Is it time for a 3rd Bass?

[Uncle Hanky]

Another bite for a five. Keep in mind that a TON of the nü metal and a fair amount of the rock guys use/used fivers. I know it can seem a little daunting, but with a little work, I think you may find a five could replace one of the other two basses.

Also, buy a backup for each.

And get that Mesa.

See how good we are at spending your money???

 

[Wolford]

The OP describes the exact reason I bought a 5. It solved alot of issues.

I also agree that no one cares if you play songs a step down, so forget about standard, and play everything flat. My last guitarist and singer were purists, but I would never let that happen again.

You can also detune recordings of the original songs, and distribute them to the band to practice along with.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

I didn’t read anything other than the thread title. The answer is yes.

 

[rickster4003]

This is how it begins. Now your wondering about a third, then it's five. Before you know it your trying to explain to the wife, yes it is possible to play 7 basses. Sweetie I swear that 9 basses might seem like a lot but this tenth one will be my last,it's one I wanted my whole life.......

 

[jamro217]

Hate to be a party pooper, but why not get a capo and put it on the first fret of the bass tuned to Eb. That will be the same as a bass tuned to E with the highest register fret missing. When you need Eb, take off the capo. That will at least buy you time to decide how else to approach this. What am I talkin' about?! Buy another bass!!! NOW!!!

 

[74hc]

I was, I think 55, when I finally bought my 3rd bass. Don't be like me and wait so long. Of course, if you are as old as I was, then welcome to the club. The wife will get over it.

 

[B-Lo]

The answer to this question is always yes. Go get it and report back with a NBD thread.

Next week, the answer will be yes regarding whether you should get a fourth one

 

[arbiterusa]

OP: like everyone else here said, get a fiver. Handle it all. And get a few of them; they all sound different!

 

[fretno]

I just don't see how you are going to get to bass #4 if you don't get bass #3 out of the way first .

 

[hintz]

If you don't want a five, you can always tune your second bass down to something like B-E-A-D. That'd cover all of the low tunings and stay on four strings. There's no need to tune up to play songs in a higher tuning. Just play a bit higher on the neck. A capo can help if you really need the open strings on certain notes for certain songs.

There's also a bass whammy pedal that transposes notes up or down so that you don't have to retune. I've not used one and therefore cannot say how well it works. But it seems like it was designed to address the exact issue you've described.

My opinion - Let the guitarists do whatever they're gonna do with their instruments. You don't have to follow their lead on retuning instruments.

BEAD is my favorite idea for those who don't like 5 strings. As far as the Bass Whammy, I've played the "Drop" pedal (same brand) which was awful. It worked but absolutely *destroys* your tone. Maybe OP should try out 5ers and see if that's his thing or not?!

 

[bearfoot]

No, I don't think you will kill the neck stability changing tunings. The wood of the neck is probably already used to it.

You might experiment with the next smallest increment higher gauge strings for the E / Eb bass. Chances are the low E is the lowest tension string already, and that may be the only one of the set that maybe needs to be slightly thicker, to split the difference in the tunings.

 

[Pbassmanca]

Always

 

[Marc DLarosa]

Many moons ago, I had 3 basses. Many moons from now, You will scoff at this post...

 

[JRA]

3rd bass = home run!

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Do it.

 

[interp]

Get another bass. Don’t even think about it. Just go into the bass department of your local music store, blindfold yourself and buy the first bass your hand touches.

 

[saabfender]

I personally think tuning 1/2 step down is unnecessary and switching basses for a different tuning is laughable. As far as pick or fingers go, I don't care but I'm a real snob when it comes to retuning. The guy says, "I'm swapping instruments because I don't know how to play in Eb." What?! It also makes the bass handle funny. Not a fan.

Sounds like the material calls for a 5-string. Get one and play it.

 

[Wulfensteiner]

Of course you need a 3rd bass! Don't be ridiculous..

 

[Wulfensteiner]

I personally think tuning 1/2 step down is unnecessary and switching basses for a different tuning is laughable. As far as pick or fingers go, I don't care but I'm a real snob when it comes to retuning. The guy says, "I'm swapping instruments because I don't know how to play in Eb." What?! It also makes the bass handle funny. Not a fan.

Sounds like the material calls for a 5-string. Get one and play it.

It's hella unnecessary but Eb sounds cool to my ears. I don't understand people when they say they don't know how to play in certain tunings! ***..it's the SAME THING, just (insert number) frets up. Those guys aren't helping the bass player jokes section, I tell ya .

But then again, take the opinion of a hippie licking his bass with a grain of pepper

 

[saabfender]

Yeah... about the bass licking. I'll touch one before going to bed, but you two should get a room.