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

[TrevorG]

Okay, so my take on it is this. I love playing bass but always see it as a potential money maker as well as an obsession. For it to make a profit I feel what I pay out should always be in reach of what I could earn. If the bucks came in (from playing bass) I would re-invest appropriately. Hence a small but disparate collection of basses. My combo is small but VERY loud to suit all occasions and my pedal board is small but covers a wide range of sound. I'm good to go for the least money. Though none of my basses or pedals are cheap and are all are good quality and I am happy to gig them anywhere. The rest is about me as a player. I prefer to be intimate with my instruments - really getting to understand what I can get out of them. I just don't feel I would have the time to achieve that if I had to spread my attention between thirty basses nor could I can make a profit against an outlay that competes with my car.

 

[GretschWretch]

We're like crazy cat ladies..., but with basses.

And basses won't pee on our amps.

 

[juancaminos]

I had 13 but downsized to 11. Still have three to sell but I'm not trying that hard. I was to be a one bass guy for about ten years, then two for the next five then a third and fourth held me for a while. But I built...or put together a parts bass thanks to TB. Then another and another and...it became a bit of a fun addiction. I don't like messing with my first basses. But these parts basses give me an opportunity to try different things. Now I have a collection of pick ups and pre-amps not to mention different necks, pick guards, etc. I'm hooked!

 

[Danny O Danny]

When I was young and broke I dreamed of someday living in a house filled with instruments, with guitars and basses hanging from the walls, etc. Now I'm old and not so broke, I can do that. For me it's playable art, and it brings me joy. I can reach out and grab something and play it. Though, out of deference to my wife's aesthetic tastes--which are different from my own--I limit my "art" to certain rooms.

 

[coyote1]

I own four basses, and there's one more in my house (a Jazz that belongs to the bassist- now guitarist - in my band). Most I ever had in the house was six (he also had his upright here for some years).

They all do different things. They have different sounds, and different playing configurations.

Aside from a pair of Stratocasters from back when I was playing local clubs and needed a backup, none of my instruments duplicate others. They all do different things.

 

[dave64o]

I currently have six, although I've been trying for quite a while to find a buyer for one that I just don't play so I consider my official count to be five.

They all sound different and enable me to either decide which will fit a particular situation best and also to simply enjoy a different tone when I want to. I'd honestly have a tough time deciding to downsize to an even smaller number of basses simply because it's fun for me to have the options. However, all I need as a bassist is one bass and I could be perfectly content with just my Stingray 5HH if things came to that.

 

[fishdreams]

My 2 Martin Keiths get played all the time, my goto basses for everything. Next is the Abass with flatwounds, supersmooth bass. Then there's a Geddy Lee (a really good sounding one that i got with a great discount) and a Danelectro Longhorn that my wife gave me that I play every once in a while. That makes....5? Then there's a pile of parts that would make a bass or 2 if I'd get around to it.

 

[MMiller28]

I have five, and I usually switch every 20 minutes or so when I'm practicing.

 

[Ostie]

I have five, and I feel like that is just too many.

I have 6 and that seems like a perfect number. Come to think of it, 6 is a perfect number. 1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6. Perfect!

 

[DougBass]

I have over 25. It's too many. I'm old enough that I played gigs starting in the 90s. We actually made good money around here playing in bars. I took all of that money and I bought gear. I enjoy my instruments and amps. I use them to play on friends recording, or I lend them to friends to make albums. My daughter plays some, my son messes around with them, but he's a drummer and I play with him.

If the kids need an instrument, I sell something to buy it. It has worked as a nice savings account that brings me joy to use.

 

[avi]

Just good at sneaking them in the door I guess!

 

[HeavyJazz]

A robust bass collection (and playing them regularly) is much healthier than movie binging, chasing internet politics or doing meth so I say... It is good.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I have 6 and that seems like a perfect number. Come to think of it, 6 is a perfect number. 1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6. Perfect!

Mmm, gotta disagree.

 

[Samatza]

I often think of thinning the herd but after 45 years I look at them and they remind me of good times past. They are my musical history.

Now I know I'll have to part with a few eventually but it won't be until I stop playing.

For a few years I was buying fretted/ fretless pairs for a tour that we've been doing annually for over 30 years. The artist we work with used to look at my corner and say "well, that's new". He loved the "new" look and sound that fitted the songs that he would write every year, and for the retro stuff out comes the P Bass. The audience got a kick out of it too.

So it takes a bit of maintenance and a good schedule and it's not difficult but it is rewarding when I pick one up and those memories come flooding back of great gigs and good times and working with awesome people.

 

[non]

i have 5. i could easily get rid of two.

 

[jd56hawk]

Okay so "no" I don't equate basses to children and spend equal time and love on both my twin girls. By "appreciate" I do mean focus on playing them and as a semi-pro I want to keep my skills up or even improve. For that I actually only need one bass but past gigs have stretched from bands to theatre shows(on stage) and recordings and what I have covers all bases(pun intended). Pandemic aside, I don't see the practicality in having more than you will have time to concentrate on or duplicating an instrument a number of times when they do the same job.

Well, you're far luckier than I am.
I have seven basses and no kids, but twin girls sounds like a win win to me.
I like spending money on basses, but there's nothing better than spending money on kids, and with girls, it can be toys and clothes!

 

[jdwinva]

I have three and that feels like one too many! I can see having a 4-string, a 5-string and possibly a specialty bass (acoustic, fretless, modern).

 

[MarMar]

I have one with a single coil pickup, one with P style pickups, and one with J style pickups. Each bass sounds a little different from the others.

 

[Isaiah Angel]

I've got four. JUST four; a fretless four string(34" scale), an acoustic fretless five(35"), a fretted four(34") and a fretted five(35'). I've spent the last year practicing like a maniac on the newest and just picked up the others today to remember they're all fabulous instruments. I feel really guilty and ungrateful. I see some of you guys with scores of basses and just don't understand how you can appreciate them all. How do you do it?!

I would really like to know who makes a 35" acoustic 5 string fretless bass. A while back I spent a good portion of my waking hours trying to find that exact combination of features.

 

[wyleeboxer]

One bass per band, and a couple bands have a backup, otherwise a bass usually sits in the closet and eventually gets sold unless it has sentimental value