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I can't rationalize having more than one guitar

#21
if gigging, a backup should be a must-have. Even a low price bass, like a Dano Longhorn just in case something goes wrong.

I don't gig, nor as bassman nor as a guitardist, and while I have lots of guitars, constantly buying, selling, modifying and thinkering with them, for bass I feel exactly the opposite: only one. I think having more than one detracts time from my playing and practicing.

This implies I'm more attached to my bass than to guitars... guitars are tools, and I'm never fully satisfied with any of them even after lots of time and money spent in mods.

My Jazz instead, I see it actually like an half-blank canvas... and with a few chosen touches will be a dream.
 
#22
I know how you feel. There has been many times when I've felt like I have too much unnecessary gear and have felt greedy for having it. I'm down to only one electric bass for the first time in a long time, sold or gave away my others. I don't think you should feel like something is wrong or feel bad about it. For some people it's natural to feel I overwhelmed or uncomfortable when they feel they have too many possessions. Good on you, man. Stick to that one solid, reliable bass that you love and can't part with and ain't nothing wrong with that!
 
#23
unclejane said:
To be honest, I'd not do it any other way. The selling-over-email-and-UPS thing is a recipe for utter disaster in my experience and I'll never sell anything that way again. UPS does everything in their power to destroy everything they ship, the buyer always finds some way to weasel out of the deal or they disappear with your bass, the seller always finds a way to do something bad to you or they disappear with your money... It's a total fustercluck buying/selling at a distance.

Nowadays, when I sell something (which is extremely rare), I insist that the buyer comes over personally to check it out. That way, there's no surprises - he or she sees exactly what they're getting, and the buyer is protected. And as the seller, they don't walk away with it until I see the fist full of dollars. The seller is protected.

So really, the Old Fashioned Way is still the only truly secure method of transacting a sale in my experience. This leaves out all the middle men like UPS, evilbay and all the rest.

But then again, that's why I too have so much stuff lol. My gigging amps I'd love to get rid of, but noone wants to come all the way to my place to check them out so...

LS
Click to expand...

I've participated in almost 100 long distance transactions on this site. I've had minor problems with two, and one major problem. That one was actually local, and spent over an hour inspecting the bass. Long distance transactions can be fine if handled properly.
 
#25
The reason why I am not so keen on having backups is that I'd need to string a backup with a fresh set, and I cannot pay that :D So uh, I am really happy to see a lot of people understanding this - someone would think people should get banned for possessing only one bass, when we see people post galleries of their beauties :D
 
#28
I rationalize it by playing different kinds of music with different people. For church, I mainly use a P bass because it's the most versatile and our selection of music can vary. When I play in an orchestra for musicals, it depends on the music. Old musicals (Rodgers and Hammerstein) get something with a flatwound, either a P, a Hofner Beatle or a fretless jazz. Newer musicals (Andrew Lloyd Webber) get something with a roundwound, with a P or J. I'm also playing bass for a girl who's recording her own CD. The choice of bass there also depends on the style of song and what she wants. She does jazzy piano stuff or folky guitar songs.

I used to think one bass could do everything, but then, my scope of music was extremely limited.
 
#29
I've had similar feelings and have whittled the herd from 14 down to 3. I've kept a P,a J,and an ABG...IMO,a backup is a necessity and the acoustic is just polite at 3am winding down after a gig..
 
#31
I would love to own only one bass. My problem is that I love short scales, but something inside me thinks I need to own a full scale bass, even though I hardly ever play it.
 
#33
unclejane said:
To be honest, I'd not do it any other way. The selling-over-email-and-UPS thing is a recipe for utter disaster in my experience and I'll never sell anything that way again. UPS does everything in their power to destroy everything they ship, the buyer always finds some way to weasel out of the deal or they disappear with your bass, the seller always finds a way to do something bad to you or they disappear with your money... It's a total fustercluck buying/selling at a distance.

Nowadays, when I sell something (which is extremely rare), I insist that the buyer comes over personally to check it out. That way, there's no surprises - he or she sees exactly what they're getting, and the buyer is protected. And as the seller, they don't walk away with it until I see the fist full of dollars. The seller is protected.

So really, the Old Fashioned Way is still the only truly secure method of transacting a sale in my experience. This leaves out all the middle men like UPS, evilbay and all the rest.

But then again, that's why I too have so much stuff lol. My gigging amps I'd love to get rid of, but noone wants to come all the way to my place to check them out so...

LS
Click to expand...

I deal with friends or fellow TB members and so far, so good.
 
#34
I understand the desire to live a simple, small footprint life. And greed is not a becoming character trait. But basses are not necessarily a decadent acquisition. How many screwdrivers do you need to have in your toolbox? Hard to say but probably more than one. It is equally hard to draw a line and say any more basses than this would be excessive, wasteful, and greedy. Basses are tools and if every bass in your collection is different from the others they probably all have a purpose much as different screwdrivers do. At the moment I have four and two of those are similar enough that I have begun to question whether I need both. But I don't think that four is too many for me nor do I think I could possibly say what is too many for anyone else. Personally I would not sell a bass I was using regularly, no matter how many or how few I had.

Ken
 
#35
InternetAlias said:
The reason why I am not so keen on having backups is that I'd need to string a backup with a fresh set, and I cannot pay that :D So uh, I am really happy to see a lot of people understanding this - someone would think people should get banned for possessing only one bass, when we see people post galleries of their beauties :D
Click to expand...

After 20+ years of gigging , last year a wire came loose inside my bass for the first time and I didn't have a backup. It was horrible enough that I bought a backup before the next show. Even if it has dead strings it's better than to not have a backup at all.

I was going to use a 4 and a 5 at shows and then it occurred to me that by doing so, I should have a backup for each one and taking four basses to a show doesn't interest me. I just have a good fiver and her backup.
 
#36
After 20 years, I moved from lead guitar to bass in 2010. Therefore, my first bass wasn't my first guitar at all.

I ordered body, neck and pickguard from Warmoth and built me a Custom Shop quality Jazz Bass for a lot less dough than the real ones, especially when you live in Australia and deal with its overly inflated gear prices.

That bass is the only weapon I need. Been giggin with it and can tell you it will survive WW3 along with my Boss CS-2.

Don't ever think about another bass. Don't like Ps nor 5-6 stringers, so I have everything I need with a single good Jazz Bass.
 
#37
InternetAlias said:
I have those times... when I basically think I have too much stuff. I am now selling my fretless P because I feel I have more than I need (but I still play the P a lot). What's wrong with me, and did anyone here ever have issues like his? I get great deals for a 5 stringer, left and right, just to realize that, uh, I am not buying any, because... something. The second I get a second bass I feel bad for some reason, the second I am left with one I feel tremendous joy. Guess I am not your GAS type :D But seriously, has anyone ever felt the conflict of wanting more gear and feeling bad about having too much (to their opinion) gear?
Click to expand...

I never did address the OP.....

I'm now at 4 total, one I never play (Rick 4003), one I play only occasionally (Bunny 6 string) and my two main 4 strings, a Bunny 4 and an '89 L2K.

I'd love to get it down to one, and that one would be the Bunny 6 string. but my wrist won't permit me to play it full time.

So now, the 2 that I play regularly are the Bunny 4 and the L2K.

The L2K is starting to worry me a little bit, it's an older model with the "bi-cut" neck, traditional truss rod and 3 bolt attachment. I've been grinding on it for years to make it fit me and it's about perfect. So it's nearly a "vintage" one-of-a-kind bass and would be expensive to replace if it got stolen or something happened to it. And a new one wouldn't be quite like this one.

I could get by owning just the Bunny4 alone if I were gigging, but the L2K is almost a family heirloom I've had it so long and been cutting on it turning it into an unclejane signature bass. So it's not for sale and wouldn't be worth matchsticks if it were.

The 4003 is the only bass actually worth anything so it's the only one I could really justify selling. Just haven't gotten round to it.

So yes I have the same thought process. More basses than I need, and I don't even gig or play all that great either. But each has its reason for me keeping it around for the time being.

LS
 
#38
InternetAlias said:
I have those times... when I basically think I have too much stuff. I am now selling my fretless P because I feel I have more than I need (but I still play the P a lot). What's wrong with me, and did anyone here ever have issues like his? I get great deals for a 5 stringer, left and right, just to realize that, uh, I am not buying any, because... something. The second I get a second bass I feel bad for some reason, the second I am left with one I feel tremendous joy. Guess I am not your GAS type :D But seriously, has anyone ever felt the conflict of wanting more gear and feeling bad about having too much (to their opinion) gear?
Click to expand...

Well happiness is just how you look at things. We can't change how you look at things. Only you can do that.

Personally I don't get the one bass thing. Hang your butt out there doing a gig without SOMETHING in the truck "just in case"? I don't even consider that a bass! I consider it a "butt saver". And that goes for my "bar basses" as well. Talk about feeling "conflict"! That' me with my Alembic at a dive bar gig! It's why I bought my SX basses. Is a hundred dollar bass a "real" bass? Probably shouldn't be considered one, but nevertheless I LOVE those cheap basses!

And then there are questions like fretted and fretless. Do I only want to play one kind? No I don't. Some guys only play one kind but that's not me. Well it's pretty hard to have both fretted and fretless on just one bass (though not impossible). So where is the "guilt" of having both? Not in my mind.

And what music you are interested in plays a big role. If your musical interests are extremely restricted then sure, concentrate on those interests and the instrument that supports it and there is no problem with one bass. I know guys like that. They seem happy. but as I said above that's living too close to the edge for me to have no backup instruments. And my musical interests change all over the map all the time. So I COULD sell off all my basses everytime I shift musical interests, but experience has taught me that if you do that it's going to cost you lots of money. So I just keep them. I don't feel guilty about not playing them because you NEVER know when you get a call and you are playing that type of music again. I would feel guilty about selling them off and then suddenly having to find one again in a hurry. That's not a happy situation...especially since I like to tweak all my basses in just the way I like them.
 
#39
I have 5 basses. My j-bass is what I mainly play. I also have two Warmoth basses that I put together for fun. Then I have two Squire basses that I received as gifts (VM fretless CV p-bass). My 5-string was bought when I was playing with a bunch of down-tuned guitarist.
 

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