Owning one bass.. are those days over?

[captainofsmooth]

There’s a two part problem for me:

1- I’m a serious collector. Of anything. Especially things I love. That’s just my mentality. A bit of the old “gotta catch ‘em all” mindset some of us were raised on, if you will. Every time I see something new or unique, I have to have it.

2- I have a very hard time letting go of things. Not in a hoarder sense, but more like I attach some sort of emotional connection to each bass. “Oh, I played that one on Jimmy Kimmel.” “Oh that was my first bass!” “Oh that’s the bass I tattooed on my body.” Reasons like that keep me unable to thin out my “children” very often.

 

[MichelD]

As I stand here and practice with one of mine, which I love, I look at the other 3 and say “why have them if they’ve not been played in months?” Is it similar to babies with pacifiers? I can totally get by with just one like many famous did back in the day and still do. But every time I think of letting the other 3 go, I chicken out lol..WTH

I could live with jus tone bass, all I have is two old Japanese basses and a Fender.

I tale the Fender out to practice with the band, but have a Japanese bass a metre away from me at all times (like now) to play along with YT vids and practice at home.

 

[Artman]

I've had as many as five basses, but am now down to three. Two very different fretted and one fretless.

I could live with just one bass if I had to, and I have for long stretches of time in the past, but I currently use them all regularly, and I do not have to get rid of any of them right now.
When I quit gigging, I'll probably sell one fretted instrument. Or maybe sell them all, then purchase a newer fretless.

I do not equate my relationship with any musical instrument to that of any human relationship.
I enjoy having only one significant other.
I also enjoy having more than one bass guitar to use or replace as I wish. The bass guitar is just a thing to me, not a human.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

As I stand here and practice with one of mine, which I love, I look at the other 3 and say “why have them if they’ve not been played in months?” Is it similar to babies with pacifiers? I can totally get by with just one like many famous did back in the day and still do. But every time I think of letting the other 3 go, I chicken out lol..WTH

I played with just one bass from 1965 until 2009. My first bass was a piece of Japanese Bass in 1965. Then in 1966 I bought a 1965 Fender Jazz bass - loved that bass. It was stolen along with all my touring gear (toured for 3-years in early 70's) when the house we were in was burglarized in 1976.

Finally found another Jazz in 1985 that had the same neck shape, profile, and radius as my '65 and I bought it. It's an '82 maple-necked Jazz with 70's era pickup spacing. Felt just like home the first time I picked it up and played it. With its maple neck and its 70's era pickup spacing (4" center to center), it sounds a little brighter and has considerably more sustain than my '65 did. It was my "only bass" until 2009 and still is my primary bass.

In 2009 I broke down and bought a 5-string bass because the group I played in kept adding songs where I would have to down-tune my E-string. We did about 5 of those in one night. After forgetting to tune back up for the next song a couple of times and having to transpose my E-string fingering on the fly I broke down and bought a 5-string. Didn't want to spend a bunch because I really love playing my Jazz, and a friend recommended a Rogue 5-string, which was not something I would have otherwise considered.

It was about $219 if I recall and I honestly expected to send it back right up until it arrived. Rogue basses were made in Korea at the time. When I received it, I was shocked. The fit and finish was superb and although it had a wide neck (5-strings you know...), it is a slim neck and surprisingly easy to play. It can be played in either active or passive mode and I usually use it in passive, just using the pickup balance to adjust the sound so I don't have to mess with the gain on my amp. It's worked just fine, but I only pull it out when I need to be playing on a B string because I love the way my Jazz plays.

Unfortunately Rogue moved from Korea to Indonesia and now they are made in China and the Quality Control has suffered...a LOT! So much so that I wouldn't buy one online like I did but would go to a store that carries them to check out fit and finish. You can still find a really good one, but you better be inspecting it before you buy.

So I'm a two bass guy now although I've only played my 5-string a couple of times in the last three years. Groups I've played with just haven't had songs that required a 5 so I play my Jazz.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

how many pairs of shoes do you own? you only wear one pair at a time. how many shirts do you own? Do you have a nice suit you only wear once in a great while? Get rid of it! you can only sit in one chair at a time, get rid of the rest of your furniture.

.....just sayin'

 

[dbsfgyd1]

As I stand here and practice with one of mine, which I love, I look at the other 3 and say “why have them if they’ve not been played in months?” Is it similar to babies with pacifiers? I can totally get by with just one like many famous did back in the day and still do. But every time I think of letting the other 3 go, I chicken out lol..WTH

The reason is ya just never know..

 

[johnnynitro]

I really only have one. A PJ. I have a Pbass that needs a neck or work on the neck. It's not really playable. I do want another bass. But after spending over $2000 on an Amp. I didn't need. Any bass purchases are going to have to wait ??

 

[Cal03]

I only had 1 for my first couple of years of playing. Then I quadrupled my collection last year (no thanks to this site ). I justified it to myself by maintaining that they all be very different: 3 EBG's (4-banger, fiver, sixer), and a guitar-scale 4-string ABG. I also mess around in fifths tuning, so I keep one or two tuned differently to further differentiate the bunch.

This year, I picked up a long-scale fiver ABG and gave away the 4-string EBG, my very first bass, so the stable has settled at four basses.

 

[axxtion]

Over the past 4 years or so, I have acquired 9 G&L L2500s, all different colors, 5 are different colored sparkles, all painted by Marty Bell. I have a BlueBurst, an all Black, a Shoreline Gold, and a Honeyburst, all with matching headstocks. Because I am old and color adverse to the clothes I wear, I only wear black. I do however play a different color bass for every gig I do. This gives me the opportunity to play a different bass, all be it the same model and setup, all the time and often.

 

[NedRyerson]

Decades ago, I had two 4-strings that were tuned differently. At the time, I realized that was kinda' dumb and sold them both to replace them with a 5-string. I still have that 5-string, and it's my mainstay bass.

But recently, I bought a 4-string (sadly and ironically, the exact same model as one I'd sold those decades ago) because I want to learn to play slap and the wider string spacing was more conducive to my totally amateur (read: horrid) technique.

So right now, I have two 5-strings, one at my main home and one at my country cottage so that I don't have to pack and transport my bass, and one 4-string at home. I'm going to convert the 5-string at the cottage into an 8-string because I just want to say that I have an 8-string even if I don't actually use it for anything other than to play one or two songs from my old band's catalog that are never going to see the light of day ever again.

And of course, that means I'm just gonna have to replace it with another 5er. Right? And then at that point, I'll need a 4-string at the cottage because I don't want to lose the momentum of my slap practice.......

#excuses

 

[tbz]

I mean. It’s kinda dependent on the person.

I’ve just accepted that I like owning gear. So I’ll keep my stable of uh….25ish guitars and basses at or around its current size, unless life forces me to do otherwise.

So, for me the days of one bass are over. Unless I need to downsize.

But that’s a personal choice. I don’t think it’s remotely indicative of an industry wide long term trend.

 

[totalnoob]

As I stand here and practice with one of mine, which I love, I look at the other 3 and say “why have them if they’ve not been played in months?” Is it similar to babies with pacifiers? I can totally get by with just one like many famous did back in the day and still do. But every time I think of letting the other 3 go, I chicken out lol..WTH

I spend my time playing on the 4 string full-scale, the 5 string with thin gauge 35" scale, the active 5-string with normal gauge, the short-scale vintage, and the hollowbody 4-string medium scale. Each has a different tone and very different playing profile. Each one is interesting in its own right in those regards. Yeah, I also have a medium scale electroacoustic. Do I deserve to play these basses? Not as a musician, no, but I worked hard enough to make the money, so I am of the opinion that nobody should judge me, not even myself.

 

[GreyBeard]

I have 7 basses because I can and any of them can satisfy any of playing needs. I rotate them for gigging.

 

[MegaSwing]

They all scratch a different itch, at least in my mind. At the end of the game, however, I never sound like anyone else but me. Overall, since I rarely buy anything brand-new, I have found that pro-level musical instruments are a decent place to park money, especially if you earn money with them. They aren’t like boats and motorcycles, for sure.

 

[SoulReflection]

As I stand here and practice with one of mine, which I love, I look at the other 3 and say “why have them if they’ve not been played in months?” Is it similar to babies with pacifiers? I can totally get by with just one like many famous did back in the day and still do. But every time I think of letting the other 3 go, I chicken out lol..WTH

Different for me...I originally thought that a SS was best for me and my age so I bought the Squier SS Jag. I then found I could function with a P with a J neck, so I have that one. I have a Rogue SS violin bass because it reminded me of a 50s Gibson that got me playing bass. I play all three and don't plan on replacing any.

Having said that, amps and pedals are something different .

 

[eddododo]

I just never particularly see / feel the need to get rid of any. I certainly feel the presence of value waiting to become liquid, but god, selling (and ugh shipping) instruments is such a pain that I’m more likely just to underplay a couple of the fleet

 

[ebo]

I have one for rehearsals and gigs I just dont care too much about, it’s my beater. Then I have my practice bass. Then I have my main gigging bass. Then there’s the backup. Then there is the closet bass in my Avatar. I’m sure there’s another one lying around here somewhere. If the house catches on fire I’m grabbing the dog, the basses can burn.

 

[SemiDriven]

I should really find homes for two of my six basses since I never play them anymore.

The other four have different flavors. Of them (two-5's and two 4's), I play three weekly.

If I had the time I'd get a fretless and a 6er.

And a stand-up string-bass.

And if I had even more time, I'd learn the guitar, drums, and relearn keyboards.

What was the question?

 

[iriegnome]

Man I hope so. I have not owned just one bass since 1982!

 

[swarfrat]

I have two because I'm not ready for a fretless to be my only bass.