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Owned 10 basses or more? What is your experience?

#41
JimmyM said:
I've owned as many as 11 at once. Here are my findings:

1. Costs a lot of money.

2. Costs a lot of money for strings.

3. Doesn't make you play any better, but distracts you from it nicely.

4. If I sold all my basses but two, I'd work as much as I ever did in my life.
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar spot.

I've owned a lot. I mainly bought cheaper basses in hopes of fixing them up. That didn't happen too often, so i had a lot of $100 basses just sitting around collecting dust. I did own a few 'nice' basses, too.

But now, I found a select few basses that are perfect for ME, and i got rid of everything else.

My MiJ P does nearly everything i could want. A couple short scales ('74 Univox Hi Flyer and an SX Jag), and my mostly-nostalgic '95 ATK... i haven't NEEDED anything else.

The feeling of no GAS is a good feeling. :smug:
 
#43
Having a rotating arsenal for many years now, I have found I go back to my G&L L-2K and Big Al. Both cover anything you can throw at them, so much so, that I've been disappointed by every GAS inspired new bass purchase in the past couple years due to not being able to match that flexibility, and I then end up unloading them.
 
#44
Let's see...

1. Peavey Patriot Bass
2. Squire P-bass
3. Ibenez Ergodyne
4. Fender Telecaster '69
5. Fender NOS CS '64 Jazz Bass
6. EKO 995
7. Fender MIM 50s P-Bass
8. Fender AV '62 P-Bass
9. Epiphone Jack Casady Bass
10. Fender MIA Highway 1 P-Bass

The Patriot was my first bass my dad helped my buy. Sold it to a friend and bought a guitar. This was high school.

The Squire was my second, mom and dad helped me with that one when I went away to college. Not really much to say about that one. I think I sold it to buy...

The Ibenez must have been the first bass I bough. Had no idea about active electronics or body wood, or anything (I don't even think it was made of wood!). I just thought is sounded fat and played good. I think this bass is still around, although I haven't seen it in about 13 years. An old friends might still have it, using it to make little home demos and such. I don't know.

The Tele Bass was my first real deal bass. Saved up a bunch and found a vintage jazz I liked. Went into the store to buy the Jazz, and the tele was there, just in the store that day. I bought it right off. Played the heck out of that bass for years. Still have it, and pull it out every once in a blue moon.

The CS jazz came from a friend who had bought it for his studio. He wanted a P bass, so he sold me the Jazz for a good price. It put the Tele in semi-retirement, and has been my main player since then (about 5 years now), and it just keeps getting better and better. I love it more and more all the time. It sounds so good, and plays so good. I've owned a lot of fender basses - squire, vintage, MIM, MIA, AV, and CS. I understand there may be exceptions, but IMO, the CS bass is far and away the best in every way.

The EKO is just a cool little hollow body (hofner alternative) I got for fun of CL for a steal. Had a friend do some work on it. It's fun to play, but seems fragile and kind of a one-trick-pony. Love it for the studio, and have done several tracks with it.

The MIM 50s p bass was a CL purchase so that I would have a P bass. I was working with a guy at a studio who was one of those guys who wanted to record a p bass. I hated the neck, and sold it. It did make it onto a good hand full of tracks before that though.

The AV P-bass was an effort to again find a P that I liked and could use for recording, but also to have a bass for "the road." Thinking that I didn't want to take the CS jazz on road. Very nice bass, close to on par with the CS J. The neck on the P was sticky, which is and never was true on the jazz. I hated the feel of the neck, just like the 50s P. I gigged with it quite a few times, and I found it hard to play, and it eventually started causing me pain to play it. So I sold it.

The Epi JC bass came to me in a trade, and I dig it. It's fun to play, sounds cool for some stuff. I like the neck and it's pretty comfortable considering. Had to buy a big leather strap to keep it from neck diving. It's a gigging bass for some types of gigs and very cool for what it is. It gets most of my trio gigs,

Another P bass... maybe I'm just not a P guy. It's the older version Highway 1 (or ONE). I like the finish, and the neck is not as wide and flat as the other Ps I owned. It's surprisingly bright sounding, and plays OK. It's just there to have a P in the stable... the J is where it's at.
 
#45
Ah, these threads pop up now and again. Let's see, my history, probably not in exact order:

1. When I was a teenager, I had a black bass. All I remember about it was that it was black and had four strings. I trailed off playing and didn't replace it when it was stolen.

2. About 4 years ago, bought an Ibanez gio starter bass.

3. A couple months later, sold the Ibanez, got a Washburn Taurus T-25 for Christmas.

4. Briefly had a Schecter Omen but traded it in soon.

5. Briefly had an MIM Fender P. Sold it.

6. Got a Yamaha BB415 the following Christmas. Still have it, an absolute go-to bass.

7. Bought a custom 5-string from John Toon out in Kansas City. My other go-to bass

8. SX #1, an old-headstock LPB Jazz. Very nice, I liked it, but wasn't gigging it and eventually donated it to a school band fundraiser.

9. Squier VM Jaguar, passive full-scale PJ. Very nice. Sold it after a while. I liked having a four-string but never gigged them because I use my 5ers, so I keep buying one and then selling it.

10. SX #1, a new-headstock red jazz with the bridge humbucker. Again, enjoyed it but sold it after a while.

11. A Michael Kelly fretless ABG "Dragonfly." Really liked this. Actually, if I remember right I got it in trade for the Squier. Very much regret selling it.

12. A Washburn AB10 ABG (fretted). Scratches my ABG itch, I use it for campfires and library program singalongs for kids and stuff.

13. Most recent acquisition: An MIA Peavey Foundation, bought from a TBer nearby. Nice four-string; basically a cheap option to once again scratch the four-string itch.

It's all been a process of figuring out what I really like, and trying out different kinds of basses without blowing too huge a wad of money. The most expensive thing I own is the Toon 5er and I got that for $800. I agree with what JimmyM said, that I could gig all I ever would on two basses. But it's fun to try stuff out for a time and see what sticks. When I got the Taurus, I thought it was the holy grail. After a while, something in the feel of the neck on it just wasn't for me.

I'm starting to settle in. I have no GAS for another 5er; the Yamaha and the Toon cover my bases there. The one, pretty basic, Washburn ABG is all I need on that front. I think I'd like to do more with 4-stringers again and will probably get a more upscale one soon, probably a Carvin SB4000. Having a Ric in the stable would be awfully nice too, and I have some GAS for a fretless.

Hopefully I'll settle in for keeps and not keep buying more, but who knows? I don't see myself as a guy who's going to have a room full of 30 basses, but I have 4 now and can see getting up to 6 or 7 total.
 
#46
Fender E Series MIJ P Bass
Fender Jazz Bass Special
Music Man Stingray
MM Stingray 5
Gibson LP Bass
MM Stingray... Again
Ibanez SR506
Fender Hot Rod P Bass
Fender MIM Standard Jazz
Squier Classic Vibe '60s P Bass
Fender Am. St. P Bass ('09)
Fender Aerodyne Jazz

My favorite is probably my 2009 American Standard, mainly because it feels great, plays great, and sounds great. Sometime I wish it was in a different color than sunburst though. It's beat up, light and awesome. Two: I couldn't live without my jazz. It's just flat out awesome, and not very stock. Number two(a) would be the Aerodyne. For the same reasons as above. But the Aerodyne is nowhere near stock.
 
#47
History so far:

Lotus P-bass clone (truss rod stripped, donated)
ESP LTD B-154DX
Squier VM Jazz
Fender MiM P
Fender Highway One P
Yamaha RBX-375
Peavey Grind 5 BXP NTB (pup swap + preamp add)
Fender MiM Fretless Jazz (pup swap)
Fender Jazz 24
G&L Tribute L2k
ESP LTD Vintage 204
Fender American Special Jazz
ESP B-335
Fender MiM FSR Jazz

Tonally, I love the G&L L2k; incredibly flexible. But I'm not in love with the larger Tribute neck size. For playability alone, believe it or not I actually really like the ESP/LTD B-154DX; it's lightweight and the neck is great.

Soon I plan to reduce the set down to perhaps 4 to 5 of my favorites so far.

One thing that's nice about having so many instruments is that one can do lots of string experimentation! :)

The downside is the space. And the sense of waste when some of them just sit in the case with no play time. :(
 
#48
smcgov said:
after all of those basses what are you left with?
Click to expand...

Hey, it was blast but I'm 55 and winding down (not quitting) after recent brain stem surgery and somewhat grueling recovery. Call it a pseudo-depression or whatever you like. For the time being, here's what I've settled on:

*Pedulla Rapture (single pickup).....surprised?
*Hanewinckel
*MIK MTD Saratoga...pleasantly surprised on this one!
*Schack 5....this is my boutique beater bass.
*Millennium 5
*Bordwell 5....in need of some repair.

No complaints and I'm glad to be alive. After all these years and hundreds of gigs, I couldn't tell you which bass I played where...but I can tell you who I was with and that's more important.

Riis
 
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#50
Which ever one's in my hand's I'd say.
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#53
I currently have 11 basses. Far too many. It is cumbersome. I have a nice bass worth of money in cases. I bet I spent $250 a year in strings. 20 hours a year in setups. I have multiple DI pedals to level out the output on some basses. I have changed pickups in bases to get my 3 "rock" basses to perform the same. I am burnt out on owning so many basses.

Get 2 or 3 and never look back. Spend the money on lessons. I get the same amount of compliments on my bass playing that I did with 1. A promoter/booking agent/female fan has NEVER said..."It was awesome when you went from those 2 black jazz basses to that Thunderbird, it really made the show"
 
#54
I have played bass for 42 years and have owned a few basses. If I had to pick a favorite it would be moreso a type of bass than a particular bass and that would be a good ole passive 4 string Fender Jazz Bass. The one's with that Mojo, and a maple board and block inlays. Now having said that I still have one in my collection.
 

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#58
Zooberwerx said:
Hey, it was blast but I'm 55 and winding down (not quitting) after recent brain stem surgery and somewhat grueling recovery. Call it a pseudo-depression or whatever you like. For the time being, here's what I've settled on:

*Pedulla Rapture (single pickup).....surprised?
*Hanewinckel
*MIK MTD Saratoga...pleasantly surprised on this one!
*Schack 5....this is my boutique beater bass.
*Millennium 5
*Bordwell 5....in need of some repair.

No complaints and I'm glad to be alive. After all these years and hundreds of gigs, I couldn't tell you which bass I played where...but I can tell you who I was with and that's more important.
Click to expand...
Word! All the best getting over your surgery, bro. That sounds quite frightening, but very happy you're still here to make new memories playing.
 
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#59
JimmyM said:
Word! All the best getting over your surgery, bro. That sounds quite frightening, but very happy you're still here to make new memories playing.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jimmy! Playing tonight at the Newport News Moose Lodge so all is good. Left hand is working again, seizures are gone, and I grew a moustache during my medical leave. Hey...was this thing supposed to grow in gray?!?

I still watch the classifieds so I guess all is truly well!

Riis
 
#60
I started counting how many basses I have owned. Since I had to pull my shoes off, it must be more than 10. :ninja: Here they are in chronological order of purchase with my impressions (YMMV, of course):

Univox Rickenbacker copy - looked great, sounded not so great. Upgraded with EMG pickups (after all, only the pickups really matter on a bass...). Learned that you can't shine sh*t. Traded it in.

Peavey Foundation - a pretty good bass although I could never get past the name on the headstock. That, and the pencil thin neck. Then again, sometimes cheap basses can be just as good as expensive ones. Traded it in.

Steinberger XM2 - sounded good when played with a pick. Otherwise, meh. Also had difficulty with the narrow string spacing. Sometimes expensive, cool looking basses are really not that great. Sold it.

FBass BN4 - Really nice bass. Recently sold it after almost 20 years. The large radius fretboard and small body never really felt comfortable to me, but I can't say anything bad about it.

'66 Fender Precision - Killer bass. I choked on the $1400 price tag at the time but, in hindsight, it was a bargain. I sometimes drift away from it for a while but IMO a good P bass should always be on hand. I've had it for 20 years now and suspect someone will inherit it.

'77 Stingray - Well, a pre EB Stingray has to be the shizz, right? Wrong. Maybe it was a bad one or maybe it just didn't suit me. Sounded great in the store but on a gig, I just couldn't get a tone I liked out of it. Sold it.

'96 Sadowsky Jazz - Funny story - I went to a music store looking for a Geddy Lee jazz. Found one I liked but couldn't get the attention of anybody in the store to answer my questions. Got pi$$ed off and went down the road to a small shop where I found this used Sadowsky. If it wasn't for the downsized body and 12" radius board I would still have that one. Sold it.

Sadowsky UV70 Metro, Sadowsky NYC UV, Sadowsky RJ4 Tokyo - Yup, three in a row. The Tokyo and UV70 have identical specs (Ash, maple, single coils, 70's spacing) and sound completely different. The UV is really aggressive sounding while the Tokyo has got more of a round 70's jazz "thud" that sounds really great when slapped or played finger style. The full size body and smaller radius board on these basses feel really comfy to me. And the tone.... Still own all three.

Late 80's G&L SB-1 - cool bass. REALLY hot pickups. Dial it back a shade on the volume and it sounded just like a good P Bass. I wasn't so keen on the small body and light weight of the bass although the tone was great.
My bass instructor complained that he couldn't find a good P Bass that was light weight (he is a small guy and quite elderly). I strung the bass with TI flats (his favourite) and gave the bass to him. The look on his face was priceless. :)

'77 Precision Bass - unlike the '66, this one is Ash/maple. Oh, and it weighs 10.5 pounds. It has the P vibe but has a much more "compressed" tone that sounds great banging out eighth notes with a pick. Still have this one.

There you have it - every bass I ever owned. If anybody is considering purchasing one of these, feel free to PM me for an opinion.
 

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