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Do You Have Multiple Basses But Gig the Same Bass(es)
- Thread starter mikeluch
- Start date
Yeah. I have about ten basses, but have a go-to bass for serious gigs ( a Jazz bass) and one for recording ( a Precision).
I have others that i'll dabble with at open jams or get-togethers.
I have others that i'll dabble with at open jams or get-togethers.
I have about 14 (including a couple are project basses that may or may not be playable).
I play in a 60s band that does a lot of Beatles so play a Violin Bass for the image but take my L-2500 as backup, it pains me to leave it in it's case.
I play in a 60s band that does a lot of Beatles so play a Violin Bass for the image but take my L-2500 as backup, it pains me to leave it in it's case.
Yeah - that's the case here - I must have 20 basses, and enjoy playing and practicing with them all, but the P or the Fury gets the gig. Perhaps it is the confidence in knowing that they will always sound great live.
The last gig, I brought 3 with the idea of rotating them between sets, and only keeping the one that sounded the best, and to keep doing that until I am down to 4 or 5. It didn't work out though - we ended up doing only one long set! Next Time.
The last gig, I brought 3 with the idea of rotating them between sets, and only keeping the one that sounded the best, and to keep doing that until I am down to 4 or 5. It didn't work out though - we ended up doing only one long set! Next Time.
When I buy a new bass, unless it's a cheap fixer-upper, I tend to gig with it until I get GAS for something else which then takes over as my gigging bass. Sitting in my bass rack in order of being my "discarded" are 62P (too valuable to take to most of the dives we play), MM SR5, L-2000, MM SUB4, J fretless, L-2500.
If I had to chose 2 out of those I have it would be MM SUB4 and L-2500 (today), but I don't have to so I am keeping what I have.
If I had to chose 2 out of those I have it would be MM SUB4 and L-2500 (today), but I don't have to so I am keeping what I have.
I currently have 5. One is an Affinity P in the mod process (need to get back on it, it's been sitting too long). Select P, AM J, Squier VM J V, and Mike Kelly Dragonfly (fretless V).
Usually it is the P as primary and the AM J as backup.
When I do acoustic gigs, it is the Mike Kelly.
The Squier lives in the rehearsal hall.
Usually it is the P as primary and the AM J as backup.
When I do acoustic gigs, it is the Mike Kelly.
The Squier lives in the rehearsal hall.
I have 9. One is in the shop and I can't seem to get the guy to ever finish it, so when I do I'll gig it again, but I only gig one for the most part. Once in a while I'll bust out a different one, but it's only temporary.
- Sep 4, 2010
- 3,304
- 2,730
- Disclosures
- Endorsing: Martin Keith Guitars
i usually just bring the 83 L2000 that way i'm not too concerned about volume or eq being an issue
I currently have 3 basses.
One is an active/passive 5-string "modern" J style. I use it for rock/funk gigs. It's flexible enough to use for pretty much anything. I have a passive 4-string PJ. I use it for jazz, blues, ol skool R&B gigs. I practice with both; I gig with both.
I also have a 5-string active (ATK) that I keep in my office (day job) which gives me access to a bass on short notice (e.g., I sometimes meet a pal at a rehearsal studio nearby at lunchtime to play together). I usually don't gig with this bass since it's not why I have it, but I have gigged with it for fun a couple of times. (Sounds great, but it's also one heavy mutha.)
I expect to have a 4-string passive fretless in hand in a month or so. I expect that this would slide into the gigging rotation at some point, and would fit for particular kinds of projects.
One is an active/passive 5-string "modern" J style. I use it for rock/funk gigs. It's flexible enough to use for pretty much anything. I have a passive 4-string PJ. I use it for jazz, blues, ol skool R&B gigs. I practice with both; I gig with both.
I also have a 5-string active (ATK) that I keep in my office (day job) which gives me access to a bass on short notice (e.g., I sometimes meet a pal at a rehearsal studio nearby at lunchtime to play together). I usually don't gig with this bass since it's not why I have it, but I have gigged with it for fun a couple of times. (Sounds great, but it's also one heavy mutha.)
I expect to have a 4-string passive fretless in hand in a month or so. I expect that this would slide into the gigging rotation at some point, and would fit for particular kinds of projects.
I couldn't imagine owning two basses (as I do) and leaving one of them home. I will if it's an open-mic cameo and I'm only playing a short set. I'm in a variety outfit; I'll usually start with my TRBX505 then hop over to the TRBX305 that serves the rock side of our program.
It doesn't always make sense (and I'm far from a superstitious person) but my "least favorite" bass, a Fender Am Std Precision with EMG GZR pickups, is the one that I grab before I leave for a gig more often than not. Compared to my other basses (Fender AVRI 63 Precision, Lakland DJ4), it just has this mojo that I can't quite put my finger on. I've never had a bad show with it and it's just kicks ass when I need it to. [Peep my avatar to see it in action!]
Mine rotate. The fretless acoustic Godin is mostly for church. The more modern/pop band I alternate the two 5-strings (Yamaha and a custom). I mostly use one or the other of the 4-strings (MIM P and a Carvin) for the classic rock band, though the Yamaha has been showing up to those gigs too. That's about it.
Since I got my NS Design CR5 last year, it's gotten the lion's share of my weekly P&W gigs. I bring the p-basses every once in a while, but they don't sound nearly as big. However the pbasses and my stingray get played all the time at home and the CR5 doesn't. ymmv.
btw, both of my pbasses are very hot despite being passive, but the CR5 sounds so huge it just dwarfs them.
btw, both of my pbasses are very hot despite being passive, but the CR5 sounds so huge it just dwarfs them.
I'm just now joining this club. i always had more than one bass but 2 are fretless that I just play for fun and if I happen to be in an acoustic thing. I always gigged my G&L JB. Just got a G&L LB-100 and am agonizing each time I go to practice (no gigs yet with the LB in the stable).
I have 4 basses but one P bass has gotten all the gigs for the last four years. Second P Bass (almost identical to the first) comes along sometimes as a back up but i have never needed it. The two others , an old Cort and an Ibanez are in the computer room at the house to learn stuff on. One is tuned to E , the other to Eb. There's a lot of stuff on you tube that is in Eb.
I have seven basses, I play five at home with regularity, but I there are typically only two that I will bring to a gig. My number "one" bass is an MTD Norm Stockton Saratoga5; it has all the tone I could ever need and plays effortlessly. My "second" is an F Bass BN5, which I find extremely comfortable to play.
