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What benefit does owning multiple basses give you?

#61
HunterBurgan4Me said:
I just wondered what people's reasoning is for owning multiple basses? Is it for dramatically different sounds, a back up for gigs?
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Frankly, it never occurred to me that some players would actually prefer to own only one bass - given the option to own more than one. :hmm:

Just as there are some players who can discern - and appreciate - the distinction between different combinations of woods & other materials, between different types & qualities of electronic components, and between different types of construction methods - as well as those who cannot - so it follows that some players can appreciate the value of owning & playing several different instruments - as well as those who cannot. :hmm:

I personally own several bass guitars, each one of which has been built & configured for a specific style/genre of music, or a specific range of styles/genres. That's not to say that I couldn't use any one of them for any playing situation - merely that each one has been optimized for a particular purpose, for which it is suited best.

MM
 
#62
I have 6 hand-picked Fender Jazz Basses and recently
bought a Sadowsky Will Lee. It appears my search
for the perfect bass with the perfect sound(s) has ended.

The Sadowsky is all I play lately, yet I hate to get rid of my
Fenders because I love each one for what it is.

So . . . do I NEED more than one bass . . . . NO

Is it nice to have several? . . . . . . . YES

Why? I dunno! It's just nice !

Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

:cool::hiding::cool:
 
#63
Baird6869 said:
Totally agree.

I would go as far to state that NOT bringing 2 basses to a gig is unprofessional.

There are exceptions to this rule (open jams, long flights with checked baggage, etc.), but $h!t does happen at gigs and basses malfunction.
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I have brought one Precision to my gigs for the last 15 years I've been playing and never had a malfunction. I must be TERRIBLY unprofessional.
 
#64
It's just a kick for all the reasons stated by my fellow TBers. I like the diversity, the chance to get different tones and a different playing experience, and it's like having your own private guitar store. But I'm in the process of weeding my collection: probably putting a Fender Jag bass and a CV 50s up for sale. They require a lot of maintenance, everything from changing strings to dealing with bad electronics. I'm at a point where I want just a few great instruments (weeding out my six strings, too).
 
#68
bolophonic said:
I have brought one Precision to my gigs for the last 15 years I've been playing and never had a malfunction. I must be TERRIBLY unprofessional.
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Not at all, but the first time you find yourself with a bass failure that you can fix on the spot, even if it's only once after a trillion shows... you will wish you had another bass, and You will remember the experience forever :D
 
#70
I have three bass guitars and one upright. They are all completely different: Gibson EB-2d, Fender Precision, Epiphone T'Bird Pro IV fretless, Christopher 3/4 upright. They are absolutely, completely different from each other. Sure, I could get along with just the EB-2 or the P, but why would I want to?
 
#71
I have a Fretless for ahh Fretless stuff

Flats on a ray for blues and some classic rock

Rounds on 2 jazzes and a modded p for straight up rock

An 8string for kicks

An active raven west for modern stuff.

PLUS 2 parts per basses for projects.

And a piece of c**people honer that I defretted but needs a bunch of work that I have not done yet.

Also a tobias Toby for bead tuning

I have no 5vers but that is why I have an office divider :)
 
#73
Everyday I love to play my Fender Precision Bass, so he is always at home, and goes out for gigs, ... at the rehearsal room i have a -no brand- but pretty cool sound passive musicman stingray copy i got recently, so i dont have to go home every friday and saturday after work for the Fender Precision Bass ... and also i have a 2008 active steinberger synapse wich is a very different animal and i dont have the need to let it go... if i only could keep one, would be the fender.
 
#74
Options, my friend.

My Jazz does things my Highway One Precision won't do. My Highway One P with rounds does things my American Precision with tape wounds doesn't do. My tape wound P does things my Jaguar won't do. My Jag does things my Acoustic Bass won't do.... on and on, you get the point.

They all respond a little different, have a different voice and output, and have different strong aspects. When I'm writing ideas, I'll often play all of them and see where they take me.
 
#75
Variety of tone. Different tuning settings. Plus, part of my personality/nature is to collect things. Since I was young, I've collected one thing or another...

-As a child, it was the 3 1/4" G.I. Joes. By the time I stopped, I had collected more than 100 figures.

-A little older, I began listening to music. The main medium at that time was cassette tapes. Those were wonderful devices that would allow you to hear your favorite songs... And then chew up the tape just before it got to the good part. Hehe Fast Forwarding and Rewinding became a skillset where you knew approximately how many seconds of Ffwd/Rew time = minutes of music. Then came the mastery of creating the ultimate mixed tapes and managing to fit them on each side of a cassette without the tape running out. (By the time CDs came about, I had a little over 500 cassettes.)

-After listening to music, I wanted to learn how to play. I'll call this Instrument Collection, Phase One. During this time, I ended up with 8 guitars/basses & my Ampeg rig. Most of which I still own today, but many are still at my parents' place.

-Years later, I bought a DVD player & began collecting movies (DVDs/Blu-rays). At present, I'm almost have 1,800 titles in my collection, and counting.

-During 2010, I dediced I wanted to play music again, so Instrument Collection, Phase Two began (and present) collection. In addition to the instruments I that either had shipped to me or still at my parents, I began buying new gear resulting in 9 additional new/used instruments from 2010 to now.
 
#76
Depends on the person I suppose. For me, I have a fretted and fretless. For most of my gigs, I could use one or the other and be fine. I like the variety of tone and technique. Nothing wrong with having a couple nice basses hanging around.
 
#77
There's a reason amps get "modeled" digitally and basses don't...

Borrow a different bass and/or go ape$hit at your local haus-o-bass and find out! If you are a one bass man, great! And what better instrument?

But if you are an active bass amp knob twiddler then you are a searcher. Search on, beyond the realm of amps and strings. Discover the joy if hitting the string just below the neck. Then discover the joy of hitting that spot on, say, an Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat...
 
#79
I prefer to own as few instruments as possible, but make sure they are spectacular. As others have stated, depends on your situation. Right now I gig with five different bands:

- jazz standards
- Steely Dan tribute band
- jazz/funk/soul/pop "sparse lineup"
- live band karaoke, 60's - current rock/pop
- instrumental jazzish rockish rearranged cover stuff

Can't really cover that with just a P-bass. I've arranged tunes for 5-string E-C, as well as 24-fret 4-string. I want to have a Rob Allen fretless to sub for an upright on some of the jazz stuff. That's 3 different basses right there. Oh, and some bandleaders want a more "traditional" look - add bass #4.

If you're not gigging or only playing one style of music, you can likely live with just one bass. But I always bring a backup to a gig so my minimum would be two.
 
#80
atomicdog said:
It's just a kick for all the reasons stated by my fellow TBers. I like the diversity, the chance to get different tones and a different playing experience, and it's like having your own private guitar store. But I'm in the process of weeding my collection: probably putting a Fender Jag bass and a CV 50s up for sale. They require a lot of maintenance, everything from changing strings to dealing with bad electronics. I'm at a point where I want just a few great instruments (weeding out my six strings, too).
Click to expand...
I been there too:
Same instruments, same issues, (more or less) same time

Cheers,
Wallace
 

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