How did you end up with your current workhorse?

[Resonance129]

I've been gigging on and off for a few years now, and I still ldon't think I've solidified a "main" player yet.
I have 5, total, but generally take either the SBMM Ray 34, the Warwick LX4 (P/J), or more recently, my Player Jazz.

The SBMM has the most play time, overall, but the Warwick is slowly taking over.

I'll answer as though the SBMM is my main, though;
I wanted something different at the time and loved the MM sound. Had played plenty of MM's in big box stores and always loved the H/H Stingrays. One day, I'd had the opportunity to A/B an SBMM Ray 34 and an EBMM Stingray in a big box store, and while the EBMM certainly felt and sounded more "premium", the SBMM sounded and felt great to my ear, too. Considering price differences and general feel, I decided to look for an SBMM on Reverb. Found one at a great price and pulled the trigger.

It took a second to acclimate (I was coming from a Yamaha TRBX304 and neck profiles were pretty different), but once I figured out how to set it up, EQ it, and play it for my sound, it took the #1 gigging spot for a long while.

It's funny because NOW, the SBMM is probably my least picked up bass. The Warwick has taken the #1 spot (for now), but honestly, all 5 of my instruments suit me pretty well. I could take any of them to practically any gig and I'd feel confident with it.

 

[Dreamsinger]

My go-to is an '03 Carvin LB75 fretless that I found on anonymous tip when I was ISO of a trade to replace my 4 string fretless with a 5 string version. Some guy answered my ad with a tip that the Carvin was in a local pawn shop. I went down and looked. It was in great shape, obviously played by someone who knew what they were doing. I negotiated the price down to $300 out the door. It took a while to bond with it but after updating the preamp with a Delano and tweaking it to fit my idiosyncrasies it became my preferred ax.

 

[ryco]

Bought my '77 fretless Ripper new as a replacement for my 68 EB-3 that was stolen from a party I was playing at in high school. Only bass I have ever bought new. Paid for with my first paycheck from a "real" job upon graduation. Think it was around $600 with hardshell case.
'75 P Bass paid $200 out of the back of a van in '80. Needed a fretted for Top 40 and funk gigs.
Still have both in my stable and use both a lot.

 

[armelind]

I have 2 main work horse basses. My first was a fluke. Back in 2001 I went to a music store in a small town in Washington State, they had a red Sammick 5 str with gold hardware. The neck was AMAZING (for me). It sounded ok but at the time I had to just put it back and wish that some day I could get something like it.
A year later I had moved to Houston and I walked into one of the main music shops (not Guitar Center) and saw a cheapo 5 string on the wall, red with chrome hardware. I grabbed it and started jamming on it. It had the same neck config as the Sammick I saw in Washington. It wasnt too heavy and the price was right. I had no 5 str bass and always wanted one. So I got this Abilene 5 string bass with a case for $200. I was stoked. To this day i still have it. It is my main home jam bass and it still sounds great and not too long after I got it, I found out that Sammick and Abilene basses are made by the same company... so thats why it felt so similar.

My other bass, my buddy sent me a link to a new bass manufacturer called Traben. These new basses looked like nothing else I ever seen and supposedly they had a new bridge style that added resonance and sustain. I ordered one as soon as I could afford it. My first one was a 4 string and I loved it but I wanted a 5 str. Once I got it, they screwed up my order and gave me the wrong color. So as compensation, the sent me a t shirt, 5 sets of my strings and a hardshell case. My buddy later put a paintjob on it. That bass has gone all over the country with me and it has been on every recording I made since I bought it.

Trabens are gone now but I found out by talking to Disturbed bassist (John Moyer) that the tech that went into the Trabens made their way to BC Rich. So, they arent gone completely but by name, you cant get them new any more.

I have 2 Trabens and my Abilene now. I will never let these basses go.

 

[BBassBassington]

Mine is a simple story. I started on a Peavey J copy but so many bassist I was into were playing a P bass, and that was just the sound I wanted.

It started with a Squier I got used but in mint shape and moded. That was my only P bass for years. I of course owned many different PJs, Jazzes, and even an EBMM StingRay. I sold them all and lived with a Squier VM Jazz for a year and then I decided I'd let myself buy any instrument I wanted. So nearly 7 years ago I played my first 5 string P Bass, through my first SVT and my mind was blown! A week later I bought a different bass but the exact same one I tried that day.

I've since gone through a Fender Jazz, Fender PJ, 'Ray copy, Jaguar with Duncans, Warwick fretless, hand crafted 5 string fretless, an Ibanez SR300E, and probably a few others. All of which are gone (or going in the Fender PJ's case) and soon all I will have is my Squire VM P5 because it's all I use.

I love the predictability, the unique sound of a split single, the fact that it sits so well in the mix easily, how it pairs with my many effects and Fender Rumble 500, even how comfy the tree truck of a neck is!

And I picked it over basses costing 10x as much. If I sold it today I'd actually make $150 CAD and I can see why, these things are incredible. It's easily the best bass I've ever played.

 

[Jhengsman]

On my days off from work and while Jheng would be shopping I would go to a music store and try out 5 string basses. On day when I just happened to have a reserve of money there was my Conklin in the used department. It sounded right, balanced right and was light enough. And there went half of the extra cash that I had saved up.

 

[flr82]

I was telling my wife how I came to be a massive StingRay fanboy and player and thought it might be cool to see from you all how you ended up playing your current "workhorse" or favorite bass?




Not that any of you asked, but here's how I ended up playing 'Rays.

I was 17 and and bought a POS Samick bass at a pawn shop (I don't remember if it was a P or J style). It sort of worked for about 6 months. In that time I picked up some bass instruction books and worked through them, and joining my high school's jazz band.

In the jazz band, the intonation and staying in tune problems of my Samick proved to be too much, even after a setup, so the conductor had me use the school's MIM Fender Jazz bass.

My Samick was relegated to a corner of my room, never to leave the cheap gig bag I had it in again.

I was allowed to take the MIM J bass home over the summer between junior and senior year so I could build up my chops. I also started to jam with some friends and learn how the bass functioned in the mix with a band--in jazz band, I was just playing the notes; there was no feeling in my playing.

During that summer, I found out Les Claypool used Carl Thompson basses for hiw work with Primus. I loved his sound with Primus and desperately wanted a CT of my own (I had no idea how to get one, hell, I thought I could go to Guitar Center and grab one off the shelf. That's how naive I was at the time) so I could sound just like Claypool.

Turns out, GC doesn't stock CT basses (again, I was jsut starting and had no idea what I was doing), but they did have a bass that looked similar to a CT, or at least close enough that I fell in love with it on sight--the Rickenbacker 4003.

So I got a jetglo Ric and played with my band friends. About a week later, the neck became horribly bowed, and I had no idea why or how it happened. I took it in for a trussrod fix, but even that couldn't save it. GC gave me a refund for the bass and I was back looking for a bass that would be a step up from my MIM Jazz bass.

I found a Warwick Corvette and went with it. Except it was fretless, and since I had some experience with an upright bass, I thought I could handle it.

Nope.

I had bitten off more than I could chew, so I took the Warwick back within the return window. I had missed the refund window, which was fine since I was going to get another bass, and the sales person I ran into asked me about the basses I had played thus far. I retold the previous story to him and he pointed me in the direction of an obnoxious orange bass. He said this guy named Flea used a bass like this, and that maybe this might be a good route to take. And, if I didn't like it, I could always return it and try to find another one.

So I tried out that orange bass with an SVT head.

I was in love. That sound...I can still hear it more than 20 years later.

That bass followed me home. It was a StingRay and I was hooked.

I ended up selling that bass when I went into the USMC 4 years later.

Two years into my USMC enlistment, while deployed to Iraq, I decided to order a StingRay 5. At the time (2005) nu-metal was a thing and I was into it, and thought the extended range would be a benefit more than anything else, so I pulled the trigger.

Turns out Musician's Friend ships to APOs, and about a week after ordering my bass, it was delivered to my office in the middle of the An Anbar Province of western Iraq.

I had to sell that bass a few year later due to moving across the country after my medical discharge from the USMC, and took a little break from bass.

Eventually, I got the urge to play again and found a red StingRay 5 with black pickguard, and bought it.

That's my current workhorse. I tried out an Adam Clayton Signature Jazz bass in the Sherwood Green when they came out, but the neck profile wasn't something that worked for me.

So here I am, a StingRay player and I couldn't be happier.

Well, I will be happier once I pick up that Rickenbacker 4003S/5 I fell in love with last weekend.

I had not owned a bass for about 6 years when I bought a 6 string BTB bass on a whim at a killer price. I then began attending a new church and the worship leader asked if I wanted to play? I then realized the 6 was more than I could handle so I started looking for a new 5 string. The last bass I had owned years earlier was a Jazz deluxe with the Kubicki preamp (would love to have that bass again). I did not like the feel of the new Jazz bass necks. I played a Lakeland Skyline and loved the neck. Actually I played every Skyline in store and picked the one I have now. That was 2006. When I play a bass nothing compares to the neck on mine. I have changed the electronics to EMG 40twx and it sounds as good as it plays. I toyed with the idea of getting a Musicman but am happy with my highly altered lol Lakeland Skyline. It always cuts through the mix.

 

[DWBass]

Lakland 55-01. Serial indicates one of the first 300 built. Came with Gotoh style tuners, not the Hipshot Lic. Been modified many times. Currently has Hipshot USA Ultralight tuners, StrapLoks, Aguilar Super Doubles and OBP-3 preamp. Found it here on Talkbass about 15 years ago. Been through several other Laklands but this one has remained.

 

[JamesNC]

My main bass an Ibanez BTB670 active 4-string. I traded a 4x12 Avatar guitar cab for it. I paid $65 for the cab. Winning.

 

[ryco]

My other bass, my buddy sent me a link to a new bass manufacturer called Traben.
I have 2 Trabens and my Abilene now. I will never let these basses go.View attachment 3554570 View attachment 3554571 View attachment 3554572

Glad to hear someone mention Traben! About 10 years ago I saw a Traben 5 string fretless in a little music store in Fortuna, CA. Played really well and sounded great! Was even looking for a fretless 5 at the time! Still a little upset I didn't buy it right then and there. Have never seen another Traben anywhere, and the music store burned down two years ago.
Oh -- and still looking for a good fretless 5 - maybe something in a used MTD.

 

[Admiral Thrawn]

Glad to hear someone mention Traben! About 10 years ago I saw a Traben 5 string fretless in a little music store in Fortuna, CA. Played really well and sounded great! Was even looking for a fretless 5 at the time! Still a little upset I didn't buy it right then and there. Have never seen another Traben anywhere, and the music store burned down two years ago.
Oh -- and still looking for a good fretless 5 - maybe something in a used MTD.

I've heard some fretless 5 MTDs on YouTube. They sound amazing. Can't imagine how the Traben ones sound.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I don’t really have a “workhorse” per-se, since I don’t actively play these days...just noodle on the FrankenSquier beater that is housed in my work truck 24/7/365.

But I do have a #1 that is somewhat retired and will never leave my house for any reason except for moving (again).
That is my 1997 L2500.

I decided to retire it because I had gotten pretty banged up over the years (not evident in the photos), and I only noticed how special it is around 2005 or so...when my friend sent me a photo of me playing it and the flamed maple neck just jumped out of the photo. I have not seen another L2500, or any G&L, with a 4-piece flamed maple neck...ever. This is definitely the only one of its kind.

I have been searching and searching since about 2009, for a worthy workhorse that can replace the L2500 as a do-anything bass, but I haven’t really come to a conclusive offering. I have tried a few Tribute L2500 basses, but the current neck profile with narrow nut doesn’t work for me. Mine has a wide 1-15/16” nut which allows more room between strings at the heel, putting it within .5mm of the Fender spacing with 1-7/8” nut.
At least I found a measurement combination that I find comfortable.
So right now, I have a Squier VM Jazz V that would be the one that leaves the house on a regular basis, equipped with Quarter Pound pickups to at least try to match the output and aggressive tone of the L2500.

But I still would like a USA-made bass, so i am working on a complete Warmoth project...

 

[MrLenny1]

My workhorse is my first 5 string. A 1991 Pedulla Series II 5 string
with Barts. I recently put in an Audere 3 band pre-amp and it goes to work.
I am Gassing for a 32" scale.

 

[Admiral Thrawn]

My workhorse is my first 5 string. A 1991 Pedulla Series II 5 string
with Barts. I recently put in an Audere 3 band pre-amp and it goes to work.
I am Gassing for a 32" scale.

Pedullas are beautiful. I got to try out a Pentabuzz a long time ago. If I knew what I had in my hands at the time, I'd have taken it home.

 

[bassbenj]

I don’t really have a “workhorse” per-se, since I don’t actively play these days...just noodle on the FrankenSquier beater that is housed in my work truck 24/7/365.

But I do have a #1 that is somewhat retired and will never leave my house for any reason except for moving (again).
That is my 1997 L2500.

I decided to retire it because I had gotten pretty banged up over the years (not evident in the photos), and I only noticed how special it is around 2005 or so...when my friend sent me a photo of me playing it and the flamed maple neck just jumped out of the photo. I have not seen another L2500, or any G&L, with a 4-piece flamed maple neck...ever. This is definitely the only one of its kind.

Your L2500 looks a lot like my Fretted one (but mine doesn't have the killer neck). And I do have a Tribute L2500 for dive bars where one has worries, but over time, I'm sorry to say that I'm so taken with my Fretless L2500 that in spite of danger I've come to haul it along to places I probably shouldn't as a "workhorse". And it is a workhorse because it really can do most everything. I can add that my Fretless L2500 has an ebony fingerboard and quartersawn neck which while not as special as yours does make it pretty special among run of the mill G&Ls. Is it even possible to buy one with a real black ebony fingerboard anymore?

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I have read on TB many times, that any ebony fingerboard that is pure black, has been dyed that way...

My Fretless Warmoth neck (roasted quartersawn maple) has an ebony board that is mostly black...some light streaks...but mostly black

But in the right amount of darkness, it looks pretty black...

 

[Elusive1]

November 2013; I was a noob player at that point, jamming with a bunch of classmates purely for fun on a cheap bass (was my first bass which I'd only been using for a year), had no idea back then that my tone sucked, being an amateur and all. Around that time I befriended a guitarist who asked me to start a band with him, and this guy eventually told me that the tone of my cheap bass just wasn't cutting it enough.

We went around quite a few guitar shops looking for a suitable replacement (as a lefty, it was hard to find good basses), and it was at one of these shops where I managed to spot two left-handed Fender Jazz Basses, one a black MIM Standard and the other a sunburst 2012 MIJ '62 Reissue.

At that point of time I had never played any Fender basses, and being the noob I was, I didn't think to compare them both; I was drawn almost immediately to the MIJ because the colour just looked cooler in comparison to the 'plain-looking' MIM. Ironically at that time I had enough money to buy the MIM but not the MIJ, so I had to wait another month for my salary to some in before I could buy the MIJ (fortunately no one else bought it during that month lol). Played it almost exclusively for a couple years, eventually putting my cheap bass away.

Funny thing is, just about a couple years later in 2015, I foolishly sold that beautiful MIJ away to fund the purchase of another bass, and started missing it after a few months (we've all had moments of folly in our lives, yeah...).

By sheer luck, I came across it again around the start of 2018; recognised it immediately from the serial number and grain patterns on the wood. Bought it back from the current owner (apparently it'd been traded around a couple of times), and now its ownership has come full circle. After six years and a couple mods here and there, this beautiful MIJ (previously named Elizabeth, christened Anastasia when I got her back) is now my primary player.

I learnt my lesson: Never sell away any sentimental stuff. Even if in the future I get another bass that becomes my main instrument, I won't let my MIJ get away again, will still keep it for sentimental value. This experience also taught me that if I could only have one bass, it's gotta be a Fender Jazz Bass.

Gonna be honest, though, sometimes I wonder what would've happened had I gotten the MIM instead...

 

[jd56hawk]

I was telling my wife how I came to be a massive StingRay fanboy and player and thought it might be cool to see from you all how you ended up playing your current "workhorse" or favorite bass?

Not that any of you asked, but here's how I ended up playing 'Rays.

I was 17 and and bought a POS Samick bass at a pawn shop (I don't remember if it was a P or J style). It sort of worked for about 6 months. In that time I picked up some bass instruction books and worked through them, and joining my high school's jazz band.

In the jazz band, the intonation and staying in tune problems of my Samick proved to be too much, even after a setup, so the conductor had me use the school's MIM Fender Jazz bass.

My Samick was relegated to a corner of my room, never to leave the cheap gig bag I had it in again.

I was allowed to take the MIM J bass home over the summer between junior and senior year so I could build up my chops. I also started to jam with some friends and learn how the bass functioned in the mix with a band--in jazz band, I was just playing the notes; there was no feeling in my playing.

During that summer, I found out Les Claypool used Carl Thompson basses for hiw work with Primus. I loved his sound with Primus and desperately wanted a CT of my own (I had no idea how to get one, hell, I thought I could go to Guitar Center and grab one off the shelf. That's how naive I was at the time) so I could sound just like Claypool.

Turns out, GC doesn't stock CT basses (again, I was jsut starting and had no idea what I was doing), but they did have a bass that looked similar to a CT, or at least close enough that I fell in love with it on sight--the Rickenbacker 4003.

So I got a jetglo Ric and played with my band friends. About a week later, the neck became horribly bowed, and I had no idea why or how it happened. I took it in for a trussrod fix, but even that couldn't save it. GC gave me a refund for the bass and I was back looking for a bass that would be a step up from my MIM Jazz bass.

I found a Warwick Corvette and went with it. Except it was fretless, and since I had some experience with an upright bass, I thought I could handle it.

Nope.

I had bitten off more than I could chew, so I took the Warwick back within the return window. I had missed the refund window, which was fine since I was going to get another bass, and the sales person I ran into asked me about the basses I had played thus far. I retold the previous story to him and he pointed me in the direction of an obnoxious orange bass. He said this guy named Flea used a bass like this, and that maybe this might be a good route to take. And, if I didn't like it, I could always return it and try to find another one.

So I tried out that orange bass with an SVT head.

I was in love. That sound...I can still hear it more than 20 years later.

That bass followed me home. It was a StingRay and I was hooked.

I ended up selling that bass when I went into the USMC 4 years later.

Two years into my USMC enlistment, while deployed to Iraq, I decided to order a StingRay 5. At the time (2005) nu-metal was a thing and I was into it, and thought the extended range would be a benefit more than anything else, so I pulled the trigger.

Turns out Musician's Friend ships to APOs, and about a week after ordering my bass, it was delivered to my office in the middle of the An Anbar Province of western Iraq.

I had to sell that bass a few year later due to moving across the country after my medical discharge from the USMC, and took a little break from bass.

Eventually, I got the urge to play again and found a red StingRay 5 with black pickguard, and bought it.

That's my current workhorse. I tried out an Adam Clayton Signature Jazz bass in the Sherwood Green when they came out, but the neck profile wasn't something that worked for me.

So here I am, a StingRay player and I couldn't be happier.

Well, I will be happier once I pick up that Rickenbacker 4003S/5 I fell in love with last weekend.

Read countless posts about the G&L L2000 for years. Had a hard time believing all the praise. Finally saw a Tribute hanging up at one of the stores I frequent. Picked it up, plugged it in and realized within five minutes that everything everyone was saying about them was true. Bought this online knowing it was a sure thing.
Turned out to be even better than I'd hoped for. Still haven't played anything quite as nice since I received it two years ago.

 

[rickwebb]

I bought it

You, Sir, Win The Internet

 

[bassbenj]

Read countless posts about the G&L L2000 for years. Had a hard time believing all the praise. Finally saw a Tribute hanging up at one of the stores I frequent. Picked it up, plugged it in and realized within five minutes that everything everyone was saying about them was true. Bought this online knowing it was a sure thing.
Turned out to be even better than I'd hoped for. Still haven't played anything quite as nice since I received it two years ago.

Love the guitar-like look of that pickguard!