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What makes a bass a "keeper"

#61
My Sadowsky RV5 is a keeper. I've had it for 7 years or so and it is (right now) the only bass I own. I've gotten a couple of basses since, but flipped them all for other gear purchases. I worked for this bass for a long time. I agonized for months over exactly what I wanted. I went out to NYC on business and whole there placed my order in person. The top is absolutely special.

I've been contemplating getting another bass - a Fender Precision. I don't want to pull the trigger on one I don't believe is a keeper also. Maybe an AVRI or a good pre-CBS - I don't know...
 
#63
SlappyWhite said:
Wow you've got a Doug Irwin? Not only the highest end, but very rare. Pics please.
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Here alongside with the rest of the stable. On the left is a '77 Doug Irwin guitar that my brother had made at the same time my bass was being built.

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The necks on the Irwin's are solid ebony and slide into the body. The principle of the design was essentially to isolate the sound of the ebony by having the bridges and pickups mounted directly to it. When you remove the bridge and pickups you can actually slide the neck out of the body. Both instruments have extremely warm tone and rediculous sustain.

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#64
For me:

- Feel. The combo of the neck profile, string spacing and overall 'feel' has to be 'right'.
- Tone. It has to generate the tone I want/need from it.

Provided it has the above, I'll know it's a keeper when:
- I feel 'lucky' to one that particular bass
- I look forward to playing it every single time
- I still smile when I see it and hear it.

Looks are less important. Obviously I can't go to a Jazz gig with a pointy, neon-green bass, but I have no problem with odd-looking or unique basses, provided they satisfy the above criteria. Stickers on headstocks could not be less of a factor for me.

I play only 5'ers and have been through many of them over the last few years. There are far more variables to figure out on a 5 than a 4, so I'm not surprised it took a while to find the ones in my current and what looks to be a long-term stable.

All but one of my current basses I've had for more than a year and can not see me parting with any of them. They are all dialed in with which bass gets which set of strings and I know exactly which basses go to what gig or project.
 
#66
What makes my bass a keeper is memories. Well, this is something personal, but I win competition, making money with it, and how my hand is shaped by it, well, she's something. It's a 5 string amstd jazz bass. My first bass, and after a stingray, a jaco, a p, an ibanez... I will never sell her. :)

...I also enroll my music college with her in my hand at the audition. Just happen at december, and thanks for her, i get my scholarship :hyper:

Well, also, it has been modified alot! It feels good in my hand and in my ears! I'm a j style bass aficionados myself! I will never sell my first love.
 
#67
I play a wide variety of brands and price points. But for one to be a "keeper" i.e. a bass I would be very reluctant to sell or trade:

1. Takes a set up quickly to my tolerances and preferences
2. Stable, tunes up, stays in tune, intonates all the way up and down the fingerboard, isn't overly sensitive to normal climatic changes or prone to "tweak" itself. I want to take it out, tune it up, and play without spending inordinate amounts of time tweaking it back.
3. Comfy, smooth, fast neck, regardless of specs and scale. Body styles vary widely; I'll adapt. An uncomfortable neck, you're stuck and it rarely improves IME
4. Good, useable tone, ESPECIALLY when cranked up to stage/performance levels. One trick pony or wide tone palette, I'll keep them all if they sound good.
5. Aesthetically pleasing. Two basses, identical in every other way, one pretty, one ugly, I'll sell off the ugly one. If I really like everything else about an ugly bass, I'll spend a few Benjamins to get it re-finished. That's entertainment.

I have basses that meet all those requirements from the $200 to the $3,000 price points.
 
#68
sotua said:
Inspiration. The bass that begs you to play some more.
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This is it for me. Despite a rocky start to the relationship, I now feel that way about my Pentabuzz. I still feel that way about my Hwy One Jazz, though I rarely play it since I'm pretty much consumed with the fretless world right now. I suspect that, once all the mods are complete, I'll feel that way about my VM Jazz fretless. There are other basses out there that I'd like to try, but these three will never go away. They're comfy, they're familiar, and they inspire me to play.
 
#70
I have a few keepers, but my favorite is Blackie, my 2005 Sadowsky P5. Most important for me is playability, but she excels in tone, looks, features, quality, reliability, performance, and every other factor.

I sanded the nitro off the back of her neck myself because I prefer the vintage feel. The rest of the wear is natural, coming from literally hundreds of gigs. I tried to keep her pristine for awhile, but once she accumulated some road rash I decided not to cover my belt buckle. It's nice to have a "beater bass" as a #1 bass: no more worries about minor dings and scrapes.

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#71
I'm a little on the side of Bongolation here. I don't have sentimental feelings about my instruments. On the other hand, I don't flip basses -- I hunt for what I like and ignore everything else. I'll go so far as to say that I am GAS-free! :D

I have always been aware that a lot of playing involves adapting myself to the instrument, rather than trying to make one "perfect."

But the ones I own fit me really well: chunky necks, relatively wide fingerboards, and distinctive sounds. In appearance they range from the ugly "butterscotch" 51 P RI and the equally ugly "fiesta red" Classic '50s P to a downright pretty honeyburst SR5, so appearance isn't that important (and the butterscotch and fiesta red show up really well under stage lights).

Right now most of my playing is done on the '51: four strings, two knobs, warm and present sound.

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#72
For me it was a warwick thumb 5 that became a keeper. It was a pain in the ass to play when I got it but it sounds so good. In the year I have had it I have become compleatly comfortable and every time I pick it up I become a better bassist.

In the 16 years I have been playing I have only had 5 basses. Till I got my thumb I would always fall back on my 98 MIM p bass but then I found my thumb. A week after I got it I recorded with it. Probably not the best idea I ever had but it was a bonding moment with this bass that helped me fall in love with it.

I had never had a five string befor just couldn't really grove on one but I just had to have it and I haven't looked back
 
#74
My Fender MIM standard Jazz Bass is a keeper. Just WHAT makes it a keeper? How it feels in my hands while I play it; its tone; its ease of playability; its looks (it's Sunburst with a brown tort pick guard and a silver chrome Bad Ass II bridge).

I, too, have had several basses in the past 15 years since I began playing bass (I think I'm up to 12). I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who has had so many! I thought I was nuts but I'm in good company! And I mean that in a good way!
 
#79
Tonetodiefor said:
The tone and feel are like an extension of my heart and soul.... the voice to express our soul.
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A keeper is an extension of my soul and has become part of me. It is my voice, & draws expression out of me.



My Keepers

Ibanez Musician Fretless - fat, mwahhh!!

Old Tobias Classic 5, Walnut/ Purpleheart - modern AND warm, very versatile, very expressive.

Rob Allen Mouse FL - it sings, thumps & growls. Responsive & expressive.

Fender '69 P - growl monster, woody & very vintage look & sound.

Takamine B10 FL - Jazz gigs, brilliant in amplified settings.



They all look, feel & sound amazing. I feel very fortunate to own them, and I'm always inspired playing them.
 

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