I have 10 at this time, 5 of which are parts builds, so I keep them for the time and love I put into them. Picking one would be a hard decision between my US SB2 and a parts Geddy jazz (MIM body, ebony P neck and Sadowsky pups).
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Only One Bass?
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
I've been a one bass guy for the last fifteen or sixteen years or so. Overall it's been A-OK. But last year (or the year before?) my bass went down with an electrical problem. Luckily I had no shows for the two weeks it was down but it was a good reminder that a backup could be a real benefit. So yes there is another USA Peavey 5er in my future. (most likely passive) Hopefully I'm not opening Pandora's Box...lolI am pretty sure, I am not going to be a one bass owning player, but if I were to drop down to one, it would be my Pedulla. The more I think about it, two basses, a fretted and fretless are optimal for me. I will probably end up with four, but realistically, at four, at least one will be neglected a lot. I guess I really love basses, but I do not want too many at home.
Bought, sold a few over the years. Just gave my nephew a Matt Freeman Fender squire, he seemed excited (for a Minnesotan anyway) Now have early 90s USA fender prodigy, Indo squire jaguar, Peavey fury, Peavey patriot (both USA), like all of them. Hard to say what the one would be. Had an odd one-1969 Voxton, short scale hollow body. Looked great but the short scale felt odd, uncomfortable.....
Great minds think alike . In was thinking the same thing . Although I’ve never played fretless , I’m liking what I hear and see out of those Tony Franklin Models. I might pick one up later this year to add to my Precision and Jazz V.
Exactly . I would also add Bernard Edwards and his Stingray and Marcus Miller and his Fender Jazz .
Which do you play the most ? Have an absolute favorite ?I've got around 20 or so at the moment...
But keep telling myself I'm gonna sell some off and whittle it down to my top 8.
Marcus Miller has been active for well over thirty years. It is easy to forget about his earliest years.Oops, my bad...
I have an Englehardt. It has been my most-gigged bass over the past several months. I sold my Music Man, but I still have an SBMM Sub Ray5.
...LOTS of hands.
Yes most of my tracking was asked to do on a p or jazz. That being said, I’ve gotten rid of my fenders to make me use better instruments in my dwindling stableNope! I blame my sentimentality for holding on to my original 2 fenders and the increasing quality/decreasing price of production instruments for the growing stable. Also, hasn't happened to me yet, but a producer might tell me I need a P for a studio date. I hear that happens all the time!
I think there is something more important when you have one bass. You will try various technique or EQ to get you in the ballpark of what you want.
I think too many people get stuck in thinking they need this or that bass to have this or that sound. Maybe if you are a studio player to play on the next Bruno Mars album. Otherwise it is just wanting more stuff instead of knowing your instrument or practicing.
And even then ... many big studio player only play one brand or even model and who cares ?
I think too many people get stuck in thinking they need this or that bass to have this or that sound. Maybe if you are a studio player to play on the next Bruno Mars album. Otherwise it is just wanting more stuff instead of knowing your instrument or practicing.
And even then ... many big studio player only play one brand or even model and who cares ?
For one thing, he kept Miles sane & productive... I was privileged to have seen him with Miles right here in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 1988; was mind-blowing. Plus you had Foley on bass also. too much!
Miles had that red trumpet and actually came off the stage and down into the audience, but Marcus was just so fine that night.
Every bass has a story according to fellow Jazz Bass enthusiast Bobby Vega, and my Fender American Deluxe FMT is no exception. A little over ten years ago it belonged to a friend who knew I love Jazz Basses and thought I’d really love this one. He was right. I also love trans colors, especially red. So he sold it to me. After about a year I had hooked up with a band playing roots reggae music and found myself in need of a 5 string. By some miracle I found a guy selling a 5 string version of my FMT and contacted him. We agreed on a price with the understanding that I just needed to sell mine to finance his. He said he was cool with holding on to it. So, I very reluctantly put my bass up for sale and it sold very quickly. I mean in less than a week. So with cash in hand I contacted the guy with the 5 ready to make the deal...and he told me he sold it the day before. So now I have no 4 and no 5. Sometimes you get screwed.
I was furious and heartbroken since these basses aren’t exactly easy to track down. I promised myself that if I ever found another one I’d buy it even if I had to overpay.
Fast forward to last month. I was surfing eBay and on a whim I typed in Fender Jazz Bass FMT, and this bass was in the search results. It turns out it wasn’t just like my old bass...it was my old bass. The serial numbers matched. And it was in just about the same condition as the last time I saw it...it looked like the seller never played it. I made him and offer and he accepted. I wound up paying the exact amount I sold it for ten years ago. Some times you get lucky.
Great question, and like most great questions, almost impossible to answer.
Like friends, they all have their own unique voices and personalities.
Surprisingly, one of my absolute favorite basses is a regular old Fender Elite 5 string Jazz bass:
Surprising because I previously owned 5 of these basses and ended up selling them all. A couple of years ago I was in Guitar Center looking for a new 5 string when I saw this one. I had told myself I would never buy another Fender because I was unhappy with the previous ones. Despite my better judgement, I pulled it off the rack and played it. The thing was pure magic. I purchased it on the spot. It’s still probably the best Fender I’ve ever played. I don’t like Fenders preamps so I swapped that with a Sadowsky and got a black pickguard for it, but the rest is stock.
I recently got a 5 string MBass in a trade and it’s the greatest PBass I’ve ever played - and I own 2 Fender Custom Shop Precisions as well:
I emailed the builder - Jon Maghini - about it and he told me that was the first 5 string P bass he ever made and remembers it fondly because of how well it came out. There’s magic in that one too.
Most recently I purchased a Serek 32” scale 4 string, and that bass is just amazing and inspiring me to write all sorts of bass parts I’d normally never have played:
I also have another Serek 30” scale 5 string being built for me right now and it should be done in April. I’m really excited about it and, who knows, it may end up taking my #1 spot.
Here’s a pic of a few that I play on a regular basis:
