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Do you have a 'Wife?'
- Thread starter GeneralElectric
- Start date
Just FYI it's a bit patriarchal to label favorite objects "wives", "mistresses", etc. I know it's common practice but to some people it looks pretty gross. I'm one of those people.
+1. A lot of people name their basses too. Like ships very few of them have a boys name.
My highschool girlfriend actually coined the name Wife for my bass. I carried the damn thing everywhere and it was, and still is, my most prized possession. Several people I know call it the Wife bass as well. Its not a big deal.
*rolls eyes*
Sheesh it's just a symbolic thing! Crap...
Reading through these posts makes me want to fix up my cheap ibby that I first got almost 2 years ago for xmas thanks to my dad....I can't bring myself to sell it but man, maybe I should fix it up and start playing it out..who knows...maybe it'll become my very own "wife" bass!
Sheesh it's just a symbolic thing! Crap...
Reading through these posts makes me want to fix up my cheap ibby that I first got almost 2 years ago for xmas thanks to my dad....I can't bring myself to sell it but man, maybe I should fix it up and start playing it out..who knows...maybe it'll become my very own "wife" bass!
There's my dad's memorial bass, a '94 Fender American Deluxe Plus V. It was my first 5-string. I bought it of the wall at GC in 1994
Then there's my '96 Lakland 55-94. It was my first high-end bass. I bought it from Dave Avenius at L.A. Bass Exchange. I called to order one with quilt top, amber finish, birdseye board, thinking there would be an 8-month wait. It turns out, they had ordered that exact bass on spec, and I had it within a week. It's still cherry, but it's seen a lot of gigs.
Then there's my '96 Lakland 55-94. It was my first high-end bass. I bought it from Dave Avenius at L.A. Bass Exchange. I called to order one with quilt top, amber finish, birdseye board, thinking there would be an 8-month wait. It turns out, they had ordered that exact bass on spec, and I had it within a week. It's still cherry, but it's seen a lot of gigs.
I just call 'em the ones I'll probably never sell. Number 1 is my Hamer CruiseBass I bought new in '82 - totally spectacular. I never take this to gigs now; it's my session babe...
My number 2 "never sell" Bass is a frankenstein P made up from 3 (as far as I can determine) others. It was in a "vintage" guitar shop and no one was interested in it due to it not being original; I pulled it off the wall for a play and was just blown away by it.
With crappy dead half-rounds, it sounded magic through a very ordinary amp and after many years searching I knew I had found MY Precision. I paid about what you'd pay for an unmolested '80's P and everyone reckons I was ripped off, until they get to play it...
Set up and re-strung, it does 99% of my current gigs.
In action at the Perth Blues Club:
YouTube - ‪GCB1‬‏
My number 2 "never sell" Bass is a frankenstein P made up from 3 (as far as I can determine) others. It was in a "vintage" guitar shop and no one was interested in it due to it not being original; I pulled it off the wall for a play and was just blown away by it.
With crappy dead half-rounds, it sounded magic through a very ordinary amp and after many years searching I knew I had found MY Precision. I paid about what you'd pay for an unmolested '80's P and everyone reckons I was ripped off, until they get to play it...
Set up and re-strung, it does 99% of my current gigs.
In action at the Perth Blues Club:
YouTube - ‪GCB1‬‏
The bass I've had the longest is an acoustic. It's been everywhere with me. All over a farm where the guitarist I used to jam with lived... actually it's been in many a farm. All over random parks and spots where you can have a spliff and jam at night with mates 
I do feel quite a strong connection to it. It's currently my only fretted bass. It lives 7 hours away these days though, at my parents house. So more like ex-wife. When I go home she's my lady though Where I'm currently living I'm using two fretless basses, a Fender Jazz and a '76 Ibanez Precision copy, and I hope I keep both of them for my entire life as I love them both. I would like to call them both my wives. Aaaah polygamy
I do feel quite a strong connection to it. It's currently my only fretted bass. It lives 7 hours away these days though, at my parents house. So more like ex-wife. When I go home she's my lady though
Where I'm currently living I'm using two fretless basses, a Fender Jazz and a '76 Ibanez Precision copy, and I hope I keep both of them for my entire life as I love them both. I would like to call them both my wives. Aaaah polygamy 
16 years or so now. The term "wife" has never come to mind, never gave it a name or gender either for that matter but it's the hands down the most important inanimate object in my life. It puts food on the table and a roof over my head. It's not easy to tell from the pic but most of the bass is pretty 3D, the darker parts of the maple are harder than the lighter parts so as it's worn you can feel the grain, had this bass been painted I'm sure most of it would be gone by now.
Japanese made Ibanez BTB505 bought new in 2000. It's got all the right wear in all the right places. Still sounds and plays amazing.
Here's the Conklin GT5 that's been the go to for over a decade. I'm not the type to do a lot of cleaning or fussing and in spite of me, this is still looking perfect.
At this point I have no idea how many gigs this one's done. Outdoors from nasty cold and wet to brutally hot. In over ten years I've made one neck adjustment. I think I've tuned the bridge twice.
Other basses come and go, but this one always ends up as my favorite.
At this point I have no idea how many gigs this one's done. Outdoors from nasty cold and wet to brutally hot. In over ten years I've made one neck adjustment. I think I've tuned the bridge twice.
Other basses come and go, but this one always ends up as my favorite.
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GenerelElectric, when did your bass start wearing down on the neck? I'm kinda keen for my AV62 neck to start looking like that, it's a 2000~ ish model.
Here's my "wife":
Fender US Deluxe P-bass V.
The picture here is really old. Since taking it the bass has gained some mojo from its life as my number one (a few knocks and dents, the maple neck has gotten darker, oxidisation on the hardware and the tone has mellowed out a touch). I also replaced the stock pre with an Aggie OBP-3.
I've played basses that have been nicer and more resonant acoustically, but this is the workhorse of my stable; whenever I pick it up I feel like I'm coming home and I know exactly which way to approach it in order to coax whatever kind of tones I need for a gig.
Fender US Deluxe P-bass V.
The picture here is really old. Since taking it the bass has gained some mojo from its life as my number one (a few knocks and dents, the maple neck has gotten darker, oxidisation on the hardware and the tone has mellowed out a touch). I also replaced the stock pre with an Aggie OBP-3.
I've played basses that have been nicer and more resonant acoustically, but this is the workhorse of my stable; whenever I pick it up I feel like I'm coming home and I know exactly which way to approach it in order to coax whatever kind of tones I need for a gig.
I can remember when I bought my 'wife' - in 1986, I walked into the Sam Ash in Paramus NJ and bought a Charvel 2B (although it might be a 3B b/c of the P/J p/u) but anyway, I at college, I played that bass for every frat party, Halloween party, New Years Eve party, freshman orientation, for four years. Great times. Then, after college, I played in cover and original bands and I always played that bass. I sanded her down to get rid of the sheen, the top of the p-bass pickup has a gauge from my thumb, slightly worn on the body and she has never let me down. I still play her on occasion as it's kinda fun to play the pointy headed black Charvel at gigs every now and then. Although, right now, she is third behind the Modulus Flea 5 and 60s Classic Jazz. I'll see if I can find a decent picture.
My wife is my 1997 G&L ASAT. I traded in my Ibanez SR800 to get this beauty new and it has been with me ever since. I was playing a bar one night and the strap lock came loose and the headstock swung down and bounced off the monitor, the tuning never budged. I came home from band rehearsal after way too many wobbley pops only to discover the next morning that I left the bass in the back of the pickup truck. The case was cover in morning dew and I quit drinking that instant. This bass was my one and only for many years, but now I have many consorts to keep things fresh. Like a good wife, my G&L is irreplaceable.
It's a Korean-made Alvarez EB800. Actually they both are; my main instrument is the one on the right.
basses | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I've had it for probably 16 years. It's an early '90's model. I traded a Washburn and a couple of hundred bucks for it. I didn't realize it had active pickups until I took off the back plate and saw the battery. I didn't even know what active pickups were. I played it at the local music store (back when they still had those) and immediately fell in love. It's a neck thing. Really thin, like an Ibanez.
I played it all through high school in metal bands and later touring with a blues band. I've recorded with it, I've dropped it, it has a chunk taken out of the fretboard at the 4th fret. I've cleaned it only once at the insistence of my guitarist. It's in my senior portrait in my high school yearbook.
I consider it an extension of my arm; nothing else comes close.
basses | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I've had it for probably 16 years. It's an early '90's model. I traded a Washburn and a couple of hundred bucks for it. I didn't realize it had active pickups until I took off the back plate and saw the battery. I didn't even know what active pickups were. I played it at the local music store (back when they still had those) and immediately fell in love. It's a neck thing. Really thin, like an Ibanez.
I played it all through high school in metal bands and later touring with a blues band. I've recorded with it, I've dropped it, it has a chunk taken out of the fretboard at the 4th fret. I've cleaned it only once at the insistence of my guitarist. It's in my senior portrait in my high school yearbook.
I consider it an extension of my arm; nothing else comes close.
I've had this bass for almost 13 years and it's as close to a "wife" as I have. If this was actually my wife, she'd probably divorce me, because I left her for 5-string basses last year. She just sits in the case now, but I can't bring myself to sell. This bass saw a ton of gigs over the years and was my first Reverend, so there's lots of sentimental value.
My dad got me my bass 11 years ago (I was 15 then) because he wanted me to learn the bass and so I would stop playing his custom P. We looked at lots of different ones and came across this beautiful black Kawai RB865A. We both fell in love with it at the store even though we hadn't heard of it so we got it for $300 because the tag mistakenly said USED on it. It's been with me ever since and I will never get rid of it. I took it to the recording studio and the owner liked the sound of it so much, he asked me my price which is the same as it will always be - Not For Sale.
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My 1985 G&L L-2000. I ordered it for one of my last high school gigs, and it arrived late! I was angry enough to tell the salesman to go f himself and give me my money back, but cooler heads prevailed. It clips every amp I ever owned, shakes window frames loose and plays hell on the family china/crystal hutch. I have it in an Ernie Ball/Music Man gig bag, cuz I ended up hating the StingRay I bought and put it in the G&L case when I sold it. I still pull it out and it's instantly homecoming! Nowadays I play and AtelierZ 5-string J that my wife bought me for my 40th birthday. Both basses are heavy. There's a lot to be said for heavy wood for bass.
