your Sound setup in a band? Or do any of you have no problem jumping from bass to bass and tweaking your amp/pedals to suit that bass' tone? For instance my jazz and my quantum both cut through the mix very nicely but very very differently. The jazz is more round and boomy whereas the quantum is a mid growl machine. They require very different settings on my amp to sound right with my band.
Any thoughts on this?
Any thoughts on this?
I jump around between my Lull M5, My G&L M2500, My F bass BN6, and my Fender Jazz, I can make all sound good, it's just a spur of the moment thing....
Different people like different collections.
For me personally, Im not a for hire studio musician or in multiple bands or anything so Im not into the whole "I need a p for a p sound, and a j for a j sound, maybe a second p for flats, and all that stuff. Not bashing collections like that it's just a to each their own kind of thing. That's not to say that if money were no option I wouldn't buy a half a dozen basses again. Its just for me with the exception of maybe 1 backup for my main fretted 5 I'd want a fretless, an electric upright, a tapping bass like maybe a ns stick, a midi bass, and an acoustic bass.
For me personally, Im not a for hire studio musician or in multiple bands or anything so Im not into the whole "I need a p for a p sound, and a j for a j sound, maybe a second p for flats, and all that stuff. Not bashing collections like that it's just a to each their own kind of thing. That's not to say that if money were no option I wouldn't buy a half a dozen basses again. Its just for me with the exception of maybe 1 backup for my main fretted 5 I'd want a fretless, an electric upright, a tapping bass like maybe a ns stick, a midi bass, and an acoustic bass.
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
- Sep 5, 2014
- 5,455
- 4,234
- Disclosures
- None
I currently own 2 basses, and even though they are similar in specs, both Ibanez Soundgear 4 stringers with active PJ pickups, one is a Mahogany Body, the other maple, the Mahogany body bass has the Ibanez pickups and is more or less all stock aside from fresh batteries that is. The other one has EMG pickups and some custom not so pretty wiring in the cavity, and about to get a fresh battery holder... They sound quite different from each other, and each is a joy on its own to play... So I play the snot out of them both..
I tend to eq my 4 basses the same, so the sound is pretty similar but I think of it as screening the basses' signature sound through my signature eq and playing.
I do tend to tweak amps until they sound pretty similar, but why own 100 basses and then make em all sound the same?
As far as the original question, id say the more versatile the bass the more it gets played. I use the MIJ Jaguar for blues and rock and mystery gigs, the SG for my contemporary worship gig, the MIM active jazz 5er for my gospel/funk church gig, and the 80's carvin lb50 for heavier stuff and whenever I feel like having a dirty sound. It breaks down kind of even I guess, ask me in a couple months and it may not!
I have a self (and fiancée) imposed limit of no more than 10 and only if I've saved enough. Hopefully a single soapbar build, a P, and a thunderbird are in my next year or two but I'm not terribly optimistic, I did just pick up a blues gig that may boost the build though
Not sure if you want to hear from people who can choose a favorite.
Ric 4001CS. The first one I'd grab if there were a fire. No question.
We go back 24 years together. I consider myself lucky and honored to keep it. I've averaged around 2 hours playing (mostly Yes material) a day - every day - during that time. I like my other basses, but I love that Ric.
Cheers,
Neal.
Ric 4001CS. The first one I'd grab if there were a fire. No question.
We go back 24 years together. I consider myself lucky and honored to keep it. I've averaged around 2 hours playing (mostly Yes material) a day - every day - during that time. I like my other basses, but I love that Ric.Cheers,
Neal.
I am really enjoying the perspective everyone has to offer here. definitely keep the opinions flowing. I value any and all input.
I am not trying to make all my basses sound like each other obviously. but i want them to sit somewhat close together in the mix if that makes sense. I want my 3 piece band to still sound full and big no matter what bass im using. and yes, sometimes i want to be able to deliver that P sound. or the music man sound for a song or two. mostly i am focusing on using my Modulus quantum turbo for live gigs because it looks really cool, it feels awesome to play, it's got mad mojo and it just cuts through a mix like a knife through butter. it just sounds soooooo much different from any other bass. total mid range growl machine as i've said, but very tweakable since i put in a john east preamp.
I am not trying to make all my basses sound like each other obviously. but i want them to sit somewhat close together in the mix if that makes sense. I want my 3 piece band to still sound full and big no matter what bass im using. and yes, sometimes i want to be able to deliver that P sound. or the music man sound for a song or two. mostly i am focusing on using my Modulus quantum turbo for live gigs because it looks really cool, it feels awesome to play, it's got mad mojo and it just cuts through a mix like a knife through butter. it just sounds soooooo much different from any other bass. total mid range growl machine as i've said, but very tweakable since i put in a john east preamp.
I don't see why having one favourite is necessarily a good thing; I like having a choice of styles and sounds and being able to choose depending on what music we play. The only thing I've tried to favor is having the same scale length and preferrably also the same string spacing on all basses so I don't have to develop different sets of muscle memory, particularily when switching between fretted and fretless. I don't practice enough to cope with basses that are too different in that regard. That some of them sound very different is part of the reason I bought them.
"Phases and Changes.........Circles and Cycles".....
That about sums up my bass owning experience. I loved all of them when I bought them, and I don't NOT love any of them enough to replace or reduce any of them. From virtually all of the Fender type basses (in Squier form), to most of the T-Series vintage Peaveys, to a Beatle bass and an Epiphone EB3, they all fill a certain niche and scratch a certain itch. None of them stand out above the rest, and all of them do a wonderful job for their particular purpose. If they don't, I modify them until I am happy with them.
This IS the road towards Bass Hoarding Disease, right?
That about sums up my bass owning experience. I loved all of them when I bought them, and I don't NOT love any of them enough to replace or reduce any of them. From virtually all of the Fender type basses (in Squier form), to most of the T-Series vintage Peaveys, to a Beatle bass and an Epiphone EB3, they all fill a certain niche and scratch a certain itch. None of them stand out above the rest, and all of them do a wonderful job for their particular purpose. If they don't, I modify them until I am happy with them.
This IS the road towards Bass Hoarding Disease, right?
It's like having a favorite screwdriver... You need 4 or 5, but it has to be the right one for the situation.
For example, Victor Wooten has his number 1, but he also has
If your having problems choosing, you may only have 1 type of screwdriver!
For example, Victor Wooten has his number 1, but he also has
- Tenor
- Fretless
- Acoustic
- 5 string
- 5 string tenor
If your having problems choosing, you may only have 1 type of screwdriver!
My Westone and Ric are such different animals when it comes to tone and output level that if I am using one I tend to stick to it for a while.
The Westone has hot humbuckers with a thick sound, while the Ric has single coils with a thinner sound. The Ric sounds great with overdrive and distortion and other effects, while the Westone sounds best clean. The Westone's output is so high that I have to treat it like an active bass and engage the -15dB switch on my amp to keep it from clipping.
As a result, one is not really a suitable backup for the other. My Squier Jaguar is a better backup for the Ric as its output level is lower and it also sounds good with overdrive.
Currently my favorite is my ibanez 6 string. But that's because I'm trying to get used to playing a 6. I'm probably more attached to my jazz.
Within reason, I'm usually able to coax whatever tone is needed from any of my basses. ( Can't get my Ric to sound like an EB-O, but other than that...) Whatever bass I feel like playing is what I bring to a gig. Usually three make the trip, two fretted and a fretless. Since I'm currently not in a band, gigs are rare and vary widely in scope and content, so it's not as easy to predict how you'll sound in a mix.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I have noticed that quite often my favorite bass of the day is the one that has a new set of strings and a fresh setup.
For just practicing and jamming in the music room I usually just play mine in rotation. I play a different one every day, usually. I like them all.
If I could only keep one, it would be my '82 JV '57 Precision. But, I have had it since it was new.
If I could only keep one, it would be my '82 JV '57 Precision. But, I have had it since it was new.
Interesting to see how other bassists feel on this issue. For me, i only own basses that i gig with, if they're not going to be gigged, i'm not going to keep them. I play different bass's for different bands, for one musician i play with, i use an Farwest EUB (awesome hand built electric upright bass) and a Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz, the music he creates is a real hybrid, think Nick Cave or Tom Waits meets a blend of Bob Dylan and Traditional Folk songs, these two instruments just complement the act superbly. My kind of "session" go to bass if i'm asked to learn a set list for various people is my Ibanez sr905, i also have a Ibanez sr305, for backup purposes, but the SR905 is the bass i go to if i want to practice anything, although that may change soon as i have left a deposit for a EBMM sterling (pre-owned). However, although i play all my bass's, not entirely equally, i play them all alot more then i originally thought i would. I am actually a massive fan of practicing hard on one bass, i'm not a massive fan of playing different bass's regularly, it takes thousands of hours for you and your bass to really connect (it sounds cheesy but i genuinely believe this to be the truth). Ethier way, enjoy what you play and remember the No.1 rule, you can never have too many basses
