Do it right, just do it or don't do it at all?

[shirojiro]

Get the bass you want and don’t purchase something just to get by.

If you have to wait and save, so be it.
Every time I compromise on this, I end up regretting the purchase because I still want the original item.

 

[MCF]

Get the 60's/VP Thunderbird. They are priced right new or used.
You won’t regret it.
View attachment 5272956

You are a wise man Glenn! Given your incredible skill at seemingly having Thunderbirds fall in your lap, maybe you can help @Micha84 find one.

 

[Bruce Pete]

You want to bring your home bass to the studio for a particular project and just need a temporary noodling practice bass for home. Buy a cheap used instrument that you can resell when your project is done. I got an affinity p bass for less than $100 and for noodling it’s fine. You obviously want the Tbird. Start saving and then sell the temporary bass when the time comes to make room for it. Then start lusting after another bass and repeat the process as often as you can. He who dies with the most basses wins.

LOL, "He who dies with the most basses" ......... is dead!

 

[dagrev]

This is a no brainer. Get an Epi Thunderbird 60*s/Vintage Pro. The earlier ones, called the Vintage Pro, can be found used pretty easily if you keep an eye out and know how to spot them. There were five or six of them this year on the GC used site that were listed and priced as standard Epi IV’s in the $300 to $400 range.

^ This. If you want a Thunderbird. It can work with any music, wear bright rounds or thuddy flats. Best sounding Thunderbird from Gibson (Epi) since the 1960s. Like any bass, it's a preference.

 

[eddododo]

I can’t be the only one that finds all of this kind of a non sequitur, right? it’s not clear why you can’t take a bass when you travel to the studio, it’s not clear why you’d need said bass + 2 any and every time you’re in the studio, it’s not clear why removing another bass from the studio is definitively not an option, it’s not clear how having a new different bass solves any of these problems (as I assume this will cause another thread asking what to do because you have your 4 basses in the studio but you need one at home), and it’s not clear how any of these options are mutually exclusive, lol.

Is this some kind of close-up magic to trick us into telling you to buy a bass? Is your spouse here? Spouse: he needs this bass, it’s clear from the evidence and issues outlines that this can only be solved by a thunderbird.

 

[johndough247]

Thanks for your input! The reason I am not a fan of the transport option is simply that I don't always go from my home to my studio. Sometimes I got some time after work or even during an extensive break and I don't always know that when I leave the house in the morning.

Is it not possible to take your bass to work with you?
Is the studio so far away from home that you can't stop home first to pick up the third bass if/when you need it?

Sorry, but I feel like this will be a recurring problem if transporting a single bass from home to studio is an issue that only buying another bass can solve.

 

[eddododo]

Less snarkily, buying the pbass just doesn’t sound reasonable. It’s not your favorite sound, And while there certainly are some great cheap fenders and squiers, it’s not very often I find the latter to be surprisingly good…

if you just want a cheap bass for the house, then just get a cheap bass for the house. It doesn’t need to be new, it doesn’t need to be blue, it doesn’t need to be much of anything but a bass that is playable.. I have a feeling this isn’t exactly your vibe, but Ibanez makes the best cheap basses in the industry, the GSR PJ sound is excellent (and great in the studio), they play well, and they’re not only cheap but they’re more available than stray cats.

I’m not sure how getting a new bass you really want solves any of the other problems, as certainly you’d want it in the studio, but assuming you could demote one of the others to the at-home bass, then save up a second and get the Tbird… if you feel impatient about how long it will take, just remember that time is going to pass, anyway, and six months in the future you could either have a bass you really want, or you can have a cheap P bass that doesn’t have much of a fan club..

Not that anybody asked me for this advice, specifically, but if you’re looking for a Pbass, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me to buy a new Squier when you can look around for a cheap used Mexican Pbass that plays well when you try it. Unless you’re into modding or a punk rocker or otherwise trying to prove a point, I don’t know too many people who have ever said “man I’m so glad I went with this Squier instead of ____”

 

[Bighands Bill]

I keep all basses at home and bring the right bass for the job. I check the case humidifiers every week during winter, to prevent fret sprout. And for the HWF (Happy Wife Factor), gig money covers GAS, strings, ect. Because my bass safe only hold 4 basses, I limit myself to that. Projects don't count, and I keep 2 amps and cabs at our practice room/trailer, 1 at Church and 1 at home. I would like another P, so I will call it a project.

 

[Engle]

You want a Thunderbird, so keep an eye out for a used one and carry one of your existing basses back and forth in the meantime.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Easy: buy an acoustic bass (Fender CB-60 SCE). Different from what you have ( good for Wife Acceptance Factor)

I have never considered WAF in any purchase I have ever made.

 

[Koshchei]

Hey folks,

here is the situation: I currently have three basses. I have a little studio space where I keep the instruments I use for recording. I kept two basses there and the third one at home for practice and noodling. Now a project has come up and I need (well, I want) that third bass in the studio as well, meaning I don't have a bass at home. But I need (well, I want) a bass at home.

Here are my options:
- Get one of the other two out of the studio (NOT an option)
- transport the third bass in between studio and home (not thrilled about that one)
- buy a Squier Sonic Precision. It is cheap and would be easy to upgrade later on if I wanted to use it more seriously. Not the biggest fan if the P sound, though
- buy an Epiphone 60s Thunderbird. Always wanted a bird and that thing really looks cool and sounds good, too. Problem is I can't really justify spending that much on a bass right now and would maybe have to save up for six months or so

So, what would you guys do? Just donit and get the Squier now, do it right and save up for the bird or just make do with what I have right now?

Alternative 1: Bring one of the basses home?

Alternative 2: What does this project pay? Enough to bankroll the T-bird?

If this is a gratis thing, then perhaps don't go overboard with bass choices. It doesn't sound like you're in a Wrecking Crew type outfit, and if this is a low budget production, I doubt that your bass choice is going to come out in the final mix, unless it's a fretless.

 

[MCF]

I keep all basses at home and bring the right bass for the job. I check the case humidifiers every week during winter, to prevent fret sprout. And for the HWF (Happy Wife Factor), gig money covers GAS, strings, ect. Because my bass safe only hold 4 basses, I limit myself to that. Projects don't count, and I keep 2 amps and cabs at our practice room/trailer, 1 at Church and 1 at home. I would like another P, so I will call it a project.
View attachment 5273062 View attachment 5273061

I like that!

 

[TBird1958]

Hey folks,

here is the situation: I currently have three basses. I have a little studio space where I keep the instruments I use for recording. I kept two basses there and the third one at home for practice and noodling. Now a project has come up and I need (well, I want) that third bass in the studio as well, meaning I don't have a bass at home. But I need (well, I want) a bass at home.

Here are my options:
- Get one of the other two out of the studio (NOT an option)
- transport the third bass in between studio and home (not thrilled about that one)
- buy a Squier Sonic Precision. It is cheap and would be easy to upgrade later on if I wanted to use it more seriously. Not the biggest fan if the P sound, though
- buy an Epiphone 60s Thunderbird. Always wanted a bird and that thing really looks cool and sounds good, too. Problem is I can't really justify spending that much on a bass right now and would maybe have to save up for six months or so

So, what would you guys do? Just donit and get the Squier now, do it right and save up for the bird or just make do with what I have right now?

The Epiphone '60 Thunderbird FTW.
They are great basses at a reasonable price, mine's got to quite a few shows this year and I'm quite impressed with it.

 

[WG Plum]

Oh Betty.

 

[logdrum]

What is the issue with transporting a bass back and fourth?

Is it one of the cases where you have to walk through snow with an uphill both ways?

 

[Jazzdogg]

Not telling you what to do but I would transport the bass from home and put the money I would have spent on the T-bird into my retirement account, where it will prove much more useful.

Wise words. I remember hearing that I would need to have saved a million dollars for retirement when I was in my thirties. These days, with inflation changing everyone's expectations, three million dollars is insufficient, especially when Social Security certainly can't be depended upon in the future.

If someone had told me forty years ago that $10,000/month would barely be adequate for retirement, I might have scoffed. And although $10,000/month might sound adequate today, who can predict the cost of anything ten, twenty, or thirty years in the future.

Sometimes, the difference between WANT and NEED can be one of the hardest lessons to learn...

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Not telling you what to do but I would transport the bass from home and put the money I would have spent on the T-bird into my retirement account, where it will prove much more useful.

Until the next economic crash comes along and turns your retirement account in to lunch money.

 

[Jason Bonilla]

Get the 60's/VP Thunderbird. They are priced right new or used.
You won’t regret it.
View attachment 5272956

did you get a refin for that red one? I haven't seen one of those yet. I'd actually like a 2nd 60s epi-bird to put rounds on since it sounds so good with the flats that came on it that I cant bring myself to take them off.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

"Buy more. Produce more..."
THX1138

 

[Snarf]

Not the biggest fan if the P sound, though

GET OUT











lol