You should have 5. A Precision, a Jazz, a Stingray, a fretless, and a fiver (or sixer). I'm only missing the Stingray!
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How many bass should i have
- Thread starter JDaSilva
- Start date
Nah. Next bass won't be any of them, either.
I keep trying jazz basses and wanting to like them, but the bridge pickup just isn't that useful by itself, which is the opposite of what I'm used to. Stingrays are nice, but active, which I don't like. My acoustic is fretless, and I don't see myself needing an electric fretless for quite some time. I don't like fivers at all, really. My BEAD tuned basses are much more comfortable for me.
As for the P-bass... if I ever get one, it'll be a Warmoth build, and if it has a split coil pickup, it'll be reverse P configuration, slightly closer to the bridge.
Eleven, the answer is eleven.
Wait a minute there are a few that are not in the photo.
Fifteen is the answer.
Wait, no it's sixteen...
5
6-string fretted P/J or P/P x 2 (1 as a backup, maybe 1 P/J and 1 P/P)
fretless Jazz
5-string Stingray or Sterling
beater P or J
The 6-strings will cover 95% of what you'd ever need to do. The fretless and the Stingray will cover the exceptions. The beater will cover times when you want to take a cheap bass some place questionable.
I can't think of ever NEEDING anything else. I CAN think of needing one of the ones in my list if I didn't have it.
6-string fretted P/J or P/P x 2 (1 as a backup, maybe 1 P/J and 1 P/P)
fretless Jazz
5-string Stingray or Sterling
beater P or J
The 6-strings will cover 95% of what you'd ever need to do. The fretless and the Stingray will cover the exceptions. The beater will cover times when you want to take a cheap bass some place questionable.
I can't think of ever NEEDING anything else. I CAN think of needing one of the ones in my list if I didn't have it.
I'd suggest a minimum of two basses. That way you have a backup. Sometimes a bass needs to go to the repair shop.
If you want more basses beyond that it's up to you, your wallet, and what responsibilities you have. If you can afford it without over-extending yourself then there's nothing wrong with owning more basses. Sometimes it's nice to have a selection, so you can pick the right tool for the job so to speak. For example if you have a Precision bass and a Jazz bass you have two totally different sounds at your disposal. Some music might work better with the J, some with the P.
If you're committed to switching to 6-strings I'd just get two six stringers that are similar, but a bit different so you have options.
For example, I prefer 4-strings so my collection consists of :
1. G&L SB-1 as my main player
2. G&L SB-2 as my backup and slap bass
3. Fender RW Precision strung BEAD for lower register stuff
4. (Don't have it yet, but it's going to be mine) Fretless G&L SB-2
That covers everything I need for the music I play. I play funk rock, hip-hop, alternative, etc. No country, metal or jazz basically. Anything else I would buy would be frivolous, but there's nothing wrong with that if one can afford it and it's not impacting other facets of their life (AKA the significant other or the kids, etc.).
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How many basses you want and how many you need are two different things.
I would say maximum you need is three at the outside.
But you could easily get by with one.
I don't think a 5'er or 6'er is necessary at all personally. But that's just me. I haven't ran into a song a 4 couldn't handle yet.
I disagree with keeping a bass that you don't really like but have it because it's a (fill in the blank).
If you don't like the way it plays, you don't like the way it plays. End of story.
It feels soooo much better when you get a bass that is a joy to play. Like when you get a really good pair of shoes as opposed to a pair that pinch your feet with every step.
I would say maximum you need is three at the outside.
But you could easily get by with one.
I don't think a 5'er or 6'er is necessary at all personally. But that's just me. I haven't ran into a song a 4 couldn't handle yet.
I disagree with keeping a bass that you don't really like but have it because it's a (fill in the blank).
If you don't like the way it plays, you don't like the way it plays. End of story.
It feels soooo much better when you get a bass that is a joy to play. Like when you get a really good pair of shoes as opposed to a pair that pinch your feet with every step.
i have gas for sure and just picked up a lovely new 5 string esp ltd with active preamp that i am in love with. its the LTD B5-E and with the onboard active i can get damn near any tone i want. p, jazz, or bucker. its my first 5 string but i am planning on using it for a long time. i also have the 71 Antares P bass copy i started on, a yamaha cheapo 4 banger with jazz and p (passive), a rogue kids job for kids to bang on, and a new johnson fretless acoustic i play on the beach n stuff. im keeping my 4 for if i ever learn to slap, plus i have exactly 150 in it after 20 years and new black beauties on it..lol.
there is no correct answer. you must do what makes you happy b4 the dirt nap
there is no correct answer. you must do what makes you happy b4 the dirt nap
Number of basses owned algorithm
start: current number of basses owned
1: n+1
2: if freak out about how much money you've spent then goto line 3, else goto line 1
3: n-1
4: if you are still freaking out then goto line 3, else:
5: n+1
6: if still have gas then goto line 5, else goto line 2
start: current number of basses owned
1: n+1
2: if freak out about how much money you've spent then goto line 3, else goto line 1
3: n-1
4: if you are still freaking out then goto line 3, else:
5: n+1
6: if still have gas then goto line 5, else goto line 2
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I left four-string peminently in favor of fivers. I personally don't need six, I only use the G string occasionally, but I would never want to be without it, and four-string necks are too skinny for my taste
If you like your six-string, that should cover everything.
I'd recommend a backup of some kind.
If you like your six-string, that should cover everything.
I'd recommend a backup of some kind.
I did just start playing a 6, and haven't touched the 4-strings much, but - when I do pick up the 4, it feels like a sports car, wheras the 6-string is more of a funky conversion van with a bed in back.
Well I've been kicking myself ever since I sold my '78 Rickenbacker 4001. I didn't like the lacquered fingerboard at the time, but from time to time I wish I still had it, even though I've taken to the 5-string since then. I was looking for a Fender MB-5 Modern Bass—no string trees, angled back headstock, 5 string. Couldn't find the Fender—they've been out of production for years—so I bought a Squier MB-5 just to fool around with. I ended up liking it a lot, and then I saw an ad from someone selling the exact same bass with ripped out frets, wood-fillered slots—a home-made fretless. Picked it up for $80 and it's really not bad at all, nice mwah sound on jazzy numbers like Moondance.
Then walking down the street one day, I saw a bass case out in someone's trash, thought I could use it. Picked it up and found it was heavier than expected. That's because it had a Charvel 3B active bass inside with a split neck near the headstock. Apparently this happens a lot with the Charvel/Jackson chicken head headstock, it's so thin at the angle, that when they fall off the floor stand, they tend to break there. Anyway, I fixed it up, and now I have a 4-string again, and it rounds out my little collection. Her are some pics:
Then walking down the street one day, I saw a bass case out in someone's trash, thought I could use it. Picked it up and found it was heavier than expected. That's because it had a Charvel 3B active bass inside with a split neck near the headstock. Apparently this happens a lot with the Charvel/Jackson chicken head headstock, it's so thin at the angle, that when they fall off the floor stand, they tend to break there. Anyway, I fixed it up, and now I have a 4-string again, and it rounds out my little collection. Her are some pics:
Nice job fixing up the Charvel!
Glad it didn't end up in the landfill. I hate seeing a good instrument go to waste.
So since I own more than 20 basses and about 20 guitars, I guess my question to you is that now that I bought a 7 string guitar (actually I have 2 of them) that means I can sell all my other guitars, right?
You might think a 6 string bass does it all, but that would be wrong. You might think that because I no longer play 4 string basses (unless my arm is twisted) I have no "need" for them. Wrong. You might think you can get by with just one bass with not even a backup or bar bass (and many people do) but one day you might be sorry. (and many are).
Sure, I could still be playing my upright in polka bands and own zero bass guitars. People argue about how many basses you "need" but truth is it depends upon you and the music and the situations you find yourself in. A 6 string bass is NOT a universal bass. If you think so try taking one to a blues gig. A modern active bass is not a classic Fender Jazz or P bass. A 4 string is NOT a 5 or 6 string bass. And a 7 string bass is a whole 'nother world of music. Slapping or classic rock basslines on a 4 string are just so much more authentic than they can EVER be on a 6 string. And there is the world of fretless and the world of doubled and tripled strings of an 8 or 12 string bass. And what about dive bars? Do you trust your Modulus or Alembic around the drunks and seedy characters? Do you start to see how a bass collection begins to grow the more you expand your musical horizons and venues?
Sure one can get carried away by having basses with tiny nuances between them like guys with 15 Fender jazz basses. Maybe that is important to them. I try to have greater differences in my basses. These days I've pretty much only been playing basses with 5 or more strings. But does that mean I don't "need" a 4 string Fender bass? Hey, I could get a phone call tomorrow and some one say "we are starting this classic band". And I know form experience that if you want classic basslines of the masters to sound right it had better be a classic 4 string bass. The only alternatives would be to try to "get by" with some 5 or 6 string bass which would mean I'm giving less than 100% to the project or to simply turn it down.
And that's how I look at it.
