What is your primary bass? Your #1?

[FishDub]

Everyone, well I shouldn't say everyone, but a lot of us have that primary bass, or your best one, the # 1. Maybe you use it for everything, maybe it's retired full time and works part time as a studio only bass. Whatever the story please share. I'm looking for pictures, stories on the history of the instrument, and whatever else.

Well that certainly is a tough "one." I hate to complicate things but I use all 3 of mine pretty equally because every song I play requires a tone from each one respectively, but I would be comfortable taking all 3 when playing out live. I guess its a good thing? It prevents G.A.S. big time!

 

[eulogy77]

my Greg Curbow IEP

 

[Steven Ayres]

I bought my Guild B-301 new in 1975 because it was the one in the store that best fit my hands. There are factors not to like about it -- the vexing single-coil hum, the fatiguing neck dive -- but it became My Sound for the early decades of my working life. It went with me on the first big move to California, it drove my R&B band for six years in Tokyo and my blues band here in Arizona.

Steven's B-301

• Steven Ayres
• Dec 31, 2015
• guild

Steven Ayres' B-301

I removed the tone control in the early '80s, added the thumb bar in Japan, and with the finish wearing through I stripped it and polished up the mahogany after I returned to the States. I had a close friend cut new silver inlays for the headstock. After some years of looking I acquired an active B-401 six or seven years ago, and that became my primary working fretted bass. I play mostly upright and fretless now, but I'll always think of this as my #1.

 

[Nev375]

On the right my #1 Bass from hell:

Squier Jaguar body
Moses graphite fan fretted neck (35/34" scale) thin contour like a Geddy Lee
Fender ultralight tuners with hipshot drop D tuner
Badass Bridge (for fan-fret intonation purposes) and tone/sustain? ...who knows, but theres plenty.
Bartolini Pickups (passive)
Upper controll plate (added) with Tone/Tone Selector switch.
Bottom control plate vol with added inset strat jackplate
25 cent rubber washer straplocks.
Tort guard (for tone)


On the left my #1 9-String Octaved Baritone from heaven:

Warmoth Telemaster?/Jazzcaster? body
DC Kunkle Baritone neck tele heel/strat head (30" scale) fat contour
Grover guitar tuners 6/3 per side tuned [aaA ddD ggG]
GFS rail pickups (might upgrade to duncans later)
MojoTone wiring Kit
Vintage threaded 3-saddle design (intonates perfect with proper gauges)
Slightly oversized strap buttons
String-thru/bridge mount string anchoring (Pondering adding a left handed bigsby...)
Pearly white black and blue swirly guard (for mojo)

 

[Marial]

Sorry but I can't help but notice that beautiful DB in the back.

Hah, thanks! That beautiful upright bass is an $800 Palatino. I would not recommend them for several reasons, biggest being that it has a maple fingerboard making it very difficult to find anyone willing to work on it. BUT... it actually sounds pretty good and it was all I could afford. Someday I hope to get a better upright, but for the time being it hasn't fallen apart on me yet.

 

[pudgychef]

MIM 50s P in Honey Blonde

 

[Les Ismoor]

2005ish Lightwave Sabre 5 fretless. Swamp Ash body, maple neck and fingerboard. Supposedly a prototype- I need to get hold of them to find out for sure. When strung with nylons, it can get a nice DB tone. Right now she's strung with DR Stainless, and growls like crazy. Love, love love.

 

[Eilif]

My #1 is a Frankenbass. It combines my love for:
-Peavey T-40
-T-40 neck shape and P-necks in general
-the Lakland Decade and Wal body shapes
-Dark strait grained wood
-Big Shiny chrome hardware
-Dark Star pickups
-Neck position pickups

It started out life as a Peavey T-40 with a set of darkstars and then I had a local luthier make a custom body and a metal nut for it. We worked together on the design to make something with bits of Wal and Decade and some SG style diamond cuts. After I refinished the neck to satin poly, finished the body and assembled it, it was my main player for a couple years until I realized the string alignment wasn't perfect (my fault). It almost fell off the list until I brought it to my new luthier. They moved the bridge and set it up. It's now strait as an arrow, plays like butter and of course it sounds amazing.

My '79 T-40 puts up some stiff competition, but I've yet to find a bass that speaks to me sonically the way this one does.

More pics and info here:
My new T-40/Wal/Decade'ish Frankenbass

 

[T-MOST]

I bounce back and forth between my carvin SB 5000 and Carvin vanquish 5. They are both so sweet I couldn't pick just one!

 

[JJR58]

They're running neck and neck right now, no pun intended.

 

[Benny the Finger]

My number one would be my 2012 American Select P with flats.

Other than headstock..this is a ringer for my Ibby

 

[Nephilymbass]

Everyone, well I shouldn't say everyone, but a lot of us have that primary bass, or your best one, the # 1. Maybe you use it for everything, maybe it's retired full time and works part time as a studio only bass. Whatever the story please share. I'm looking for pictures, stories on the history of the instrument, and whatever else.

Ernie ball musicman Stingray 5H

 

[odarellmc]

Purchased here from a fellow TB'er Lakland P 5..I love this bass...

 

[Jamvan]

My no. 1 is my Squier VM Fret(Ted) Jazz bass. Started as a VM fretless, replaced the pickups (Super 55s), bridge (Babicz FCH-4), pots (CTS), knobs (classic Fender black), added a pickguard, thumbrest, strap locks (Dunlop dual locking), replaced the fretless neck (VM maple/rosewood w/blocks) strung with d'addario nickels. Oh sure, I stray, but I always come back (and always get compliments on the tone).

 

[CRich0205]

1993 Warwick Thumb BO5 ovangkol body and wenge/wenge neck. My dream bass since I was a kid and got it this year.

 

[Morris2103]

At the moment it is my ibanez sr600.

 

[jamzcl]

2010 Fender American Standard Jazz

 

[totallywink]

My MIJ Geddy with recently added pickups from an American Standard jazz - totally digging it

 

[IPA]

My #1 is a Frankenbass. It combines my love for:
-Peavey T-40
-T-40 neck shape and P-necks in general
-the Lakland Decade and Wal body shapes
-Dark strait grained wood
-Big Shiny chrome hardware
-Dark Star pickups
-Neck position pickups

It started out life as a Peavey T-40 with a set of darkstars and then I had a local luthier make a custom body and a metal nut for it. We worked together on the design to make something with bits of Wal and Decade and some SG style diamond cuts. After I refinished the neck to satin poly, finished the body and assembled it, it was my main player for a couple years until I realized the string alignment wasn't perfect (my fault). It almost fell off the list until I brought it to my new luthier. They moved the bridge and set it up. It's now strait as an arrow, plays like butter and of course it sounds amazing.

My '79 T-40 puts up some stiff competition, but I've yet to find a bass that speaks to me sonically the way this one does.

More pics and info here:
My new T-40/Wal/Decade'ish Frankenbass

I like this a lot. Nice work!

 

[davidjbass]

My 1986 Spector NS2!