I'm in your club and have been for years. I've gotten much more done musically just cause I wasn't dickin' around comparing and tweaking other basses. Pbass of course
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If you have only one bass : why?
- Thread starter topo morto
- Start date
I've been playing 5 to 7 times a week, for over 26 years in the Mississippi delta land. Grew up playing behind many different style musicians and types of music. I love a p-bass, but it could not cover ALL their "tone wants". I can cover an almost exact p and j bass tone out of the passive tone control on my Callowhill.....that's on the passive side. Some styles required extra strings, chords, and different tone/punch...that required active tone control and more strings.
After owning a bunch of basses I'm down to one now. I use my 7 string to combine all my old favorite 5 string tunings. It's tuned g#beadgc. So I definitely don't need another bass for a different tuning. I would like fretless and I understand bassist wanting say a fretted fretless or even an EUB but I tend to go for the same tone no matter what fretted bass I play so I wouldn't buy more fretted basses for different tones. Maybe one day ill replace the 7 with a nicer custom 7. I do find it funny when people see my bass and say "man it's gotta suck stringing that thing" when I'm thinking well its not as bad as having to put strings on 3 or 4 basses.
Lots of reasons. 1. was not gigging or playing for about 15 years, so down to one bass. 2. wife says no more toys 3. i actually had 2 bass' but UPS lost one (06 Epiphone Thunderbird off eBay). So right now using the Epiphone EB3 till the right Tbird shows up again or i get compensated for the lost bass. So i guess thats reason 4. Anywho, the EB3 plays well, sounds good and does what i want. Playing hillbilly rock so it has a great lowdown sound. Run it through an EH Big Muff Pi and i can get that great Neil Young Hey Hey MY MY sound. tune back the gain and that thunderbucker will make your bowels move. Its a win win.
I've had long periods where I was in this club and not by choice. So now I'm not. Sometimes I entertain the idea of going back to it, but I never do.
many years ago, when starting w/ bass, i really could not stand fender neck. would not have japanese car or guitar and the only choice was rickenbacker.
played just that for more than 18 years and it gave me every sound i needed.
then came a wish for deep and clean. and it was not my only bass any more.
played just that for more than 18 years and it gave me every sound i needed.
then came a wish for deep and clean. and it was not my only bass any more.
I have 6 basses, but my main player, for every gig is my active Fender Jazz. I gotta ask all you single bass owners: Arent you concerned about needing / having a back up bass in case of a failure of some kind? A few years back I took 2 basses to a gig, which I never did before, but on that night Im sooo glad I did cuz the volume pot on my Fender crapped out!! Luckily, I had the other one with me or the band would have played with no bass! Whew! Since then I always take 2 no matter how much of a pain in the butt it is. What would you do in that situation?
I have the same bass I bought in '77, bicentennial t-bird. I'm a creature of habit and satisfied (usually) with what I have.
Every time I've had more than my fender jazz I'd always end up not using the other bass. Guess my jazz bass is all I need!
Totally in love with my Wal, no other bass gets that pick sound.
I might add a Fender of some kind later. I always used to have more than one bass and I'd like to have one at the ready in my living room like i used to, so purely a convenience thing i guess. And... a P-Bass can do things no other bass can, even a Wal.
I might add a Fender of some kind later. I always used to have more than one bass and I'd like to have one at the ready in my living room like i used to, so purely a convenience thing i guess. And... a P-Bass can do things no other bass can, even a Wal.
some options:
fix it (doing so live on stage could be cool), though you need spares...
borrow one (easier for home town gigs)
play the part on another instrument - e.g. keys, or guitar with an octave pedal.
You are right though, if you have gigs where you can't mess around, a backup is sensible - though like Crazy Jake says, maybe if your backup is the same, that still counts as 'one' for our purposes
I went from 5 basses to one in the last 6 moths or so. I sold the acoustic I hardly ever played, ditched my old P-, my old J-, my old PJ- and a nice Roadstar that needed some work and stuck to my newest Ibby SR 1200. I realized I love the thin neck, the looks of the SR line and the sound of the Big Singles. No reason until a get a Rick to have a second bass.
You people make me sick. What else is next? Having only one wife? Believing in only one god? It's too horrible to contemplate.
Possibly. But there was no way to fix it on stage, way too involved and didnt have proper tools (soldering gun etc) We were the only band playing that night..no way to borrow one, and no keys player,lol. BUT, the octave pedal might have been a good option, didnt think of that one,thanks. And my back up is an active Dean, a decent bass but it just doesnt thump like the Fender,lol.
I'm not in to this club, but for me it's the money (for now) 
I hope to buy a new 6 string bass later this year.
I hope to buy a new 6 string bass later this year.
