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

[bikeplate]

Most I had at once was 16 about 20 years. Ideally, 3-5 is best for me. 6 presently. Id have 300 if i could afford it and have a place for them all

 

[TrevorG]

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.

Washburn AB35. My wife bought it for my fortieth. Once I'd sorted the truss rod out it was a dream. Quite loud. Good preamp. Lovely tone. Pretty sure it's discontinued. Not small though and a lot of neck dive.

 

[TonyP-]

Define many...

 

[TrevorG]

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.

that's beautiful.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

They're inanimate objects. They don't care if I pick them up or have some magical level of gratitude for each of them. They're tools, and as such, get used when they are the right tool for the job. Some are better than others and get used more often. Some aren't really worth enough to bother doing anything else with. Some have sentimental value far greater than their monetary worth or usefulness.

Et cetera.

 

[TrevorG]

Define many...

After reading all these responses I've decided 6 it'sa good limit.

 

[80jazz]

I'm pushing 10 right now. I love having the variety. I'll play a different bass every day of the week, sometimes play multiple basses when I'm farting around with recording so I can get some different sounds. About the only thing I don't love about having so many basses that I play mostly concurrently is string change time. It costs me way too much money in strings lol.

As a guy with 16 plus 3 projects, this nails it.

I like the variety, but strings chew up time and money.

 

[CallMeAl]

Got 3 basses, and one is a "rarely played" acoustic. If it weren't for the practicality of a backup, I'd probably rock my P on its own.

Recently, we've been interested in diversifying the instrument collection for the family band studio. We already had 2 trumpets, 2 ukes, an acoustic guitar and just bought a keyboard last month. For Xmas, we've got a kids guitar, electric guitar, pocket trumpet and a cajon coming in.

Some may wonder how i manage so many different instruments. (Sometimes I wonder myself!) but it's not like I'm trying to be a pro bass player. It's for fun, and that's what I do with them all- have fun! Frankly, I think switching instruments keeps my mind sharp, makes me a better bass player and all-around musician.

 

[bolophonic]

I just counted and I have eleven. Three of them are beaters stashed away in closets at relatives houses or in my shop. Two are partially disassembled or in need of a total refurb. The rest get played pretty frequently. I try to play all of my "real" basses at least once a day.

I have been giving some of my basses away to my band mates over the past year, just to lighten the load and to show my friends how much I love them. I have a really nice parts bass sitting in pieces in my shop that I want to put together to give to my friend who helped record some of my original tunes last year.

 

[BAG]

After reading all these responses I've decided 6 it'sa good limit.

I have 6 and sometimes think that's too many.... but I just can't bring myself to part with any as they are all very different.

• Warmoth necked Franken Pbass. That classic P sound. My #1 for over 5 years.
• Ibanez SR1200 for that modern tone and effortless playing... currently my most played bass and new #1 (for the time being at least)
  
• Warmoth necked Franken Fretless Jazz.... you gotta have a fretless don't you?
• LTD FB208 double course 8-string..... for the power trio stuff.
• My butchered travel bass..... unbolt the neck and it fits in a medium checked travel bag.
• Squier Jag Short Scale.... my first electric bass. I could easily live without this one, and it has actually appreciated in price, but I don't need the money and it really is a very well built and sounding instrument that is now discontinued.

 

[bassicmike]

2.

And one of them is in storage.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

And basses won't pee on our amps.

So far, mine have only puked on them, which is bad enough.

 

[WillyW]

I only have 3 fretted basses...

 

[cecoulter5]

It is a lot of fun and a hassle at the same time having a lot of basses. I think it depends on the type of music we play/variety of styles/work and musical needs that determine the amount of basses.
I have the following because each bass serves a specific function:

1. German upright bass (For jazz work and occasional classical music)
2. NS Electric Upright (what I use more often for jazz gig and for traveling, too difficult to travel with a real upright).Very easy to put it in the back sea of a small car....
3. A Fretless bass guitar (love that sound)
4. A Status Graphite 5 String (Great bass for everything and I love the graphite neck for outdoor/cold weather gigs)
5. A status Energy bass (with a wood neck, for that more traditional tone). Works for everything.
6. A Jazz type bass with Bartolini jazz pickups (because I need that classic "Jazz Bass sound" for some things).
7. A YAMAHA TRB 5 (Which I currently keep at a friend's house in Argentina) I go down there 2-3 times a year to teach and play at the jazz festival. Got tired of playing airline fees for excess baggage and traveling stressed out that my bass will get damaged, so I keep it there for now.

I would love to have just 1 or 2 basses but I have 7 and each one has specific purpose!!!!
It is hard to keep the action the same on all the basses and have to log all the string changes on a WORD file.

 

[Iristone]

Had five, sold one, now have four (may sell another or two and buy another or two in the foreseeable future). One short scale with flats, two long scales with rounds (one bolt-on active, one neck-through passive), and one long-scale 5-string.

 

[Iristone]

Oh, I think my personal income is somewhere between the national and city average. Family income is around city average, maybe a bit more. Thus only two of my basses are over $1000 (both happens to be Gibson, no bashings please )

 

[Doctor Morbius]

As a newb and also a no-talent bum, I only need 1 bass and a small practice amp. But like other people, I like to surround myself with the things I enjoy - good friends, family, cold beer!, good food, road bikes, stereo equipment, cats, basses, guitars, etc. These things/people are "associated" with activities that I enjoy. They also help to give my life meaning and purpose. **

People who are into gardening usually plant more stuff than people who aren't. I haven't planted so much as a tomato, tree or "shrubbery" in maybe 10 years, but I have a neighbor who can't wait until Spring when he can get out his tiller and work the soil so he can plant a YUGE garden. And he ends up giving most of the veggies/peppers away! That's just how it goes.

In the fair weather months of 2019 I rode my road bikes 3,000 miles. Most people would say that's nuts, but I enjoyed every minute of it ... except for the saddle sores.

** When I'm on my death bed, I probably won't be saying, "Damn, I should have done more housework!" My goal is to enjoy what's left of my life so having an extra bass or three isn't going to do a lot of harm.

 

[HardNHeavy]

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 hear ya.....got 4 and 1 in the oven (refin), all fenders too....i understand what your saying...Tho i wouldn't mind just one boutique bass from a different manufacturer/builder and maybe sell off one of these..Deciding which one is the issue when they all play and look good, you develop that lil bond with each one..I dunno how anyone does it with multiple basses 7 or more. tho if the gigging days come back full swing i would keep them all on playing rotation i spose.

 

[shadven]

I'd like to get down to two or three. But, what goes? The 1952 P, the '54 P, the '63 P, or the 1968 Telecaster Bass or maybe the '69 Telecaster Bass? Possibly the Gibson Thunderbird, '67 Starfire, '73 Jazz Bass or the 4003? I only have about a dozen basses, but almost all are unique and could be my number one. It would be difficult to let many of them go knowing that I probably could never find another one. That don't make any more '52 P-basses anymore.

 

[ModuMan]

A room with a bunch of shelves that I store the cases in. A 7-space rack where I keep the ones in current rotation.

That's... pretty much it.

Or was this a place to say how fewer is better? Because I definitely am in the "more is more" camp.