What is your primary bass? Your #1?

[cnltb]

Current #1:

Got it because I'd always wanted to try a one-piece carbon fiber five-string bass, and it delivers.

Unbelievably comfortable to play on stage all night, and the tone is so clear and even.

How heavy is it?
I have been interested in trying this for some time!

 

[Eilif]

I like this a lot. Nice work!

Thanks, it was a while coming together, and given my skills, I'm probably lucky it works as well as it does, but I do love her!
I showed it to Dan Lakin once and he commented that it was almost like the prototype they made for the Lakland Decade. When I made her I had major gas for a Decade, but I didn't have anywhere near the scratch to afford a Decade with a P-width neck (would have had to be USA made). I've got around $750 in her and half of that was just the pups.

 

[MikeOnBass73]

My primary basses are a 6 String Ibanez BTB 1606E and a 6 String Ibanez BTB 1406E customized fretless, both with modified Bartolini US pickups and electronics. Photos are uploaded of my gig rig including my upright and Markbass stack.

 

[DaveAceofBass]

Mine are tied for #1...it depends on the sound I want. Sadowksy NYC 5-24 Modern with roundwounds and custom Kinal PJ5 with flatwounds and John East preamp...both with Nordstrand pickups. They are both #1. I have some other basses I love, including my #2 which is another custom Kinal with Kent Armstrong J/MM pickups, and my "specialty basses" which is a Hamer 2Tek CruiseBass fretless, a Lakland short scale hollowbody, and a custom Linc Luthier Impression 5-string bass. Then there are my upright basses...my #1 is a Kolstein Guarneri, #2 is a 1930s King Mortone, and #3 is a custom Knutson Messenger EUB.

 

[mongo2]

I don't have a #1 per se, but I frequently return to my early '60s Silvertone/Dano Dolphin nose and late '50s Kay Truetone.

 

[mikeluch]

My Lakland 4-94 Deluxe.
I have some decent basses, but this is always #1

 

[Bass Mayhem]

For a long period of years it was this one:

My old J'78 with a lot of mileage. It broke my back and my heart with its 16+ lbs weight...

Some years - after my back surgery - these were my number ones, in different ways:

Fretless Corvette, Matt Pulcinella Level 6, NS CR4M and the primary bass at that time the Thumb "Dirty Blonde"...

For some years this has been my meat and potato-bass:

Lakland 55-94 Deluxe...

This year I moved om to this beauty:

A really nice Dingwall Voodoo Prima; my band mates don't allow me to use another bass now...

 

[woodyng2]

My '04 Rickenbacker Laredo Custom,far and away my favorite bass I've ever owned.

 

[Bluzeman90]

My wife and I were in Memphis at the Gibson factory for a tour. We went into the gift shop and and asked me, "whoa, what kind of bass is that!? It's sexy". I told her, "that's a sunburst thunderbird, my favorite bass since I was a kid. I'd play it for you, but it's left handed.

The salesman heard me and said he had a right handed one in back. He brings it out, opens up the case and in this beautiful white case interior is a blue Gibson Thunderbird. I played it and was instantly in love, but couldn't afford it. Then my wife turns around and says, "alright, that's ours now" and bought it on the spot. It was amazing and the bass was actually supposed to be pelham blue but the paint was mixed incorrectly, resulting in a one off from the factory.

 

[packhowitzer]

ns design cr5. it brings the thunder like no other bass I've played. I'd like to get a fretless as well, just gotta save up.

 

[packhowitzer]

The "monster under your bed" reference is too tedious to explain, but this is my bandleader's answer:
View attachment 761906

*you're

 

[G On Bass]

My Number 1 is a binary system. One of these 2 Wilkins PJ5 goes to every gig, and most of the time both do (one has flats, one has nickels):

 

[Bigbri]

nice to know the look's got a bit of heritage! hands down the best jazz i've ever held in my hands. it needs a setup because it's got some buzzes but even with that it slays every other bass i've ever played except for one. this one would be what i would take if i couldn't have my jazz:

she's a lot more beat up now but that thing is sitting on my lap as i type this. when put through overdrive it sounds like a Wal.

The first real bass I wanted was a Warwick Thumb bass. I'm surprised how much that looks like a spector. I guess there's enough differences not to violate copyrights. I was really surprised when I saw the pic of your Squier. I bet you wondered why they would put 2 different pickups on it. That was a really good buy and I would keep it. From what I remember the prototypes had 3 knobs as well and when they went to market in 60 Leo decided on the concentric knobs only to go back to 3 in 61. A tone for each pickup wasn't really necessary and they were clumsy to use quickly on stage. I'm going to try to dig out my picks of the prototype I guarentee you will look at your squier differently.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Woody, that bass looks great in a formal setting.

 

[JMacBass65]

View attachment 762255

Wow - that shows what surfing TB @ stupid hours of the morning will do for you. I meant to add some info about the bass but fell asleep before I did.

So - this was my second bass ever - the first being a P Bass Elite II in sienna burst. The p was cool, it was my first, but I was definitely "sold" by the guy at Washington Music Center. I went in thinking I'd buy a Jazz (Led Zeppelin & John Paul Jones and all that....), but he sold me on the versatility and discounted price of the elite (they were blowing them out).

Anyway, fast forward two years into my playing "career", 1987, and I walk into a shop with my then guitar player. He was picking up a guitar he had on hold. I walk to the back of the shop and this jazz was in the used section. I picked it up, played it unplugged while he completed his transaction, I walked up and bought it on the spot. Everything about it was just....."right".

$400 for a used 1983 Vintage Jazz Bass 62 Re-issue. Years later I learned that it was a "Fullerton", having bought and later sold a couple of Corona era 62RIs in the years that followed, I never knew what made this one special, just knew that it was. So while many basses have come and gone, this one has been with me for 28 years. After 27 years I finally modded it to VVT, and I never liked the stack knobs much, but was reluctant to tinker with it until last year. Glad I did.

I spent a lot of time in the early 90's playing my Rick live, and a few other things that passed through my hands. But this was always my "go to" for recording and practicing. Ultimately everything went out the door but this and the Rick, and I recently acquired a fretless 78 P, but this one, in the end, is me - looks, ergonomics, and tone - it's just me.

 

[BartmanPDX]

How heavy is it?
I have been interested in trying this for some time!

I haven't actually weighed it, but I'd say it's between 7-8 lbs. Not crazy light like a Rob Allen, but not stupid heavy like my '88 Steiny XL-2. It's very comfortable to play on the four-hour gigs we usually play.

They are really hard to find and I just had to take the plunge when I had the opportunity to get one used at a decent price. I figured I'd flip it if it wasn't what I'd hoped, but it became my #1 pretty much right away. Fantastic stage bass if you don't mind the aesthetics.

 

[BassmanM]

At the end of the day, when all is said and done and I could have only one? My 97 MIJ Fender P.

 

[Bigbri]

Stingraaaay! Stingray! Da-da-daa-da-daa-da! My beloved Stingray 4HH.

I had saved up for a year to buy my first high-end bass, then went into a local music shop completely open minded. I tried all sorts - an am. standard precision, an am. deluxe jazz, a gibson rd bass, an Ibanezr sr1600, a Gretsch short-scale hollowbody... the list goes on! While I say I went in open minded, I thought I'd come away with the jazz. But when I sat down with it, I was a bit disappointed; it looked, played and felt amazing but the sound was a bit anticlimactic. The guy was running out of ideas so put a stingray in my hands, a 2 band 4H. I'd never even heard of one before, but when I started playing it stirred something deep down, it was an eye opening moment.

I needed some time to process everything and think over all the basses, and it just so happened I was going to the London Bass Guitar Show a couple of weeks later. It was a long way - train down to London then 2 underground trains to get to the exhibition centre. To my dad's annoyance I had insisted we get down there early, and we were third in the queue to get in. When we got in I was looking at a second stand and this thing stood off the wall, I pointed it out to my Dad (he hadn't noticed it ). I played it for a solid 5/10 mins and really liked it, but the deciding moment was when somebody walked up to me and checked the price on the tag. I couldn't let this guy have it, it had to be mine! The show price was £1350, my dad negotiated it to £1100 including a gig bag and hard case. Not bad for a brand new £1900 instrument

It's like it was meant to be. I tried a few basses after I'd bought that one, but by then the show was so busy I couldn't really hear the bass. It was just lucky that I''d got in early enough that I could clearly hear the stingray when I was playing. It's a keeper for life, I would sell one of my kidneys before this thing. I feel like HH 'rays don't get the attention they deserve, they are incredibly versatile basses! I can get a jazz sound with the outer coils of each pickup, and the neck pickup is surprisingly precision-like.

I'm looking for a vintage Sabre, I don't know why people limit themselves to 1 pickup on the stingray.

 

[Bigbri]

One of my favourite basses of all time you have there. Love the colour of your bass, too. Hipshot bridges are a good improvement on a Ric.

from what I hear, any bridge is an improvement on the rick.

 

[zackthompson]

My Fodera Emporer Std. Special 5. I can take to any gig.