How many basses is too many????

[kulit17]

Hello fellow TB'ers!!! I just started playing bass for more then a year now and love the instrument!

I first started off with a new 4 string Warwick Corvette Standard with passive electronics and pickups and a couple months later I picked up a new 4 string Fender Squire Vintage modified Jaguar at a local music shop when i was only looking for distortion pedal..... But had to get it because I loved the way it felt and it's playability.

I then made two more purchases on two more basses because I couldn't resist....... A new 4 string fretless Warwick Streamer FNA Jazzman and a new 5 string Schecter Stargazer-5.

And just two weeks ago I ordered a new 4 string Rickenbacker 4003 Midnight blue..... By the way is really bad ass!!

I'm still trying to figuring out my sound but been practicing an assortment of cover songs.

Anyone have any suggestions in curing this addiction???

 

[TMBTC]

Sorry... there is no escape from GAS. And you can never have too many.

 

[SMILEYSIXX]

"Too many"? What language is this because I sure as hell don't speak it.

 

[gjbassist]

The answer is...how many you can justify before your spouse/significant other complains that you have too many!

 

[CTC564]

I thought the rule was 1 bass for every year you're playing...

 

[Twocan]

No more than 7 - one for each day of the week.

 

[jetbike]

The perfect equation is n+1, n being the number you already own.

 

[waynobass]

100 would be too many.

 

[Ben Mitchell]

You must have some serious cash laying around.

 

[dlenaghan]

More than you can either play or appreciate is too many. For me, that's turned out to be a flexible number. For a while, more than one was too many..

As many as can be distinct. I don't know why people get a huge number of the same bass, unless they are collectors or have a variety of different examples from different eras, this happens a lot with Fenders.. as for me, I like a select variety.

But it doesn't stop me from continually browsing eBay and adding up shipping costs in my head when I'm supposed to be working.

 

[JxBass]

I learned awhile ago that it's not about the number, it's about how many you play. If they're stacked untouched in a corner or in a closet it's time to let someone else enjoy them.

 

[Johnny Crab]

I learned awhile ago that it's not about the number, it's about how many you play. If they're stacked untouched in a corner or in a closet it's time to let someone else enjoy them.

Learned this too.
If they don't get played out at all, they get sold.

Too many = having some you never touch or play out.
Those are the "too many" ones.

 

[FunkMetalBass]

The perfect equation is n+1, n being the number you already own.

Divergent sequences = my favorite.

In truthfulness, I'm asking myself a similar question. I don't see anything wrong with having multiple basses so long as you actually like them all and they all serve a different purpose.

 

[capnjim]

The answer is 8 because I have seven.
I don't need 8...really....

 

[Big_Daddy]

John Entwistle still didn't have enough...

 

[FunkMetalBass]

More than you can either play or appreciate is too many. For me, that's turned out to be a flexible number. For a while, more than one was too many..

As many as can be distinct. I don't know why people get a huge number of the same bass, unless they are collectors or have a variety of different examples from different eras, this happens a lot with Fenders.. as for me, I like a select variety.

But it doesn't stop me from continually browsing eBay and adding up shipping costs in my head when I'm supposed to be working.

I'm kind of in the same boat. I couldn't imagine having 4 of the same bass unless they had completely different electronics and tunings. I'm not much of an instrument collector, though.

I do try to cycle through my current 5-bass arsenal. If there's a bass I haven't played in a few months, I'll pull it out and put the other ones in their cases. I have a bad habit of only playing what's on the stand by my amp.

 

[yellofury]

I always get antsy around 4
because that means at least to me that 1 of them is not getting played nearly enough

In yellofury math:

1 main bass
1 backup
1 fretless/ or something different from the above 2 basses (i.e. 5 string as opposed to 4s,
semihollow, acoustic ,etc,.)

and the only way I would add another would be for an upright or an EUB because to me
those are different instruments altogether from an electric..

my $0.02

 

[Juan Count]

I always get antsy around 4
because that means at least to me that 1 of them is not getting played nearly enough

In yellofury math:

1 main bass
1 backup
1 fretless/ or something different from the above 2 basses (i.e. 5 string as opposed to 4s,
semihollow, acoustic ,etc,.)

and the only way I would add another would be for an upright or an EUB because to me
those are different instruments altogether from an electric..

my $0.02

This sort of thinking makes sense to me...

1 - Main Bass
1 - (Similar) Backup Bass
1 - Fretless
1 - "... now for something completely different"... (In my case this means a 'dead-quiet' studio bass)...

... although... when I'm actively gigging and/or rehearsing, I tend to obsess less about gear...

 

[ksihawk7]

All I need is 3. Two basses that I play equally, then one that I built. Unless GAS strikes, then any preceding statement is relevant.

 

[Nev375]

Honestly, you only need one bass.
Two is a luxury.
More than that is too many.

I have 9. Whoops.