Favorite Basses Owned - Past and Present

[Helix]

I got to thinking about some of my favorite basses over the last 35 years

I've probably owned 20-25 basses in that time.....by some standards that's a pretty small amount, but here are the one's that stand out

Past

Ibanez Roadstar II MIJ.....I'm pretty sure it had Dimarzios and had the Heart Shaped tuners. I remember the neck fitting like a glove with a big fat tone

Fender P Bass ......this one was a MIM, with SD pups. Buttery smooth in tone and feel is what I remember about this bass

Warwick Thumb BO 5'er.......I found a NT at a GC and thought I'd give it a try. I was looking for something different. Something with some grit and growl and this bass was what I was looking for.....unfortunately I didn't have the money to buy this one, but later found a BO a little more in my price range

Present......currently in my stable (I only own two)

Warwick Streamer LX5 Pro Series......after owning the Thumb, I became interested in what else Warwick had to offer.
I got a chance to try a Streamer SII. Oh man, that was it....had to have one. Bought a LX5 for my 50th Birthday. ....unfortunately I had to sell the Thumb to afford it

Warwick Fortress One 5'er......I had a Rockbass Fortress that was ergonomically perfect for me. I sold this to help buy a Corvette. After a few months I really wanted that Fortress back. I ended up finding a used German one and decided to sell the Corvette to snatched it up ....man was I happy.....upon delivery I found I hated the neck on the German model.
After contacting Warwick, they helped me purchase a Custom Shop neck.....Ta-Da!!....it was perfect

So those are my / were my favorite .....what's yours?

Of course pic's if you got em'

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Fender Elite Jazz V ebony. Most comfy five neck . Light weight. Nice tones.

Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice. Best playing most versatile boutique quality 4 string I've owned. I'll get another someday soon.

Fender/Squier Classic Vibe 60's P. TI flats and that bass are a perfect match. Great neck, looks good, . I've owned 6 . I should keep this one .

 

[malthumb]

Past Favorites:

• Roscoe LG-3005 fretless. This was my second fretless and without a doubt, my best and favorite fretless. Unlined ebony board meant I REALLY had to step up my game. I stopped playing in churches so I rarely used it anymore, so I traded it for a 1978 Stingray
• Alembic medium scale Series II. This was the bass that led to me identifying what I really wanted in a custom bass. If it had one more string I would still have it. Sold it and another Alembic to replace money spent on my first custom ordered bass, which is still my favorite. More on that one later.
• Devon Diamond J5. Super light and super powerful with great tone. It was a 35" scale (as was the Roscoe) but I had no issues adjusting to it. Sold it because I just had too many 5-strings and it wasn't getting played a lot.

This is the 1979 Alembic Series II 32" scale.

Current Favorites:

• Alembic 5-string Series II. This bass is actually too good for me. I custom ordered it based on other Alembics I had owned, especially the Series II I mentioned before. The only drawback is that it's really heavy, but that hasn't bothered me in the almost 20 years that I've owned it.
• Alembic 4-string Series I: Bought it from Stanley Clarke. Nuff said.
• 1979 Music Man Sabre: I bought a Sabre new in 1979 and it was my only bass for 20 years before I sold it to buy a 5-string. Regretted it almost immediately. Eventually found and bought two Sabres, a '79 and an '80. Still have the '79 and I see no situation that would have me parting with this one. I play mostly 5-strings now, but this is my go-to 4-string.

The 5-string Series II is on the left, the bass I bought from Stanley is on the right. Sold the one in the middle a long time ago. Yes, I regret that.

 

[squarepeg]

Past: Fender Jazz Bass Plus V (the one in my avatar). Sold in 1996 when I moved to Europe.
Present: Fender Jazz Bass Plus V. Just got it last month from a shop in Italy. It sounds and feels just as I remember. This one is an alder body, though, and I liked the look of the ash body on the first one. The neck is kind of chunky, and although I like slim necks, this one feels just right in my hands. Also, I've had several Jazz Basses, and I like the balance on these. Although the body is smaller, they don't feel as neck-heavy as other Jazz Basses do.

 

[2saddleslab]

This was, is, and will always be, my fav.

 

[Helix]

This was, is, and will always be, my fav.
View attachment 3654686

And she is beautiful!!!

 

[2saddleslab]

And she is beautiful!!!

Thank you, sir! I feel lucky to have found it and an honor to have owned it for over 3 decades.

 

[elgranluis]

My favorite all time : 78 p bass (rosewood neck) which is still part of the stable.

Other basses that have been at least amazing : 59 p bass ( sold here one tb a few years ago) 83 p bass special ( still in the stable ), 1966 star fire with bisonics (no longer with me) Squier VM 77 (pearl blocks and Duncan designed pups).

The 78 p will never leave my side.

 

[smo]

For pure tone - Rick 4003
Best player/best feel - Maton JB4

 

[TolerancEJ]

In short, all of them. (See my profile information.) Even my first bass, which was the only one I have sold. That served as my entryway to the world of the low end. I may have moved on but I never forgot it.

 

[kalle74]

Past: Tobias Killer-B 5. Had to get rid of it, because the neck was twisted and dealer refused to fix the issue.

Present: Lakland 55-02 (modded w/ SD p'ups), and Bacchus Woodline (new pickups and J.East pre).

 

[rollie 55]

This was, is, and will always be, my fav.
View attachment 3654686

wow that is well played if it could i bet it could tell some great story's

 

[mikewalker]

hmmm... I have had hundreds (yes, at last count more than two hundred!) in the last 45 years... and most of them were loved at the time but now have faded into oblivion.

My current favorite right now: my new latest greatest Miller em4 (NBD post coming soon!) - but I have another ten or eleven 'favorites' hanging on the walls here - many of which will soon be dispersed to the four corners of the world, in order to fund the new custom BassLab I just ordered today (and also to speed the completion of my new recording studio build - which would have been finished two years ago if I hadn't been on such a gear-buying spree lately...)

Honorable mention to the black mid-70s Rickenbacker Model 3000 that I played through much of the 1980s

 

[Tim Schnautz]

My 73 J bass. Its for the most part retired, but it was my gigging buddy for 30 years. I still wouldn't be afraid to dig it out and do 'one more' with it

 

[CallMeAl]

Present: My Fender MIM Jazz neck on a Squier P body. Nothin' fancy, but a total workhorse and suits me perfectly.

Past: Peavey Forum (not my pic.) sold one of these for a cross-country move. Kinda regretted it for a while; but if I hadn't, I don't think I'd have my current bass!

 

[gelinas666]

'75 Fender P Bass( Avatar Pic).. Usually my goto for "Live".... Plays like butter..Fat Sound .. Fat Neck..

 

[notJaco]

The '71 P in my avatar. Others have come and gone. This one feels like home.

 

[lbbc]

My newest bass is my favorite...Carvin PB4. But there have been others I wish I would have kept:
1. 1996 Alembic Rogue 5 string w/cocobolo top
2. Ovation Magnum II Mahogany
3. G&L Asat Black previously owned by Tom Hamilton (supposedly)
4. Carvin SB4000 Black w/matching headstock

 

[DJ Bebop]

My heavily hacked 62 P bass of Doom

 

[Kmonk]

Past: My favorite bass I've ever owned. 1978 Fender Jazz in Sienna Sunburst. Easily the best sounding and playing bass I've ever owned. Unfortunately, in 1984 it was stolen by my drummer along with my 1972 SVT head and cab. He eventually paid me a settlement which included cash and a vehicle but I have never found another bass that plays as well and sounds as good.
This picture was taken on stage in 1983.

Present:
2011 MIA Jazz Deluxe. My wife bought it new as a Valentine's Day gift. I modified it and set it up passive with Lindy Fralin pickups, over wound 8% to get more mids and lows. Each pickup has it's own volume and tone control. I also replaced the original black pickguard with a white pearl.

1997 Alembic Epic 5 string

2018 Spector Legend 5 Neck-thru