Seriously! How do you guys manage having sooo many basses?!

[SgtHulka]

Ive said this here before, I read an article in "Bass Player" Magazine long ago,"How to spend your tax return!" it stated if youre gonna expand your collection,buy something you dont have. Dont keep getting the same thing. like if you already have 2 Pbasses, get a jazz or MM. I have over 10, but they are all different, most passive, 2 active, 1 5 strg., 1 frettless & in a variety of woods! I love to mod them so each one is distinct,electronically, no 2 are the same!
Thats how I rationalize my collection. i try playing them on a loose rotation or whatever i m into at the moment! going for different sounds & or expanding my technique. so its sometimes a challenge! But I make managing fun & interesting!

Bro - this is exactly the way I feel. Any bass player of a reasonable skill level needs different tools for different jobs.

At a minimum, most bass players should have at least 7 basses:

P with flats
P with rounds
Stingray
Jazz
Fretless
5 string
Acoustic

 

[Benjamin Earl]

I currently own these basses. I feel like I have a reason for keeping all of them. Storage is annoying, but it's not too crazy.

Ibanez US ATK 4 – This was my second bass I ever purchased, and the first decent bass I ever owned. I don't play it much because it is a 4-string. I keep it for nostalgia and because it is fairly rare.

2 Peavey US Cirrus 5 – One is my #1 and the other is my retired #1, which is so road worn that it is unreliable for gigs. It still plays the best, so I keep it around for practice and nostalgia.

Peavey Cirrus 5 made in Indonesia 2018 – This is my #2 bass, but mostly stays in the double gig bag as a backup.

Peavey US Cirrus Fretless 5 – This was the third bass I ever owned. I keep it because it is my only fretless.

Peavey Cirrus 6 made in Vietnam – my only 6-string.

Warmouth Jazz Franken Bass 5 – I traded my Sire M7 for this. It is my "Fender" sound when I need a 5-string.

Ibanez SR875 – I bought this as an experiment to see if I can replace the Peavey as my #1. I like it, but it won't replace my #1. I thought about restringing it as a piccolo, so I can have a backup.

Ibanez SR405 Piccolo – cheap bass I strung as a piccolo bass.

Squier Jazz 4 – I bought this to use for YouTube lessons. Surprisingly, I play it a lot lately.

I'm still looking for a number for the Cirrus club, who do I need to hit up for that number mang!?

 

[Todd Hamby]

I have 20+ basses. I've worked in an aluminum die cast facility for 26 years that's been good to me. I don't drive expensive cars, take lavish vacations, and for a while made decent money playing out as well.
I've found great deals over the years and I have in turn tried to give away things that sit unplayed.

 

[shoot-r]

1972, my folks bought me a used, 8 year old, Fender Jazz bass as a high-school graduation present.

2016, bought my first new bass, a Fender Jazz Bass Elite 4.

That's my two.....

 

[Tom Gallo]

I stopped selling instruments to buy other instruments. If I want to buy something and it isn't super cheap, I'll just save up for it. Or I'll simply GAS over it for a while and get over it.

 

[Doug P]

Hey ! I manage my Basses in a 7 space stand and a "tall" 3 space Herc stand. If the Grandkids come I pack them all in their cases and they go to the garage. So I find an issue of where to put my next bass ??? I'll manage I guess. Rock on !

 

[logdrum]

Because there are people out there who are better players than me that may never have to opportunity to own two, let alone thirty. Kids who want tp play but can't get a break. It's so easy to take what you have for granted and I meet people all the time who, not only don't know how lucky they are but think they deserve more. I hate the idea of being like them.

Ok - Cool . I got it.

 

[retslock]

I have five but only two get played and of those two, one gets much more playing than the other. Of the three that don't get played, two are kept for sentimental reasons and the third is a mistake I can't bring myself to burden someone else with. It'll probably be used for parts.

 

[Bikeguy57]

Because there are people out there who are better players than me that may never have to opportunity to own two, let alone thirty. Kids who want tp play but can't get a break. It's so easy to take what you have for granted and I meet people all the time who, not only don't know how lucky they are but think they deserve more. I hate the idea of being like them.

What a self righteous load of c**p. This is like saying "how can you eat a 50.00 steak when children are starving in -----". People buy/own things because they have earned them and enjoy them. YOU own more than one bass, which is unnessary for anyone. Your post is a passive aggressive criticism of anyone who has more basses than you. Over on this side of the pond, we enjoy our hobbies, which include collecting things that give us happiness.

 

[revd]

Over on this side of the pond

What's that got to do with anything, why make this a nationalist thang?

Anyway, enjoy your 'collecting'.

 

[Bikeguy57]

BTW, I only have five...In before the lock

 

[barginkov]

I don't know why anyone has to explain or justify how many basses you own . If you feel one is enough that fine .if you want 50 that's fine also . Its like shoes you only need one pair . But maybe you've got 20 pairs .do we need to explain how i manage to have so many shoes ?. Enjoy what you have and let others enjoy what they have without having to reason why

 

[Bikeguy57]

What's that got to do with anything, why make this a nationalist thang?

Anyway, enjoy your 'collecting'.

Because "thangs" are different in different countries?

 

[revd]

Because "thangs" are different in different countries?

Ah yes, wear your over-consumption with pride, y'all.

 

[Bikeguy57]

Ah yes, wear your over-consumption with pride, y'all.

A night school class in English might help...Just a thought.

 

[revd]

A night school class in English might help...Just a thought.

Dude, the irony is killing me, please stop.

 

[Stu_Bass]

I bought another one today. Makes 30 some-odd. I like basses. Basses good.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I only have 1 pair of underwear so that I can justify having 7 basses.

 

[Bikeguy57]

I only have 1 pair of underwear so that I can justify having 7 basses.

Your priorities are in order sir...carry on.

 

[wvbass]

I have 50 or so. It is a bit ridiculous, honestly, but I'm not hurting anybody. I have about six that I can realistically say are "in rotation." These days, G&L and Dingwall have most of my attention, but I have a Spector and a Warwick that I keep going back to. I also have a collection of P basses, because they are the best basses ever...

I won't pretend that I play all 50+, or even that I've seen them all recently, but each bass has a history...a personal story. I've let go of a few over the years...a StingRay that the only mark on it was where my daughter bumped it with the end of my Washburn Bantam headless when she was learning to play...the Alembic that my father and I made a trip (he very rarely travels more than a couple miles from his house unless it is a medical emergency) to purchase it after he located the bass for sale in a neighboring county...see what I mean about stories?