• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Naming your bass

#62
I usually don't other than the already stated naming it after the brand or model ("The Warwick" "The Fender")... but my most recent bass acquisition was a Drake Custom 4 string with an unreal Ambrosia Maple top that had me really curious as to what Ambrosia Maple was. After some quick research I find out ambrosia maple occurs from the Ambrosia Beetle boring into maple trees and leaving colorful fungus trails throughout the wood... I then explain this to my Fiancé when she asks me about the bass. She reply's, "That's from beetle juice?"... I now can't stop referring to it as "Beetlejuice".

IMG_3221.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Diminishedfilth
#65
Samsammies said:
Did you give your bass a name? I’ve never named an instrument before but my new Eko 995 has become Betty and I don’t know why.
Click to expand...

Betty is a good choice. I don't always name instruments, but occasionally they seem to have names and when that happens, we should acknowledge them, like you have.

My double bass is Ilsa, because she is Czech. I had an American Jazz Bass named Greta who I should have never let go of.
 
#67
Not until the last 10-years have I called them by name. ... My 74-Jazz bass is 'Swampy', because I pulled out of a Florida swamp and my 73-P-neck on an all parts swamp ash sunburst body with a gold pickguard is my '59-P'
 
#68
GretschWretch said:
Whatever you do, avoid names like these.

A Collection of Unpronounceable Welsh Town Names
Click to expand...
Haha - great idea!

You could name a bass after that well-known Welsh town Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, or after a place here in New Zealand called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, or after the correct full name of Bangkok in Thailand, which is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.

But if you need to swap basses during a gig, by the time you've asked the roadie to bring it out, the show is over.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smarthound
#77
I make my own basses, they’re not identifiable clones of anything, so calling them by who made them or model names isn’t an option. They all have names, and tags on their gig bags with those names.

If I ever get to a gig, and a bass is malfunctioning, I can call my wife and ask her to bring me “Tiger”, and I’ll get the bass I need. If I tried to describe to her that I wanted the single pickup 4 string with an ash body, she wouldn’t have a clue. in my case, naming my basses is a practical thing.

It’s also a conversation starter sometimes.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back