Please help me understand the multiple bass thing

[sumeursault]

I will say this...each bass has it's own little blips, burps and quirks. This especially applies to vintage or vintage-styled basses. But, it doesn't matter how high-end or expensive, you can still find 'em. And if you don't spend adequate time getting to know and respond to those lovely little imperfections, then you're really not connecting with the instrument to the full musical extent possible. That being said...If you've got 20 basses and adequate time and energy to really get to know each one, then brother/sister, more power to you.

 

[millsbass5]

Plain'n'simple. Different basses for different material. Whatever your songs require,a different bass is required. End of story..... Unless you are one of those,"Hey! Look at me! I have "mucho" basses!"

 

[countrybass007]

No need involved in my case, I just like to use different bases on different nights. Sometimes I'm in a passive mood, other nights an active mood. Sometimes I want to play a Red Jaguar and on other nights a Butterscotch Precision. We all have our vices, mine is bass gear.

 

[Pilgrim]

I smply enjoy having a variety of well-made instruments around.

I don't need all of the 10 that I have, and I'll probably thin it out a bit...but there's no reason for me NOT to have instruments which I enjoy.

 

[redhed]

I have 8 basses, but I mostly play one of my two stingrays or my 5 string MTD kingston z-bass.So many basses because I love basses!

 

[Sam Evans]

Right here.

Is there more than 1 bass currently available? How about amps? How about cabinets? How about FX units?

You've been around that long and you really feel it necessary to ask this question or haven't honestly figured it out yet? Lol, k dude.

I don't understand either of you. If the thread doesn't interest you, ignore it. Quite a few other people found the OP's question interesting enough to comment, so let it be.

 

[Sam Evans]

Anyway, to the OP. I can understand multiple basses, whether it's need or want, but my own preferences run similar to yours. I wouldn't want to own a bass that I wasn't going to use regularly. Right now that's two electric basses. I use my Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass probably 2/3 the time and my Univox "Lucy" the other 1/3. I prefer the Fender (both sound- and feel-wise), but the Univox's short scale and easier access to the upper frets makes it more practical for some songs.
I also have an upright, but that's obviously a whole other beast. I'll probably get a fretless at some point, which also has its own place. After that, I'm not likely to buy anything else.

 

[s4001]

I've got a 60's Ric that sounds and plays amazing. I've got no reason to play gig any other bass, but I do. I'm such a whore.

 

[queevil]

I'm down to one bass right now, a 4 string jazz fretless. I had a fretted J5 but I let it go because although it sounded good and had a great B string I was less than enamored by the J bass 5 string neck although I love the 4. The fretless is without a doubt the most versatile bass I've ever played. With flats it can have a deep full thumpy sound as well as that midrange snarl. It sits well in a variety of mixes. The great thing about it is that it doesn't have to sound like a fretless as long as you don't slide into every note. If I could only ever have one bass that would be it.

However, in the next year I will probably buy three more basses. A fretted Jazz 4 not necessarily a Fender, a five string fretted because I play worship and I want to be able to stay in the same position rather than shift a lot which is what a lot of the music that we play requires on a 4 string, and a fretted 6er mainly to experiment with chords. Honestly, the 6er would probably end up as more of a playtoy than being an actual tool like the other basses that I want. It probably won't even be very expensive.

I don't think there's anything wrong with owning multiple basses for vanity's sake or as tools of the trade. People like what they like. Bass is like golf, the shooting sports, computers ect. in that it can cost a little or a whole lot to enjoy the activity. I can't really criticize anyone for owning a plethora of basses with the amount of money I've poured into the shooting sports and mountain biking over the years. People love what they love. Oh, there's also that collection of fine cigars of mine. That's literally money that goes up in smoke. But I'm only going to live once so I might as well enjoy the fruits of my labor while I'm here.

 

[Bongolation]

I've never fully understood this. Can you help me understand the reasoning, need, desire, even requirement for having multiple specialized instruments like that? Are there literally times where a band will dictate your gear? Or is this generally a preference issue?

Mainly it's delusion and the financial ability to indulge it.

This is coming from a guy with about twenty basses and thirty guitars...possibly more. I buy deals and flip them at a profit when I'm bored. I get to have a lot of instructive, first-hand experience with various instruments in the meantime.

A couple of basses and about three electric guitars would legitimately cover any possible recording or performing need I'd ever have.

 

[Korladis]

About me, I've been playing bass for 20 years now. Played in a touring pro band for about 8 years, played in some jazz ensembles in college, five years playing in worship bands, many sit in gigs throughout the years, recorded on a dozen albums or so. Nothing major, but I've played my fair share I think.

Through that time I've had usually two basses at any given time. Always my main 5-string and usually another 4 or 5-string for backup. Nothing too drastically different really. In all those years, the basses I've had at the time have worked for the gig I had. I never really felt the need to have a specialized bass for a specific gig.

That said, I see lots of players saying things like:

For this gig, I have a '65 P-bass with flat wounds and for this gig I have a J-bass with nickels and this other gig I have a 5-string Singlecut strung E to C and this other gig I have a 7-string with stainless and piezo pickups, etc.

I've never fully understood this. Can you help me understand the reasoning, need, desire, even requirement for having multiple specialized instruments like that? Are there literally times where a band will dictate your gear? Or is this generally a preference issue?

A main bass, a backup, and another one with the bottom four strings of a five string set.

If I were to put flats on one bass, I'd still have the others for when I didn't want that sound/feel. However, I'd probably only ever put flats on if I had to for jazz, because I hate flats.

I can also keep one bass in a different tuning (like the one currently strung BEAD) for when that's needed.

 

[dlargent]

I think the reason people buy a lot of basses and amps are for two reasons:
1. the internet - you can surf around and see stuff, and want it.
2. 'Musician's Friend' style catalogs (and I guess big-box stores with tons of basses) - you can see stuff, and want it.

When I started playing bass in high school, there was only a local music store, and there were no good basses. I had to look everywhere to find a bass, then when I found it, I played the same bass from like 1990-1998. My rig was a Music Man Stingray, a GK 800rb, and Peavey cabinet.

I never even thought of playing a different bass, until I logged onto the internet around 1998 and saw the millions of different basses on ebay and web sites. Since then, I've owned 7 or 8 different basses!

 

[RBrownBass]

I don't understand *I don't understand* threads.

"I don't understand/get" threads are usually backhanded ways of casting whatever it is the threadstarter "doesn't understand" in a negative light.

"I don't understand the need for basses with (choose any or all of the below)":

more than X strings
active electronics
solo tuning
"coffee table" construction- the Holy Grail of reverse snobbery

"I don't understand the need for amps/cabs with (choose any or all of the following):

A compressor
A tweeter
Specs that might work well with a bass with too many strings

"I don't understand bassists who (chose any or all of the following):

use rounds
favor the bridge pickup
play with more than two fingers
take a solo
Play above the fifth fret
release a solo album
slap
play fast(er than the OP's level of ability) music
can read

See the pattern? It's a symptom of the electric instrument. Everyone's opinion is valid because Slash inspired more musicians than Yo-Yo Ma, and because Joe Sixpack can "serve the music" (talk about a lumberjack's mantra... translates into "I can't play that. So I'm going to disrespect it") he listens to without any real effort at becoming proficient on his instrument, it stands to reason that anything Joe Sixpack's music doesn't need isn't necessary for anyone else.

Nothing wrong with having lots of basses - I too have been gigging for many years I take 2 basses to the gig the one I want to play and one just in case it breaks (which it doesnt) I can think of nothing more annoying than guitarists swapping every 2 songs and bleating about how - its a strat song or its a gibson song... Get over it! the audience cant tell the difference and would much prefer you to play the next song and stop p~~sing about.
The moral - we as bass players should set an example and not get into swapping....
Rant over
I feel better now

The bolded.

I'd love to be in your position- earning a comfortable living wage as a musician, even tho it would mean taking into account what the audience would like to hear and exactly when they want to hear it. But as a guy who doesn't earn all his income gigging/recording, I have the luxury of using my own knowledge to decide what tone the song needs.

On second thought, the day job isn't that bad after all. Having to set aside musical taste because your next meal depends on pandering to the audience's ADD works for some, but not always for me. Not every day.

 

[Sundown1206]

I have one bass. Fender jaguar modded by me, for my needs. It's all I need. If I want something different, ill mod it some more.

 

[bassteban]

Auriaprottu, I *get* the backhanded aspect(that was all nicely worded, BTW ); what I don't get is the need to share the thought- there's plenty I personally don't like/approve of/etc, but as long as it's not genuinely harming me, no big.

 

[vin*tone]

Different different basses work better with different genres/bands. If you're someone who does an indy/pop gig one week, a funk/fusion gig the next followed by a country or a laid back jazz gig you'd do well to have a few basses that sit well in each setting.

What's hard to understand? 5 pages and it's still going? it's a pretty open and shut case IMO.

 

[crazy_bassist]

I have four, and am pretty content at staying at 4, and even that seems too much, but I have:

MiM Jazz (which I love)
EB MM Sterling
Fender Kingman
Fender Aerodyne

The Aerodyne is getting the boot for a Yamaha BB415 (5 String)

The only thing I would add is a fretless, but I don't see myself doing that at this point.

The only thing I ever see trading is my Jazz for an American, but I haven't found another jazz I fell in love with like this one. It's a FSR 60's style, so the frets are smaller and the neck is a tad chunky, but glossy and nice, so it would have to be like a 70's style vintage for me to even consider getting rid of the Mexi. Never get rid of a good thing!

 

[bassfart]

I love the way they look, feel, and sound. The more the better.

 

[depalm]

I own many basses, tons of other instruments and equipment.
I've been building a quite nice arsenal over the years.
They are good tools, helps me to express myself and are also beautiful objects.

 

[bassist4dalord]

I pretty much agree with you. I own three basses: Squier Affinity P-Bass (fretted) with D'Addario Chromes, SX SPB62-LPB P-Bass (fretless) with Fender 7250's, and a Fender BG-31 (fretted acoustic) with D'Addario Chromes.

The Squier covers 95% of my gigs, and the other two get 2.5% each. Yep, that's how it is.. The acoustic really only gets used when I don't feel like plugging in (after quiet hours in my dorm, etc..) and the fretless is just for a little variety in flavor.

Sum up: I LOVE my fretted P-Bass with Chromes. I use it for everything: (mostly) praise and worship, rock, country, swing, blues, funk, R&B, etc... Great sound!