quick back story..... i am a teacher by day and a bartender on friday nights. i am also a husband and a dad of two wonderful boys (2 & 4 y/o). needless to say, with playing music, i am very busy. I am almost 41 and i'm getting too old to work in a college bar. i have been working this job to pay extra bills but mostly to buy gear. i'd like to quit so i can play more gigs and spend more time with the kids instead of working late on fridays and being tired all day saturday. the solution is to end my GAS! and i think i am pretty close What else do i need/want? I have: Upton plywood bass Meisel 1950s german plywood (backup bass) Guild B30 - ABG Martin D-15 acoustic guitar Martin 000-15 sm acoustic guitar custom hpf/lpf/DI AI Focus 1 series iii AI Ten2 head AI flex preamp Crazy 88 cabinet 2 - Ampeg 210AV cabinets Full PA system - for small to medium gigs 2 mains 2 monitors mics, stands, cables, DIs, etc. Small PA System Carvin AG300 + Extension Cab Mackie SRM 150 mini-monitor so as you can see, I've got all a semi-professional musician needs. I've even got a back up for everything from extra amp, cabinet, strings.....what else do i need? i plan on buying a BG (gasp!) just to have one as my bands' direction may change a little where i may need to double. But, that's it. Please let me know what else i'll need before i feel i can quit without needing more gear!
Quit the Job & Enjoy your time with the kids. Join a band - If you need any more gear, sell something you're not using. I gigged, recorded & toured extensively for 15 years with 2 Electric basses & 1 amp. Total investment $1400. It's not about the gear!!!!!! One DB and 1 amp is plenty 90% of the time.
We’ve recorded 4 albums in my basement. I’ve also got protools and an AT 4033 and Shure SM81. Worked great. I’ve even got an Ear Trumpet Labs mic for making our outdoor shows look cool! I’m thinking one P and one J style BGs and I’m set. Then I can quit without want of gear that I won’t be able to reward or buy with gig money over time.
I take it as given that you're not going to sell a kidney (or a kid) to buy more gear. The only gap in your inventory is a solid-body bass guitar. I'd recommend a decent second hand active J(esque) bass (maybe a 5-string), which would be versatile enough to cover the vast bulk of genres you may encounter. You should be able to find one that will fit in with your budget.
The obvious thing you're missing, IMHO, is a piano or keyboard. Something to work out chords and tunes on; I think it's a great resource for exploring harmony.
You have all the gear you need, and then some. I'm finding that buying gear is something I want to do more of when I'm playing/gigging less. It helps when I remember "I've got what I need to do my gigs and sound the way I want". That way when I see a new cool thang I can notch down my "want that!" urges.
My well set-up Shen SB80 and old school GK MB150S keep me on the road. I bought them both used about two years ago and have been making the majority of my living with them since. It works well for pizz. For arco it’s just passable with my cheap Gollihur bow, but no one calls me specifically for that. The only thing I think you NEED would be a solid body electric because you double. You may want an amp more optimized for BG at some point, too. If you end up getting into carved basses and nice bows, things will get considerably more spendy!
