Playing more than one bass: Good, bad, indifferent

[jwl]

switching from brand to brand is a big change for me. so i don't do it very often. for the last three years i've only used a fender jazz. i have 7. they all sound different, but feel the same.

 

[KENT ROSS]

I played just a fretted 4-string for over 25 years. Then I decided to use a fretless 5 to do some of the stuff we're doing. Although I'm MUCH MORE comfortable with the 4...(not having to "think about" what I'm playing...The 5 adds a whole new dimension....THOUGH I HAVE TO REALLY CONCENTRATE WITH IT.

 

[Ed Goode]

It doesn't really matter too much to me. I play multiple basses with differing configurations all of the time. Most are extended range, mostly 7's, but there are 6's and one 5, along with a few 4's.

Some are fretted, some fretless, different scale lengths, different body shapes. I mostly use FBB's, but I do have a Barker, Fender, Dean hollowbody short scale and some older MIJ knock-off's.

I use them as the mood strikes, this past weekend I only played fretless on the gigs and left all the fretted stuff home ...

 

[Anthbass]

I, like others here, enjoy playing different basses regularly. I have 3 to choose from, a four string and 2 fives. Sonically and playability-wise, they are all very different, which is great fun. Vive l'experience.

 

[Flintc]

I recently saw a youtube clip of Michael Manring playing three basses at once. Two were hanging from his shoulder, the other was on another person's shoulder who was facing him and Manring was reaching out to tap that bass from time to time.

The overall effect was peculiar and not very musical or entertaining. So I'd have to go with playing only one bass at any given time.

 

[PaleMelanesian]

I'm comfortable with any 4-string fretless. 5 strings and I get lost, frets and I get lost. Hopefully that will change soon - i've got a custom fretted 5 in progress.

 

[Fontaine]

im trying to stick with fender, i currently have a Fender Jazz and i love the feel of it.

my next bass is probably going to be a precision, and then a jaguar or mustang.

 

[nickbear]

although i own 4 basses i only really play one or 2 of them at the moment.. most of the time im playing the rickenbacker but if im jamming with certain musicians and with certain genres i turn to my stingray as i find i play stuff on the stingray i wouldnt play on the ric and vise versa. i approach them differently

 

[need4mospd]

The more I swapped basses the more I saw the same thing. Now I have two of almost the exact same bass. A Lakland 55-01 fretless and a Lakland 55-02 fretted. I can switch between them with ease, the controls are the same, the neck is the same, string spacing, weight, preamp, etc... They make an awesome team, I can't see myself playing another bass for a LONG time.

 

[BartmanPDX]

I'm a slut and I'm comfortable with it.
I play whichever one of my basses inspires me at that moment.

+1. Perfect.

 

[Tom Howland]

I have four different basses, I use regularly.

Each, sound different, have different strings, and are used in different
playing situations.

 

[HAM]

I recently purchased a Fodera NYC 5 and my experience is this... I have never felt so comfortable playing any other bass like I do playing this one. So much so, I am searching for a fretless version to make them my main axles with the exception of my Rob Allen Deep 5. (The Deep 5 is like a baby in my hands and the sound is like no other sound out there... PERIOD!) Until now, Lakland 55-94s had been what Fodera is now.

Is there anyone out there with a Fodera NYC 5 fretless that would share some input on their experience with it?

 

[MobileHolmes]

Most of the best bass players have stuck to one bass (make/model) for most of their playing career. When they make a switch, it is mostly to move on to another instrument that will be THE instrument from the moment on.

I have to disagree pretty strongly with this statement. There are so many counterexamples, regardless of who you consider "best." Just to throw out some names-

-Flea has used a different bass on practically every album, sometimes within albums (Spector, MM, Wal, Vintage Fender, Signature Modulus).

-Claypool while mostly playing Carl Thompsons, plays a wide variety of them with different numbers of strings and scale lengths. In fact, he purposely used the fretless 6 for a whole record right after he got it, just to shake things up.

-Entwistle- had a huge collection of basses, with wildly different attributes.

- Geddy Lee- J's and Rics (and maybe Wal's)

-Pino Palladino- has a signature P, but did the last Who tour with a Jag.

- Will Lee has an arsenal of all kinds of stuff, and though he is most known for Sadowsky, can be seen playing all kinds of other stuff.

- Chris Wood plays a Beatle Bass (or maybe a copy), upright, and a Cliff Bordwell.

- Mike Watt mostly gibsons, but Firebirds and EBs at various times.

Personally, I mix it up quite a bit, depending on my mood. My two main axes are a fretted 6 and a hotrod J. I also have a fretless 6 and a P copy. Granted, the two 6s are identical but for the frets (but that was more of a fluke than anything), but each bass has its own strengths and weaknesses, and its moment. I don't think my playing really suffers at all for switching among them, although adapting to the different string spacings takes a minute or two when you first switch.

 

[Pilgrim]

[First question was: What is your position on this observation?]

Answer: play all the basses you want. it's more fun.

[Would like to add: How much do you guys think this affects (gets in the way) how good you could become by focusing on just one make/model in all your playing vs. jumping from bass to bass?]

Answer: makes no difference at all. The time you spend practicing (or maybe I should say, the time I do NOT spend practicing) is what determines your ability.

 

[NYCBass]

I have two Fodera NYC "4 string" fretless basses that Love. I have one that is alder with a ebony board and the other is alder with a rosewood board. The ebony is an older model, the body is more like a standard Fender body. It has the old 2 band preamp with the Lane Poor pickups. I got this bass sometime in the early 90's. It's just a killer bass in feel and tone. The other one with the rosewood board has a dinky body and the preamp with the passive tone control.

I have two others as well. They are fretted basses, one is and alder with a rosewood board and the passive tone control pre. The other is a swamp ash maple board with the old 2 band pre.

Now back to the thread question, I just had asked myself the same question a few months ago. Why all the different types of basses?

I found that I was really never comfortable playing my Lakland, G&L or the P basses I had. If I would bright them to a gig I would play them for one tune and go right back to my NYC basses. So then if I had basses that I loved, why have the others?

I have 4 other bass along with my NYC's but they are all Jazz basses. Everything now sets up and feels the same. They all have their owen tone but now I can pick any of them up and it's a Jazz bass.

It worked out better for "me" in my playing to play one style of bass.

 

[mikopita]

I always take more than one bass to a gig, but typically end up playing just one for most if not all of the show.

Like others have mentioned, it's a matter of inspiration though. This past weekend, I played into a house rig that sounded like mud. I plugged in a precision and got a serviceable sound when my RBV was struggling. I ended up playing the rest of the gig with the P when at nearly all other gigs I would have preferred the Roscoe Beck.

 

[3toes]

"Don't use a hammer as a screwdriver..."

Each bass is a tool, some better suited for certain jobs (tones) than others.

I like to think of my Lakland as a leatherman tool, it's incredibly handy and can perform a wide variety of tasks. But it certainly can't do everything...

 

[fullrangebass]

I play different basses in different settings

 

[Bassist440]

My view is after owning several 4 string fretted basses, buying a couple fretless basses 3 years ago has been a very good change soundwise to a more rounded smooth sound and practicing on the fretless has actually increased accuracy on the fretted bass as well. For future changes and adventure, my move would be to a bass with more strings ... I was thinking about a 5 string but then thought, why not bite the bullet and just get a 6 ... more of a complete move IMO. I can see by watching other players that a nice 6 string would be great for faster more guitar type bass playing if you will. So many basses ... so little time!

 

[Steelix]

|de never want anything bigger or smaller than 6 string.
| guess itsjust what you feel better with.