Here comes a long winded post, but I do get to a point at the end.
I started playing bass in 2002 on an
Ibanez SR300. After a few years I had my first gig and decided I was now allowed to upgrade. I purchased a 2004
MIJ Geddy Lee Jazz and eventually settled on a
Gallien Krueger 800RB with
Hartke 2x10XL and
4x10XL cabs.
I played this same rig through 2016 with no real changes other than trying a few pedals, which I eventually sold. Then, in mid 2016, I walked into Long and McQuade to get new strings and walked out with a 2011
Gibson SG Bass. That was the trigger that started my crazy 2017 gear acquisition.
Early in 2017 I decided I didn’t really like the short scale neck of the SG and ended up trading it for a 2002
Godin LGX-SA guitar. Then I started questing for my next bass and my next bass sound. By the end of the year I had bought and sold/traded more bass gear than I had ever owned.
Here’s the gear I acquired and moved...
Sold/traded
- Seagull Coastline S6 guitar - never did learn guitar
- 2002 Godin LGX-SA guitar - traded for Gibson Les Paul
- 2004 Fender Geddy Lee bass - figured I was done with this sound
- Gallien Krueger 800RB - really wanted an Orange OB1 instead
- Hartke 210XL cabinet - Once I got the OB1, these didn’t fit the sound I was going for
- Hartke 410XL cabinet
Bought then sold/traded in:
- Traynor TC410-4 amp - Thought this was the best paring with the OB1 until I tried the Bergantino.
- Hagstrom Northen Super Swede bass - this showed up in Vancouver and I was compelled to buy it because it was so unique. It was a fantastic bass, but just not for me, so I sold it to finance the next one
- 2016 Ibanez SR1300NTF bass - bought through Reverb, needed repair and the parts took 4 months, by that time I’d moved on.
- 2013 Fender American Deluxe Dimension V bass - I loved the feel of this bass, but active was not for me. Traded for a 2011 American Standard P.
- Gibson Les Paul 2016 Faded T guitar - traded this for a 2001 MIJ Geddy Lee because I missed my old one.
- 2001 Fender Geddy Lee bass - found a deal on an American Geddy Lee, so I traded this.
- 2017 Music Man Caprice bass (white) - After buying and loving my coral red Caprice, I found a smoking deal on this one and had to buy it. After buying two more basses. Sold it to a buddy at cost
- B|Amp Bass Amplifier - After getting the Berg cabs and hearing how great they work together I traded my OB1 for this. I had it 4 days before going back to the store and trading back. Bought the Berg 112
Bought and kept:
- 2016 Fender American Geddy Lee Jazz
- 2011 Fender American Standard Precision
- 2017 Music Man Caprice Bass (coral red)
- Orange OB1-300
- Bergantino REF 210
- Bergantino REF 112
All that being said, I think my favourite piece of gear to have owned was the
Hagstrom Northen Super Swede. It was such a unique instrument.
Of my keepers, if I had to choose just one bass it would be the
Music Man Caprice. It feels great and has a versatility of sound that I never expected. I put on a pearl pickguard which I think looks much better than the basic white.
The
Bergantino cabinets sound fantastic. I could live with just the 210, but why do that when I can have both?
As for the
Orange OB1, I’m a fan of solid state amps and this thing is has a fantastic tone. The overdrive may not be to everyone’s liking, but it can add just a subtle bit of punch or provide all out fuzz to the sound. My guess is that it will be at least another 12 years before I start looking to change out my primary rig.
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