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

[H K]

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 !

Hehe, definitely. Ended up pulling the trigger on that Midtown right after this post. Will go pick it up this weekend!

 

[JC BASS 91]

I try to look for a sound I don't already have.

Occasionally, I might buy one simply because it suits a specific need.

On the rare occasion, I might let myself buy one just because I love how it looks.

 

[lowplaces]

Light weight, fat neck.

 

[WayneP]

No magic formula for me. I have seven basses. Three I bought because I was looking for something specific with them. The other four were impulse buys – came across it and thought it looked interesting.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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[bass12]

It really depends. The last bass I bought because I wanted something red as a backup/alternative to my main gigging bass. It’s the same model as my go-to but with a different fretboard wood and a different preamp - and it’s red. But the idea was that I would be just as comfortable on that bass as I am on my main instrument. The time before was different: I wanted the sound of a Status graphite-necked bass in a classic package (a headless S2). The bass just before that was bought out of curiosity with the hope that I would simply enjoy playing it, and the bass before that I bought something that never interested me until I picked it up and felt it draw something different out of me playing-wise from my other basses.

 

[KenSmithFan]

I look for my wife and make sure she won't be home when I bring it through the front door!

 

[srayb]

I have played a 6-string fretted for many years, then wanted a fretless, so added a fretless 6-string. Then wanted to try short scale 4-string, so got a fretted one. Then wanted a fretless short scale so now i have 4 basses, but each unique for me to justify.

If I was making money from playing, I’d probably justify having a lot more!

 

[Andybass0077]

I have 2 P-basses - one old, scabby unbranded one (actually has a hewlett packard badge on the headstock) from punk days gone by, and my 2021 MIM player P. The old one has super dead 20yr old strings and actually sounds quite unique in a thumpy way. Horrible to play in comparison to my MIM player P, which beats it in every single way and is what I gig with in my covers band.
However, we are starting to cover some songs that have quite a bit of slap on them (call me al, car wash, Never too much), and while I can slap it well enough, it is still the P-bass clank tone and does not really sound "right" Either a bit too bassy or over bright and metallic sounding (to me, anyway). We also want to cover songs like Waterfalls - TLC, which means i must detune down a 1/2 step quickly on all 4 strings, so I can play it!

So... the justification for buying a 5 string Jazz bass has created itself, and I will be soon getting a Squier CV70s 5 string Jazz bass, passive old school cool.
No way can I afford the "proper" Fender 5 string Jazz basses, they all start at crazy prices. I don't like the look of Sires, and tried out the Ibanez SR300 and Yamaha TRBX similar basses, didn't like the feel of them. The sire M2 series, didn't like the look or feel of it (I have sausage fingers). The Squier CV70s Jazz V in natural wood with black pickguard, looks sweet, plays fluidly, sounds spot-on for slap tones of the songs I play, and it has that deep low B, opening up far easier ways to play songs (Aint' nobody, waterfalls, Beck - Loser, Dance monkey etc etc). When you play a bass and it straight away feels "right", and meets your needs, then the missus surely cannot complain...?
AC

 

[Malak the Mad]

Anyway, what do you look for when adding another bass to your collection?

For me, I'd say you landed on my groove with what you said earlier in the same post...

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 try to find and/or assemble something that does not exist "in nature" or could be easily gotten off the wall of a music store. As long as it meets my ergonomic preferences...a Jazzy, offset body, a Jazz-spec'd neck with a reasonably curvy fretboard...everything else is on the table. Unfortunately, there aren't many options outside the usual J/J's and the occasional P/J, so I've had to get creative with some of my Projekts.

 

[Gervais Cote]

O

Hehe, definitely. Ended up pulling the trigger on that Midtown right after this post. Will go pick it up this weekend!

Oh, nice, will it be red ?

No matter what, just "Rock this town, rock it inside ooouuut !"

 

[Gervais Cote]

Light weight, fat neck.

(When I look at myself in the mirror, my body is kind of the opposite……………)

 

[Gervais Cote]

I look for my wife and make sure she won't be home when I bring it through the front door!

I know that feeling………….

Here is what I do to avoid being in trouble :

 

[JimmyM]

I have no idea what made me buy some of my basses, and I’ve sold a few as a result. These days, light weight FSO is my first priority.

 

[brianrost]

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

I look for at least $1000 in gig income sitting in the bank.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Something different than what I have now. I don’t quite understand owning 3 or 4 of the same exact basses.

 

[embellisher]

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.

I'm almost an Electra / Westone enthusiast lol. I have the Electra, an Electra Westone x695BK, a Westone Quantum, and a Westone Pantera 5 string, all MIJ by Matsumoku.

 

[H K]

O

Oh, nice, will it be red ?

No matter what, just "Rock this town, rock it inside ooouuut !"

Actually, it IS red! Classic cherry red Gibson.
It's the standard model, so it's got dot inlays rather than the trapeze, but its got the binding on the neck.

I'd have gone for the signature model if there was one close by, but alas. That ones got the full trapeze inlays, and a slightly different body shape.

It was between this midtown in cherry red, a sparkling burgundy Jack Casady, or a sparkling red non reverse thunderbird. I think I got the best of both of the latter with the midtown, as it's got the thudnerbird pickups, but still a hollow body

Also, it was going to be a red one no matter what. I've never actually had a red bass in my regular rotation, so its about time

 

[Pet Sounds]

I'm almost an Electra / Westone enthusiast lol. I have the Electra, an Electra Westone x695BK, a Westone Quantum, and a Westone Pantera 5 string, all MIJ by Matsumoku.

I briefly owned an Alvarez Pantera Bass, but it had some issues that the GC where I bought it couldn't fix, so I returned it for a refund. It was a classy looking instrument, imo. Those Matsumoku basses were quite nice.

 

[rtslinger]

I will look for something unique either look or finish and or electronics 1st. After that either, a brand or shape I currently do own.

 

[Bighouse]

I look for space on a a wall.