urb_munki said:
Hey Brad J,
Please tell me you are a pro player and not just a collector - those babies need to be played out bro! Seriosuly, are you a busy guy with a lot of bass work, or just a bass collector - or both? I only ask cos, that's a shed load of basses - and I survive with two - I'm just curious - and not wanting to cause offence - I merely ask cos I've only been on TB for a few months and I don't know you as I'm little UK dude as it were...
None taken. Short answer... I've paid for all of my gear by gigging.
Long answer...
I don't consider myself a pro because I have a day job. I probably do 6-10 gigs in an average month. My gigs do tend to pay better than most that I'm aware of, that's the level I've tried to put (and keep) myself on. Dependable, competent musicians tend to work more
I don't consider myself a collector because that's not why I buy a bass. I'm a classic bargain hunter who loves basses so I'm always on the watch for a deal. As such, I've found a ridiculous amount of crazy deals. In most cases I keep them. Sometimes they don't work out for me so I'll move those.
Two of the basses in the big pic haven't been on a gig... the Kay hollowbody and the Guild B301F. Otherwise everything gigs or has gigged at some point. Bear in mind that I've been playing for about 30 years now. I've had some of these basses for over 20 years.
Some deals comes around that are just too crazy to pass up like the Surine 7 for $1k. It was my first 7 and I realized that even though I liked the bass overall the high F really didn't work for me. From that deal I ended up with a singlecut Elrick fretless 5 (by way of several basses in between) for practically nothing.
The green Zon fretless 5 in the fretlesses pic was another sweet deal. I got it new for half price AND the store had no interest/no payment for one year. For the following year that was my main gig bass... I used it with no cash outlay for that year, made more than enough to pay for it (and a few other things) and at the end of the year I paid it off.
My oldest Fenders were $125 (1968 Jazz w/ amp) and $500 (1978 Jazz). Couldn't pass either up. Play both of them.
I also tend to buy instruments that nobody initially wants.
I bought my first Tobias back around 1980... it had hung on the wall at a store for a couple of years and apparently most people didn't see what I saw in it. I buy what appeals to me, not what's popular.
The reason I've ended up with what I have is because I've put myself in a position to take advantage of the crazy deals I find. It has a snowball effect and believe it or not some of my stuff I've ended up getting for free, after turning over other gear and generally wheeling and dealing.
So pro, no. Busy, yes. Collector, not IMO, though I do have a collection
. I'm a guy who enjoys the different vibes that each bass brings vs. someone who has an "ideal" bass in mind and tries to get everything to sound like it (not that there's anything wrong with that
).
Trust me, they get played. By myself and lots of other people too.
