I might have too many basses

[mcarp555]

I read the title of this thread, but I don't understand the meaning of it. How can someone "have too many basses"?

 

[two fingers]

I'm actually working my way down to two and am half way there. Hey, your new avatar is pretty nifty.

I was actually talking about cats. .....in response to the post I replied to.

 

[fretno]

fyi I have 2 cats and as a long time cat owner 2 is a lot and 3 is all I can handle . My boy up there is actually like 2 cats , he is a Maine Coon and while not even 3 yrs old yet he is 20+ lbs.

 

[BrentSimons]

According to Geddy there is no such thing as having too many basses!
Best wishes,
Brent

 

[Honch]

You have too many of one thing (say even such petty things such as CD's back in the day) when you buy something that you think you didn't have, and comes home and figuring out that you've already bought that. I know of one of my friends who was a pedal collector. yes, effects pedals. When he sold off 250 of them, his wife didn't notice the loss at all. And he went out and bought pedals and said "But I haven't got this one yet..." and came home and found 2 of them already in his collection. Then, that's too many.

If it's the same with your basses, that you go out and buy a - say - Rickenbacker, just because you're saying "I don't own a Rickenbacker so I must..." and then you actually do, then you have too many basses. It's another thing to buy it because "hey, I want a red one, the one I got is black...". If you can't keep track of what basses you possess, then it's by default too many.

 

[hypercarrots]

I'm down today, to 17

if 17 is too many i don't want to know what to call what i have.

 

[Gizmot]

I can only answer for myself and the answer will be different for anyone else - but I have 5 basses and I don't get to use each one often enough to warrant having more. I switch basses every few weeks to keep it fresh, so I'm using each of my basses less than 12 times year.
I'm a musician, not a collector, hoarder or speculative investor. There are a couple of other basses I'm interested in, but unless I win the lottery, I'm unlikely to get them simply because I would dread selling any of the basses I have (except one). I've been through the painful feeling of selling instruments that I love and I'm not going to do it again

 

[red_rhino]

I'm actually working my way down to two and am half way there.

Half way? What was your starting point?

I have the same two bass goal. Started with a high of 10, and I'm down to 4, so 60% of the way there. I realized it was time to down size when I too started agonizing over which bass to take to a gig/rehearsal. It was giving me more stress than joy to have that many basses. Obviously that calculation is different for everyone.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

Half way? What was your starting point?

I had upwards of 20 6-7 years ago. Down to four and would like to sell two of those.

 

[TolerancEJ]

I just started playing again with local musicians again after a long hiatus from music. I’ve been bring a different bass each time.

I know first impressions are important so I selected my FBass BN6 for the first meeting. Each bass I’ve brought afterward gets a “that’s cool but we liked the first one.”

 

[lug]

Large bass hording leads to maufacturers having to build more basses. In essence, having lots of basses is what keeps the industry thriving, people employed, and micro-economies booming. I thank you for your service to mankind.

 

[Sweet Willie]

365/17=21.47

Assign each bass to 21 or 22 dates on the next year's calendar, and then when a jam session comes around, just grab the bass assigned to that date. Randomize the assignment of basses and dates for even more fun...

;-}

 

[Johnny Crab]

@fretno Solution used here:
1) Look at calendar 2 days prior to gig, note what the event is and where
2) Select bass that is appropriate. i.e. 4th of July=USA flag bass & 1 or 2 spares, wedding=white basses, etc.
3) Exception to #1 and #2.....if you've had a NBD then it's GOT TO be the new bass & spare(s)

As @lug put it: Thanks for your service and for stimulating the economy.
AND
as a Texas song lyric goes(Jimmy Vaughn?) "One's too many and a hundred ain't enough".

 

[kodiakblair]

Hate to say it but you can have too many basses. The situation only occurs when you move house. Couple year back I moved, could fit 6 basses in the boot (trunk for you American folks)/10 trips. Course new place was on top floor,after 20th time climbing stairs you do admit there's too many.

Thankfully it's just a temporary thing. Best photo I have but only half of them

 

[kevmc28]

I'm at my max with 11. It's about 6 basses too many, I think.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I can barely handle 4.

 

[Mark76]

My target is 4 Precisions (1 single coil, 1 split coil with rosewood, 1 split coil with maple and 1 split coil fretless), 3 PJs (maple, rosewood and fretless) and 3 Jazz (same as the PJs).

That seems sufficient.

 

[Wolfenstein666]

Once I sell my P bass I'll be down to 1 from a hoard of 6.

Stripping it back down to basics feels fantastic honestly. Just me and my RIC.

 

[coheph]

Best photo I have but only half of them

WOW that's a nice collection of Peaveys. Never seen a black T-20 with a rosewood board but now I need one!

 

[Baird6869]

I have about 10 basses and regularly gig/rehearse with a few of them. I use one until the strings die, then go to the next one and so on. My backup is always a Squier P and I rarely change the strings as it doesn’t get played a ton.

Once all 3 have dead stings, I grab a case of beer, throw on a ballgame and the clean/restring ritual begins.