What Motivates your Bass Collection?

[Old Blastard]

Damn Fender Starcaster has haunted me since 2013. And now SX has those little girlie multi color bases.....

 

[Twangster101]

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...

I read it all lol. I enjoyed it lol. Thanks

 

[muggsy]

There's a lot of talk about gigability and different sounds. Although this is a motivator for me, the most important factor is How replaceable is it? Simply speaking, the harder the instrument is to replace, the more likely it is to stay. Everything I have fits sonically in to one of the thing's I do, can be used in the studio, or is unique in some way, it's tough to just sell something.

This is pretty much it for me, except for the studio part, which is not a consideration. Since 2000, when I started playing, I have owned 18 different basses (I wrote them all down a while back, before my feeble memory could fail me). I currently own 6, and each one brings something different to the table that would be difficult to replace if I sold it. Four of them happen to be Music Man:

Then there's this one:

And last but certainly not least, the walnut P Special.

Basically, it comes down to, how badly would I miss it if I sold it? The ones that are no longer with me were really good instruments, but I wouldn't trade any of these to get one back.

 

[Billyzoom]

Typically, the effectiveness of my medication.

I'll start off by saying I'm NOT a collector by any stretch. I just like each bass to bring something a little different to the table than the others...
View attachment 809913

Left to Right;

Fender AM STD Precision-

it has flats with a Fralin 5% overwound pickup. Great thump and punch. Gets that awesome Carol Kaye sound but really I could use this bass on nearly every gig I do. I love a good P bass with round wound strings, but for whatever reason, this one seems to prefer flats.

Dingwall Super J/P-

The clearest, cleanest sounding bass I own. Records really well and plays great. On a couple of my gigs it sounds a bit too hifi, but it's an awesome bass when the situation calls for it.

Drake Custom 35" scale-

TV Jones blade pickups. With rounds, this is my ROCK! bass. Slightly dark and growly. With flats it reminds me of a Gibson Ripper. I ordered the 35" scale for BEAD tuning, but I pretty much never do that. Glad to know I can though

Gretsch/ TV Jones Spectrasonic-

TV Jones Thundertron pickups and heavily chambered. Probably my favorite playing bass. Has the growl of a J with the thump of a P. Can sound an awful lot like a Harmony H22 but plays better, IMO. I tend to prefer this one with round wound strings.

First Act Custom Shop Delia-

Laugh it up, but those couple years First Act had a custom shop, they cranked out some seriously cool stuff. Darkstar in the front and Kent Armstrong humbucker in the bridge. Widest variety of sounds than any passive bass I've ever owned with the possible exception of the Peavey T-40.

Bluesman Vintage El Dorado-

Early 60's Jazz tone and feel, for when you gotta have 'that' sound!

What motivates you? Curious to know what makes others choose their basses!

 

[deeptubes]

Variety. All of my basses are different.

Fender Precision Elite II - PP, active, rounds, drop D
Fender HM - JJJ, passive, nylons
Fender Precision Special Deluxe - PJ, passive, flats
Fender Dimension - PJ, active, tapes
Peavey T-40 - SS/SH/HS/HH, passive, rounds
Peavey Dyna-Bass - SbSb, active/passive, rounds

I can do fat thumpy old school to bright modern. A bass for any tone.

 

[dukeorock]

Variety. All of my basses are different.

Fender Precision Elite II - PP, active, rounds, drop D
Fender HM - JJJ, passive, nylons
Fender Precision Special Deluxe - PJ, passive, flats
Fender Dimension - PJ, active, tapes
Peavey T-40 - SS/SH/HS/HH, passive, rounds
Peavey Dyna-Bass - SbSb, active/passive, rounds

I can do fat thumpy old school to bright modern. A bass for any tone.

Nice stable! I'm with you too. I like all of mine to bring something different to the party

 

[Marial]

What motivates you? Curious to know what makes others choose their basses!

Tone/playability primarily. I'm a Jazz player, pretty much through and through (1.5" nut is perfect for my hands and I like the body shape), so I currently have two Jazz basses: 2008 Fender Hwy One Jazz, fretted, and a 2012 Squier VM Jazz that's had pretty much everything else replaced. It has a Warmoth lined fretless neck and it's my number one.

I also have a complete POS Palatino upright and I'm debating between replacing it with an Upton Bohemian hybrid or a fretless Rob Allen Mouse.

 

[dukeorock]

Tone/playability primarily. I'm a Jazz player, pretty much through and through (1.5" nut is perfect for my hands and I like the body shape), so I currently have two Jazz basses: 2008 Fender Hwy One Jazz, fretted, and a 2012 Squier VM Jazz that's had pretty much everything else replaced. It has a Warmoth lined fretless neck and it's my number one.

I also have a complete POS Palatino upright and I'm debating between replacing it with an Upton Bohemian hybrid or a fretless Rob Allen Mouse.

Dude, upright is so much fun I can't even tell you. Just a beautiful thing. Even a full ply Upton is a serious bass and as a rule full ply is better live if there's a drummer involved One day I'm going to order a Bohemian. The two uprights I currently have are fine though.

 

[Marial]

Dude, upright is so much fun I can't even tell you. Just a beautiful thing. Even a full ply Upton is a serious bass and as a rule full ply is better live if there's a drummer involved One day I'm going to order a Bohemian. The two uprights I currently have are fine though.

Agreed! The only issue is that I just don't have the time or energy to put into my upright playing and I have near-term musical goals for which the Mouse is suited. My son is turning two next month and I have a frequently emotionally draining job so my practice time is severely limited and will be for at least the next 16 years. Right now I'm thinking the Mouse makes more sense. In an ideal world I'd get both!

 

[GIBrat51]

What motivates my collection? A list of the basses I wanted, that I made about 18 years ago. It has some specific basses (Fender P-Bass, Gibson Thunderbird); some brands (Gretsch, Danelectro); and types (short scale solid body, headless). Since I'm a lefty, the hunt has taken a long time, and I'm still not done. But, when I find a 34" scale full hollow body, and a Flying V, then I will be done. Anybody seen a lefty Gretsch White Falcon Bass lately...?

 

[vdbass]

Hypothalamus.

 

[Deleted member 264575]

Sound.

 

[MikeOnBass73]

My current lineup is:

Ibanez BTB1606E Premium 6 String with modified Bartolini electronics
Ibanez BTB1406E Premium modified 6 String Fretless with Bartolini electronics
Ibanez BTB7 Limited Edition 7 String
Ibanez ATK805E Premium 5 String
Lee Rocker Signature Upright Bass

My primary basses that I use most on gigs are the Upright, the BTB1606E and the BTB1406E.

My motivations for these basses were excellent playability, inspiring sound, quality, great looks and relative affordability. These are all fantastic instruments with some minor mods in some cases and they did not bankrupt me either. Some of my basses are shown in the attached photo.

 

[drummer5359]

What Motivates my Bass Collection?

I'm trying to rid the planet of maple trees, one bass neck at a time...

 

[BlueAliceOasis]

What Motivates my Bass Collection?

I'm trying to rid the planet of maple trees, one bass neck at a time...

Brudda. And then where will we get our syrup?

 

[Brad Johnson]

I like basses that are fun to play and give me tones that I like.

 

[jaybones]

@drummer5359 Digging the back row J (or is it a P/J?) on the far left! Is it a trick of the photo, or is the scale shorter on that one than the others?

Also like the back row far right, for sure that ones a J.

I'm also a big fan of natural Fender products with black plastics...

Really like a sister strat with a tremolo (that's a hardtail), a '72 Thinline Deluxe, 70's Jazz with black block inlays and a P.

 

[drummer5359]

@drummer5359 Digging the back row J (or is it a P/J?) on the far left! Is it a trick of the photo, or is the scale shorter on that one than the others?

Also like the back row far right, for sure that ones a J.

I'm also a big fan of natural Fender products with black plastics...

Really like a sister strat with a tremolo (that's a hardtail), a '72 Thinline Deluxe, 70's Jazz with black block inlays and a P.

That Strat is great, I love the hard tails.

The bass on the left is a Precision Plus (Boner bass). It is a 34" scale, the long top horn makes it look different.

 

[mapleglo]

Also a fan of hardtail Strats and natural finishes.

 

[jaybones]

^^^Yeah, but the natural always looks better wearing black. White to my eye washes everything out, especially when it hasn't yellowed much yet.

Been looking for a tremolo equipped sister to my guitar, but if its a real S series they're pretty pricey. Bought mine for $300 in 1994 with OHSC, had Den Erliwine do a refret, polish and everything. He charged me a little less than $100, and included a free appraisal on his letterhead.

Said mine was the rarest of S series hardtails. Only hand selected bodies, with the nicest grain were pulled for natural finishes, first year of the 5 way switch and last year of "the better pickups."

Back then in 1995 he said it was worth $2000 - $2500, maybe more.

I think what I'm going to have to do is buy one of those 70's reissue MIM's, and switch the neck out for a large headstock one, and put all black plastics on it. Possibly get better pickups, depending on how (bad) the MIM ceramics are.

Either that or order an ash body from Warmoth and buildup from there.