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Do You Have Multiple Basses But Gig the Same Bass(es)

#42
Yes. One of my basses has a really fast neck but it weighs a bit so I use it for all my learning/transcribing of new songs and the strings are pretty much dead LOL!!! I have another that is inexpensive but upgraded with high end pre and pups and I gig this a lot because it sounds great but is safe to take out. I have another Custom that only goes to A game or more classy gigs. I also have an upgraded Geddy Lee I'm dying to gig with but it depends on the set list of who I'm playing for. They often mix songs in a set where a 5er is required and other songs could be played on a 4 but they go right into one song from another thus no time for even a quick change. I just acquired a 6 string that I'm getting used to. A few more weeks and I'll be ready to gig out with it. And I have a 4 string SX Jazz and a Fretless that get played every so often but don't get gigged.
 
#44
I have a bass for a metalica tribute, one to play iron maiden, one for a rock band, one for a death metal band, one for my kids and a fretless and modded 6 for myself

They're a main for each gig but I bring another one as backup/de-tune
 
#45
Several basses, thanks to my wife's encouragement-
Ken Lawrence Associate 5
Roscoe SKB Custom 5 fretless
Lakland 55-94
Regenerate M5
Tune Bass Maniac 5 (on the way)
Warmoth Deluxe 5 fretless
Squier 50's P-bass

I gig with all of them except for the Warmoth (and the Tune for now). I have been tending toward the Roscoe fretless lately.

Dan
 
#46
I gig my upright about half the time because that's what the gig is.

For my electric gigs, I usually bring a 4 and a 5. The custom P/J or the other Custom P with flats comes. And the Stingray5 or the Custom Clement 5er come. The Fretless Godin 5er acoustic/electric comes only when I need that vibe.

With several great basses, it's hard to decide. And I rarely gig the same bass on 2 gigs in a row. I like the variety. If any bass never makes it to a gig in 12 months, it goes up on the block.
 
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#49
5 basses.
#1 Takamine B10 goes out 98% of the time.
#2 '67P FL when I don't want to drag the B10.
#3 FL ABG goes camping once a year (or used to), and gets most at home play.
Of the remaining two, one is strung piccolo and seldom played; the other's on CL., and has been for an obscenely long time... must be asking too much!:(
 
#51
I've got 6 basses, and i'm a variant-obsessed owner/player, so all of them are different types: 1 suped-up active/passive modern style Jazz bass, 1 passive beater P-bass that's worth only as much as the pickup i put in it, 1 Musicman Sterling H (with upgraded alnico pup, for more of the standard Ray tone), 1 active dual coil soapbar style bass, 1 fretless Jazz bass, and 1 totally unique insane sounding bass that no one else has (Modulus Quantum 4 turbo w/upgraded 2tek bridge, John east preamp and nordstrand big splits). The thing about having all your basses be different kinds and having them almost all active, is that most of them don't work very well as a backup for any of the others. On the other side of the coin, i feel like i have exactly what i need no matter what situation comes along. I just keep my basses well maintained, and clean/inspect them after each use to make sure nothing might fail on me during the next show, make sure i have backup batteries ready to go, etc.

Depending on the project i am in, I'll dedicate a specific bass to the sound of the band (if it's an original project). Essentially I'll find which of my basses I think sounds best with the musicians I'm working with and choose that to build my tone around. My last band was a heavy, loud rock band and while I had totally used my active jazz for a couple of our shows and it totally kicked ass, and while I'm sure I could have used another bass just as easily, there was something I couldn't stop loving about my specialized Quantum Turbo with the heaviness of that band. It was a harder bass to work with EQ-wise but it sounded so good once I got it dialed in and it gave our band more of it's own sound, so that's all I really used after a point. Essentially, I do the same thing for recording sessions. All my basses are high end and sound great in mixes.

But if I'm in only one project, or only using one bass, mainly, i feel sorta bad neglecting my other basses, so i play them all equally at home. And i try to find projects to use them in.
 
#52
I own a Mod Q5, a Mod Fretless J, a Deluxe J Bass and German Plywood Upright

The only one I tend to not use is the Q5 cause I'm finding the B string causes me fretboard confusion.
Bass sounds great but I often find my mind plays tricks on me.

I use the Fender J for most stuff, the Fretless for Ballads and the Upright for Bluegrass gigs.
 
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#54
silvertone said:
I own a Mod Q5, a Mod Fretless J, a Deluxe J Bass and German Plywood Upright

The only one I tend to not use is the Q5 cause I'm finding the B string causes me fretboard confusion.
Bass sounds great but I often find my mind plays tricks on me.

I use the Fender J for most stuff, the Fretless for Ballads and the Upright for Bluegrass gigs.
Click to expand...

Nice, my fretless Jazz bass is a modulus as well! It plays like a dream, but i just don't like the onboard obp-1 preamp it came with, it's not doing the bass justice... debating trying another pre that would make it sound better. How do you like yours? is it loaded with the same thing? any suggestions? I'd love it to be able to sit in a mix for ballads and such.

*Sorry not trying to hijack the thread, guys!*
 
#55
If I played a wider variety of music and situations, I might be more likely to have multiple axes in a rotation.

As it happens, I'm a live music hound, and not much of a studio dude. Plus, at age 60 I'm known for certain types of things, and those are the gigs that I get booked for. On top of that, I don't play fretless or upright, so that narrows the field as well.

Given my situation, no matter how many basses I have in the closet, it always comes down to a simple binary decision:
- One will always come out on top as most suitable for what I do.
- This reduces the choice to main and backup, i.e.; "best" and "second best".

Anything else that's hanging around the house is in transition. It's either vying to replace one of the first two, or headed for Craigslist.
 
#56
I own 2 musicmans and 2 fenders and a squier vi. And 2 epiphone 335s. The musicmans get all the gigs. And when i play guitar in my other band i really only can choose between the red 335 amd the natural 335.. i do leave the fender p at our jam spot and it sometimes sees practice but i usually bring the mm because i like it better...
 
#58
I have 10 electric basses and use most of them live. I use certain basses for specific gigs, country and rock I use 4 strings, metal 4 or 5 strings, and fusion stuff I tend to use my 6 strings. I do have a 4 string ESP that I have string as a piccolo bass so that doesn't see any live play time, and I have a RR style Flying V bass that only comes out when I get gigs opening for80s hair bands.
 
#59
I have 6 basses, but only 4 are really seriously gig-worth. Of those, I gig and play consistently with two of them, my jazz and warwick stage I. I use my p-bass as a backup for the j-bass, and my spector as the backup for the warwick. I used to gig the spector for years, with the warwick as the backup, but about 2 years ago I switched over. The jazz is my oldest bass, the first bass I ever bought, and it will always be a serious go-to for me.
 
#60
Ballin' - I don't actually know the maker of the pre is in my Modulus J?
It's a vintage Bassstar from the early 80s and it's got EMG pups.
But it sounds great (at least I think so) through my GenzBenz NeoPak into an Eden 210 XLT and D115.
The neck is incredibly thin and incredibly fun to play and I find myself occasionally playing it all night not just for ballads.
 
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