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Retiring your #1?

#21
This year I'm definitely planning on semi-retiring my #1. I plan to keep it purely for home/studio use and in a "metal" tuning for whenever the urge strikes me to play that kind of music. I eventually want to transition it to being a display piece since it has a sick paint job. It's done with gigging and the road. I've toured up and down the US east coast with it, and though it still looks amazing, I was always on eggshells about it getting battered. I've tried retiring it in the past, but it doesn't want to retire because it's the bass I've gotten the most compliments on my tone for as well as its looks.

I plan to bring that baby to the afterlife with me. It has a story and it's like... there are aspects about this bass that aren't ideal for me, but it's a great instrument that I love to death.

So, yeah, I get the sentiments in this thread since I'm right there with a lot of you.
 
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#22
GeneralElectric said:
For most of my 20 year bass playing career I've been playing an early Fender 57RI bass. Its the bass from which all other basses are judged and has seen hundreds of shows, jam sessions, and studio time. Pretty much every musical milestone I've had was with this in my hands. Over time I've had all the electronics replaced multiple times. I think this is the second or third bridge this has had. Currently sporting EMG Geezer Butlers and a Hipshot brass A bridge.

I think it might be time to retire the bass I've affectionately called "the Wife" as I move away from playing P-basses and more into active/modern territory. In August I acquired a new Stingray Special HH. The modern playability, range of tones, and piano like clarity. The volume knob only changing volume. This bass has it all!

But this isn't my first Stingray or my first active bass. Usually when I get something new, I'll play with it for awhile and then go back to my P-bass. I've had a regular 4H ray for a couple of years now and have had it modded with aguilar electronics and converted to 18V for when a P-bass didn't have the articulation or depth I wanted.

The new Stingray Special has not just smitten me, but every group I play with. I've never had anyone ever tell me I needed to play a Fender but I've had folks tell me to not use whatever it is that I was using. So now the Ray is #1. Do I try and keep the old P in rotation or does she get a well earned retirement where she lives in the closet?
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I’ve been playing PBs almost exclusively for almost 45 years now. I have never had anyone suggest another instrument, (or telling me to put flats on them). Being honest, it’s not the only useful bass sound on the planet. I love the sound of MM basses, and I’m also fond of my Warwick Corvette 5 string when I need a 5 string bass.

Is it time to retire your PB? I would say no. I don’t quite understand the either or paradigm. Heck we got TBers here with 30 or more bases. You shouldn’t be retiring it, you should be buying more.
 
#24
Pilgrim said:
I've had a 1963 P since 1967. It's not my #1.

I don't have a #1. I have numbers 1-12. A couple of them need new switches or other twiddling, so perhaps I have #1-9 or so.

And I play what moves me whenever I need a bass.
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I think this is the way to go.

All basses have different qualities (sonic, ergonomic & aesthetic). I find that some basses are easier to play than other because for various reasons. I find that practicing on the ones that are more challenging to play (neck profile, scale etc) helps me play better on the ones that have those that are easier to play. It’s like playing on different axes helps keep me on my toes…
 
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#25
I have five basses that have all been my number 1 many times. Sometimes I will play one bass almost exclusively for many months and then I get the itch to play one of my others and suddenly, I want to play that bass all the time and it is the new number one. Each bass brings out something different from me and the music. It helps keep things fresh and I don't feel the need to buy any more basses as all five of mine are better basses than I am as a player.
 
#26
For about the past 8 years, the bass I did the vast majority of gigs with has been my three-pickup Warmoth jazz (the bass in my avatar, until I decide to change my avatar). But that era is coming to a close. It's a great sounding bass, but it's a heavy pig. At the moment, it's at Lull's Guitar Works getting a tune-up, and I have been playing my Maruszczyk Frog. Sometime this year, I'll be getting an Adamovic Soul bass and a Rickenbacker-inspired custom bass (both currently being built). The Warmoth likely has seen the end of its steady gigging days.
 
#27
To me, basses are tools - artistic tools, to be more exact. While there are probably painters that use the same brush their entire career, my bet is those folks are few and far between.

I see nothing wrong with having a favorite brush, or a bunch of brushes. I’m not that attached to any of my basses, as I seem to be able to make basses I really like consistently at this point. Whatever works for you, go with it; no need to second guess your strategy.
 
#28
I have 2 #1s. Each has it's own bands/gigs. But I could switch them and still do the job well. So they're #1 from that view too. If I get a bass that I can't make into #1 material, I sell/swap it. A good player should be played, not retired....a good practice/workout bass could be a 3rd #1.
 
#33
Funny.. my #1 isn't the one I play the most. It's not the one I gig with, not the one I go to practice with, it's not even the most expensive. It's just the one I'll never part with. It is on the rack with the rest.. drop tuned.. and I still pick it up to play about 1 in every 4 times I am running through my usual exercises. Still makes me smile.
Point is: I say keep it out and in rotation. I play it more often because it's there.. if it was in its custom case in the closet, I know I'd play it a lot less.
 
#35
This was my number one for 30 years

jeff-snow.jpg


Then in the last 20 years several basses have been my number one

it sometimes varies day by day


12-bassesb.jpg
 

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#37
two fingers said:
Take whatever bass is most appropriate for the gig. Don't worry about which one is "#1".
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This is almost exactly right. If you consider that the one you will enjoy the most on any given day is a big factor in making it “most appropriate,” then it is exactly right.

I try not to have a number one, but I do always have one that is my go-to. With the exception of my most recent show, I almost always play a different bass each set. Usually that means I play two basses each show. My go-to fills one spot, and the next spot stays in rotation.
 
#38
Just retired my #1 of 25+ years...a '76 Jazz. Just too dang heavy for old shoulders and long nights. I'll still play it, of course, but her gigging days are probably over. 11+ pounds is a wee bit too much. Replaced her with a P-Bass that weighs in around 8 3/4. Much easier to gig with.
 
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#39
From about 1972 to 1992, I played a '70 Fender P-bass and loved it. Eventually, I became interested in the modern sound and interesting look of the Steinberger XL2 composite basses. In 1992, I had a chance to buy one of those at a smokin' deal and switched to playing it. Later, I had a friend who wanted a bass, so I sold him the P-bass, then in about 2009, I discovered the value of the XL2 had gone through the roof, so I retired it--not worth draggin' something that valuable around. Those were the only two basses I owned from 1972 to 2009. Since then, I've owned a dozen others, most of which I love and some that I still own, but none occupy the place in my heart that those two do. And I still own the XL2, though it never gets played except occasionally in the studio.
 
#40
I’ve been playing a ’62 Fender VI since ’75 and loved it. Epic sessions and great memories!

So as not to drag my 60 yr old vintage bass out to play, I found an Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette Bass VI here on TB a while ago… and the world has changed: vintage old-school to modern is a whole new ball of wax (love the new bass).
 

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