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basses (and guitars) - how many is too many?
- Thread starter pcake
- Start date
I think the Einstein picture in post #18 deserves some thoughtful consideration. Music is by nature an emotional exercise. The emotions felt by the composer and performer are the same ones they attempt to evoke in the audience, thereby conveying the whole mood of the work (both intellectually and emotionally). If the audience isn't moved by a work, it loses its power. A performer chooses their gear (or "tools of the trade") based on a number of factors. Among them is the ability to amplify the emotions. A dead sounding, antiseptic, generic, downright BORING tone may be what is needed for a song brooding about a lifeless existence. It is not the first choice for anything else. Why do we spend so much money on pickups, bridges and fancy mods? To make our instruments give life to our music, thereby projecting the desired emotion to the audience. Now that that concept has been hammered home, it's time to figure out which gear is most efficient in providing it. This is where it gets tricky. How many emotions are present in a given piece of music? Which combination of gear choices will best display them? At a typical gig with many songs, which is the best combination of gear to fully share all of those emotions with the crowd? That's not to mention that the performer (i.e. YOU) has their own set of emotions added to the mix, too. Now that has to be accommodated. This will result in a large warehouse full of instruments for those more emotional performers and only one for those with little imagination or purpose. This never-ending quest has only one dreadful and despicable outcome: WE WILL NEVER TRULY KNOW WHAT IS THE BEST BASS FOR METAL!!!
beside the emotion of the musician and the emotion one wants to evoke in the audience, scale length and tone also come into the equation, fretted and fretless, 4 and 5 string basses, and leaving one tuned to drop D.
actually i'm not sure, either.
to complicate that, i sold one last week, bought two, wanted to sell another one only to discover it has a frozen truss rod. and i have a set of pickups that don't yet have a bass...
I have 7 basses, and the target is 8. However, 6 of those are for the tribute band. If it weren't for having started that band, it would just be 2 - a fretted Jazz and a fretless Jazz.
I also have 2 electric guitars, one steel-strung acoustic, and one nylon-strung acoustic (the latter also for the tribute band).
I also have 2 electric guitars, one steel-strung acoustic, and one nylon-strung acoustic (the latter also for the tribute band).
the minute a bass doesn't make my weekly rotation of being played...that's when i know.
Blankets and pillows take a lot of space if you throw some out thats another 2 shortscales of real estate
I currently own 4 basses and 4 guitars plus one acoustic guitar. My guitar collection hasn't changed in 6 years or so and likely won't.
My bass lineup can change weekly.
I feel TB thinks I have a warehouse of basses, but that's not the case.
I follow a methodology like the OP, I've got four Hercules racks: two 5 space, one 3 space, and a double. Space for 15 total guitars or basses. I used to have an infamous bedroom closet at my old address that if it was full, that was my max. Although I have had a collection of 11 to 12 basses years ago, I've limited my bass collection to the one 5 space, even though I have capacity for up to 10.
I've managed to be down to just 1 or 2 basses in the past year or two which has been impressive, so we'll see how long I have 4 basses for. Just one bass in particular has stayed with me for nearly 5 years now, the other 3 have been acquired in the past month.
With some life events happening to me over the past couple of years, my time is and will continue to be more limited for this hobby.
My bass lineup can change weekly.
I feel TB thinks I have a warehouse of basses, but that's not the case.
I follow a methodology like the OP, I've got four Hercules racks: two 5 space, one 3 space, and a double. Space for 15 total guitars or basses. I used to have an infamous bedroom closet at my old address that if it was full, that was my max. Although I have had a collection of 11 to 12 basses years ago, I've limited my bass collection to the one 5 space, even though I have capacity for up to 10.
I've managed to be down to just 1 or 2 basses in the past year or two which has been impressive, so we'll see how long I have 4 basses for.
Just one bass in particular has stayed with me for nearly 5 years now, the other 3 have been acquired in the past month.With some life events happening to me over the past couple of years, my time is and will continue to be more limited for this hobby.
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D
Available space is obviously an issue. Generally I would also say that any basses you NEVER use, and most likely never will, fit into the category of "too many".
I try to only keep basses that I can actually see myself using (although I wish I had kept my FIRST bass for sentimental reasons, even though it was a piece of junk).
I've still got too many though...
I try to only keep basses that I can actually see myself using (although I wish I had kept my FIRST bass for sentimental reasons, even though it was a piece of junk).
I've still got too many though...
There are only three reasons you may have too many:
a) you run out of money
b) you run out of space
c) your partner tells you you've run out of money or space
Anything else is just humble bragging... Hence "Is 42 basses too many?" threads.
a) you run out of money
b) you run out of space
c) your partner tells you you've run out of money or space
Anything else is just humble bragging... Hence "Is 42 basses too many?" threads.
I played 6 of my 11 yesterday. It felt like one of the great breakthrough days of bass playing.
Sometimes I miss the days of living in my girlfriend's mother's basement, I'd play bass 8 hours daily.
I had no money though, and lived on ramen.
And only had two basses. So I guess I'm in a better place
Sometimes I miss the days of living in my girlfriend's mother's basement, I'd play bass 8 hours daily.
I had no money though, and lived on ramen.
And only had two basses. So I guess I'm in a better place
That's a very insightful answer, Bryn. It echoes clinical psychology, in which a "strong personality trait" becomes a "personality disorder", when it impedes living a healthy life. Washing one's hands before eating or after they get particularly dirty is a careful/obsessive but adaptive trait; washing them 20 times per day probably indicates OCD.
One electric guitar.
One ukulele.
Five basses, no two alike.
One guitar amp.
One frfr amp.
zoom B6
Asstd pedals.
2 bass amps with matching cabs.
Way more than I need, but it keeps gas at bay.
One ukulele.
Five basses, no two alike.
One guitar amp.
One frfr amp.
zoom B6
Asstd pedals.
2 bass amps with matching cabs.
Way more than I need, but it keeps gas at bay.
I have 26 basses (gave one away last week to my neighbor's kid!)....Granted, many are acquired for my YouTube channel and are non-keepers.....I have a staple of basses with various pickups and pickup positions (probably a mental holdover from my studiowork days when it was more prevelent)...Of all those 6 to 8, are actually keepers.....A recently acquired BTB 5-String is actually my new #1 go-to gigging bass
I am pretty comfortable around 3 or 4. I think 4 is my max and might be wife's max too. I tend to buy higher range instruments so acquiring them requires time and effort to build that slush fund. However, I appreciate those that have more and can see the value in that.
Anything more than a main bass, and a backup feels like too much to me. They are tools to gig with. Nothing more. Same with my guitars. That said, I currently have three guitars and three basses, and it feels like too much. Same with amps. One stack, one combo. That's it.
That said, I do flip them from time to time, but lately my desire to own super light basses has slowed the flipping down considerably. Once you find a 6 pound bass that plays well, it's a keeper.
That said, I do flip them from time to time, but lately my desire to own super light basses has slowed the flipping down considerably. Once you find a 6 pound bass that plays well, it's a keeper.
"Too many" when one or more begin to accumulate dust, and you pick up a bass with new (but now dead) strings on it.
Lucky # 7 ….. 5 electrics and 2 uprights.
Oh and I have a permanent loaner (Sadowsky UV70 5 string) at my buddy recording studio
Oh and I have a permanent loaner (Sadowsky UV70 5 string) at my buddy recording studio
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The number that makes you happy. Not having enough room to store a collection, or if they become a source of aggravation rather than pleasure, would make me Unhappy. I'm building one bass every 2-4 years depending how busy I am, at that rate I hope to build around 10-15 total before I kick the bucket. Hopefully some unknown future bassist will enjoy them.
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