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more basses = less skill?

will only 1 bass make you a better player?

  • Your playing will be the same no matter how many basses you own.

    Votes: 582 94.5%

  • Playing more than one type of bass will hinder your abilities.

    Votes: 27 4.4%

  • if you have more than one bass they should be the same brand so they feel the same.

    Votes: 7 1.1%
  • Total voters
    616
#302
This is an interesting thread with lots of great arguments on both sides. Personally, I have practice basses and performance basses. (4 and 6 string of each) Practice bass strings aren't changed as frequently, maybe once a year, but with identical strings as the performance. The action is set slightly higher to allow for more precision in practice where technique is perfected. And in a nutshell. the practice basses are much cheaper and maybe even harder to play than the performance. My reasoning behind it all is probably in the same vein as pro athletes and resistance training. But that's just my opinion.
 
#303
I have 3 basses 1 Fender Fretless Jazz, 1 Fender fretted Jazz and 1 Fender Precision. Each one has a specific purpose for me. My favorite is the P Bass. I have had that since I started playing bass. That said, my jazzes are used frequently and in all honesty have hepled me to become a better player. They require a different touch than my P bass does.
 
#307
I think having more basses will make you a better player because it exposes you to different tone and depending on the bass, you may have to adjust your technique from one bass to another. It also helps you to develop your ear and understand which bass tone fits the type of song you are playing. Making the argument that having more than one bass will make you less skilled is like saying that having more than one car will make you a bad driver.
 
#309
I started playing bass when I was 12. Didn't know crap about music back then lol. But around when I was 14 or so, i remember calling in to a radio station because they were doing one of those "battle of the bands" voting things, and I wanted to vote for Black Sabbath. Well, turns out the station had some band in the studio at the time, a band that I didn't listen to, and they asked if I had any questions for the band's bassist.

Being a beginning bassist, I simply asked him what advice he would have for a beginning bass player. His reply - "Develop a relationship with your bass." It struck me as odd at first, but I think it's great advice. I have never owned more than two basses at a time, and currently only own one. But that allows me to really adapt to all of a bass' quirks, learn how to work with its tone, and allow it to become more an extension of my body and mind than just an instrument.
 
#310
I don't think quantity of instruments makes a difference as long as your taking time to develop your skills and not spend all your time just focusing on buying new equipment and thinking it will necessarily make you a better player. What works for me is 3 basses. A longscale a short scale and an ultrashortscale (ubass). Others have different ideas what works for them. Its all good.
 
#312
We're not all "Happy Gilmore's" so we can't all play golf with one club.
I never had more than 2at a time for my first 40 year and now I am at 9.
The choice for each gig is easier than selecting an amp. Hang on, no it's not.
 
#313
I love basses. I love everything about them - the way they look, the way they feel, and especially the way they sound. I own nearly 40 bass guitars, and I play each of them at different times for different reasons. Every one has it's own unique voice, and they each help me to expand my stylistic and sonic range by bringing out different aspects of my musical personality.

Dave Pomeroy from the into to Jim Roberts "American Basses-an illustrated history & players guide" 2003
 
#316
JIO said:
I love basses. I love everything about them - the way they look, the way they feel, and especially the way they sound. I own nearly 40 bass guitars, and I play each of them at different times for different reasons. Every one has it's own unique voice, and they each help me to expand my stylistic and sonic range by bringing out different aspects of my musical personality.

Dave Pomeroy from the into to Jim Roberts "American Basses-an illustrated history & players guide" 2003
Click to expand...

+1
 
#317
I haven't read the entire thread, so someone may have already said this, but I believe it is the opposite:
Less skill = more basses
It's a lot like golf... the worst players buy the most clubs, changing sets constantly and hoping to find a driver they won't hit into the woods, the irons they don't chunk every time. Really good players, on the other hand, will be out there shooting in the 60s with a set of 1972 Ben Hogans.... like mine :D
If I could play bass like I can golf I'd only need one beat up bass myself :rollno:
 
#318
More Basses = Less Skill?

No. More Basses = Means Lots of things with no one good answer. But More Basses has never been a requirement for any job I've played on. I needed to know how to play it.

However - if you suck on ONE bass you'll suck on them all.

If you're not getting right on $199 Ibanez..a $4000 Sadowsky is NOT going to help you suck less. People argue this, but well, it's just true.
 
#319
I didn't participate in the poll because my answer isn't really offered in the options.

I think the idea that you need to stick with one instrument is one held by people with 1) one personal "voice" on the instrument; and 2) super chops. It's largely a jazz sensibility.

At one point, back in the '80s (I think), Pat Metheny was still playing the very same guitar that he'd begun playing on. In some interview, Jaco said that he used only a Jazz Bass because "It's the one I know." Billy Sheehan is another one. When I saw him in concert several years ago, he had been endorsing Yamaha for quite awhile, but was still using his same old battered Fender onstage.
These are people who developed a personal sound, and are (or were, in Jaco's case) incredibly fluent largely because they'd played one particular instrument so much that it became like an appendage.

There are others who need to sound different in different situations. I remember the Bass Player article years ago featuring top country session bassists; each one brought about 10 different basses to each session-- 4-string, 5-string, fretless, active, passive, flatwound strings, roundwound strings, old, new, etc., etc. For these people, versatility is the main need, more than superhuman fluency, or one identifiable sound.
 
#320
Owning multiple basses will not hamper your playing skills - it just means more time & money spent on strings, instruments & instrument maintainence.

The main thing that will increase your skill is practice. Practice and education.
If you have one good bass and are still not satisfied with your playing, buying a 2nd bass won't help you one bit. In this case, take the money you were planning on spending on a second bass & use it to pay for lessons & educational materials.
 

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