What do Ur basses say about U?

[iwearpumas]

They say that I prefer the finer things in life.

 

[Rib 13]

Hmm you tell me, imaginative or lost my way? I have a Dimension Standard, G&L SB2, Stingray, Fretless L2000 and this...View attachment 3393417

i have one of those in black....with the tiny OHSC

 

[twinjet]

Considering I have worked a G&L for 2+ years, I guess it says that I like the sound of MFD humbucking pickups in an alder body with a rosewood/maple fretboard & neck, strung with DR PURE BLUES and a Saddle-Lock bridge.

 

[LowRick]

Hey Bass players,

First thread i start, ever. And i’m starting it here…

Don’t know if U guys have ever wondered about this specific thing - it’s probably not essential to Ur bass-playing skills or Ur career as a musician - but i’ve been asking myself if the basses we choose reflect in any way who we are inside.

Let me explain: U know how sometimes a person’s personality is reflected by how tidy their room is, or how they drive. For instance, a person who’s insecure might constantly be correcting their trajectory & drive too slowly for example, nervously checking all available mirrors every other second. Geniuses are usually imagined next to a messy blackboard full of white chalk undecypherable scriptures… See where i’m going?

I have this friend who is a FANTASTIC bass player & his playing style & gear reflect, IMO, his personality. His clothes are the right size, his shaving is always perfectly executed, his car is classy, his flat is always well kept & presents no useless items that might get in the way.

His gear? (Keep in mind that i’m no gear-geek so i’m not sure about the names & references i give, but i’m pretty close) Well, it’s the same: three basses (Corvette $$ 4str, Yamaha TRB1005 or superior, and an MTD 636 Walnut or similar - so one four-strings, one five-strings & one six-strings, not a hoarder, just the essentials for his style of playing), a Moog, a Markbass 2x15 (that’s actually the piece of equipment i’m the least sure of) with an amp head (don’t know the brand, & an Ampeg combo for smaller rehearsals.

His playing style? Like his apartment, clean, nothing useless in the way, functional, everything where it’s supposed to be, when it’s supposed to be there.

There’s probably a correlation between the colours people wear & their introspective or outgoing nature, a link between the type & colour of car U drive & Ur character. We’re all humans, we have instincts & behaviours in common, & there are so many of us that eventually, we end up falling under a category or stereotype of people.

MY CASE:

i’m in my thirties, have tattoos everywhere, even used to have a man-bun with the sides & back of my head shaven. To people who i walk past on the streets, i probably belong to the hipster category. i don’t consider myself one, i don’t know what makes a hipster a hipster & i don’t hang out with them, so i assume i’m not one of them. Bassistically, i currently own a TMB30 (short scale, P/J configuration, passive, black nylon strings on, Mint Green finish…), a Cort C6 Plus ZBMH (six strings, active 9V, with factory default strings but want to change, Tobacco Burst Open Pores finish), a Harley Benton BZ-6000 (six strings, active 18V, neck through, Natural High Gloss finish, would like to try flats strings on it - anybody knows anything about the Ibanez IEBS6C by the way???) & a Vintage V74MRPJ (fretless, passive, 4 strings, Jazz bass, road worn finish « à la Jaco »). i only own one combo, a Warwick Blue Cab 15.1, a RC-20XL Looper & GT-1B multi-FX pedal.

Before i got to that particular collection (which still doesn’t satisfy me, but i’m on a very, VERY tight budget), i’ve bought a sold about 15 basses. i almost wrote « i’ve tried everything » but it wouldn’t be true. i’ve never owned any of those metal specific models, the TMB is my firs short scale & green bass ever, never owned expensive instruments… i’m more of a natural satin or mat finish kind of guy too… FYI: i love Soul, Neo-Soul, Jazz & the more sophisticated type of Pop.

I think that that alone is symptomatic of a few things: that i constantly question myself, that i’m searching for something artistically but also as a person. The constant GASsing over gear is also probably symptomatic of a quest for happiness & achieving a better level of musicianship (yeah, i know there is no direct correlation between the quality of Ur playing & the instrument, see Adam Neely’s « Does Gear Matter? » video?).

So here’s my question: What do U feel Ur basses & Ur playing style say about U? Do U think there are correlations?

By the way - and i will end here this lengthy post - my real-life collection is limited by budget, but don’t let money be a parameter to Ur answers: GASsing over instruments U can’t afford is also part of who U are & might also reveal something about who U are!

Thanks for reading through, looking forward to reading Ur opinions & testimonials on this!

Lot of text there... Maybe add a few pics next time for the likes of me ;P

Anyway, in my case, not entirely. I bought the best I could afford at the time and stuck to it. I think my (huge)GAS list might say more about me... But it remains a mix of what I like to play (funky stuff) and the type of bands I'm in (old blues and church band) which decide what I buy.

 

[Greg Waldon]

My basses might say that I am a cheapskate.
I say I don’t buy a bass if I don’t think I am getting the best price possible..

 

[Pauly 4001]

That I have a soft spot for the abused and neglected of this world and that I'm a couple steps behind the northwest serial bass killer:

 

[interp]

An Ur bass is the very first bass, the one from which all other basses descend. It's like an Ur-text of a document: the oldest known version.

Good one!

 

[DJ Bebop]

Old and uncertain :Ol ...

 

[Jazz Ad]

They say I'm peculiar with unconventional tastes. All my basses are custom one of a kind luthier instruments with radical choices in design.

 

[GravyGoodness]

My Bass says I'm poor, but my amp says I got a great deal.

 

[Medicine Man]

My purple Modulus says I like movies, and long walks on the beach. I'm looking for an honest, long term relationship with a bass, and I don't care if she's "extra long scale" or built all the way back in 1991. I'm looking for a bass that's classy, but doesn't mind getting slapped around a little and put away dirty.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

They confirm that green is my favorite color! hahahaha

 

[2F/2F]

I guess my basses say that I approach bass in a very simple, solid way. They are all pretty much classic style basses, and I'm not much in to modding them. They're reliable, solidly built, and simple.

 

[mikeoso]

Anyone who has an Ur bass, it probably says they're really really fracking old.

 

[Billoney]

I like the vintage look, but not Fender. Musically I am a traditionalist who yearns for a return to the thrilling days of yesteryear. I prefer doing covers over creating originals. My favorite musics are pre-metal.

 

[chadds]

I told them if they spoke about me to any press or even on the condition of anonymity that they would be on Craigslist before you can say, “free to a good home.”

All I do for them, care and feeding, they know better than to cross me. All the hugging and dedicated maintenance. Reaching into their cavities to change their batteries. Replacing those G-strings. The travel. The taking them to clubs before they were eighteen. Having me just stand there while the audience just stands and claps for their performance. I mean for them to turn on me like ungrateful miscreants would be the height of lows.

 

[dukey donkey]

what does mine say about me?

 

[armybass]

They would say that I’m not the person I pretend to be on Facebook. :/

 

[Jimbowhit7]

I told them if they spoke about me to any press or even on the condition of anonymity that they would be on Craigslist before you can say, “free to a good home.”

All I do for them, care and feeding, they know better than to cross me. All the hugging and dedicated maintenance. Reaching into their cavities to change their batteries. Replacing those G-strings. The travel. The taking them to clubs before they were eighteen. Having me just stand there while the audience just stands and claps for their performance. I mean for them to turn on me like ungrateful miscreants would be the height of lows.

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FBI, OPEN UP

 

[mbell75]

Mine say that I’m cheap