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How many basses do you WANT versus NEED?

#81
For me...

NEED:
- Sadowsky PJ5
- Sadowsky Will Lee J4
- Fender 59 AVRI P4 with flats

WANT/FUN/BACKUP:
- Sadowsky Modern 5 with Big Splits
- Fender 50's Classic Lacquer P4 with flats
- Fender MIA Deluxe Suhr-era fretless J4
- Fender MIA Standard J5
- Rickenbacker 4003

GAS:
- Epiphone Jack Casady with flats
- Birthyear Stringray B00 ('76)
 
#83
Here's what I have:

IMG_20180508_210129.jpg

Five basses and two guitars. The basses are all Stambaughs at this point.

  1. Fretted fiver with a Nordstrand NP5/BigSplitMan setup
  2. Fretless fiver with Bart's
  3. Safe Green pseudo 70's Jazz with SS Rounds
  4. Burgundy Mist murant P with flats
  5. Hollowbody with Chromes

The guitars are both EBMM:

  1. White Valentine
  2. Starry Night Cutlass

How many do I need? One bass and one guitar.

But I don't think I'd be able to choose which bass to keep. Or for that matter, which guitar.

I have occasional gas for a great Pbass and Stingray Special but honestly I'm totally happy with what I have. If I do anything it would likely be to downsize .
 
#85
FunkyEel said:
Joe Dart only owned one MIM J for his career until EBMM made him a custom bass, so I guess now he owns two.
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Jack also has a few basses that Joe can and has used at various times.
Pbass Jr., Classic Vibe 60’s P, Carlo Robelli Stingray clone all come to mind. I think Joe might have recently picked a sonic blue CV60’s P of his own. Jacks is fiesta red.
 
#86
The bass in my profile picture is my Birdsong Cbass, which is really all I think I need. It does everything I want, is a simple one pick up design, and is effortless to play.

I have a 5 string and a fretless as well. The fretless is amazing, but I don't really have an application for it right now. The 5 hasn't clicked with me honestly, mainly due to the wider neck.

I'm leaning towards my main four string and either a similar backup (maybe the same model with a rosewood board) or a less expensive 'in case of emergency' backup. I like the idea of playing one bass so much that it just looks worn, like Sting with his Pbass or Paul with his Hofner. As long as it still gets the job done!

So I guess for me the want and need are both one, though a backup is never a bad idea.
 
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#87
If I'm not gigging them, I don't want or need them. I've sold one because it was too pretty to worry about in bars, I've given away a couple because they were taking up space, and sold some at a loss just to get them gone. Pretty much the opposite of a collector (nttawt).

I need one. I like having 2-4. One+backup, then maybe a 5er and a fretless, depending.
 
#89
I have a P with flats that I can’t put down, and I’m working on a kit Ric my wife bought for me that will eventually wear some rounds. If the DIY project works out, then I think I’m good. If not, a Squier or MIM Jazz w/rounds could be waiting on the horizon, and then I’m good.

I’d be lying if I said nothing else intrigues me, but anything beyond the above would probably just be eye candy on my wall.
 
#91
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
Unfortunately , Jamerson didn’t want to add / play another bass or even consider changing to roundwounds when sound shifted away from The Motown Sound. He didn’t work much after that.
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Yeah , he only supported his family for well over a decade, playing about 8 hours a day, six days a week, and played on more hits than any bassist of his time. Just think what he could have done with a second bass...

The string issue had exactly nothing to do with a second bass.
 
#92
Groove Doctor said:
When you finally get a music room but can’t sit in there because it’s stuffed full of music gear.
:rolleyes: :help:
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THIS ... +1

I have 35 basses ... life is good and I’ve been able to keep my vices simple over the years... play bass and buy gear.

But not a day goes by that I don’t pick up my $600 used (inexpensive) MIJ 62 RI FrankenP and think to myself ... This is really all I need. I love that bass almost as much as my kids :D

Don’t get me wrong, I love all my basses ... but even as a working bassist ... I know I only need 1

Or maybe 6

But absolutely NOT 35
 
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#96
I have all the basses I need. Three 5 string fretted with all the pickup configurations you can imagine. One fretless 5 with wenge board and both magnetic and piezo. Two ABGs. One upright.

What I'd like is a 30 lb cabinet which can handle a medium sized club.
 
#100
buldog5151bass said:
Unless you are gigging consistently multiple times a week, there is no justification for "needing" a second bass. But we like shiny things...
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Not necessarily I play in a band in B standard and my solo stuff is mostly drop D so I have my main gigging bass + Backup in B and my solo project/home bass in Drop D. If you are playing shows at all you really should bring a second bass as a backup along with some sort of sansamp backup in case there's a problem with your rig you can still play. I always bring a backup for everything that isn't amp+cab and have ended up loaning patch cables/9 volts battery/speaker cables/instrument cables to other bands on the bill many times.

But yeah any show I play I have a backup bass there period even though I'm not playing much out anymore....Just in case.
 
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