Of the last 30 years this is certainly my favorite: 2016 Sadowsky NYC 4-21
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Favorite Basses Owned - Past and Present
- Thread starter Helix
- Start date
Although I have retired my 5 stringers, this is the best bass I ever owned and gigged with for many years
Well from '94-'98 i had my first bass which was an Aria ProII PJ. Traded it along with cash in '98 for my Ibanez ATK305 which was my favorite (and only bass) until 2017 when I had Mike Pedulla build me a Pentabuzz which I sold in 2018. In the same year I purchased my Fodera YY5S and then swapped the pickups in 2019. Nothing I've played has even come close to topping this thing. It's a lifer for sure.
I've owned probably 30'ish Basses over more than three decades of playing. A few standouts....a peavey cirrus 5 string that was absolutely amazing in every way. A Sadowsky nyc that I didn't fully appreciate when I owned it as I was not in the right frame of mind for that bass. A stingray HH 5 that I didn't really like until I got a pro setup, then fell in love. However, I recently traded for a Adam Clayton jazz with Nordstrand pups...and I believe it's probably number one of all the Basses I've owned.
Greetings from the North,
From the Past... 1978 White 4001 Rickenbacker The one that got away that I miss the most.
In the Present... 2004 B&W Reverend Brad Houser 5 My Studio and Stage fave. Engineers love it cause it sounds like a great J with air. I still come back to it.
Rezdog
From the Past... 1978 White 4001 Rickenbacker The one that got away that I miss the most.
In the Present... 2004 B&W Reverend Brad Houser 5 My Studio and Stage fave. Engineers love it cause it sounds like a great J with air. I still come back to it.
Rezdog
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Past: my Hungarian upright. I was attached to that bass most of my waking hours for ten years. That was the deepest connection I ever had to a hunk of wood. I donated it to the local high school a few years back, so I hope it's still doing its job as a high-end student bass.
Now: I got this Supro Huntington short scale recently. I'm tuning to fifths with flatwound strings. And I'm doing and I'm doing a classical-guitar-inspired right hand technique. Everything about the instrument seems custom-made for what I wanted to do. I like to spend time with this instrument more than any electric I have ever owned, by a long shot.
Now: I got this Supro Huntington short scale recently. I'm tuning to fifths with flatwound strings. And I'm doing and I'm doing a classical-guitar-inspired right hand technique. Everything about the instrument seems custom-made for what I wanted to do. I like to spend time with this instrument more than any electric I have ever owned, by a long shot.
* Squire Affinity P - I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans with flats. It was a one trick pony but the playability was perfect. Wish I still have it.
* 2013 Gibson EB - Wish i didn't trade her. Sound wise and playability. She was the best electric bass I've ever owned.
* 2005 Musicman Stingray - My dream bass for awhile and finally have one. Hope I don't get rid of her.
* 2013 Gibson EB - Wish i didn't trade her. Sound wise and playability. She was the best electric bass I've ever owned.
* 2005 Musicman Stingray - My dream bass for awhile and finally have one. Hope I don't get rid of her.
I've owned about 40 basses altogether.
My current favorites:
2015 Marleaux Contra five-string
1982 DeLap Jazz-style, currently fretless
Past favorites:
1958 Fender Precision
1962 Fender Jazz (my son now owns it)
N. Zaganin Asema five-string (Not sure what year, my next-door neighbor now owns it and has promised to sell it back to me if/when he ever sells it.)
My current favorites:
2015 Marleaux Contra five-string
1982 DeLap Jazz-style, currently fretless
Past favorites:
1958 Fender Precision
1962 Fender Jazz (my son now owns it)
N. Zaganin Asema five-string (Not sure what year, my next-door neighbor now owns it and has promised to sell it back to me if/when he ever sells it.)
Gibson Les Paul and Epiphone Thunderbird Classic Pro.
i really don't have any "past favorites." i don't know how many i've owned over the years (maybe 15-20?) and that would include my present bunch of 6-8 (various states of development!), but: i've never discarded/sold an ax that really worked for me, so = all of my presently playable axes are my favorites, past or present, if that makes sense. all of them are fretless and they all play better than your fretless.So those are my / were my favorite .....what's yours? Of course pic's if you got em'
i kid.this is my newest favorite ax (i've posted this in several recent threads, sorry if you've already seen it). it weighs 6.2 lbs and it's the bomb!
edit: for extreme clarity
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Why only one more, this thing is begging to be use all the time... It should still be your gigging buddy for another 30 years...
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,235
- 45,141
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Present (since 2011) - Zon custom fretless.
Past - 1988 Tobias Bassic 5
Past - 1988 Tobias Bassic 5
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Two that I still have. This modded 72 P(J) -- traded it for an old Tokai Les Paul (which I got dirt cheap because it 'didn't work' -- 5 min with a soldering iron fixed it)
It had some kind of Seymor Duncan pickups in it I didn't like, put in a set of Fralins and a telecaster 3-way switch, and it's pretty much my goto bass.
The other is this stripped 62 P,m which I love. Sounds very different to the 72.
In the I wish I still had it department ...
1978 Aria Pro II SB700. My first real bass, got stolen along with the TE stack next to it a long time ago
This beautiful black on black fretless Roscoe 5 string I sold as part of a house-buying purge
This insanely rare 1980 Tokai JB120 jazz I stupidly sold in another purge
It had some kind of Seymor Duncan pickups in it I didn't like, put in a set of Fralins and a telecaster 3-way switch, and it's pretty much my goto bass.
The other is this stripped 62 P,m which I love. Sounds very different to the 72.
In the I wish I still had it department ...
1978 Aria Pro II SB700. My first real bass, got stolen along with the TE stack next to it a long time ago
This beautiful black on black fretless Roscoe 5 string I sold as part of a house-buying purge
This insanely rare 1980 Tokai JB120 jazz I stupidly sold in another purge
My Huamany 5 string fretless. To this day it surprises me how good it can go hand on hand with more expensive boutique instruments and sound beautiful.
HuamaniGuitars
HuamaniGuitars
< a lowly $160 '80s Matsumoku Lotus L-750 cleans up on my $100 Samick Silvertone LB11 P bass clone but only cos the 750 is stupendous whereas the Samick is merely awesome lol price does make a difference! toss in a killer deal Ibanez RB-620 P that stands mightily on it's own and what more do ya need? however, there is one brand that consistently excels, out of my (too) small cadre of Peaveys my kinda noisy T-20FL is otherwise heavenly and 2 foreign BXP models really stand out with unique tonal qualities and excellent playability (the sweet Zodiac and Millennium) leaving a fine T-40 in the dust. Peavey necks are supreme, even the junk ones. these few are the cream of the crop, the list could easily be longer if long overdue string swaps for flats / wraps improve the annoying zing thing that often comes with 'used bass' rounds. but I get lazy and cheap when it comes to dumping for a bunch of trial and error strings when my little LB11 is frankly PERFECT. sad part of the story is I could have lived with my first bass from ages back had the neck on my '65 dot neck Fender BASS V stayed true, it is pure tone gold with the ultimate Motown sound baked in, and the big neck feels perfect even if I favor slim now. fortunately that frustrating story continues to evolve towards a happy ending, who knows what the year will deliver. a '72 modded maple fretless P bass I bought the same day as the V carried me past that problem and both solidified my overt love for old Fenders. further pluses of the endless journey are I've found a ton of tremendous players that equal those two vintage for very little outlay, and they all could qualify as favorites with just a bit more luck with strings...
are we the dumb-luckiest or what to live in this amazing era of BASS???
are we the dumb-luckiest or what to live in this amazing era of BASS???
