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How much does browsing TB contribute to your GAS?
- Thread starter blacktocomm
- Start date
Up until about four years ago I owned one bass - a Fender AmStd in sunburst w/rosewood (I know, a rare specimen...) It never even occurred to me at the time that I needed more than that bass - it did everything I needed it to.
That bass was eventually stolen from my house, and in my attempt to replace it I went down a vast rabbit hole on this site that has since resulted in me flipping basses left and right for the past few years. I’ve had a chance to play some really killer instruments over the years, but to be honest I kinda miss the days of just having one player that I never had to think about. It made the playing so much simpler.
That bass was eventually stolen from my house, and in my attempt to replace it I went down a vast rabbit hole on this site that has since resulted in me flipping basses left and right for the past few years. I’ve had a chance to play some really killer instruments over the years, but to be honest I kinda miss the days of just having one player that I never had to think about. It made the playing so much simpler.
GAS is the Human Condition. Talk Bass is the water, with which, I water that particularly invasive flower.
Do you know who are as bad as musicians when it comes to GAS? Sewists! I am a member of a FB group and you would be amazed at the number of sewing machines these folks rack up and a lot of them cost as much as any Gibson!
Do you know who are as bad as musicians when it comes to GAS? Sewists! I am a member of a FB group and you would be amazed at the number of sewing machines these folks rack up and a lot of them cost as much as any Gibson!
Reading TB always reminds me that it’s not the gear, I just need to practice more
When I want something, I contemplate for days (sometimes weeks) then relent and say "nah I don't really need this thing."
TB was very helpful along with YouTube in extolling the virtues of the Tony Franklin fretless. A good price on Reverb sealed the deal. That’s probably the worse my GAS has been.
All my gas comes from youtube, very little from TB.
Sounds like you have a problem! Well, if you can afford it I guess it's not a problem, even though it kind of is. 20+ basses is pretty insane! Cool, but insane.
A very unpopular opinion, I'm sure, but I think there's really only a handful of bass tones that are truly unique and "essential". P & J, fretless if that's your thing. A lot of high end active basses can be fairly well simulated on a J and EQing the amp instead of the bass's onboard pre, or a PJ, etc. I mean, there's definitely more unique sounding instruments out there. Stingray, rick, t-bird, some warwicks with exotic woods and those brass frets etc. I just can't picture myself personally going "damn, only a t-bird will do, this P sounds like crap on this song" etc.
Recently heard a podcast for sneaker collectors and I realized their fetishizing and discussion of small variations between models sounded incredibly familiar, particularly when one participant lamented that Air Jordans suffer the problem of being a heritage product, meaning they aren't able to innovate because the fans want them to stick to the original concept, and slight variations thereof. They could have been discussing Fender, of course.
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I'll put it this way: Because of Talkbass, I now absolutely have to have a bass I didn't know existed a week ago.
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As a 20+ year distance runner (multiple marathon finisher here), this is 100% TRUE...
Bass shopping reminded me of shopping for the right running shoes bc there feels like there’s a million choices depending on what you want to do and Fender seems like the Nike of the bass and stringed instruments category-They innovated years ago and did it so well and for so long that they still control about half it the market share and they have gone thru a few periods where they didn’t make a product that lived up to their prior reputation from what I can tell...That might be a gross generalization, but (not to undermine your astute observation) I have thought of it before...
Thanks! \m/
Shortly after I joined- there were so many Jazz bass vs. P Bass threads. I bought both. That was then, and now things are even more interesting!
This is me. TB has influenced me to buy basses and try them out--then to sell them if they're not to my liking. Right now I have six basses and three guitars. The guitars will stay but three basses will go and I'll buy one more Ibanez weathered black bass then I'm done.
I do a lot of reading about other peoples' reviews of basses I am interested in. But I have no desire to collect two dozen basses then come to TB and brag about them how expensive they are then drool over my own pictures I post of my basses on TB. Ultimately I will want four usable basses and three guitars. So, I guess TB is more of a research tool rather than causing me GAS.
@LowEndLobster 's channel is the main reason for me buying new basses. So much so I try not to watch him anymore, as great as his reviews are.
Hummergeist
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- Jul 21, 2020
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