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I play for a living.
I have a Pbass tuned to E standard that gets the lions share of gigs.
Pbass tuned to Eb standard for gigs that require that.
Jazz with flats for the church I play at (cuz the pbass doesn’t really work in that room), and a 5string for gigs that require it. I’m far too utilitarian to just own multiple basses for funsies, so everyone I own has to serve a different purpose.
I have a Pbass tuned to E standard that gets the lions share of gigs.
Pbass tuned to Eb standard for gigs that require that.
Jazz with flats for the church I play at (cuz the pbass doesn’t really work in that room), and a 5string for gigs that require it. I’m far too utilitarian to just own multiple basses for funsies, so everyone I own has to serve a different purpose.
I bring a pair to every gig. I rotate as follows:
Fender USA Geddy jazz and Fender passive PJ
Fender J with EMGs and Fender PJ with EMGs
Stingray Special and 94 Stingray
Fender USA Geddy jazz and Fender passive PJ
Fender J with EMGs and Fender PJ with EMGs
Stingray Special and 94 Stingray
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I have about 35. Not proud of that anymore. And they don't fit in the back of the toilet bowl.
I usually rotate 3.
They're usually the last 3 I purchased.
I usually rotate 3.
They're usually the last 3 I purchased.
I own 3 electrics and an upright. Rotate the electrics at church, though the drummer prefers the MIJ Squier Precision. The Supro Huntington is a short scale and gets the call if there are a lot of flat keys that week, as it's a little easier to make some of the stretches. Also have my trusty Jerry Jones Longhorn that has been gigged for the last 12 years or so, it's short scale, weighs nothing, and gets the call if we're playing more than an hour or so. Finally, I have a beautiful Anton Schroetter (built by Hofner) upright, that hasn't been gigged since my left arm got smashed by a hit and run driver in 2016, but my strength is pretty good at this point, and it may get the call for the church gig pretty soon.
I have 5 basses, 2 four string short scale and 3 six strings. I usually rotate between the 3 six strings for church (depending on the setlist) and use the 4 strings for practice at home or in the studio. Once in a while one of the 4 strings get gigged.
Nice philosophy, I'm in the process of selling what's not being used and keep just what is needed. One of the six strings will go, and will keep 1 active and 1 passive. Both 4 strings are passive basses.
I always found myself using only one or two of my basses, and many of the "extras" just sat in their cases. So over the past two years, I've culled the bass herd down to a Precision, a Les Paul bass, and an upright.
The Les Paul bass still doesn't get out of the house as much as it should, but it's too cool to sell.
I used to have an electric upright, a fretless P/J, a Sting/single-coil/50's P/Tele bass, a second (almost identical) P (with rounds), a U-bass, and a five string, all of which never seemed to leave the house. They were all nice, had great sounds (for what they did), but 95% of the time, I was looking for either a thumpy P-bass-with-flats tone or my upright.
No one I play with seems to be that particular about subtle differences in bass tone. For example, most of them wouldn't really notice if I switched from my Precision to a Jazz. I've found five-strings too heavy to play all night, and a fretless seems a bit too exotic for what I play (mostly roots music). The electric upright was cool, but most of the time if I had to play loudly enough to need it, I found the electric bass was better for the situation.
I do still have three different bass amps (45-watt small upright amp, 150w mid-size club amp, and "big" 2x10 500w amp/cab) but those all have specific applications. I use the first two most of the time, but keep the big one around for loud gigs. (I never play loud enough to need a "fridge" cab, and the 500w is always plenty for even the loudest bands I play with.)
I have a friend who has a bazillion basses, but so far I've borrowed only his five-string for recording one song in the studio. I've been able to make do with what I have for everything else.
The Les Paul bass still doesn't get out of the house as much as it should, but it's too cool to sell.
I used to have an electric upright, a fretless P/J, a Sting/single-coil/50's P/Tele bass, a second (almost identical) P (with rounds), a U-bass, and a five string, all of which never seemed to leave the house. They were all nice, had great sounds (for what they did), but 95% of the time, I was looking for either a thumpy P-bass-with-flats tone or my upright.
No one I play with seems to be that particular about subtle differences in bass tone. For example, most of them wouldn't really notice if I switched from my Precision to a Jazz. I've found five-strings too heavy to play all night, and a fretless seems a bit too exotic for what I play (mostly roots music). The electric upright was cool, but most of the time if I had to play loudly enough to need it, I found the electric bass was better for the situation.
I do still have three different bass amps (45-watt small upright amp, 150w mid-size club amp, and "big" 2x10 500w amp/cab) but those all have specific applications. I use the first two most of the time, but keep the big one around for loud gigs. (I never play loud enough to need a "fridge" cab, and the 500w is always plenty for even the loudest bands I play with.)
I have a friend who has a bazillion basses, but so far I've borrowed only his five-string for recording one song in the studio. I've been able to make do with what I have for everything else.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I currently have 5 5 stringers. I have gigged all of them, right now I rotate mainly between 3.
In the last 12 months, I have gigged with 4 different basses (fretless, uke, two fretted--flats and rounds), and there's an acoustic I play (almost) daily at home.
I used to own 30...down to 13 and I use 6 of them on a regular basis depending on the band (I'm in 3)...but I also do a lot of local studio work...my go to bass is usually a Lakland 44-64 Custom P/J...but I have several P's and several J's that get a lot of the studio work...and I have a couple of Ric's that do most of the heavy distorted Doom stuff...
Cool man! Sounds like you have a nice stable. I wasn’t implying you shouldn’t, just that it’s less necessary. But sounds like you’ve got plenty of great options!
So Anyway, I'm down to 5 basses, but am only gigging with one. I've never had a bass that I couldn't get to sound like me... for better or worse (probably worse).
I'm trying to get to just one bass, so a couple are for sale. We'll see if I can get to owning just one, or if I'll be too emotionally invested to let the remaining ones go.
I'm trying to get to just one bass, so a couple are for sale. We'll see if I can get to owning just one, or if I'll be too emotionally invested to let the remaining ones go.
No implication taken my friend. Just a conversation between two people with opposing approaches. And I hate that I'm not comfortable bringing certian gear to gigs. I have an obession with keep gear in perfect Condition
Have 3. I played my Yamaha BB415 (5 string PJ) for 10ish years until I could obtain my Fender Am Std Precision 5, bought in 2015, which has been and is my #1. The versatility and range of those two instruments of pretty much provided me with all the versatility I have needed.
The only reason I would carry a 2nd to a gig would be either a) couldn't get around having a 2nd tuning, or b) having a backup in case of string breakage.
The only reason I would carry a 2nd to a gig would be either a) couldn't get around having a 2nd tuning, or b) having a backup in case of string breakage.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,616
- 222,141
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
I rotate between a Fender Mustang PJ and a Hofner violin bass.
Nobody cares. Nobody can tell the difference.
Oddly enough, while the older people will come up to me during a break and say "Nice McCartney bass," most of the younger ones say "Why does your guitar look like a violin?" - or "Is that handmade?" - or "Wow, a classical bass. You must be old school!"
Kill me now haha
Nobody cares. Nobody can tell the difference.
Oddly enough, while the older people will come up to me during a break and say "Nice McCartney bass," most of the younger ones say "Why does your guitar look like a violin?" - or "Is that handmade?" - or "Wow, a classical bass. You must be old school!"
Kill me now haha
My main favorite gigging and overall use four string has a double-drop tuner on the E string that can cover a whole night. Does that count as three? Certainly makes up for not taking a fiver along.
I also always take a fretless 4-string along for a few songs if I feel like using it, and as a backup, it has a single drop tuner.
And I also know that if I ever have a problem early with the main bass that it's going to be a long night going all fretless.
I also always take a fretless 4-string along for a few songs if I feel like using it, and as a backup, it has a single drop tuner.
And I also know that if I ever have a problem early with the main bass that it's going to be a long night going all fretless.
I gig/rehearse with the Fender J on the rare occasions those opportunities come about; the short scale Squier Jaguar is the pub bass, bought specifically for my twice-monthly ukulele group where space is usually limited. These live in their bags and I never see them otherwise.
The Epi Thunderbird I started out with is kept close to hand in the living room for noodling and comes out with me if I need to go C#/D/Eb standard. The uke group led a public xmas singalong last year. We had two songs transposed down a whole step and it was beyond me to adapt them to work in standard tuning.
The Epi Thunderbird I started out with is kept close to hand in the living room for noodling and comes out with me if I need to go C#/D/Eb standard. The uke group led a public xmas singalong last year. We had two songs transposed down a whole step and it was beyond me to adapt them to work in standard tuning.
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