Is your newest always your favorite?

[MCS4]

No, my oldest is always my favorite.

 

[Hounddog409]

To those who own multiple basses-
Is your newest bass always your favorite?
How do you choose what bass to bring to a show/rehearsal?
Do you have one you always seem to go back to?
(If you are in multiple bands/projects) Does each event have a bass that works best?

Me:
Kinda, sorta. I always bring my newest to the next show.
I try to mix 'em up.
I think my Modulus will be my go-to.
Loungey/jazzy (but not renewed for the new year) P-bass with flats. rock- Modulus, Jazz, or Ric. Country- a five string (always need that low G)

My RIC is the one I gig with. It was not the first or last bass I bought.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I wouldn't own a bass I wouldn't gig.

 

[JGbassman]

I enjoy all my basses, but I view them more as tools. A new tool certainly has its place and I usually play a new bass for a while to get properly set up and get a few gigs with it to see how it plays live.

I certainly have my favorites, but that's because of how well they play/sound. They seem to get played the most.

I do have definite basses I use for different bands. For instance, I gig pretty regular now with an 80's-90's pop hair metal band that tunes down a half step. For that band I have a certain set of four string basses, including vintage Charvel, Jackson, Kramer, and Fender P basses I use. They fit the look and sound.

I also play in a 7piece Country/Blues/Rock tuned to standard, where I play five string basses exclusively. These include an Fender Am Standard v jazz, Spectors, Esp, Ibanez, and others that are mostly with active electronics.

For jams, pickup gigs or other uncertain jobs, I'll usually bring my Fender Am st jazz v and a four string p bass with flats. That will usually cover all the basses (sorry)

 

[brianrost]

No, my new one is not always my favorite. Usually it's something that I bought specifically for a new gig. When the gig ends, those basses usually get sold.

 

[Clipped]

It’s the favorite for a week or so, but I always go back to my 4003. My latest acquisition is the third favorite out of 7.

 

[Mr.Ace]

Yes always

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Most likely .... yes.

 

[Craig4003]

There has to be a certain level of enthusiasm present for me to buy an instrument. That usually means I'll want to spend a lot of time with it for the first few weeks. That doesn't necessarily mean it's my favorite. Sometimes it's just something new and different like my Univox 'Lectra hollow-body fretless or my Squier VM Bass VI.

The basses with which I spend the most time these days are my latest purchase, the Ric 4003 whose headstock is shown in my avatar, and my Gibson SG bass, which I bought a few years ago. The Mustang PJ, which I bought earlier this year, comes next. The others don't get a lot of playing time currently, though they did when I first acquired them. I'm thinking of taking my Precision to my next band rehearsal; it's been a while since I've used anything but the Ric or the Gibson with the group.

 

[Bass V]

I buy with the hopes each will become my favorite or have exceptional properties to elevate them into a specialized group, and I have a bunch of keepers awaiting mods to further their chances of achieving such status. then again, real gigs are pretty much a thing of the past in my town so, bfd. I'm really hoping my latest (an old Cort PJ carved top tank) doesn't become my favorite but I haven't really touched my long standing #1 or anything else in over 2 weeks...!

 

[Joe Nerve]

I have used Ernie Ball/Music Man basses and guitars since 2010. I am currently endorsed by Killer B Guitars and was previously endorsed by Zane Guitars but with both companies, I only took the deals with the agreement that I could still use my Music Man basses. I would love to be endorsed by Music Man but don’t know if it will ever happen or not though? I will however, always be loyal to them. In 2010, I got my first Music Man bass, an EBMM Sterling 4H. I traded my Taylor acoustic guitar for it and joined their forum to learn more about them. A few weeks later, my wife would be diagnosed with breast cancer. Not knowing that EBMM only did Custom Shop builds for endorsed artists, I asked on the forum if I could get a custom made breast cancer awareness themed bass made to help raise awareness and use the bass to also raise funds to donate to places like The American Cancer Society etc. the fans on the forum then told me that the custom shop was only available to endorsed artists. Sterling Ball saw my post and agreed to build the bass. He then did something that I never expected. He donated 100% of the funds of the bass to our local Relay For Life team that year. Bass Central, where the bass was ordered from, also donated 100% of the money they would have made and then Sterling asked the fans on the forum to also donate to our team if they felt compelled. When this happened, I had never bought anything from Music Man so it wasn’t like I was some long time customer who had spent thousands of dollars to them. In total just from everyone on the forum, just under $8,000.00 was raised by our team that year. My family was very touched by everybody’s kindness and generosity. As a result, I vowed to always use Music Man and promote them as often as I could. Aside from that, I also really do like the basses and guitars that they build. I have owned and still own more EBMM’s than any other manufacturer of instruments.

They are different than the other big bass manufacturers. I’ve had a few encounters with Sterling and Brian, his son, who’s now president of the company (he was my artist rep). They both treated me like I was a millionaire rockstar, and I’m not. Sterling, the first time I met him, was about to eat lunch and invited me to join him. They’re just real down to earth people. I like too that they also aren’t perfect, tells me they’re not phony. Sterling used to get into it big time sometimes with people on the forum. Some funny stuff used to go down over there. Seems to have gotten a lot more tame over the years .

Anyhow... thanks for the story, though I’m sorry to hear about your wife.

 

[phillipkregg]

I've gone through several thousands of dollars worth of bases in the past year. And you're right, my newest bass is always my favorite bass and the one that I take to gigs.

However, I will say that after about two or three gigs I return to my Sire V7 and that ends up being my gigging and recording bass again.

I don't know why I keep buying other basses because that sire is better than anything I've ever used. And every time I pick it up after playing another bass for a while, I'm reminded how much better it is than the other bass that I was playing.

 

[Paulabass]

Sterling, the first time I met him, was about to eat lunch and invited me to join him. They’re just real down to earth people.

Sterling is a very cool guy. Last time I saw him he asked what I was doing in California, and I replied 'I'm here with Fender'. That met with a moment of silence, then a huge laugh.

 

[Marko 1]

I'd have a honeymoon with a new bass, maybe a few weeks, after which it goes into rotation with the others. I have four players hanging on the wall of the music room, and grab whatever strikes my fancy at the moment. I haven't gigged for a few years but I play/jam with others weekly and tend to grab the Precision, but I don't think a week goes by that any of them goes untouched.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But if my newest isn't my favorite, it's likely to become the next listed on The Classifieds.

 

[ninepoundjammer]

No

 

[mikewalker]

To those who own multiple basses-
Is your newest bass always your favorite?
Yes, for at least the first 30 minutes...

How do you choose what bass to bring to a show/rehearsal?
Whatever the set list dictates

Do you have one you always seem to go back to?
A certain mood typically favors one of the "top three" but I try to keep ALL of my eight basses in rotation

(If you are in multiple bands/projects) Does each event have a bass that works best?
Whatever the set list dictates. Only exception might be the next band I'm fronting... will probably always play the same bass for that (and will buy a matching backup for the rare case a string breaks)

 

[Dale Griffith]

To those who own multiple basses-
Is your newest bass always your favorite?
How do you choose what bass to bring to a show/rehearsal?
Do you have one you always seem to go back to?
(If you are in multiple bands/projects) Does each event have a bass that works best?

Me:
Kinda, sorta. I always bring my newest to the next show.
I try to mix 'em up.
I think my Modulus will be my go-to.
Loungey/jazzy (but not renewed for the new year) P-bass with flats. rock- Modulus, Jazz, or Ric. Country- a five string (always need that low G)

No, not always. I have some basses I never clicked with. I have one I originally bought because I liked how it looked, but didn't care for the sound of it until I changed strings, pickups and controls. Now it's my 3rd favorite. I have 12 basses but the top 4 get all the gigs. For recording I ONLY use my American Standard Precision. It just sounds the best for recording.

 

[ajkula66]

I'm in a similar situation, except the parts about becoming independently wealthy and not gigging

Ugh. After reading your reply I picked up on the fact that I should've worded my post differently..."I'm getting there" was a reference to "filling holes" and not about getting independently wealthy...

- when I buy these days, it's generally to fill a perceived hole in my modest collection... I'm pretty picky about what I'll buy, and also refuse to pay more than I can get back out of something - so, some patience and vigilance is required...

That's a sane policy IMO although I shouldn't be allowed to comment on anyone else's sanity due to sheer lack of my own...

I actually have two shopping lists: one is a somewhat short "must have" and will likely be done with by the end of 2018, and the other one is "nice to have" where the stuff that I do like a lot but is not my top priority sits, waits and gets purchased if the price is right...as in very low.

 

[Diesel Kilgore]

No. But after going through a time of selling off everything I learnes what I really loved.

I am probably strange. But I love a Squier Bronco and love changing pickups in one. Fast neck. Short scale. Good build. Great mod platform with the strat pickup. It's probably my favorite.

Other than that I also enjoy a growly active P/J setup.

Thirdly. A good hollowbody. Gretsch. Art core. Maybe a Hofner Club.

I haven't explored too many 5's but with only addition of a 5 I think I could have all the tone and playability I need with 4 basses.

But my favorite is a Bronco. I would have super cream gas if Fender themselves built a short scale single coil again based on a strat or 51 single coil pickup.