Being happy and contented with what you have is a side effect of wisdom.
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Contentment is...
- Thread starter Fun Size Nick
- Start date
I was aggravated for a long time because, out of all of the basses I ever owned or played, this wonky silver (my least favorite color) 03 P bass just always felt right. I hated it. I wanted my ASAT or Ray4 or the franken bass that's been a 20 year project bass, or any other awesome looking bass I managed to get my hands on at GC to be my mojo bass.
But no. My boring ol P bass was the one that, when I picked it up, seemed to play itself. Not that I'm a great player or anything. What I mean is that my hands know where to go faster, and they move in the right way around this bass so that I just feel and sound better when playing it.
So a few years back I decided that I would stop looking and focus on getting to know my P bass better. I know where the dead spot is and where the weird harmonics are that my natural playing/muting position created with the strings. I know when a new scratch happens, and am seeing the wear my hands have been slowly wearing in.
I came to the conclusion that you don't choose your mojo bass, but that it chooses you, for better or for worse. Leaning in is the best thing to be done, if you ask me!
joe
But no. My boring ol P bass was the one that, when I picked it up, seemed to play itself. Not that I'm a great player or anything. What I mean is that my hands know where to go faster, and they move in the right way around this bass so that I just feel and sound better when playing it.
So a few years back I decided that I would stop looking and focus on getting to know my P bass better. I know where the dead spot is and where the weird harmonics are that my natural playing/muting position created with the strings. I know when a new scratch happens, and am seeing the wear my hands have been slowly wearing in.
I came to the conclusion that you don't choose your mojo bass, but that it chooses you, for better or for worse. Leaning in is the best thing to be done, if you ask me!
joe
Yep. I have a bass that makes me feel like I've just gotten home from a big thanks giving dinner, and I just slipped into my sweat pants.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Another one of these threads???
I've had my main basses 35 and 16 years. I think they were worth every penny.
I've had my main basses 35 and 16 years. I think they were worth every penny.
I have the same problem with a Ibanez SR650. It's ugly. It's not a "Ric". Yet it fits in hands like they were made for each other. When I get home from work to play/practice...it's the same old boring SR650. Simply, it's my "go to." I have another more expensive Ibby as well as 2 Fenders and love them all...but the 650 gets all the attention. So I agree...we don't choose our guitar, it chooses us.
I have always thought that with basses and guitars, the tone reaches a point where there are imperceptible differences. You can replace pickups, electronics, strings, etc.
Beyond that, it is about vibration and feel. Those are things that are more about the wood and where it was grown, the type of weather that occurred when that tree sprouted its first scrubby leaf, how the sun hit it at different times of day, as well as what the weather and atmosphere was like on the day it was cut down and began its journey to become a thing that makes people experience joy.
All of the matter in that instrument used to be other things, and in some instruments, it all lines up perfectly to create magic.
And then there is Glarry.
Beyond that, it is about vibration and feel. Those are things that are more about the wood and where it was grown, the type of weather that occurred when that tree sprouted its first scrubby leaf, how the sun hit it at different times of day, as well as what the weather and atmosphere was like on the day it was cut down and began its journey to become a thing that makes people experience joy.
All of the matter in that instrument used to be other things, and in some instruments, it all lines up perfectly to create magic.
And then there is Glarry.
That's great! A B neck P reminds me of Goldilocks. Not too big, not too small, just right. 
I'm glad that you have customs that you love! I've played (not owned) some incredible boutique instruments over the years. To clarify (to everyone) I don't want this to be a high-end bashing thread at all.
Yes - I've got a Fender PV63 pickup in there. The stock pickup is pretty hot and modern, which was not what I was going for for this bass. This pickup and La Bella LTFs sound killer together.
I read a Sting interview where he said "the more you play an instrument, the more responsive it becomes." I'm not sure exactly if he meant the instrument itself grows more sensitive, or if it's just about your relationship with the instrument.... but that really stuck with me, I believe that. It's funny how I enjoy seeing the scratches and dings develop on my main P bass. And the more I play it, the more I like it- and the gap widens between that bass and any other bass, my preference deepens.
Contentment is loving what you have. Nothing like a Fender. I like my Jazz. I'm happy you like your P.
Better to be happy with a cheap bass than unhappy with an expensive bass.
Loving your gear and GAS are two different things. I had a nice surge of GAS when played a short scale Stingray about two weeks ago. It did not make me want to get rid of basses I own. There was a time when I routinely traded in basses when I got GAS, but credit balances and coming down from GAS highs eventually ended that practice.
Yeah, the VMs are nice once you file down the nut. I've had several and they all had super tall nuts. Not sure what that's about.
Just guessing: from a QC point of view, I think most manufacturers consider it less consequential to err on the tall side than the short (which could produce an obvious buzz), as most basses that I pick up in a store could do with lowering a little. If they spend less time on the nut to keep costs down on lower priced instruments, they probably err even more on the tall side. Mine was so tall as to be unplayable, though.
I hesitated too to upgrade from my Rumble. I never could coax a good sound out of it, but it was 'light and loud and good value for money.'
The day I plugged my new amp in I kicked myself for sticking with the rumble for so long.
I have a passive parts Jazz with a Warmoth neck that I ordered to replace the Warmoth P neck that was on it when I got it (and it was relatively cheap back when I first got it). That bass is too darned heavy for me at 10.5 lbs... and I can't stop playing it.
I've honestly been through at least six other Jazz basses through the years thinking that I might find something with more manageable heft along with the same sound and response that has become home-sweet-home for me with this J.
None of the others had Warmoth necks... None of them came close for me. I'm probably going to get one of those two-shoulder straps for that bass just so it doesn't destroy me or else I'll have to consider playing it while I'm sitting down.
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