Hey dukorock..
Maybe my reply gave the wrong impression, but what I meant was that I use to want to keep up with the Jones', have my own vintage museum and I considered investment potential, in my own ways, when buying a bass.
anyway...
Carry on.
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What Motivates your Bass Collection?
- Thread starter dukeorock
- Start date
Maybe my reply gave the wrong impression, but what I meant was that I use to want to keep up with the Jones', have my own vintage museum and I considered investment potential, in my own ways, when buying a bass.
anyway...
Carry on.
Hmmmm, let's see...
My main bass is a NYC 24F5 Sadowsky. I always liked the modern take on the Fender style and this bass model has always spoken to me. I also like that I was able to do some customization (no fret dots, birdseye FB, etc.).
My other Sadowsky (NYC Will Lee 4) was purchased because a) I really wanted another Sadowsky b) I wanted to own a 4 string c) I wanted a jazz but didn't like the full-size Fender body style. The undersize body on this one just looks better to me.
My Dingwall was purchased because a) I was curious about the fan fret system b) it was made in Canada and c) it is stunningly gorgeous
And finally, my Rob Allen MB2 was purchased because a) I wanted a fretless bass b) again, it looks amazing and c) my first and middle name is actually Rob Allen (just a coincidence).
Nice stuff..good on ya.
So how do you get along switching between the Dingwall and your other traditionally fretted basses?
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
It's all good! Like I said, I'm not a collector either. I am a pro player, so I do fancy having different tones available, especially for session work
Ok..cool. I totally get it in regard with having different tones....same here.It's all good! Like I said, I'm not a collector either. I am a pro player, so I do fancy having different tones available, especially for session work
To me, tone is one of ingredients in the recipe of what I consider a really good "player" instrument besides being one that plays and feels really good.
We're on the same page.
I'm glad to hear that you can make a, hopefully, good living with session work. I've done some in the past, but it was, thankfully, from a good reputation more than reading skill...er lack of. heh.
That was some years ago..anyway.
Thanks...
In just one word: GREED
Did you regret selling a bass before? Well, me too. So, I decided to keep what I felt it was necessary to keep no matter if I'm using it too much or not. Better with me than with any other.
I keep the following basses:
* Peavy Zodiac DE Scorpio (Handcrafted in China). Swapped Sp/jB-3 pickups for Sp/jB-1. My first bass. Not as well built as others but I love its sound and feel. How could I sell it? No way.
* Squier Precision Silver Series in red w/black pickguard (Crafted in Japan). Swapped original japanese pickup for a GZR. Killer tone, light weight. Another on to the collection.
* Fender Jazz Bass Special (Made in Japan). Now in vinyl camouflage suit on top of the greeeny metallic finish. Sounds good, feels good = keep it too.
* Fender Precision PB70-70US (Crafted in Japan). Another killer Precision. Too sweet to sell.
That's all.
Did you regret selling a bass before? Well, me too. So, I decided to keep what I felt it was necessary to keep no matter if I'm using it too much or not. Better with me than with any other.
I keep the following basses:
* Peavy Zodiac DE Scorpio (Handcrafted in China). Swapped Sp/jB-3 pickups for Sp/jB-1. My first bass. Not as well built as others but I love its sound and feel. How could I sell it? No way.
* Squier Precision Silver Series in red w/black pickguard (Crafted in Japan). Swapped original japanese pickup for a GZR. Killer tone, light weight. Another on to the collection.
* Fender Jazz Bass Special (Made in Japan). Now in vinyl camouflage suit on top of the greeeny metallic finish. Sounds good, feels good = keep it too.
* Fender Precision PB70-70US (Crafted in Japan). Another killer Precision. Too sweet to sell.
That's all.
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What motivates my collection?
What common theme?
Natural wood finishes.
Dark wood basses with gold plated hardware.
No paint.
No pickguard.
No chrome.
What common theme?
Natural wood finishes.
Dark wood basses with gold plated hardware.
No paint.
No pickguard.
No chrome.
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Errr...if I'm honest, impulse is what motivates my collection.
I bought the 73 Rick (in my avatar and TB name) back in 1976 after seven long years of saving money from Saturday jobs and other schoolboy/student stuff, so that wasn't impulsive; rather the realisation of a long held dream.
Nearly all my other basses were bought on a whim after trying them out in a shop, or after short period of consideration that was still quite impulsive; such as realising that I needed a budget four string as a backup for my Rick and deciding that an Epi T-Bird Pro IV would fit the bill and give me a complementary, different vibe - so I bought it next day.
The three basses in the pic show this impulsive nature quite well.
The four on the left is a Palm Bay Atlantic that I tried out in a local shop back in the early 90s. Palm Bay were better known for their 'hair metal' shredder guitars and I've never seen another Atlantic or even found anybody who knows anything about them on TB. As you can see it's definitely "of it's time" and has a touch of hair metal about it (although thankfully no pointy headstock). It has a fantastic jazz shaped neck, a really nice action and it's very light (about 6.5-7lbs). It was the first active bass I ever bought and when I tried it, seemed to cop any tone...and it is very versatile, but only when it's wearing new strings, it really likes bright zingy ones but strings seem to die on this bass quicker than any other.
The GB Rumour 5 is my first 'Boutique' bass. I had wanted one for ages, ever since I saw a review in a bass magazine, but since I'd had a business go bust on me at that time, and since one of these in this spec would've cost me around $5000 to have built, it took me another 15 years to get one. I bought it used, through the classifieds here on TB. Saw the ad, cleared it with my wife and did the deal, sight unseen, in about an hour or two. Bernie Goodfellow, the luthier, has his shop just a couple of hours away so after meeting Bernie and having a chat, it has recently come back from his workshop after a complete overhaul. Bernie tells me it was one of his early basses that had Bartolini pickups instead of his proprietry ones and that (he thinks) was originally built for Mark King's Tech. It's just been retrofitted with GB's own pickups as part of the overhaul.
The six is another impulse. I saw a guy on here playing an HK 7 string found that they were marketed by a German music store and ordered a 5 string version because I wanted a bass that I could practise some amateur lutherie and hot-rodding on. I got an email back from Germany saying that they couldn't fulfil my order because they had just sold their last one. I asked when they would get some more and they said, we won't "once they're gone, they're gone...but we have some six strings left", so I said OK, I'll have a six then. I've done a lot of work on this myself. Made a new nut for it, routed the neck pocket a hair deeper, gutted the elctronics, installed an AGC/East EQ01 preamp, routed the control cavity for the pre to fit, screened it all with copper foil etc. It's quite heavy but plays really nicely except that it's got a weak G string. I think it uses the same pups as their 7 string and there is a gap in the magnets that makes one string weak. The guy who wrote that replaced his pups with Delanos, and I might do that as well...except that my impulsive buy meant that I find the 6 fine for noodling at home, less useful on gigs where I like fives best, so I may or may not replace the pups.
Apart from these, the Rick and the Epi, I have a Patrick Eggle Milan V which I had defretted a few Squier type basses and a Crafter acoustic, mostly bought on a whim.
I bought the 73 Rick (in my avatar and TB name) back in 1976 after seven long years of saving money from Saturday jobs and other schoolboy/student stuff, so that wasn't impulsive; rather the realisation of a long held dream.
Nearly all my other basses were bought on a whim after trying them out in a shop, or after short period of consideration that was still quite impulsive; such as realising that I needed a budget four string as a backup for my Rick and deciding that an Epi T-Bird Pro IV would fit the bill and give me a complementary, different vibe - so I bought it next day.
The three basses in the pic show this impulsive nature quite well.
The four on the left is a Palm Bay Atlantic that I tried out in a local shop back in the early 90s. Palm Bay were better known for their 'hair metal' shredder guitars and I've never seen another Atlantic or even found anybody who knows anything about them on TB. As you can see it's definitely "of it's time" and has a touch of hair metal about it (although thankfully no pointy headstock). It has a fantastic jazz shaped neck, a really nice action and it's very light (about 6.5-7lbs). It was the first active bass I ever bought and when I tried it, seemed to cop any tone...and it is very versatile, but only when it's wearing new strings, it really likes bright zingy ones but strings seem to die on this bass quicker than any other.
The GB Rumour 5 is my first 'Boutique' bass. I had wanted one for ages, ever since I saw a review in a bass magazine, but since I'd had a business go bust on me at that time, and since one of these in this spec would've cost me around $5000 to have built, it took me another 15 years to get one. I bought it used, through the classifieds here on TB. Saw the ad, cleared it with my wife and did the deal, sight unseen, in about an hour or two. Bernie Goodfellow, the luthier, has his shop just a couple of hours away so after meeting Bernie and having a chat, it has recently come back from his workshop after a complete overhaul. Bernie tells me it was one of his early basses that had Bartolini pickups instead of his proprietry ones and that (he thinks) was originally built for Mark King's Tech. It's just been retrofitted with GB's own pickups as part of the overhaul.
The six is another impulse. I saw a guy on here playing an HK 7 string found that they were marketed by a German music store and ordered a 5 string version because I wanted a bass that I could practise some amateur lutherie and hot-rodding on. I got an email back from Germany saying that they couldn't fulfil my order because they had just sold their last one. I asked when they would get some more and they said, we won't "once they're gone, they're gone...but we have some six strings left", so I said OK, I'll have a six then. I've done a lot of work on this myself. Made a new nut for it, routed the neck pocket a hair deeper, gutted the elctronics, installed an AGC/East EQ01 preamp, routed the control cavity for the pre to fit, screened it all with copper foil etc. It's quite heavy but plays really nicely except that it's got a weak G string. I think it uses the same pups as their 7 string and there is a gap in the magnets that makes one string weak. The guy who wrote that replaced his pups with Delanos, and I might do that as well...except that my impulsive buy meant that I find the 6 fine for noodling at home, less useful on gigs where I like fives best, so I may or may not replace the pups.
Apart from these, the Rick and the Epi, I have a Patrick Eggle Milan V which I had defretted a few Squier type basses and a Crafter acoustic, mostly bought on a whim.
Absolutely no issue. The Dingwall fanned fret system is actually very easy to adapt to, i can easily swap back and forth at will. Caveat being I don't really chord up high (or anywhere for that matter), and occasionally I don't stretch far enough for the low F and C on the Dingwall, and will sound a F# or C# accidentally. However, after doing that a couple times I know to be aware of it and it is no longer an issue.
Later
Rob
I own a real nice inboard tournament ski boat too (my other expensive hobby...). You're abolutely correct.
I buy basses for three reasons (and this list is long, and mostly for my own entertainment to write - anyone silly enough to actually read it needs their head examined):
The Gotta-Have-Its - Basses I decide long ion advance I want, then hunt for like an obsessive; scouring ads, researching, not sleeping until it's in my hands.
- 1963 Jazz Bass - My Holy Grail, and GAS killer. Best bass I've ever played, and perfect for me. Got lucky, considering I'd never played it before I bought it.
- 2012 Ric 4003 - The one I thought I really wanted, but lost it's lustre after a week. Love the sound, love the neck, hate the body and anchor points.
- 20?? Frankenfender - Squier VM maple body, Fender 60th maple neck, EMG GZR P/J pups, Badass II, etc. Wanted a P neck on a J body with a P/J pup layout. Nobody puts P necks on J bodies except the Mark Hoppus sig, so had to roll my own. Still love it and gets played most with others.
- Goya/Matsumoku neck-thru - Wanted a cool Matsumoku neck-thru Alembic 'inspired' bass, looked forever and discovered the nice ones are surprisingly expensive, traded a Peavey guitar combo amp for it. Double P pups, phase switch, brass nut, all the late 70's fads. Poly finish is about a foot thick.
The Impulse Buys - Either I got a screaming deal or I picked it up and fell in love
- Ibanez AGB-140 semi-hollow - First bass owned, looks beautiful. Paid next to nothing on CL. Has exactly one tone, and a design that puts the neck about 6 miles away. so my left arm is almost fully extended. Totally understand why they made the AGB-200 a shorty.
- Gibson SG Bass Faded - Wanted an EB-3 short scale, bought an Epi long scale (below), decided I still needed a shorty, found one of these on CL for a great price. Plays decent, and so, so light. Still neck dives like crazy, though.
- 1970 Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi - Came into local L&M, and looked soooooo cool. Traded a Dingwall Combustion 5 for it. Still looks sooooo cool, but I'd probably play the Dingwall more. Still, glad I have it.
- Epiphone Jack Casady - On sale used at the local L&M. Cheap, versatile, handsome. What's not to love? Oh yeah, it's absolutely awful to play sitting down, good thing it's light.
- 2012 Fender American Standard P Bass in Candy Cola - Has a beautiful maple neck with figuring, and plays like butter. Was on sale used at the local L&M (see a pattern?), near mint for half of new price. Paid little for a lot.
- 2014 Fender Road Worn Jazz Bass - Was going to buy an American Standard J new, got to the store, played this, played the AmStd, played all the other AmStds, played this, saved myself $700. Eventually pushed me to buy the 63 above.
- 197? Univox Professional Bass - CL find, paid little, had original flats, sounds dead and motowny, bought. Mostly loved the intense orangey yellow fur inside the OHSC.
- 1992 MIM Fender Jazz - Was cheap, but the most awful purple/blue colour. Had heard the very early MIM Fenders were decent. Bought at local L&M (again) for a song, paid $100 to have it painted black with matching headstock for that Ron Blair look and threw a set of Duncan SJB-1's in. Job done. Turned out to be a solid alder body (instead of the veneer on poplar that came out of Mexico for most of the 90's). Score!
- Squier VM P with natural maple body - Again, cheap. Plays way better than an Indonesian Squier has any right to. Threw a set of Duncan SPB-2's in, probably would struggle to differentiate in blindfold test against US P above. I still always reach for the US P because I never play blindfolded.
The Gap Fillers - There to have for a particular tone or look that's missing above
- Squier Classic Vibe '50s Precision in blonde - Wanted a single-coil P, didn't want one bad enough to pay Fender single-coil P prices. Put high-tension flats and pickup and bridge covers on to complete the old-old-school experience. Actually have an original 1968 Tele bass pup that I'm going to install in there for fun.
- Squier VM P Fretless - Wanted a fretless, but not at non-crap fretless prices. Gives me mwah. Also gives me meh. (and it's lined, so I'm cheating)
- Epiphone EB-3L Special Edition Negative White - Paid so little for it, it almost seemed silly. Wanted a short-scale EB-3, couldn't find an Epi version, so got this (though as I discovered, long scale EB-3's do nothing better than a Fender, so why bother? Hence SG bass above). Great looking bass, decent action, awkward playability (neck dive, neck feels long, etc.) Good thing it's cheap and pretty.
- Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV - Wanted a T-Bird, wanted an active bass. Two birds with one stone. Plays decent, sounds awesome detuned to C and made dirty. Neck is pencil thin, too thin for me. Looks like a high school shop project.
Each of the above is either a unique bass, meaningful to me somehow, or next to worthless to sell. At least that's what I tell myself when I look at the crowded space they take up. Only need a decent fiver (maybe another Combustion 5) and a T-40, and I'll be done. I swear. Well, maybe a 66 P. And an Aria Pro II SB-1000. I've always liked the Reggie Hamilton sig. There's this PRS Kingfisher in the store that plays beautifully, too. Oh, and I like the Allan Woody for the money... and...
The Gotta-Have-Its - Basses I decide long ion advance I want, then hunt for like an obsessive; scouring ads, researching, not sleeping until it's in my hands.
- 1963 Jazz Bass - My Holy Grail, and GAS killer. Best bass I've ever played, and perfect for me. Got lucky, considering I'd never played it before I bought it.
- 2012 Ric 4003 - The one I thought I really wanted, but lost it's lustre after a week. Love the sound, love the neck, hate the body and anchor points.
- 20?? Frankenfender - Squier VM maple body, Fender 60th maple neck, EMG GZR P/J pups, Badass II, etc. Wanted a P neck on a J body with a P/J pup layout. Nobody puts P necks on J bodies except the Mark Hoppus sig, so had to roll my own. Still love it and gets played most with others.
- Goya/Matsumoku neck-thru - Wanted a cool Matsumoku neck-thru Alembic 'inspired' bass, looked forever and discovered the nice ones are surprisingly expensive, traded a Peavey guitar combo amp for it. Double P pups, phase switch, brass nut, all the late 70's fads. Poly finish is about a foot thick.
The Impulse Buys - Either I got a screaming deal or I picked it up and fell in love
- Ibanez AGB-140 semi-hollow - First bass owned, looks beautiful. Paid next to nothing on CL. Has exactly one tone, and a design that puts the neck about 6 miles away. so my left arm is almost fully extended. Totally understand why they made the AGB-200 a shorty.
- Gibson SG Bass Faded - Wanted an EB-3 short scale, bought an Epi long scale (below), decided I still needed a shorty, found one of these on CL for a great price. Plays decent, and so, so light. Still neck dives like crazy, though.
- 1970 Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexi - Came into local L&M, and looked soooooo cool. Traded a Dingwall Combustion 5 for it. Still looks sooooo cool, but I'd probably play the Dingwall more. Still, glad I have it.
- Epiphone Jack Casady - On sale used at the local L&M. Cheap, versatile, handsome. What's not to love? Oh yeah, it's absolutely awful to play sitting down, good thing it's light.
- 2012 Fender American Standard P Bass in Candy Cola - Has a beautiful maple neck with figuring, and plays like butter. Was on sale used at the local L&M (see a pattern?), near mint for half of new price. Paid little for a lot.
- 2014 Fender Road Worn Jazz Bass - Was going to buy an American Standard J new, got to the store, played this, played the AmStd, played all the other AmStds, played this, saved myself $700. Eventually pushed me to buy the 63 above.
- 197? Univox Professional Bass - CL find, paid little, had original flats, sounds dead and motowny, bought. Mostly loved the intense orangey yellow fur inside the OHSC.
- 1992 MIM Fender Jazz - Was cheap, but the most awful purple/blue colour. Had heard the very early MIM Fenders were decent. Bought at local L&M (again) for a song, paid $100 to have it painted black with matching headstock for that Ron Blair look and threw a set of Duncan SJB-1's in. Job done. Turned out to be a solid alder body (instead of the veneer on poplar that came out of Mexico for most of the 90's). Score!
- Squier VM P with natural maple body - Again, cheap. Plays way better than an Indonesian Squier has any right to. Threw a set of Duncan SPB-2's in, probably would struggle to differentiate in blindfold test against US P above. I still always reach for the US P because I never play blindfolded.
The Gap Fillers - There to have for a particular tone or look that's missing above
- Squier Classic Vibe '50s Precision in blonde - Wanted a single-coil P, didn't want one bad enough to pay Fender single-coil P prices. Put high-tension flats and pickup and bridge covers on to complete the old-old-school experience. Actually have an original 1968 Tele bass pup that I'm going to install in there for fun.
- Squier VM P Fretless - Wanted a fretless, but not at non-crap fretless prices. Gives me mwah. Also gives me meh. (and it's lined, so I'm cheating)
- Epiphone EB-3L Special Edition Negative White - Paid so little for it, it almost seemed silly. Wanted a short-scale EB-3, couldn't find an Epi version, so got this (though as I discovered, long scale EB-3's do nothing better than a Fender, so why bother? Hence SG bass above). Great looking bass, decent action, awkward playability (neck dive, neck feels long, etc.) Good thing it's cheap and pretty.
- Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV - Wanted a T-Bird, wanted an active bass. Two birds with one stone. Plays decent, sounds awesome detuned to C and made dirty. Neck is pencil thin, too thin for me. Looks like a high school shop project.
Each of the above is either a unique bass, meaningful to me somehow, or next to worthless to sell. At least that's what I tell myself when I look at the crowded space they take up. Only need a decent fiver (maybe another Combustion 5) and a T-40, and I'll be done. I swear. Well, maybe a 66 P. And an Aria Pro II SB-1000. I've always liked the Reggie Hamilton sig. There's this PRS Kingfisher in the store that plays beautifully, too. Oh, and I like the Allan Woody for the money... and...
I bought to maintain a nice collection of tones and feels. After many years and after slowly growing my earnings potential..
Warwick $$ NT 5 string, for metal and rock, anything requiring a 5er. This was my main bass for years, still is.
78' Rickenbacker 4001 for classic and prog rock, I have always wanted one and I idolize Chris Squire, though mine is closer to Geddy Lee's
Epiphone Jack Casady was an impluse buy, I wanted a 'simple' bass that I could just pick up and play. I love it though, it sounds and looks like no other bass.
Jay Turser Beatle Bass copy, was purchased for my wife so she could learn to play, and she never did.
Warwick Corvette Standard 2004 was an impulse buy, because it was 280$! A fantastic bass for a supremely good price.
What's left?
A nice 6-string
A G&L L-2500
Lakland Hollowbody
Aria SB-1000
Then I'll have all the basses I ever wanted.
Warwick $$ NT 5 string, for metal and rock, anything requiring a 5er. This was my main bass for years, still is.
78' Rickenbacker 4001 for classic and prog rock, I have always wanted one and I idolize Chris Squire, though mine is closer to Geddy Lee's
Epiphone Jack Casady was an impluse buy, I wanted a 'simple' bass that I could just pick up and play. I love it though, it sounds and looks like no other bass.
Jay Turser Beatle Bass copy, was purchased for my wife so she could learn to play, and she never did.
Warwick Corvette Standard 2004 was an impulse buy, because it was 280$! A fantastic bass for a supremely good price.
What's left?
A nice 6-string
A G&L L-2500
Lakland Hollowbody
Aria SB-1000
Then I'll have all the basses I ever wanted.
Rickenbacker will probably do everything in their power to keep him from ever getting another one once they see that.
Ric have had my money. I bought the walnuit one on the left (after I'd told myself I had stopped buying) because it just looked so wonderful. It is one of the best basses I have ever played.
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They would probably be a bit p1$$ed off about these as well...
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I like thick low-end, and vintage tones without too much brightness. The thump/clank outweighs extended harmonics for me.
Everything floats my boat, from Fender to Gibson to Rickenbacker and beyond, but I need the strong low end to be satisfied. Jazz basses are great fun but I have no use for them, same with 6-string basses and shortscales (first bass, still have it), so I tend to keep it simple. A Precision style bass is all I've needed for a long time.
I'll play loose, hammer-on, bend, try all sorts of fun things, but it's all about binding the rhythm and the melody in a tasteful way. Upright bass is a big influence.
Everything floats my boat, from Fender to Gibson to Rickenbacker and beyond, but I need the strong low end to be satisfied. Jazz basses are great fun but I have no use for them, same with 6-string basses and shortscales (first bass, still have it), so I tend to keep it simple. A Precision style bass is all I've needed for a long time.
I'll play loose, hammer-on, bend, try all sorts of fun things, but it's all about binding the rhythm and the melody in a tasteful way. Upright bass is a big influence.
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