Although I play 5 strings exclusively, I have multiple simple basses doing one thing great, instead of a complex bass trying to do everything. Each bass has different strings for its designated role.
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Has your taste in basses grown simpler or more complex?
- Thread starter socknroll1
- Start date
I ended up using just one bass. The Gary Willis fretless. I play in passive mode usually. Just volume, no tone control. If the bass sounds good, you don't need anything else. I have adopted someone else's tone and made it my own. Gary usually turns down the treble a bit. I like the bass with full treble.
I would describe it as becoming more specific. I have nerve damage to my neck and shoulders from radiation treatments for lymph cancer years. I found a specific 21"scale mini bass is the most comfortable for me, so I accumulated 15 over the last four years, having them modified by Eric's Guitar Shop with a high mass bridge and mini humbucker neck pickup, and finished by Pat Wilkins.
Fretless P Bass(2 knobs), fretless SCPB (2 knobs) upright with Krivo pickup (no knobs) Coily cable, Ampeg RB210 (all knobs at noon, bright switch on) Simple
On stage I like to find one pickup choice and adjust the tone knob to taste depending on the tune.
Lately it’s been my Serek Lincoln bass with the neck pickup soloed.
Lately it’s been my Serek Lincoln bass with the neck pickup soloed.
I would say I started out simple and have stayed simple. I only have 4-strings. I don’t use pedals. My oldest bass is from 2003. I have two hollow bodies. I have three Epiphones, two Fenders, and two Gretsch. My amps have gotten more high tech, but that’s just the nature of the technology.
I dunno, for me these choices are based on the project I’m working on. I’m a firm believer of having the correct tools for the job and letting your ears be your guide. And that starts with my sound production gear first. Amps that allow great tonal control, and the right cabs. You have that, and learn how to properly use it (and no, you aren’t getting the best sounds just reading the owners manual. This take time work and study) and have a 5 string JB (or reasonable equivalent), you can cover 90% of music written today.
A lot of those subtle differences you hear playing by yourself, tends to disappear when the notes start flying when playing with an ensemble. And as long as your bass sounds like an electric bass, it’s in tune, presentable, and you know your parts, nobody is going to care what you are playing.
Thanks everyone for voting and thoughtful responses. I have the same thoughts as Geri here, although I still consider that answer "simple". Those 3 tones really are the 3 that I have always loved. Never mind that I get my Precision tone from the neck pickup of Jazz basses...
I decided the Stingray was a little too complex for me when the battery finally died during a gig, so I recently made it passive. I still get the Stingray tone, just with a little more EQing on the amp, and no worries ever again about the battery.
Cheers!
Same here, each of mine has its own sound and purpose.
Took me a little too long to get here, but the trip was fun. Learned a lot. Just not quick enough. Money well spent.
both
there's a high likelihood that my LB100 with flats will be used or my okume L2000 with rounds
i guess it comes down to how much tube drive or pedal slamming i need to do
there's a high likelihood that my LB100 with flats will be used or my okume L2000 with rounds
i guess it comes down to how much tube drive or pedal slamming i need to do
I couldn't do complex if I wanted!!
I started simple with a Fender Precision and I've remained simple with a passive Mike Lull PJ5. There's nothing complex about my Sadowsky MV5 either. I don't use pedals and have used pretty much the same "sound" since I started. It's my sound so why change it?
I started simple with a Fender Precision and I've remained simple with a passive Mike Lull PJ5. There's nothing complex about my Sadowsky MV5 either. I don't use pedals and have used pretty much the same "sound" since I started. It's my sound so why change it?
More complex. For several years, I played passive four-string basses almost exclusively, mostly P and J types. Now, I play active and active/passive five-string basses over 90% of the time. I'll still play a four when I definitely won't use the B string, but that doesn't happen very often.
In a way, this wondermous hobby has amounted to years of trial and error for me. I guess that experience has simplified my flow chart in terms of what I might rule in or rule out as a candidate to bring home. I honestly prefer to have one of each on hand - a simple passive instrument along with a more complex bass that includes two pickups and an on-board preamp that lets me dial up two or three useful tones in a snap. I use both at my gigs doing classic rock and dance covers. Not an either/or decision for me. I can't say that I prefer one over the other.
--Not willing to put up with weight in excess of 9.0 lbs. anymore. I managed a 10.5 lb. Jazz (with a wider P neck) for a long time, but after years of searching, I finally tracked down something I like that's just a hair under 8 lbs. Also can't tolerate a narrow neck typical with traditional J's anymore. They're a mis-match for my fretting hand and can give me ferocious tendonitis compared with a wider alternative.
--I've owned at least two or three 5-strings in my day, but that never took off. I'm very at home on a 4-string, perhaps with a de-tuner.
I may have the complex option settled for the long term, but I'm thinking of pushing even further down the road with the simple option in the form of one of those early 50's P basses. Looking at the Sire D5 (their P5 looks yummy, too).
