Owners of multiple basses: anyone else do this?

[Treadstone71]

I have 5 in regular rotation, depending on the nature of the gig. More rock-focused? The P. More surf-rock? The Hofner club bass. Experimental/in-between? The bass VI.

Then again, I built the one in my sig to be more aggresive, to be played in venues more suited to punk rock AKA places I might also need a shield.

I also enjoy carrots.

 

[tangentmusic]

Some tunes call for the glorious classic thump of a P. I'll grab that one.

Others need a trebley attack of a J. That one gets used.

Sometimes you gotta have the thunderous combo of the two. Hello Ric..

Oh wait, Fretless is needed here. Nice to have one on hand.

You get the idea.

 

[40Hz]

I'll spend too much time with whatever is the latest
for a while, until I feel like I have found most of it's 'secrets'.
Then I go back to ether a regular rotation, or using whichever
seems to fit what I am playing at the moment.

It's always cool to go back to one that hasn't gotten any play time for weeks
and re discover why I love it.

Very similar.

For practice, I've got my main bass and one other bass out on stands. The main bass is always there. The rest of my assemblage is on a weekly rotation. A new purchase bumps the rotation until I've got it all sussed out. Then that goes into the rotation queue too.

For performance I bring whichever bass I feel best fits the music and genre.

I've got the obligatory PB and JB. Pretty much everything else I've got is a little off the beaten path.

 

[CRich0205]

I only have 2, an American special precision and a Warwick thumb. They sound nothing alike and the thumb is a 5, it's what I play out 90% of the time. I really only use my precision at church or jamming to punk rock stuff over headphones. It sounds a lot better with a pick.

 

[JGbassman]

Last I checked I had about 15 basses. They are mostly mid prices working basses, just a few bought as collector, but in a limited sence anyway.. I do a lot of sub work so I'm rotating basses based on the gig I have. I play pretty regularly in a band the tune a half step down, so that takes two basses out exclusively for that. I have my favorite slapping funk bass, and a host of five strings, mostly for country. My '55 replica p bass gets used doing sub gigs with an oldies band.

I do have my favorites, and some sound great live, some best for recording. I could get by with three basses, but I can't imaging just having three...

Based on this, I'd have to vote play a different bass based on the circumstance even though I do rotate them out when I feel like playing certain ones.

 

[JimmyM]

Most of the time I stick with one with an occasional dalliance, but the one I stick with tends to change every couple years.

 

[Flaked Beans]

None of the options really describes me....

+1. That's why I pressed the carrots button.

 

[katysax]

I have a definite favorite, but sometimes another one is a better fit for the situation. Most of my playing is with acoustic groups. My favorite is a Kala California fretless. One group that I play with the leader hates the fretless so I play a fretted. Sometimes I think that an acoustic Kala fits better so I use that. I also have a cheap violin bass in case I play some rock. 80-90% of the time I pick the Kala fretless. I just like the way it feels.

 

[arbiterusa]

I have four basses: all the same make/model.

1 in standard tuning, rounds
1 in BEAD tuning, rounds
1 with flats
1 backup/parts

 

[davy4575]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I love each one for a few years at a time, but also play each one to different musical ventures that it fits best with the exception of my Spector legend 5 banger that I will play here and there on a couple different projects. Currently my main girl is my Fender Zone P/J....and I hated fenders with a passion til I got her.

 

[jaybones]

Depending on what sound I want dictates which bass I'll use from my arsenal.
If I want a growl, I go with the jazz partsbass with 18V Barts. If I want thump I go with my Affinity P with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder and tapes. If I want tone I go with my ~1970 Rivoli (EA260).

 

[BassikLee]

Right now, my favorite bass is the Peavey GV. I happen to have three, plus a GV/Milly hybrid. Using just the GV basses, I have a black one that is kind of my go to gig bass, then a sunburst one that I use for my country band, and a pewter one for tuned down stuff. Same feel, same sound (essentially).

I'm a spoiled rotten brat.

 

[spaz21387]

I switch it up depending on the band.

 

[KohanMike]

I have 9 basses I rotate regularly (with 4 more coming), some are fat poly string acoustic and solid body bass ukes, others are mini steel string electrics. Since I rehearse two days a week with the uke group to which I belong, I bring a different one each day. If we have gig coming up, I pick one and rehearse with it until after the gig.

 

[Holdsg]

I switch it up depending on the band.

This is me. And since I can't seem to find the right band, my taste and favorite bass is always changing.

 

[twinjet]

Hey TB, hope you're all having a good evening. So I'm in my basement music room, learning songs for my latest project. Really diggin' my USA Fender PJ, black/rosewood with Dimarzio Area pickups. Jamming to some Ian Moore, fits perfect. Rocking to Black Crowes, awesome. I get 10 songs in and put it down to swap it with my other Fender PJ, silverburst/maple, Delano pickups. Next song bass is just meh. Another song, blah. A third song gets halfway through before I switch back to the first bass. Ahhh, much better.
So, here's my deal. I own 6 basses. At any given time 1 of those basses just feels like home. I'll use it to learn songs, at rehearsal, or at a gig for a few weeks to a few months. Then one day I'll pick up another and whoa, it knocks my socks off! So now that'll be "the one" for a while. Right now the black PJ is it. Before that the MIA Jazz with EMGs was it for 3 months. Before that the USA Geddy was it for a while....
Any of you multi-bass owners do this too? Do you have a favorite, go-to bass or does it constantly change like it does for me? I ask because in all the (many,many,many) bands I've played with I've never met a guitarist that rotates instruments like I do.

(Also, this is not GAS related or due to any of them being new aquisitions.)

I'm down to a single bass now, but when I did own three I would rotate them by gig. Sometimes by project. I usually wouldn't allow any one bass to sit for too long.

Not much of a problem now, though...

 

[jazzyvee]

I'll spend too much time with whatever is the latest
for a while, until I feel like I have found most of it's 'secrets'.
Then I go back to ether a regular rotation, or using whichever
seems to fit what I am playing at the moment.

It's always cool to go back to one that hasn't gotten any play time for weeks
and re discover why I love it.

This is me in a nutshell. Every now and again I feel like I should sell the one that I use least but then I take it on a gig and realise why exactly I bought it, then it becomes my new favourite for a while. The thing is any of my basses will give me the right sound for any gig that I do but because the pickups are different sizes and in slightly different locations some plucking techniques are easier to do on some basses than others so that will dictate which bass i prefer to take to some gigs.

 

[Relsom]

I admit that I should probably lighten up. But at the moment I have my choice of 22 instruments. Fenders, Peaveys, Rickenbackers, and Spectors....multiples of each. At home I rotate them all and enjoy each and every one of them. But on a gig, since I'm not a 5 string player and need low D and E flat, I always, always play a Kubicki. I do bring a backup though......another Kubicki. Until my need for a slightly extended range changes that's the way it will be. .......what was the question again?

 

[Groove Doctor]

I play the bass that fits:
Jazz, 60's, Blues, Pub-Rock, Tribute Bands, 80's, Gospel/Modern, Studio work.

11 basses - 3 are P basses which sound, feel, & are set up very differently for various playing styles/genres.

 

[JRA]

of four that i might play with any regularity: it's probably a 'micro feel' issue for me: they all have similar necks (J-ish), so, if i'm feeling 'clumsy' i might choose the slightly beefier neck, or if i'm feeling really 'on it' i might choose the thinnest neck. or if i don't want to be bothered by a battery check/issues, i'll choose passive, or i might want a different tone pallet (i go to active), yada yada.

at times i might pick an instrument just to show some 'love' if i haven't played a particular bass in awhile (a few weeks). i think they all get some attention. i'm currently using two for main and backup at gigs (they're almost identical). but that can change given that 'micro feel' thing! i don't think about it too much and i could do fine with any of them.

for the last year or so i've been playing around with string choices: the strings on a particular instrument could have more to do with choosing a bass for a gig than in the past (when i would string them all with the same string sets).