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Why do you own so many basses?

#81
Because that is how I like to spend my money. When you have a great career that pays well and no wife and no kids and a 4 bedroom house you can buy a lot of basses and have a place to put them and play them in rotation. You can also buy and collect other things as well that you enjoy.
 
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#82
I do many different styles of music with a whole bunch of different artists so it's important to have the right bass for the job. I'm up to "only" 11 basses. I keep at least 3 tuned down a half step to Eb because a few people I play with use that tuning (think SRV, Van Halen, etc). Plus a couple with flats. Strangely I only have one 5 string (that needs to change). Plus a couple cool vintage pieces. Oh yeah and probably a few too many amps and speaker cabinets.
 
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#83
Swerve said:
Rampant consumerism and over consumption. Social media addiction. Greed. Envy. Boredom. Disposable income and disposable goods.

Earth is gradually becoming a landfill of cheap plastic and toxic waste.

But new colors go brrr!
Click to expand...
These are the REAL culprits of GAS that not enough people talk about! Avoiding them is the reason why I don’t have GAS very often.

To answer OP’s question, I currently have 4 basses:
1. 2008 Squier Affinity Jazz Bass - this is my first ever bass and I will never get rid of it. It’s my piccolo bass and I use it for leads, rhythms, and solos like a guitar. It was a gift for my 15th birthday.
2. 2012 Ric 4003 - this is my main bass with rounds. It’s my go to bass for recording.
3. 2022 Ric 4003 - this is my main bass with flats. It has the V2 bridge and a single truss rod.
4. 2021 Fender MIA P Bass - this bass is currently for sale. I don’t play it anymore because it doesn’t feel or sound as good as my other basses (even my Squier!). It's on consignment and not currently in my possession.
 
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#84
Greenman72 said:
So....if you can only play one at a time, why do you own more than one?

--------------------

For me: I had a cheap beginner 4-string with PJ pickups. (1 bass)

I thought I wanted to start playing a 5-string, so I bought an (otherwise identical) 5-string. (2 basses)

Then I thought "hey--I like humbucker pickups better". So I bought 4-string HH. (3)

Then I thought "hey--I should get a 5-string HH." (4)

Then my bass teacher died (TB's own Michael Stanley. RIP.), and gave me one of his. (5 basses)

Then I learned that my favorite band, Type O Negative, tuned their instruments to B-standard. So I bought a 4-string tuned to BEAD. (6 basses)

Then I learned that not all songs are in standard tuning, so I bought another 4-string HH that I could use in alternative tunings, like C# standard. (7 basses)

Then I found a 1980 model Aria Pro II on Reverb. Since I'm a 1980 model, I just thought I'd go ahead and buy it. No real reason why. (8 basses)

An Esh Stinger I (the "Peter Steele" bass) popped up on Reverb, and since I'm a huge TON fan, I snagged it. (9 basses)

I liked the Esh so much that I bought another one. This one is EADG tuning. (The other one is in BEAD tuning.) (10 basses)

I bought a 5-sting fanned-fret bass, but don't like it. It's about to get traded in for a 5-string version of the Esh Stinger 1. (11 basses)

I bought a cheap "travel bass" from a friend. It's a piece of junk, so I don't really mind if it gets dinged a little bit. (12 basses)

I bought a jazz bass, because every "real bassist" needs a jazz bass. Now it's got flats on it. (13 basses)

-----------
So that's it. 13 basses. I think I'm in "one in, one out" territory now.
Click to expand...
13 for me right now too and for the answer, I am a kind of collector pf gear stuff so…
 
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#88
Lenny JG said:
Because they all sound and feel different.
Click to expand...
Charlie Brown needed only ONE shirt!!
1737756820844.png
 
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#90
You can only wear one (shirt, pair of pants, dress, set of underwear, etc.) at a time, so...[1]

I have five Thunderbirds. All but one sound different.
  • I have two Grecos (one red, one burst). They're my main players (especially the red). Why two? If for no other reason, I have a backup bass with me Just In Case. Can get very aggressive. Full spectrum bass with a 3/4" shorter scale, which my short fingers love.
  • I have an Epi Classic Pro. This sounds like a modern bird, a nice, heavy, dark sound.
  • I have an Epi Vintage Pro. With Thunderbucker66s. This feels and sounds close to a 1964 Gibson bird, but can get more aggressive sounding. Trying to take the #1 spot.
  • I have my first bass - an Epi IV. I strung it for BEAD, except ...
I tune all my basses down a whole step. The last one is now ADGC while the others are all DGCF.

The Grecos are my defaults; the others get used as needed or as the mood strikes. The CP sometimes gets pulled in just because it's white.

[1] OK, technically you can layer, but you get the point.
 
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#91
Different basses do different things.
I have a mere 6. A passive modded Fender P with flats, a Ric 4001 w/rounds, a fretless Ripperwith halfrounds, a Jackson Concert V w/ rsteel rounds, a EBMM Sterling w/ nickel rounds, and a Jerry Jones Neptune 6 tic-tac (much like a DanElectro Longhorn). Different tools for different sounds for different bands and gigs. They all get a lot of use. The Ricky gets the least use - a lot of times it's slack tuned to E♭ for Hendrix and SRV toons. ☮️💚:bassist:

Two Sunn rigs and a GK Fusion 800s rig :hyper:
 
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#96
I have four basses , two active Jazz 5s , a four string Jazz and a p bass . All with rounds .
The two 5 strings are what I use for the majority of the music I play , either can be my number one or backup .
The four string Jazz I got because it was a stupid deal of the day and my wife said"How pretty , why don't you buy it" ?
The P bass is a Squier Debut and was $130 , kind of a no brainer . Talkbass wisdom says everyone needs a P bass and one with tort is even better . Mine has rounds like my other basses but it is still a P bass .
I found I don't need a high dollar bass like I used to years ago .

I really blame Talkbass for wanting multiple basses .

Hooray for Talkbass !
 
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#98
Pep said:
I"VE GOT IT BAD!!!!

Including the one and the one I'm building I have coming in I have 20 basses. I also have three bodies and necks for future projects. 7 of these will be sold soon and my plan is to to be down to 10 or less by Jan 1 2026. That will be difficult.




* Tobias Growler 4 ------------------------------------------ Bought in used 2008. Wanted one for several years.
* Fender Stu Hamm Urge I - 32" ----------------------------Mexican version I rebuilt to the American setup
* Kramer Deciple D-1 --------------------------------------- Fell in love with the color. Light weight, fast neck, ebony fretboard, MM style PU.
* Spector NS Pulse II --------------------------------------- Always wanted a Spector. Nothing but love for this one.
** Ibanez EHB1505MS -------------------------------------- Wanted a lightweight 5 string. Small hands so this one will be sold.
** (2) Ibanez Roadstar RB850 ------------------------------ Bought one new in the 80s and the other one used two years ago. Light weight and great sound.
** MTD Kingston LK5 - 5 string ---------------------------- Bought this because of the 32" scale neck. Easy to play for a guy with small hands.
*** Hofner CT Contemporary ------------------------------ Bought this for Beatle tunes only 2 years ago.
* Vintage ICON V4 ----------------------------------------- Wanted a P-Bass. Compared it to American Fender. it played better, sounded the same.
* Vintage ICON VJ74 --------------------------------------- Needed a Jazz bass so this was it.
**** Vintage VJ74 ------------------------------------------ Wanted one for rehearsal
* Vintage Pro Shop Custom VJ74 ------------------------- This is the best Jazz bass I have, Sounds & looks great. Plays like butter. Very low set-up.
** Fret King Perception 4 ---------------------------------- PJ is the best of both worlds. High quality bass from Trevor Wilkinson.
* Harley Benton PB-50 ------------------------------------ Bought this because it was '51 P-Bass for under $200. Plays like a $1000+ bass.
** Warmoth "51 P-Bass ----------------------------------- Wanted build one so this was it. Plays and sounds great.
**** Glarry P-Bass ---------------------------------------- Bought it because of some of the reviews and the price at about $100, Light and plays great.
** Warmoth Mini P-Bass - 32" ---------------------------- This turned out awesome. Sounds great, plays fast and easy for small hands.
** Custom Built Mini P-Bass - 32" - reverse Headstock -- Like this one but needs lighter body and a different string tree. Will rebuild.
Custom Built PJ - Wenge neck ---------------------------- Bought a custom pickguard in neon swirls. going to finish the body to match one of the colors.

PS: Another Vintage VJ74 on order ------------------------ Ordered Candy Red with Black Pickguard / Rosewood fretboard but may change order. They
just introduced a 30th Anniversary model in British Racing Green with an Aged White Pearl
pickguard, maple neck and fretboard, with black block markers and black binding around the
fretboard.

* In the playing rotation
** Played occasionally
*** For certain gigs / tunes only
**** Rehearsal only
Click to expand...
Is that all you got ?
 
#99
I can’t say I won “so many” but several. I have bought/sold/returned 8 basses in the past 7 years. But what I have kept are 4 diverse basses. 1 budget yamaha bass for my office, Ray4 as by backup gig bass, USA SUB for main bass, 5 stringer that was my church bass.
 
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