Owners of multiple basses: anyone else do this?

[T Bay]

I have a main one I use most then my old one which lives at work (and a practice amp) so I can practice with mates there without taking anything in specially.

 

[Biggbass]

Ps & Js - I just share the love as impulse dictates but usually reserve my Road Worn P
for concrete floor gigs just in case of a strap failure.

 

[tanglewoodrules]

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.)

All the time!! I have 3 basses that I swap between, my 1996 Fender Jazz bass with Entwhistle JBXNs, my Yamaha BB425X, a recent acquisition and my Tanglewood Rebel 4K a hell of a lot... I tend to go with the one that has the right amount of punch for a track... If I need a tone equiv to a P-bass I pick up the Rebel 4K or BB425X, and if I need more vibrance and sustain, BB525X all the way... as for everything in between, jazz bass or all 3 for laughs!

 

[Jim Pen]

Carrots for me, thanks. I have P basses, the only difference is the strings, and I play which ever has the strings I want to hear.

 

[Nephilymbass]

i like to use a lot of different basses for writing. But I tend to stick with one main player for gigs which I keep the strings fresh on and won't change basses during a show unless a jack goes bad or something. Recording it depends on the project. I recently tracked bass for my modern rock band and used an active ESP 5 with EMGs But we're planning our next album to be sorta like acoustic versions of some of our more popular songs. So I'll likely use something else. I do like writing with different basses because it seems like different basses inspire me to play different things. Our newest album I wrote my lines using a Conklin 7, musicman stingray 5, sterling by musicman ray34cafl 4 string fretless and my ESP. But the entire album was tracked with my ESP 5.

 

[Ghastly]

I have 2 basses out at any given time. I generally have one go-to bass that I always have out (my P bass). And then I rotate the other one with my other 3, depending on mood and how much I have missed one of the others.

 

[blastbass]

I like the jazz bass config, so i have 3 jb's diff woods/pickups/hardware. use diff sets of strings on them e.g. one has semi flats the other has rounds, etc., then the pedals do the rest as far as versatility is concerned. I usually have 2 with rounds so they can back each other up in case something goes wrong with either.

 

[Mike Sorr]

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....

If you ever get sick enough of one of those Fender PJs, I want dibs.

 

[rtslinger]

They are rotated I have 12 electric basses that all see gig time all year number 13 is my acoustic /electric which I use for the occasional unplugged gig, but it is my practice bass so no dust on any of them

 

[JoeWPgh]

If I haven;t played in a while, or I'm really tired from the work day, I go with the Lakland SS HoBo. Otherwise, it's as the mood strikes me. My USA Jag, a J, my MM Stingray or one of my monstrosities seem to get equal time.

 

[bassist4dalord]

I have three basses:

Squier Standard Precision V with La Bella Game of Death Gold Nylon Tapes

Schecter Raiden Special-4 with La Bella Copper Tapes

Ibanez AEB5E acoustic with D'Addario Tapes

The first two are rotated back and forth. I usually play one exclusively for a couple weeks or so then switch to the other. The acoustic doesn't really see all that much play time, but I'll occasionally break that one out.

I don't really have GAS. I've reached contentment with my gear

 

[Arturo+music]

I now have 3 bass guitars. 1). a 1972 Rickenbacker 4001 Stereo Bass.
2). a Fender Squier Precision Bass.
3). a Danelectro Long Horn Bass.
I have just converted a cheapo guitar to a Baritone guitar which is working well.
In the collection I have 10 other guitars. inc. a Les Paul Custom.

 

[Ellery]

My rotation cycles between GASSING for basses I can't (or shouldn't) afford and falling back in love with what I already have

 

[Gyver]

I have three Fenders - Jazz fretted, P fretted and P fretless. All have TI Jazz Flats and sound reasonably the same. I just randomly play them on a whim, although the fretted P is always the one I gig in "rough" environments as I'm less worried about it getting beat up.

 

[lowsideonacurve]

I've narrowed it down to my CIJ Jag (stock except for chrome flats) and a MIM Jazz that I modded with a set of Geezer Butler sig. P/J pups and Fender flats, both play and sound fantastic to me and I switch to my Mustang when I feel like a short scale fits the tunes better. I have a few other basses that I don't play often enough, but I don't see the need to part with them. Give me time, I'm liable to fancy something else it's over.

 

[onda'bass]

I have an xotic p and a j, both 5'ers and I use them based on musical context. I do tend pick up my j more instinctively at home.

 

[non]

i have four basses. i switch between them for different tunings but my main/favorite is tuned eadg with a hipshot drop d so it gets the most use.
i have a ibby sr600 for c standard tuning and the irony is even though it has the thinnest neck of the bunch it is the only one that i don't have to mess with the truss rod or string hight to get rid of fret buzz from the floppy strings like the other bass get tuning that low.

 

[74hc]

In-between #1 and #2 for me. I regularly will play the EBMM Sterling and rotate the pbass in on occasions.

If I know that all of the singers and musicians will be at church for the worship band, I bring the pbass as getting knocked or dinged is a possibility.

 

[bbh]

I rotate every few months. They re all excellent. I have about 1/2 closet full of basses, all pro quality. When I go back to one, it always sound better than when I put it down.
My favorite is my Warrior Adam Nitti because it's the easiest to play and feels the lightest (I have pretty bad hand and back problems). My best sounding is my Fender p-bass.
The one I never play and should sell is my old white Yamaha 4 string ( I really only play 5 stringers). I just think if I ever need to do reggae, this is the one for that.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

I have three main basses and I don't know why when only one could just do it all. Humans are a strange species I suppose...