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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
#341
I always buy my guitars and basses with the thought that eventually I would just end up with a select few that i have a special relationship with and flog the rest....so far I'm in the middle of that process ....maybe I will finish it before I die but I'm not so sure about that.
 
#342
There is no philosophy of ownership that cannot be justified in the eyes of the owner of anything, whether it is with towering logic or the deepest conviction. That is why this is almost certainly the dumbest recurring debate topic on TB.

But there is always the 'Which color sounds better?' topic...

And the 'What is the best brand?' theme...

Harumph.
 
#344
I just think it's funny when the guys saying this own like a zillion basses in their collection. I've found different basses inspire different playing. I'll incorporate whatever new thing I discovered playing one bass into my chops aresenal for all my basses. The lick or line may sound better on some than others but I like the idea of having more than one bass. I have 3 main basses, soon to be 4. Brubaker Brute MJX5, Brubaker MJX5SC )Single Cut), a Geddy Lee Jazz, and soon to be USA brubaker KXB5. For me my setup is the thing. Very low on all with slight string buzz.
 
#345
If this was the truth, there are some anomalies........case in point:

I know that Anthony Wellington has quite alot of basses, 4's, 5's, 6's and 7's (just in basses, mind you)......... he still sounds like himself...

If he has less skill as a result, I don't want to live on this planet anymore......

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#346
funk generator said:
So I was talking to a few very skilled bassists the other day (one of them records for esperanza spalding!) and they both said you Shouldn't have more than one bass. The exception being if you play a fretless and a fretted.

The logic behind it is if you play more than one bass you'll never be amazing at playing one of them. You should get to be "best friends" per say with your main bass and the better you know it the better you'll play.

I countered this with "But victor wooten playes like a billion different fodera's including 6 strings and fretless" (I know his fretless isn't fodera) the reply was "Yes, but he only does the vic thing on his 4 string"
Another point brought up is people like Justin Raines. He has 2 basses, but there both MTD's and probably setup identically.

So my question is this. Does having more than one bass hinder your playing. If you have 2 basses should they be of the same builder or brand?

I know there are alot of one bass threads, but I couldn't find one like this
Click to expand...

How dare you bring that anti-GAS-ist propaganda into our sanctuary? :D
 
#349
I think this would be more true of trying to master multiple types of instruments, not breeds of the same instrument. Sure, playing an 8 string bass is going to be different from a 4, but the same concepts & styles apply to both. It's not like going from bass to sax to drums to flute.
 
#353
Tom Petty was interviewed recently (I think it was 60 minutes) and they were in his huge room of guitars, and I mean HUGE. There were at the very least a few hundred guitars in there. When the guy asked him about it, he laughed and said "the thing is, you really only need one."
 
#354
funk generator said:
So I was talking to a few very skilled bassists the other day (one of them records for esperanza spalding!)
Click to expand...

Esperanza Spalding has skilled bassist record for her:confused:

I have 5 basses now. Each one sounds and plays differently and often brings out something different in my playing, (sometimes for the better.) yet none take away either.

These two skilled bassist you speak of may be full of talent, but I don't think it'd be a stretch to say they are full of something else.:eyebrow:
 
#355
What does one have to do with the other? I'm considered a skilled player. I go through periods where I play one or another bass exclusively, then for some reason a different one. I never pass up a good deal on an old or rare bass so I have quite a few. Does the OP think that skill diminishes with each purchase?
Then more $$=more skill ?
 
#356
In terms of initial development with any instrument, probably more true than not true. That is, learn to play vs struggle to adapt across significant differences AND try to learn.

For me, I played only one bass for years and got a fretless unlined/no dots version of my current bass. That worked for me.

Where I part ways with this statement from the OP is the idea of tone color. What about a MM style bucker at the bridge of one bass, a P style solo pu in another bass, and 2 J-style single coils in another. You get the point. Learning to play is one thing. Flats/pu's and so forth for real differences in tonality is a totally different matter.

:hiding:
 

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