Owning 5+ basses is like owning a dog

[Davethebassguy]

7 basses too many?
That's crazy talk!
Owning basses is more like clothing.
The T-shirts and jeans get worn the vast majority of the time.
The suit gets the call for special occasions
And the shorts for hot weather .

Best analogy ever.

 

[Matty Koff]

I'm up to 4 basses, but two of them I barely play and they can keep their old strings. The other two aren't going to get changed at the same time.. so not a big deal.

 

[nabilhuakbar]

Also, if you wanna reduce the cost of restringing a bit, get some denatured alcohol (or vodka if you're crazy) and soak your strings in them for a couple days.

I found that it works a bit better than boiling them. They stay renewed a good bit longer

 

[Volker Kirstein]

 

[redmoe]

The collecting can get out of hand. I had a online doc appointment and they thought I was at a guitar store because of the background lol.

 

[muggsy]

I have six basses and two dogs. Dogs are a hell of a lot more work (but totally worth it, IMO - if you disagree, don't get a dog). Four of my basses are strung with TI flats, which last forever, so string changes aren't an issue. Over the years I have sold or traded away the basses that fell out of the rotation. If you're not using it, sell, trade or donate it to somebody who will appreciate it and play it. Life's too short, and basses are meant to be played.

 

[luciens]

View attachment 4003356

Exactly.

As for 7 basses being too many.... sacrilege! That'll cost you 40 Our Father's and 40 Hail Mary's, No Soup For You!

As for the cost of maintenance and restringing, yes it does start to add up as you add basses. But that's no excuse not to add basses....

Fortunately, strings last a lot longer than a lot of folks may think, even if you're gigging a fair bit. When rounds die and lose their "zing", that doesn't mean they need replaced. In fact, that's usually when they sound the best and give a really good chocolately thump. So you can reduce that cost by just not restringing until you really get a problem.

When I was gigging with my beloved Rickenbackers, I literally didn't restring until one of the strings finally snapped. They still worked and sounded great even after the corrosion started building up on them. If they get just too nasty, you can take them off and boil them for about 10 minutes. That'll help get rid of the corrosion and dirt, etc. and it'll even bring back some of the "zing" for a day or two....

Same with flats - they can go even longer without restringing....

L

 

[nabilhuakbar]

The collecting can get out of hand. I had a online doc appointment and they thought I was at a guitar store because of the background lol.

My god, how do you people afford this?!

 

[mikewalker]

Down to just 3 basses now! (from 20 last year) but now aiming for a different 3...
By spring 2021 I hope to have (for my personal use):

30 inch scale composite Basslab (stainless roundwounds)
30 inch scale custom extra-lightweight wooden bass (flatwounds)
30 inch scale custom extra-lightweight wooden bass (tapewounds)

plus a couple of guest basses:

studio Fender P-bass with flats
studio lefty bass (fretless five-string, roundwounds)

 

[luciens]

My god, how do you people afford this?!

Where'd you get the idea we could afford it?

L

 

[micguy]

My musical career started many decades ago with a violin my parents bought me. A couple years later, the neighbors gave me an old one, that turned out to be a real gem.

That was my cue - I build my own basses, and I don't need too many. So, basses that don't get gigged get donated - some kid gets a really good musical instrument to get started. It feels good to pay it forward.

I have more than enough really good basses, but most of the ones I've owned are in the hands of young musicians starting out. Somehow, that just seems right.

 

[ElectricBass72]

I'm a proud owner of 6 basses... soon to be 7. It didn't happen overnight.... my oldest basses were bought in '04 and '06. It's nice to have options, IMHO.

 

[bassballs27]

I currently own 4 basses, but I've been up to 10 or 12 at one point.
Pairing them down is a great idea. I personally like trading over selling, but that does require good market knowledge and willingness to accept risk and be able to make repairs or adjustments.
I like dead strings on my basses and only occasionally change strings when I really really feel the need to.
Since I tend to sell or trade my basses so much, I too don't like the idea of changing strings regularly.
Changing flatwounds is something I'd never do though, those are meant to grow old on your bass!

It's amazing how that old saying go, the things you own can end up owning you.....and this is where it starts when you feel you have "too many / too much" of something.

 

[sawzalot]

Wait, you calculated the cost of strings using a false formula. My experience is that with certain exceptions, the deterioration of strings is directly proportional to how much you play them. So say you have 7 basses and bite the bullet and change all of their strings once, at the same time. If you distribute your playing evenly over the 7 basses, you can expect those strings to now last 7 times as long as one set would on a single bass that you played all the time. So no extra cost!

Temper this formula with my experience that strings that just sit without being played seem to go dead all on their own unless they get played a bit--so make sure you play all 7 basses and don't let any of them sit idle for too long.

This formula is wonderful because the more basses you have, the longer your strings last, so it is actually more economical to buy more basses! That's what I try to tell my wife anyway.

 

[redmoe]

My god, how do you people afford this?!

Retirement is highly overrated lol

 

[The Deep]

Hmmm.....5 plus basses is like owning a dog, what would 33 basses be like? I'll have to come up with a good analogy. Maybe like owning an amusement park with a great variety of rides and entertainment?

The string thing is no big deal. You can only wear out one set at a time. If it's not getting played, the strings are still there in the condition you left them.

Embrace the GAS.

 

[Susqmike]

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• Susqmike
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• the gang

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• Susqmike
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• Susqmike
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• the gang

I own 7 basses. I love all of them but I also dont play all of them. I play EB flatwound strings. 30x7 is 210. Thats how much id have to spend to replace strings on all of them. Even if i put rounds on 2 of them or 3 it'd still be close to $200. I hate having a bass with dead strings, i feel like im not taking care of a bass if I do that and so i would say that owning 5+ basses is like owning a dog. You gotta be willing to invest the time and money, in my opinion. Im thinking of getting rid of 3 of them and sticking with 4. Id probly play 4 different basses but clearly not 7. I hate the idea of selling a bass but if it just sits around, what's the point ? Any thoughts ?

it gets expensive to change strings on 45 basses!...

 

[pappabass]

There is a point in time where you have to downsize or know your limit. If you downsize, keep a mix of bases. Not 5 matching p basses

 

[rtslinger]

As mentioned I have many and gig all, but my Acoustic electric on a regular basis, but it is my go bass for quiet practices at home

 

[KohanMike]

I have thirty bass ukes/mini bass guitars that I rotate through for the twice a week rehearsals my group does on Zoom. I use flatwound strings on most and polyurethane on the others. I'm retired, never been married or had kids (that I know of), so I have a certain amount of disposable income. Keeps me occupied and active.