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What do you look for when adding another bass to your collection?

#41
Ummm.....I look for a bass that has a feature I need. I recently needed a fiver, so I got one.

Musicians (certainly guitar players and also bass players to a slightly lesser degree) seem to be constantly chasing tone. Thousands of dollars are spent. The grass looks greener "over there" I guess. But I think experience and tone-chasing are inversely correlated. The longer you've been at it, the more stable your gear inventory becomes.
 
#42
I played one Fender Precision for around 20 years, with no desire for a different bass. Around 2016, life circumstances gave me the opportunity to track down and afford several more instruments. A fool and his money, right? I ended up with 7 instruments that I hardly even look at, and 3 that I actually bonded with and use. Lesson learned, albeit a little late in the game. Then last year I had an arm surgery that drove me towards short scale basses, and guess what? I couldn't really play ANY of my basses anymore as they are all standard scale or longer. I sold some gear and ordered a short scale Serek, and that's all I really play anymore. Currently in the process of re-homing the extraneous basses to players I know locally, and while a long process, it's enjoyable because I'm passing them on to people I know and see perform regularly. So, to your question, what do I look for when adding a new instrument? I take a hard look at my financial situation, my current and possible-future gigging situation, and spend a long time thinking very hard about whether an addition would be worthwhile at all. A new instrument would have to offer something new, and something different than what I already have. But beyond that, do I really, really need it, or would I be falling back into the "collection" mode? Honestly the only thing I'm interested in at this point is a second short scale, but I've been biding my time, researching, and really forcing myself to wait for just the right one to come along. And even then it would be a luxury.
 
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#43
H K said:
Hmm.. I've got 22 in my collection right now. It used to be -alot- more. Do I need 22? Absolutely not. But some are players, some are investments, and some are just art.

I don't think you necessarily have to think that it should sound VASTLY different. It's more about what role it fills. For example, I wouldnt play a semi acoustic in a metal band. Now, that role could be defined by something as simple as looks. Looks SHOULDNT matter, but it definitely does. It's part of the band image.
Other roles could be one thats more comfortable for long sets, one that has more bite, a silly one for a certain song, a extra long/short/extra frets for certain songs. One you can keep in a certain tuning, etc.

Tbh there are as many reasons to buy a bass as there are basses.

But going back to sound, I think pretty much everyone who plays a music semi/professionally can agree that TO THEM, each one sounds different. Wether it be keys, different dimension drums, mouth pieces for horns, or basses for us bassists. It doesnt necessarily sound different to the audience, but thats another thing alltogether.

I have certain basses for certain songs/bands/tunings etc, which, IMO, all contribute in their own way to the vibe/completeness of each song/band.
But this is just me.

Anyway, I am a firm believer that all bass players above intermediate level should have atleast 1 precision, 1 jazz, and a hollowbody/semi acoustic. Preferably 2 of each; 1 with flats and 1 with rounds.
And thats before even getting into stuff like pickup placements on the hollow, scale, and all the other factors I mentioned.

All that being said, I do have 1 go-to bass that will fit most situations. That's a jazz. That's the one I will always bring to rehearsals etc, atleast the first few times. For live settings, I will bring atleast 1 more, either for the reasons stated above, or just as a backup, incase something happens.


Hope that helps :)
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If I may ask,

I own a few precision and jazz basses but no hollow body or semi acoustic bass. I play exclusively rock, folk, blues and a bit of smooth jazz but I don’t do any rockabilly so what is your usage for the hollow body ?
 
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#44
Gervais Cote said:
If I may ask,

I own a few precision and jazz basses but no hollow body or semi acoustic bass. I play exclusively rock, folk, blues and a bit of smooth jazz but I don't do any rockabilly so what is your usage for the hollow body ?
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Glad you asked! I always try to keep one in my arsenal for exactly those genres. For example the Casady, which adds huge low end and "hollow" tones, is used alot in rock.
Right now I am actually without one, but I'm negotiating a price on a gibson midtown standard. I'll slap flats on it, adding to the "upright"/"hollow" sound, and use it specifically for more thumpy blues and a few jazz tunes, specifically some amy winehouse songs, among a few others.
I might even get a piezo put in, but I'm not sure yet.

Basically trying to imitate the upright sound but with a slightly more modern feel. Like, alot of typical "upright" bass lines like in folk, old blues and jazz, just dont feel the same to me on a jazz or P. Allthough the P with flats can get very close sound wise.

Ofcourse some will argue that it's all electric pickups anyway, so it doesnt matter, but I beg to differ:p
 
#45
Generally it's either (a) to fit a need I have that my current basses don't fill, or (b) something with a different tone/sound that I don't have in my arsenal.

Most recent example was my purchase of a Reverend Mercalli 5. I was playing a 5-er more and more in my cover band, but was also becoming tired of the 35" scale and 9.6lb weight of the one I had. I needed a 34", 5-string workhorse that was sub-9lbs, not fancy or crazy expensive, but still a solid, fine-playing instrument. The Rev fit the bill and has been my No.1 gigging bass for a year now. That was a need I had.

In terms of different sounds or tones, that reasoning explains my fretless, my jazz, and my A/E.
 
#46
Don't listen to me. I am a failure in this area.

I want 1 or 2 basses, max. At this point I have 5. Yes, 5.
  • P with rounds
  • P with flats (really does sound different)
  • MM 'Ray fretted
  • MM 'Ray fretless
  • J
For me each has to do something that the others don't. And that something needs to be significant enough to justify the financial and storage costs associated with adding something else.

One problem is with five basses is none of them get much use. I should probably sell some but every time I start down that path I just can't let go.

Like I said, I'm a failure in this area :sorry:
 
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#49
Just Wrong said:
The second bass from the left, is it an Ibanez (bunch of numbers I don't understand)? How do you like it? It's gorgeous!
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An Ibanez EHB1506MS.
I love it.
It let's Me play chords above the twelfth fret with a friendly,non stressed
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hand angle
 
#50
embellisher said:
Something different. I'm currently looking at a 60's Hofner knockoff, because I don't have a bass with that vibe.

Another I would like to get is a Gibson RD Artist, which is very different from any of my other basses.

I like variety!

View attachment 7197615
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My first bass as a grown-up was an Electra Phoenix Bass that looked exactly like the one at far left, first row. I sometimes think of getting another one for nostalgia's sake.
 
#51
Pet Sounds said:
My first bass as a grown-up was an Electra Phoenix Bass that looked exactly like the one at far left, first row. I sometimes think of getting another one for nostalgia's sake.
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A few more pics. I bought this one at a local shop in an after Christmas blowout about 15 years ago for $69. The black tapewound LaBella strings it had on it cost that by themselves lol.

And I hear you about nostalgia's sake. I have 3 basses that I bought because I owned one on my younger days, and there are a couple of more I'm thinking about.

4 bangers.jpg


Electra full.jpg


Electra body.jpg
 
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#52
Just Wrong said:
I've always been the kind of person who only owns one bass at a time. Whenever I've had two—which happens has always been a passive four-string Fender Jazz with a passive four-string Fender Precision—one would stay in its case and I would sell it a less than six months later (always the Precision).

I want a second bass now, and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm getting, but it made me wonder: What do I look for when adding another bass to my collection?

In my case, I know I want something that sounds somewhat vastly different than what I have right now. But do I want something that feels the same? I have a six-string active short scale with a smaller string spacing. Do I want another six-string short scale with a smaller string spacing with different pickups, preamp, woods and strings? Or would that still be too similar for me?

I think that that was possibly the issue for me with having a Jazz and Precision. While they did sound different, they were somewhat similar in almost all other aspects (scale length, number of strings, passive electronics, string spacing, woods). I suppose there might be some truth that vastly different basses don't just sound different but also make you play differently. Did I feel like having a Jazz and a Precision was redundant because they made me play similarly? ... or maybe I just don't like Precisions.

On the other hand, some people have more than one of the same bass...

Anyway, what do you look for when adding another bass to your collection?
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Something different
 
#54
embellisher said:
A few more pics. I bought this one at a local shop in an after Christmas blowout about 15 years ago for $69. The black tapewound LaBella strings it had on it cost that by themselves lol.

And I hear you about nostalgia's sake. I have 3 basses that I bought because I owned one on my younger days, and there are a couple of more I'm thinking about.

View attachment 7198050

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Yep, this is a lot like mine, although I don't remember there being a bridge cover on mine. I got mine in the late '80s at a pawn shop for about $200, iirc. A few years later, I sold it to a gal I worked with, who could only afford to pay me $25 a week, so it took a few months to pay me in full, but I let her have the bass as she was paying. She left the company, but I learned that she later developed MS. I hope she was able to enjoy the bass. The Electra Phoenix was good for me, even though I owned it only a couple of years. I played some of my first shows on bass and learned a lot with it.
 
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#56
For years I only had one bass. Then during Covid I got the GAS, because it seemed like a lot of people were selling off. It was a buyers market. The music stores weren't open, but I could buy through FB and do a porch pickup. I picked up some good deals: Jack Casady, Allen Woody, Mustang Player, Gretsch G2220, and some amps and cabs. I mean I got some great deals. Now I have eight basses, two 2x10 cabs, and three amps. I buy stuff that interests me. I have three FSO, four Epiphones, and a Hofner. When I buy a bass, it has to please me aesthetically, tonally, short scale, and it has to be a good deal.
Edit: Correction: I have nine basses. But two re for sale.
 
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#57
I look for the next opening in Cliff Bordwell's build queue. I have a jazz, a PJ, a bass with a pair of Nordstrand dual coils, one with Turner multicolor and an underhill filter preamp, an fretless with Big Rigs and a piezo bridge, and hopefully one coming in the future with Dagstar pickups. I had the pickups built last year. I was up next in the queue. But got laid off In November.
 

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#59
H K said:
Glad you asked! I always try to keep one in my arsenal for exactly those genres. For example the Casady, which adds huge low end and "hollow" tones, is used alot in rock.
Right now I am actually without one, but I'm negotiating a price on a gibson midtown standard. I'll slap flats on it, adding to the "upright"/"hollow" sound, and use it specifically for more thumpy blues and a few jazz tunes, specifically some amy winehouse songs, among a few others.
I might even get a piezo put in, but I'm not sure yet.

Basically trying to imitate the upright sound but with a slightly more modern feel. Like, alot of typical "upright" bass lines like in folk, old blues and jazz, just dont feel the same to me on a jazz or P. Allthough the P with flats can get very close sound wise.

Ofcourse some will argue that it's all electric pickups anyway, so it doesnt matter, but I beg to differ:p
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Your idea to put some flats on a hollow body to mimic the double bass makes sense. Much easier to fit in a Toyota Corolla as well !
 
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