Dedicating yourself to only 1 Bass

[thehindteet]

If you are trying to play to the very edge of your abilities every time you play, either because your instrument is just really challenging to to play, or because you're playing really challenging material, I think focusing your practice on a single instrument makes sense. For example, probably 95% of my practice time for the last 8 or 10 years has been on upright since I suck at it and have been working hard to improve. Every time I practice, I hit the limits of my ability. Assuming that it was practical for me to have a lot of double basses at home, if I switched instruments it would be a disaster, because my double bass playing is intimately intertwined with the instrument I own, the dimensions, the little marks on the fingerboard that I use as position markers, the amount of rosin that I have on the strings, the action, the physical size of the body. The same goes for my bow.

The material that I practice on electric will feel somewhat different depending on what bass I play, but its not that common for me to play stuff on electric bass where I'm at the limit of my abilities. Not to say my abilities are outrageously high, its just that the gigs I play electric on, I'm not having to spend hours and hours practicing to be able to play that stuff. But a solo double bass piece I'm working on might take me months to learn because its hard and I'm still learning.

So I think you need to take Hubbard's comments in context. If I got the gig playing electric where the parts were just outrageously complicated, I would not fool around switching basses from song to song. But if I'm playing material where the sound of the instrument helps a song to sound better, and there are songs that call for different sounds, of course I'd take more than one instrument. I think that's what he's saying- if you're really hitting your limits, it helps to have one instrument that you really understand, but not every gig is like that.

 

[madbass6]

Those of you who have dedicated yourself to one particular bass, what impact - if any - do you feel like it has had on your playing?

I remember watching a video with Joe Hubbard where he talks about how it's better to have 1 instrument and become intimately acquainted with it.

And if you think about it, a lot of well known bassists have one bass they are known for. Like Marcus Miller's Fender, Jaco's "bass of doom", Victor's Fodera, Stanley Clarke and his alembic, Flea and the Music Man (or Modulus), Chris Squire's Rickenbacker's, Geddy's jazz bass, Billy Sheehan and his Fender P Bass - later the Yamaha which was modeled after that Precision.... the list can go on and on.

Of course, at times these bassists also played other instruments, but for the most part seem to be known for one bass (or at least one similar style of bass).

Personally, I tend to be a GASoholic and swap basses out pretty regularly. Although, I know that it's not the bass that matters so much as the musicianship.

So what do ya'll think? Have you noticed a difference when you are monogamous to 1 bass?

any of those monster bass players you've mentioned would sound just as good on any other Bass !

 

[kodiakblair]

Dedicating yourself to one bass like a Samurai with a katana sounds like a Zen ideal, a melding of man and instrument.

All goes to hell if your bass gets broke or stolen.

 

[NOVAX]

I can't do it.

 

[Christcr]

As a "gear slut," I couldn't do the one bass thing these days even if I tried. I tend to change basses like Victorian women changed hairstyles...

I do generally gravitate towards Fender Jazz Basses (and Mustang basses), but even if I decided to never play anything besides a j-bass... I'm sure I'd soon have at least four or five of them lying around the house. You can't have too many j-basses, right? You can always add a new color or neck profile, no? I mean really, if you are going to have a j-bass with a Custom Shop "U-profile" you'd have to also have a Geddy profile and Flea profile and Adam Clayton profile and American Performer modern C profile and American 70s beefy profile and 60s blah blah blah profile, etc... wouldn't you? See, those are the kinds of excuses I use for "needing" another j-bass.

 

[Frodolicious]

I have one bass. Its a partscaster jazz bass I threw together while in grad school. It's been with me for two years, and it's a great player. I'd like to build another bass someday, but now is not the time as I'm focused on student loan repayment

Anyway, I absolutely adore this bass. It makes you realize how versatile a single instrument is, and the necessity of only having space for one has sparks that (and how we feel the need for more more more). Its nice to have extra tools, but that becomes a moot point when I see folks with 40 "tools" in their shed. The bass has me covered for each situation I need, and its been a joy to play on the journey

 

[iwearpumas]

My life would be so much simpler and my back account would be so much fatter if I was a one bass man. I have 8 basses and 5 complete rigs (amps, cabs, cables, etc.) I literally just grab a bass, grab an amp bag, and go. Each amp bag has its own cables and everything in it.

 

[Sbassman Scratch]

I've become a one-bass guy. It's the Pedulla 5 fretless, Pentabuzz. I just don't want to play anything else.

 

[blowinblue]

One woman...yes. One bass? Please...I think not.

M. M.

 

[Mamoru]

I prefer to see how God-awful I can sound across a variety of basses.

 

[ToneMonkey]

One bass. EBMM Sting 4. Mic drop.

 

[FunkHead]

I own 8 basses ATM, but I gotta say that moving into a smaller place and having to keep most of them stashed away really makes you prioritize.

I naturally find myself gravitating towards just one of these two:View attachment 3343224
/\For metal, my Bich
View attachment 3343223
/\My mockingbird for anything else(the electronics should be repaired soon here). The others mostly sit in their cases.

If I absolutely had to pick just one it'd be the Bich, but then I wouldn't expect to get any pop gigs either

That 1st bass is really awesome! I am guessing it's a BC Rich Beast? It's beyond cool.

 

[pappabass]

Try to be a faithful Fender p player. But the p sound is a muddy sound. Gig last night I played my active eq humbucker bass. Sounded clean.

 

[Wissen]

I am a one bass guy out of financial necessity. I would love nothing more than to pick up a P to complement my J, but it just isn't going to happen any time soon.

That being said, I am also putting as many miles and as much love into this bass as I can. I want to hand this bass down to my kid or my grandkid and all of the mojo that comes with it.

My bass was my first serious musician purchase, my first pro-quality instrument, purchased here from a fellow TBer. So it has plenty of personal significance, and I won't get rid of it for anything. If I lose my wife, my house, and all my possessions, I'll walk out the door with the clothes on my back and this bass in my hand.

Yes, it is the bass in my profile pic.

 

[thmsjordan]

I tend to go with only one of each type of bass. One fretted fiver, one fretless four, one upright. I can only play one at a time. Having a bunch would be cool for a while but I tend to be a minimalist. I use the basses I own and own only the basses I'll use. YMMV but that is how I do it.

 

[jnuts1]

So I have been a single bass man (Czech MTD) since about 2002. I have purchased other basses but that doesn't matter because Suzy still stayed my main bass. I can do things on her that are impossible without being seriously intimate with an instrument. I also believe she is the best playing bass i've ever touched which has also been helpful in keeping me faithful.

Of course all of those pros the OP mentioned owned multiple basses but they went through long periods with each instrument.

 

[fourstringburn]

I’ve only had one Bass for over 16 years before I finally got another.

I do believe sticking with one instrument long before getting another, especially in one's formative years.

My first good Bass is my 1978 Fender Precision. I bought this instrument new and only my hands wore it in with all the practice and gigs and it has some battle scars to prove it. It is a part of me and it's my sound.

If I had 5 Basses, I wouldn't have the time to dedicate to all of them and have each Bass become a part of me like my P-Bass has.

I finally considered another Bass after reading about in 1996 how the old CBS managment sold off Fender and the new Fender management starting making American Standards to be more like the original vintage ones.

I played a 1997 Fender Jazz in a music store and loved the sound and feel right away. It reminded me of a 1964 Fender Jazz I onced borrowed for a week in terms of the light body weight and tone. I now own that Bass so now I have 2.

As much as I love my Jazz, the P Bass is still my number one. I had my Jazz Bass for over 18 years and I played it a lot but it'll never catch up to my P Bass in hours of playing.

With these 2 Basses, I can get the tones I desire for what I like to play. I really don't see the need for another Bass anytime soon.

I can understand the need for multiple Basses like having a 5 string or a fretless for certain music styles but I can't justify having much more beyond that.

A large part of your sound I believe comes from within and your Bass and amp is a vehicle to get that out.

If I had Geddy Lee's blue Ric, I still wouldn't sound like him. When he switched to Fenders, it still sounds like him but with some tonal differences between the Ric and Fender. Either Bass he plays, there's no denying who's playing it.

Likewise, Geddy Lee wouldn't sound like me playing my Bass… and that’s a good thing too!

 

[FunkHead]

I play mostly 34 Inch scale 5 strings. Mine are very similar in most areas. Volume, Balance, feel, etc... is extremely close. The main difference is tone.

The tones all usually work well with most gigs I get.

My main takeaway from my basses is that I can play equally well on all of them.
I enjoy playing all of them.
I don't feel like am am hurting my progression in learning bass guitar(Still learning after 42 years)

On the flip side: I know that certain people need that one special bass.

Sticking to one for some people can give them enough of an edge to do amazing things with it.

 

[Holdsg]

I can't do it.

me neither

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

TB is great because you can buy used gear that is in great shape for a great deal, if you pay attention. You usually can sell it back for the same price. The only time I have lost money is on new gear but if you get some years and some gigs out of it, then still not a bad deal. After trying several great basses and realizing they were all awesome, I decided to keep my 63 AV Precision bass and sell my other basses. The only other one I am holding on to for now is the active Flea bass I just bought on a trade in. Between these two basses, I am covered for anything I want to do.