What is your main bass and why?

[roffe]

My main bass is a 1987 Warwick Streamer Stage 2. It’s easy to play, I love the neck size and shape, and it’s very comfortable. It has the famous Warwick growl that cuts through anything if you want, but it’s very versatile and can do much more than that too.

 

[QweziRider]

What is your number 1 and why?

Whichever color strikes me that day.

Seriously. I like them all.

 

[Gigas444]

Even if I love them all, I have to say: Dingwall NG3 6 strings, it seems it's a tailor made instrument just for me

 

[Julian G]

I have six basses but gravitate towards my Fender P '76 more than anything. My Fender J and Musicman Sterling get a look in every now and then but the Fender PJ gathers dust and the two Sire V7 basses barely get a look in though I keep the 4 string detuned for when i want to chug along to some GNR or Stevie Wonder and the 5 string older model actually has the best slap sound of all of them but then these days I'm not a slapper!

 

[Pocket Dave]

Another vote for no vote.

One of the things I love about having different basses is the ability to choose the right tool for the gig.

Friday I'll use a fretless Jazz for the first set before switching to a fretted J for the more high-energy 2nd & 3rd sets - when some fret clang might come in handy.

Saturday, different band/setlist where my MIM Player P - with new Lollar split pickup - should be a good fit. I too like that bass with nickel rounds - 50-105 - though I'm curious how it would sound with flats/Chromes.

 

[gtirard]

Acynonix because it sounds great, plays easy, it is lightweight and it looks cool

 

[gricko]

tobias growler
3,2kg

 

[Polfuste]

My #1 is the Markbass Kimandu, loaded with bartolini classics pickups. The more comfortable, balanced, resonant bass i ever had. Playability is over the top, perfect fretwork with thin frets. I dig her design and color. The Markbass preamp is killer: active EQ + passive tonality on the overall sound, with 2 volumes like a jazzbass. Really easy to set up and use. And the Bart color i dig and have on all my other basses.

 

[MtManiac]

My Fender Dark Night/maple American Pro II Precision V with DR Nickel Lo-Riders is currently getting me pretty much everything I need tonally in the band I’m in. I have a black/maple Pro I that isn’t, so I’ve ordered some Nordstrand NP5F’s to see if they can help it out some. mostly playing 5’s these days, so my #2 is a Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas PJ V. No idea what strings it has, but it does some heavy lifting - love the reverse split coil.

Of my 4-strings, my favourite is a 2014 American Standard with Rosewood and the CS62 pickups with Chromes, it also sounds and feels great.

I also own a few that are *not* P basses, and I also love/like them, but the P’s tend to give me the tone with the most versatility for our cover band. I can’t get the “Footloose” tone out of them, but they do the job in a different way that I like. The Charvel however can do just about anything.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

Mr. Michael Dolan made my dream a reality!

 

[brocco]

I have a bunch but if I had live with one my USA Sterling 4HH would be the ONE.

 

[John Sparkman]

After years of buying, selling, and trading off Fender and Ibanez basses, one each ESP LTD-50, a Peavey fretless, and a Warwick fretless, I am settled in with just the one bass guitar.

My 1981 Lotus L760 bass.

Neck-thru design, and weighs just 8 lbs, 14 ounces.
Standard 34” scale.

I keep flat-wounds on it, and it just feels/sound right.

(The Epiphone Thunderbird bass on the lower right is long gone now.)

 

[John Sparkman]

More pics of the Lotus.

She's the same age as my daughter, 42 years old.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Yamaha BBP34, but any good quality passive P-bass would do. The BB just happens to be the best P-bass I've ever played (I only use the P-pickup on the BB).

Why?

The P-bass tone is a tried and tested tone that always works. It may not always be the BEST tone for a specific song (I've got other basses I use a lot for recording) but a P-bass always works. Engineers know THAT tone which means everything will proceed smoothly with no surprises, which is especially important when playing gigs where there might be limited time for a soundcheck.

I also love the simplicity of passive electronics. I want a main instrument can be repaired in MINUTES, with a minimum number of readily available components, anywhere in the world. This is not an option if the preamp fails in an active bass. I also love the response of a passive tone control. No active bass I've tried can roll off the highs smoothly like passive tone control. It's nearly impossible to dial in a poor tone with a passive tone control.

The fact that a P-bass is hum-cancelling by design is also a bonus. One less thing to worry about.

If I can only bring ONE bass it's ALWAYS a P-bass. Roundwounds for playing live. Rounds or flats for recording, depending on the type of music.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Ric 4003s is probably the one I reach for the most. The neck is great and works for me very well.
The tone is almost piano like, if that makes any sense.

 

[HMZ]

If the house was burning and I could only grab one it would be my Fender American Standard 2016 P bass.

 

[Formula73]

 

[SteveHeissner]

The late great Lemmy was once asked that question. His reply: "I don't limit me self to one woman. Why would I limit me self to one bass guitar?"

 

[Bassdirty]

Well, I am a fan of Ibanez SR 5s, as they have the necks, weight, & string spacing I've always preferred.

So, here is my current #1 (since I got it a couple months ago). You may have seen me post it in other threads, but hey, that's what pic threads are for, right?

T$

 

[BoogieZK]

My Ritter Roya 6 became my "It can do all" bass.

This bass can do everything from growly Pbass to MM sound and even Warwick Thumb/Modulus turbo tone (Ryan Martini for example).

I only modded the pickup selectors to have the Serie/Parallel/Single choice.
I have tuned it from Drop A to regular C and it works killer.

Not that i want to promote Ritter because it became a parody of himself but He had made great great basses.

Still if you want to fall into the boutique bass world i recommend to check local luthier, try basses and not go for the highest price.
Plus, knowing what you want and what you don't want in an instrument is key.
I have tried many basses before knowing exactly what i want from Squier to fodera.
I know sound is not in the wood but i prefer all Maple basses with mostly double Humbuckers.
19mm bridge spacing.

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