I buy basses because I love them, simple as that. It's my only hobby and I have a very nice collection which grows every year.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What made you decide to upgrade?
- Thread starter Roosevelt
- Start date
My first bass was a Yamaha RBX775. For some that could have been considered a mid level bass.
Personally, I came to the instrument already having a musical background, so my parents didn't mind getting me something nice. However, I never really cared for that bass even though I loved playing.
I was fortunate that I was in a position where my dad could and would match me dollar for dollar to upgrade to a better bass, and I ended up getting a MusicMan StingRay. Truth be told, the only reasons why I went with the Ray were due to it being more expensive, it looking nicer, and my friend already owning one. I couldn't hear or feel a difference because I was still only a year into playing the instrument.
Over time I began to pick up the differences. I saved more money, bought yet another bass (a Marcus Miller Jazz), and slowly I got into my flipping and trading obsession. This allowed me to try a large number of instruments and figure out what I really like.
Oddly enough, after nearly 13 years of playing I now once again own a StingRay and a Fender Jazz (albeit an AmStd now), and I feel no need to upgrade. I kinda want to give a Ric 4003s a go but that I'll just buy outright since I now have the funds to do so without trading or saving.
Personally, I came to the instrument already having a musical background, so my parents didn't mind getting me something nice. However, I never really cared for that bass even though I loved playing.
I was fortunate that I was in a position where my dad could and would match me dollar for dollar to upgrade to a better bass, and I ended up getting a MusicMan StingRay. Truth be told, the only reasons why I went with the Ray were due to it being more expensive, it looking nicer, and my friend already owning one. I couldn't hear or feel a difference because I was still only a year into playing the instrument.
Over time I began to pick up the differences. I saved more money, bought yet another bass (a Marcus Miller Jazz), and slowly I got into my flipping and trading obsession. This allowed me to try a large number of instruments and figure out what I really like.
Oddly enough, after nearly 13 years of playing I now once again own a StingRay and a Fender Jazz (albeit an AmStd now), and I feel no need to upgrade. I kinda want to give a Ric 4003s a go but that I'll just buy outright since I now have the funds to do so without trading or saving.
In the beginning it was simply because my personal basses sucked, so I needed something better.
But for the last 15 years or so it has been more of a journey. I haven't always upgraded. I have made a lot of lateral moves. I just love to try out basses! I have owned modern actives and classics passives. And I actually liked the majority of them.
I learned over those years what I want in a bass. Hopefully @MarkoYYZ will be sending me a Hammersmith 5 any day now with the culmination of all of my "research" baked into one bass.
But for the last 15 years or so it has been more of a journey. I haven't always upgraded. I have made a lot of lateral moves. I just love to try out basses! I have owned modern actives and classics passives. And I actually liked the majority of them.
I learned over those years what I want in a bass. Hopefully @MarkoYYZ will be sending me a Hammersmith 5 any day now with the culmination of all of my "research" baked into one bass.
I upgraded once, from an beaten Epiphone 5120e short scale hollowbody to, 10 years later, a MIJ Fender Jazz Special.
The JBS fretless wasn't an upgrade, just something different. The Martin AEB was different. The Jag Deluxe was different. The Starcaster, Jack Casady, FGN jazz were just different. My Drakes were objects of love and desire.
The JBS fretless wasn't an upgrade, just something different. The Martin AEB was different. The Jag Deluxe was different. The Starcaster, Jack Casady, FGN jazz were just different. My Drakes were objects of love and desire.
madbass6
Inactive
- Jan 13, 2009
- 2,428
- 1,295
- Disclosures
- I do not give consent to use any of my photos ! please respect that. thank you.
When upgrading there's a few things to consider .
.Tone
.playability
.comfort
and at your age I would also consider the weight! ( not implying your an old fart
to answer your question all of the above is what made me decide to upgrade.
Now here's a few tips.
Out of all your Basses pick your favorite one and use as a guide for your upgrade! bring it with you for comparison to what you're considering upgrading too! What ever you do Dont do that very common mistake SO many do of ordering it online before trying it out!
also don't rely on word of mouth for an upgrade as what worked for others doesn't mean it will work for you!
On another note:
if your favorite bass is the best bass ever for you !
but just lacks sustain, tone, etc.
You may also consider just upgrading it!
Upgrading the Bridge & nutt usually produces more sustain!
Pick ups ? Depending on your preference ( better warmth / brighter etc.)
Preamp ? Better control of your tone! Happy upgrading! good luck.
When I was much younger and poorer I spent a lot of time in music stores playing all kinds of basses through all kinds of amps. I noticed how much better most of them were than what I was using. Better sound, better playability, etc.
Once I had some good pro-level gear I lost all interest in low-end gear like Squier, Epiphone, Crate, etc.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Amps - after almost two decades, I realized it was no longer reasonable to cart around a 150 pound rig
Bass - I played the same Fender parts bass for about 15 years. I was getting into Motown, and wanted to get a nice P. My bass was also over 11 pounds.
Go play some basses, and see if moving up is worth it to you. If you do so, you probably want to keep the Cort - it's your fist, and you won't get much. But figure which of the others is your favorite and keep that, and sell the others. That gives you a backup, and will help fund the purchase. That is more than enough instruments.
Bass - I played the same Fender parts bass for about 15 years. I was getting into Motown, and wanted to get a nice P. My bass was also over 11 pounds.
Go play some basses, and see if moving up is worth it to you. If you do so, you probably want to keep the Cort - it's your fist, and you won't get much. But figure which of the others is your favorite and keep that, and sell the others. That gives you a backup, and will help fund the purchase. That is more than enough instruments.
For me it was playing a solid, american made bass at the music store. It felt so much better than the one I was playing that I saved up and bought it. I was in high school at the time. I have only purchased three basses in the last twenty years but they were all american made. 1200-2000 range.
Last edited:
I've never consciously upgraded or downgraded.
I just found a bass that spoke to me and what I was doing at the time. Took me from a Cort to a Lakland to another Lakland to a mexican Fender. Added a custom fretless P and another Lakland.
Once you hit a certain pricepoint (and more accurately, know what you like and what you want) it's all about the individual bass, not "upgrading".
I just found a bass that spoke to me and what I was doing at the time. Took me from a Cort to a Lakland to another Lakland to a mexican Fender. Added a custom fretless P and another Lakland.
Once you hit a certain pricepoint (and more accurately, know what you like and what you want) it's all about the individual bass, not "upgrading".
For me it was all about better playability and tone. Any upgrading I do now is for those reasons.
In amps and cabs, I feel as though I made a lateral move tone wise, ditching something heavy and bulk that I really liked the sound of in favor of something compact that I also liked the sound of. The portability was the upgrade here.
In effects, etc... I'm still just warming up from the ice age with these and it's kinda trial and error, but only about what I like in a tone.
In amps and cabs, I feel as though I made a lateral move tone wise, ditching something heavy and bulk that I really liked the sound of in favor of something compact that I also liked the sound of. The portability was the upgrade here.
In effects, etc... I'm still just warming up from the ice age with these and it's kinda trial and error, but only about what I like in a tone.
For me, they aren't upgrades... just "another one."
When I was a kid I saw an ad for the Fender Roscoe Beck V in a 1996 copy of Bass Player. I wanted it, so I bought one.
This other time, my drummer had a 1999 Spector Euro that he wanted to sell. I wanted it, so I bought it.
This other time, I wanted one of those Fender Jaco Tribute basses, so I bought one.
This other time, my buddy offered me a Ken Smith Black Tiger 6. I wanted it, so I bought it.
This other time, I was on a forum called "TalkBass" and saw all these people talking about Sire basses, so I bought one.
Etc. (I have a closet full of basses).
These are all very different instruments, though, so I don't consider any of them and upgrade over the other. The Smith bass is 10x the price of the Sire, but when I want to play a 4-string fretted J-bass... I reach for the Sire.
When I was a kid I saw an ad for the Fender Roscoe Beck V in a 1996 copy of Bass Player. I wanted it, so I bought one.
This other time, my drummer had a 1999 Spector Euro that he wanted to sell. I wanted it, so I bought it.
This other time, I wanted one of those Fender Jaco Tribute basses, so I bought one.
This other time, my buddy offered me a Ken Smith Black Tiger 6. I wanted it, so I bought it.
This other time, I was on a forum called "TalkBass" and saw all these people talking about Sire basses, so I bought one.
Etc. (I have a closet full of basses).
These are all very different instruments, though, so I don't consider any of them and upgrade over the other. The Smith bass is 10x the price of the Sire, but when I want to play a 4-string fretted J-bass... I reach for the Sire.
My first bass was a Yamaha BB 200. Next was a Samick (I forget the model) because I really wanted to try a 5-string. A few years later I bought an Epiphone El Capitan as most of the gigs I was doing at the time were acoustic. It sounded so much better than the Samick, plugged and unplugged, so I sold that and just used the Epiphone for everything, even the occasional metal gig. Had it for nearly 20 years, but a wrist injury a couple years ago meant I needed something easier on the joints and the fingers. So I retired it and, after a lot of research and consideration, I bought my current bass: an Ibanez AGB205.
So yeah, I'm one of those rare one-bass-at-a-time guys. Only ever upgrade when I have a particular need. I sound like me, whatever I'm playing. I am quite fussy about strings though.
So yeah, I'm one of those rare one-bass-at-a-time guys. Only ever upgrade when I have a particular need. I sound like me, whatever I'm playing. I am quite fussy about strings though.
Last edited:
For me it's curiosity as well. My wife and I have an understanding. She knows my bass obsession and lovingly understands, so we have an understood 2-bass rule. I can keep a main bass and I can keep a backup bass as well. That being said, I am also a man of practical tastes rather than exquisite tastes so I never go overboard when looking for a new bass. My main bass (Ibanez SR805) has been with me for years and she's still awesome. My backup basses have been a revolving door for the past decade. I'll buy one, keep it in mint condition for as long as possible and then sell it to fund a new backup bass. I just sold another Ibanez which funded a Sire V7 Ash 5 (which should be here Friday).
As mentioned before, GAS is never ending but I've put forth a system to allow me to cure occasional flare-ups.
As mentioned before, GAS is never ending but I've put forth a system to allow me to cure occasional flare-ups.
Well, for me the bass I learned to play on was a Lyon P (for POS). Coming from guitar, the 34" scale and jumbo frets were a little tough getting used to, but the main problem was that apparently there was a shortage of both wire and solder at the factory that day. Wasn't a spare inch of wire inside it, all the slack put together, and the tiny little dabs of solder looked more like what you'd see done on PCB's than on pickups, pots and output jacks. Honed my soldering skills with my old man's early 60's ginormous pistol grip 110V soldering iron (don't know the watts, but when you plugged it in the lights dimmed) and rosin core plumbing solder.
Eventually there was so much jury rigged under the hood that I'd fix one thing only to have something else come loose. Tried to splice in some house current wire (stripped from some Romex), and realized that it was too thick and I had very little sound. Tore that out (almost literally), and used some spare phone wire from when they got new phones and computers at my dad's office, and that worked much better.
Eventually the guy whose bass it was took it back to the shop he bought it from with a sandwich baggie of some electronic parts, the pickguard (screws were stripped from taking it off so many times, wasn't that I over tightened them, they just weren't long enough), strings hanging loose from the bridge set it on the counter and asked "How much will you give me for this?"
Thought we should have at least put it back together, cosmetically, get a better deal. But the guy didn't blink an eye, said "Oh we can give you 75% of retail. (can't remember the exact figure but it wasn't a lot, but then again the bass couldn't have cost more than about a hundred or so)
For a while I still had nightmares about that bass. We'd have a gig, I'd go to get my next real bass only to open the case and see that old P(OS) sitting there all apart. The guy I was borrowing it from would hand me my dad's old soldering outfit and tell me I had 5 minutes to get it playing as we were supposed to be on.
Eventually there was so much jury rigged under the hood that I'd fix one thing only to have something else come loose. Tried to splice in some house current wire (stripped from some Romex), and realized that it was too thick and I had very little sound. Tore that out (almost literally), and used some spare phone wire from when they got new phones and computers at my dad's office, and that worked much better.
Eventually the guy whose bass it was took it back to the shop he bought it from with a sandwich baggie of some electronic parts, the pickguard (screws were stripped from taking it off so many times, wasn't that I over tightened them, they just weren't long enough), strings hanging loose from the bridge set it on the counter and asked "How much will you give me for this?"
Thought we should have at least put it back together, cosmetically, get a better deal. But the guy didn't blink an eye, said "Oh we can give you 75% of retail. (can't remember the exact figure but it wasn't a lot, but then again the bass couldn't have cost more than about a hundred or so)
For a while I still had nightmares about that bass. We'd have a gig, I'd go to get my next real bass only to open the case and see that old P(OS) sitting there all apart. The guy I was borrowing it from would hand me my dad's old soldering outfit and tell me I had 5 minutes to get it playing as we were supposed to be on.
I started with a rubbish P copy, I steadily upgraded either when I had the money to afford something better, or when the need arose for something else different to what I had. I've also downgraded, usually through neccessity. Each time the replacement was researched carefully so that it met all the criteria. Sometimes, the replacement was good, only a few times was the replacement a disappointment. The cycle starts again with each new instrument.
I've traded up, and I've traded down. Each new instrument has had its positive & negative points. The ones where the negative points outweighed the positives have never lasted long and been moved on and replaced. The main criteria are does it play well and does it sound good.
I've traded up, and I've traded down. Each new instrument has had its positive & negative points. The ones where the negative points outweighed the positives have never lasted long and been moved on and replaced. The main criteria are does it play well and does it sound good.
I've bought and sold 20+ basses (and modded many as well) to try things out or add new sounds to my stable. However as for actually "Upgrading" to a higher level of bass I've only really done that twice in my life.
1) I recieved a Fender MIM P-bass when I started electric bass in 8th grade (had played upright for about 5 years before that) and played it exclusively for 5 years. When I was about to head off to college I wanted to get a 5 string and I wanted to keep my fingering accurate (wouldn't have access to an upright anymore) so I made a major step up and bought a Carvin LB75F which was my main player for the next 4 years. A 55-01 would come a few years later, but that was simply an addition rather than an upgrade.
2) 16 years after I bought the Carvin it's 2016 and I stumbled across a used "Carlo" (basically a 4-94 with 35" p-width neck and some other tweaks) when bringing my 55-01 bass into Carl Pedigo. Asside from various high-end P-basses it was probably the first time I held a boutique level instrument that fit my solidifying preferences for wider nut width. Blew me away and brought a new appreciation for higher-level instruments. I went home and started selling basses until I could bring it home (for about half the price of a new one) and after I had it home I went on sellining basses until I could afford a custom Wendler fretless with similar neck specs.
At this point I'll probably never "Upgrade" again. I may someday (many years from now) buy a 5-stringer of similar quality, but I find it hard to imagine a time where I'll want/need a higher level of instrument. Not to mention the fact that spending more than $2k on an instrument is simply not something I can swing financially.
1) I recieved a Fender MIM P-bass when I started electric bass in 8th grade (had played upright for about 5 years before that) and played it exclusively for 5 years. When I was about to head off to college I wanted to get a 5 string and I wanted to keep my fingering accurate (wouldn't have access to an upright anymore) so I made a major step up and bought a Carvin LB75F which was my main player for the next 4 years. A 55-01 would come a few years later, but that was simply an addition rather than an upgrade.
2) 16 years after I bought the Carvin it's 2016 and I stumbled across a used "Carlo" (basically a 4-94 with 35" p-width neck and some other tweaks) when bringing my 55-01 bass into Carl Pedigo. Asside from various high-end P-basses it was probably the first time I held a boutique level instrument that fit my solidifying preferences for wider nut width. Blew me away and brought a new appreciation for higher-level instruments. I went home and started selling basses until I could bring it home (for about half the price of a new one) and after I had it home I went on sellining basses until I could afford a custom Wendler fretless with similar neck specs.
At this point I'll probably never "Upgrade" again. I may someday (many years from now) buy a 5-stringer of similar quality, but I find it hard to imagine a time where I'll want/need a higher level of instrument. Not to mention the fact that spending more than $2k on an instrument is simply not something I can swing financially.
Last edited:
Asking the question as you just did is all the sign most of us ever need or get. It sounds to me that your CV is stealing the luster from your other basses. If nature runs its course you will likely have at least one bass equal to or better (in your own opinion of course) than the CV shortly, and possibly start to vote some or all of the other four off the island at some point thereafter.
I don't think I've ever really "upgraded". This '78 P-Bass was/is my first bass, and the '90s MIK Rogue VB-100 was/is my second bass. I suppose there are some people here who'd consider the Rogue an upgrade; but, some folks still think the Earth is flat, too...
I bought the Rogue mainly because I wanted a violin bass. And, something inexpensive, because my old, used Fender had somehow morphed into a "vintage collectible" while I wasn't looking. As for all the other basses I've acquired since? I don't consider them as upgrades - even the Alembic; just more of a "moving laterally" kind of thing...
