how has your taste in basses changed?

[dalkowski]

Seems an odd reason.

We're all of us odd in our own ways. It's part of the grand human comedy.

 

[Hevy T]

Yes!

I used to like stuff like explorers. But now just traditional shapes. I also prefer passives, if it is active I really want an active passive switch, incase of battery death!

Amps - only light stuff for this cowboy!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

We're all of us odd in our own ways.

The SOUND is what matters & I like the L-2000 far better than a Precision.
Have you ever tried a L-2000?
IME they murder a Precision.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I've just fallen in love with my new Ibanez Mikro lefty 4 string. It's passive and I'm amazed at the tone because I've been doing active since 2007. I recently strayed into Sterling by MM and fell in love with the tone but both basses I bought (identical except for color) had manufacturing faults I was too OCD to overlook. I have since added to my wish list a 30" scale Sterling MM but after contacting them their response was ............"we have no plans to build a lefty short scale Sterling but keep your eyes out on our Facebook page for future announcements."

I didn't know if that was a hint or just a generic reply, but if that doesn't happen in the next year, I might start a Warmoth 30" project MM lefty bass. It might take most of 6 months but I don't think any of us are going anywhere!

 

[Sixgunn]

There`s a lesson in there somewhere

Yep. MacDonalds appeals to the masses.

 

[Sixgunn]

I used to be anything but Fender and now those are my primary players and I lost a string along the way. While I love a good 5-string I just don’t play them anymore.

 

[Guild B301]

I started with (vintage) Thunderbirds, because they were one of the most different looking basses at that time. I’ve never tired of them, but I still add to the herd whenever I like something new.

 

[DWBass]

Not much. I prefer J basses even though my main bass is a Lakland 55-01. I'm always looking for a J bass bargain unless it's a hard to pass bargain of another style.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

when i first started playing bass in 1994 and for years after, i played black PJ basses with rosewood fingerboards. then i changed... i started thinking a little variety couldn't hurt. i got a minty green (ibanez called it lime) mikro. i enjoyed it. the world didn't end.

now i have a red bronco (maple neck, fingerboard is part of the neck), a surf green mustang, a wood finish GSR100EX, a roadster orange mezzo (i always like that orange, but it didn't used to fit in with my dark color scheme). i also owned a sunburst traveler TB-4P that i sold.... apparently along with all my black basses. my semi-hollow ibanez SRH500 doesn't even come in black.

when i went to order my smallguitars.com bass, i went with daphne blue, and it was then that i realized both of my black basses, only bought to mod, aren't even with the basses i currently play. * gasp *

and the only bass i'm pondering now is a short scale EBMM stingray. not a PJ, not black.

i also moved from long scale to short scale, but that wasn't so much taste as injury. on the other hand, i love my short scales - i just hadn't given any a chance before that. sort of a machismo thing - can women have machismo?

so what - if anything - has changed when it comes to your bass taste / preferences?

I used to despise P basses, especially the old Tele bass ( '51) they looked very country/hokey(in a bad way,sorry). Pbasses just seemed so generic(basic),I prefered jazz basses( i thought they looked more modern) 2 pups better than just 1 (& tobacco bursts look sooo old fashion!) then 1 day while going through my collection of more modern basses, Stilletto, mockingbird, warwick fortress, I gained a new appreciation of the simple beauty of my Fender Jazz Bass Special! a pbass body! it has elegant lines & contours! Rivaling the stylish ergonomics of the stilletto! Shortly after I was watching Netfix with a good friend, ZZ top live in texas, & a Jimi hendrix Doc! we marveled at the custom vintage guitars they played! Wow! there was a certain Charm those vintage guitar hadon us! then billy G played a more modern looking offset guitar & it just looked wrong! I really fell hard for 1 of Dusty Hill's Tele bass'! I was hooked! My friend agreed! I immediately got online looking for one! Unfortunately, i couldnt find one, the ones i did were serverely over priced or just unobtainable! I was toying with the idea of building one from warmoth, but I settled on getting a ASAT G&L bass i found for half price! that cured my vintage Gas! Iknow it isnt vintage, but had that "tele vibe".
Several years later, I won my 3rd JBS on ebay but it would needed a lot of work/love I wound up having to replace everything(including the neck!) & I had to refinish it! so of course I decided to style it after a tele bass! I just needed to add a tele style pickguard no big deal if i didnt like it I could remove it! the neck had many dents & dings on the back, so I ordereda new 1,a left handed(reverse) tele bass neck,Like the 1 Dusty played on that video! it also helps with downtuning (extended E string travel to the far post). It looks & plays KILLer! and sounds even better!! I know ,I know if you look close you can tell its a conversion (rounded edges, contours & knob placement, no logo on HS) but at a glance It's a Ringer! It has all the creature comforts,ergonomics, of a more modern 1 & with all the wiring mods I made It Roars/growls quite beautifully! The Warmoth neck is Awesome!( wenge/EbonyFB,abalone inlays,& slim profile)!! vintage charm,modern comforts & Top Quality.
It is now my Favorite bass, my new#1!! I get soo many compliments on that bass I feel like I need to make a brochure on all the mods & upgrades & history to hand out. Makes me very proud of how the conversion came out. It's funny cause ten years ago I would've never even toyed with the idea! I took it to a well respected tech in the area & he marveled at it! I had him finish the nut(minor filing). Just goes to shows how your tastes can change! Makes me rethink some other things I currently, serverely dislike (white pickguards, maple fBs, tobacco bursts,& bent plate bridges)!! as I age I lean towards comfort>looks! Funny nowwhen I see j basses, & they look oddly mishapened to me ( weird Gumby offset)! Like vintage cars you cant beat the classic ones!!
I remember when I started I shied away from the ultra modern looking styles but later bought a few & shunned the classics! Beauty is in the eye of the fickle beholderand all. Sorry for the looong post Crisis crazy!

when i first started playing bass in 1994 and for years after, i played black PJ basses with rosewood fingerboards. then i changed... i started thinking a little variety couldn't hurt. i got a minty green (ibanez called it lime) mikro. i enjoyed it. the world didn't end.

now i have a red bronco (maple neck, fingerboard is part of the neck), a surf green mustang, a wood finish GSR100EX, a roadster orange mezzo (i always like that orange, but it didn't used to fit in with my dark color scheme). i also owned a sunburst traveler TB-4P that i sold.... apparently along with all my black basses. my semi-hollow ibanez SRH500 doesn't even come in black.

when i went to order my smallguitars.com bass, i went with daphne blue, and it was then that i realized both of my black basses, only bought to mod, aren't even with the basses i currently play. * gasp *

and the only bass i'm pondering now is a short scale EBMM stingray. not a PJ, not black.

i also moved from long scale to short scale, but that wasn't so much taste as injury. on the other hand, i love my short scales - i just hadn't given any a chance before that. sort of a machismo thing - can women have machismo?

so what - if anything - has changed when it comes to your bass taste / preferences?

 

[Claymore]

This is the very essence and core of GAS. I've always been motivated to buy basses that are quite different than what I already own.

Sometimes I'll see a bass that I like but I won't buy it cuz it's too similar to one that I have currently.

 

[dalkowski]

Have you ever tried a L-2000?

Had the good fortune to try one of the first in 1980. They are great, just not my particular cuppa tea.

 

[Charlzm]

I started with a Rick 4001 back in the early 80's.
I have gone through many pickup configurations and body styles over the years, but now I like my Dingwall multi-scale 5 strings.
I still have a Rick, though now it's a 4003.

 

[Koshchei]

when i first started playing bass in 1994 and for years after, i played black PJ basses with rosewood fingerboards. then i changed... i started thinking a little variety couldn't hurt. i got a minty green (ibanez called it lime) mikro. i enjoyed it. the world didn't end.

now i have a red bronco (maple neck, fingerboard is part of the neck), a surf green mustang, a wood finish GSR100EX, a roadster orange mezzo (i always like that orange, but it didn't used to fit in with my dark color scheme). i also owned a sunburst traveler TB-4P that i sold.... apparently along with all my black basses. my semi-hollow ibanez SRH500 doesn't even come in black.

when i went to order my smallguitars.com bass, i went with daphne blue, and it was then that i realized both of my black basses, only bought to mod, aren't even with the basses i currently play. * gasp *

and the only bass i'm pondering now is a short scale EBMM stingray. not a PJ, not black.

i also moved from long scale to short scale, but that wasn't so much taste as injury. on the other hand, i love my short scales - i just hadn't given any a chance before that. sort of a machismo thing - can women have machismo?

so what - if anything - has changed when it comes to your bass taste / preferences?

I've moved towards fretless over fretted basses, but that's it. I still really like tight string spacing and light instruments with oil finishes.

 

[Thegrandwazoo]

Honestly, it hasn't, but my ability to afford what I've always wanted has changed. I do appreciate P-pickup basses (not P-Basses, I don't care for their looks, neck, or the way most of them balance) more and more the older I get.

 

[707GK]

I’ve moved from active, modern sounding basses to passive, more “traditional” sounding basses. I used to favor a mid-scoop and now I love the midrange character a good set of pickups provides. Also, I’m realizing I like the added midrange harmonic content of Alnico single coil pickups compared to ceramic humbuckers and soap bars.

Visually, I’m liking maple finger boards and always preferred rosewood until maybe a year ago. I don’t think the fingerboard material affects tone as much as people think, so I’m playing what looks and feels the nicest. Which happens to be maple neck/maple board for me at the moment.

I’m also learning I favor basses in the 8-9lb range. Not sure why, but something about the feel, just feels right. Lighter than that, it just feels like a toy and heavier than that just kills my back. But that just seems to be the sweet spot for me. Especially if most of the weight is in the body.

I bet my preferences change slowly but surely over the coming years, as they always do. So I’m keeping my active bass with ceramic humbuckers & rosewood board for when that inevitably happens.

 

[shadven]

Started on P and ended on P. My no. 1 is a 1954 P. My number two is a 1963 P. I own a ric, Guild Starfire and a Gibson Tbird.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

They are great, just not my particular cuppa tea.

I do wish C.L. Fender would have developed a SB-2 like THIS at G&L:

only with reverse positioning on the pickup halves, like so many others have done:

 

[Billoney]

I used to be such a solid citizen. Today I am sooo hollow.

 

[Danbow]

I started in 99 on a borrowed peavy P style, from 01 to recently just owned/played jazz basses, but just got my first P, I think I’m a convert from J to P(for most stuff)

 

[SJan3]

My tastes have changed, but generally according to the wear and tear of age. My arms/wrists/hands are a lot weaker and prone to injury now than when I started playing. And my hearing can't handle high-db SPL's anymore either.

So I started out on fretted basses, and even adopted 5 and 6 strings for quite a long time. But I can't physically handle gigantic instruments with huge necks on them as well as I used to. Also, my hearing doesn't like lots and lots of low bottom bass energy so huge humbucker type tones aren't quite as desireable for me as they once were.

So I've ended up with 4 string FL jazz basses as my main instruments, at least for now. The bridge PU soloed with a nasally, but muffled, tone and tons of compression tends to be the tone I prefer these days. So the humbucker at the bridge thing isn't absolutely priority #1 now, unless it's also capable of a single-coil or parallel tone.

That's not to say I won't end up with a 5 or 6 string again, just that it won't be the main bass anymore.

I probably will eventually end up with a humbucker at the bridge, since I do plan on an L2K at some point in the future, soon as I find one with the right neck on it, etc.

So I've kind of gone full circle, except for the frets I guess.

As for brands, I went through a very lengthy no-Fender period, but when I discovered G&L that eventually changed that. Now I have 2 fender jazz basses and eventually an L2K on the way plus or minus the force of GAS....

L

The thought of another L-2000 haunts me.