I say as long as your bills are paid, there is no such thing as too many. At one point, I was up over thirty. Most of mine are not expensive, but they all play well.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
How many basses are too many?
- Thread starter Bassa Nova
- Start date
Well, given that the right number of basses to have is, by general consensus, (B) +1, where B is the number of basses you already have? By implication, that would mean that you could never have too many... Personally, though, I would say that "too many" is the number of basses that you can't get around to playing, within a reasonable amount of time, for a reasonable amount of time. For me, that works out to about 21... but, YMMV...
The correct number of basses to own is n+1 where n is the number you currently have. If you are happily married this can also be written as D-1 where D is divorce. Ergo too many basses in this scenario is D. If you are single, there is no cap.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
How many is too many?
You have too many if one or more of these applies
1) You can't pay your bills due to bass buying
2) Your children(if you have them) cannot attend college because of your "collection"(See NOTE below)
3) You run out of space to keep them
4) Your home looks like a "Hoarders: Buried Alive" show except it's basses, cases, and bass shipping boxes
5) You can't use one of the exterior doors on your home because it's blocked by basses and/or shipping boxes
6) You start looking at buying another 12 x 24 pre-finished and climate-controlled storage building.....for your basses
NOTE: #2 can be inverted IF you sell a lot of your "expensive" basses to help pay for college. This method of investing for the future works best if you sell excess basses BEFORE an economic downturn.
You have too many if one or more of these applies
1) You can't pay your bills due to bass buying
2) Your children(if you have them) cannot attend college because of your "collection"(See NOTE below)
3) You run out of space to keep them
4) Your home looks like a "Hoarders: Buried Alive" show except it's basses, cases, and bass shipping boxes
5) You can't use one of the exterior doors on your home because it's blocked by basses and/or shipping boxes
6) You start looking at buying another 12 x 24 pre-finished and climate-controlled storage building.....for your basses
NOTE: #2 can be inverted IF you sell a lot of your "expensive" basses to help pay for college. This method of investing for the future works best if you sell excess basses BEFORE an economic downturn.
As many as your wife will let you have !! I am down to 2, nice 5 string & a Squier Jaguar VM bass. I used to play keys also, parting ways with keyboard for another amp !! I did sell a nice Fender Mex Jazz, hated to see it go,,,
Pretty much. When I start to have several basses that all do the same thing, then I figure it's time to either sell something or mod them. On the other hand I"m not like the guys who only keep basses that fit the music they are currently into. Then if they change genres they just dump the old bass and buy a new one more suitable to the new thing. Me, if I have any interest at all in what a bass has to offer I tend to keep it thinking that I may need it one day. And usually this is not a bad call. I haven't played my 8 string in years but you KNOW what will happen the minute I sell it. On the other hand, if I could find a deal on a sweet 10 string, I'd dump the old 8 string in a sec.
Just ordered #6, a new Jack Casady Limited in Royale Blue. I'm a career keyboard player who just started playing bass 2 years ago. One good Yamaha piano will do, but never enough basses!
Enjoy your Casady! I have a Silverburst and its a great bass! Good choice IMHO. And that blue looks awesome!
I just hit 19 this week. But, it's a short scale so it only sort of counts.
For me it was 30. That is when I realized I have a problem. I am down to 20 now, and still selling. Want to get below 10, although that will be hard.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
It helps to try different strings keep really low action and not have humidity control in your house - the frequent setup adjustments get to be a PITA when you have too many.
You can never have too many!
I think you need at least 2. This makes it easier on you when you gig and have different songs in different tunings, or if something happens to one you will always have a back up. If you dedicate one bass to a certain tuning and another one to a different tuning, you can focus on making the sound match that tuning the best it can. Pickups, strings, hardware, etc. It can also extend the life of a bass because you won't be beating up one bass night after night after night.
For me, the sweet spot is 3. I don't need any more than that. I have 3 but one of them is an acoustic so I don't count it towards my gigging set (an acoustic gig is a different story). The only problem is now, I have 2 electrics and one collects dust. I haven't played shows for some years now but want to get back into it again soon. When I get my new one, I feel like that third one will never get used again. I'll have my two main basses and the third as a backup... So we'll see.
Honestly, if your musical career calls for 10 basses, by all means get 10 basses. If it only calls for 1, get 1. It depends on who you are, how much you play, and what style. I think we would all love to have a warehouse full of basses but not all of us can afford that lol!
I think you need at least 2. This makes it easier on you when you gig and have different songs in different tunings, or if something happens to one you will always have a back up. If you dedicate one bass to a certain tuning and another one to a different tuning, you can focus on making the sound match that tuning the best it can. Pickups, strings, hardware, etc. It can also extend the life of a bass because you won't be beating up one bass night after night after night.
For me, the sweet spot is 3. I don't need any more than that. I have 3 but one of them is an acoustic so I don't count it towards my gigging set (an acoustic gig is a different story). The only problem is now, I have 2 electrics and one collects dust. I haven't played shows for some years now but want to get back into it again soon. When I get my new one, I feel like that third one will never get used again. I'll have my two main basses and the third as a backup... So we'll see.
Honestly, if your musical career calls for 10 basses, by all means get 10 basses. If it only calls for 1, get 1. It depends on who you are, how much you play, and what style. I think we would all love to have a warehouse full of basses but not all of us can afford that lol!
You nailed it for me. I'm currently at 20. I could use 1 more. 2 more would be excessive.
