Why Do You Stick To The Same Type Of Basses?

[Admiral Thrawn]

I'm a Stingray guy.

I tried out Rics, Warwicks, Fenders, but the neck profile and the finish on a 'Ray just felt more like an extension of my body and brain than anything else I've played so far.

 

[JRA]

Just for you...

why thank you, sir!

 

[grinx]

i was a Carvin guy before (liked the shaved traditional body and slimmy necks) until i joined the Dork Side 3 years ago and went 2-strangin' and ain' goin' back

pluk
pluk

 

[Passinwind]

I know you no longer have it, but I think we need/deserve a pic of your old fretless Bean (is bean-porn a thing?) at this point, just to complete the set.

1978, baby:

 

[5StringBlues]

1978, baby:

View attachment 3659516

Bean porn may not be a thing, but the 'stache sure is.

 

[SteveCS]

1978, baby:

View attachment 3659516

Thanks Charlie. You even included the porno-tash!

 

[Passinwind]

Bean porn may not be a thing, but the 'stache sure is.

Heh. Yep, the life of a ski bum in Stowe Vt. in the late seventies...

 

[two fingers]

It took me decades to figure out what I wanted. There were several basses that I loved a certain feature of, but hated others.

I got started on a P bass. Many of my favorite recordings feature a P bass. That's the sound in my head. Any main player of mine must, first and foremost, nail a P bass.

But I did many a gig with a Fender Roscoe Beck Signature 5. That bridge pickup, with its single/series/parallel switch, became a powerful tool in my tone arsenal.

I play 5 strings almost exclusively these days.

And I love 19mm spacing and 35" scale like an Ibanez BTB I owned and did a thousand gigs with. So that knocked out Fender.

Enter, my main player. The Hammersmith TF5. Marko named it that after my username here. So, you can say I have mostly gravitated toward the Fender P bass.... but...

This does the P bass thing perfectly, with passive electronics and a master volume and tone. However, it also has the dual coil bridge pickup with series/single parallel switch (ala the RBV). It's long and wide like the BTB. So, while I'll always be a P bass guy, all basses moving forward will be compared to this one. When all is said and done though, it has that solid P bass sound that resonates with me.

Great topic.

 

[5StringBlues]

bean-porn

Posted in Overheard Band Name thread.

 

[HardNHeavy]

The first bass was my hondo deluxe 2......Just a standard p copy before this neck and added j pup, (2nd pic at CB's) it was just that, and the only thing i could afford at the time until i got a real AmStd Fender..Haven't tried too many other basses and these have served me well thru the yrs

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View media item 20862

 

[bassliner50]

The ubiquitous old school Precision is my "go to". Dependable, inexpensive, predictable, recognizable, interchangeable parts, simplicity personified, satisfying tone, easily bought, easily sold, tortable. Why would I want to complicate my life any more than I have to?

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Almost forgot:
An Engelhardt 3/4 sized upright

And a Dean Pace Elect Upright

And during the early 70s borrowed a Gibson for almost two years from my guitarists Dad. Wish he'd have sold it to me. A '59 EB0

 

[acleex38]

If I chime in as a primarily fretless player, am I #4 or #5? To be fair, I'm more Birdsong-specific than I am fretless-specific.

I still play my Breedlove fretless occasionally, but it's rarely leaves the house. The walnut/ebony Birdsong also stays in the case after 8 years of non-stop use. It was replaced by the mesquite/rosewood Birdsong.

I have two fretted Birdsongs, with a 3rd on the way. All but one have the "Fusion" shape (both for aesthetic and balance/ergonomic reasons). I stuck with the brand/body because it killed 98% of my GAS for other stuff.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

The first bass I had was a Dano. It was all I could afford at the time. First time I ever saw a Fender Precision was at a club on the Navy bass where I was stationed. It was love at first sight. it was a sunburst with tort and maple. The chrome of the bridge and pickup covers gleamed in the stage lights. I knew then I had to have one, but it was another two years before I could afford one. The look, feel, and sound were exactly perfect for me.

I have over the years owned or played almost every production bass brand available. I have and do owned Jazz basses and brands I can't even remember. I really like the J neck, but I want the P sound.

I currently own 5 Ps ranging from a Squier Affinity to a Fender Precision Select. I also like the PJ configuration. I have 2 of those. One is an Areodyne that is beautiful and plays nicely. The other is a G&L SB-2T that is a dream to play and get complements on tone every time I gig it, but neither PJ really sounds to me like a straight up Fender Precision.

I also have to admit that it is also a matter of familiarity. The P is what I've mostly always played. It is comfortable and predictable and I know I'll get what I'm looking for. I would say that regardless of whether any of us will admit it, we all do that.
I keep thinking I'd like to have a custom Sadowsky built, but I don't know that I'd be any happier with it that what I already have.

 

[bucephylus]

Caveat: I am honored to have a handful of very nice instruments, any one of which may see gig time, depending on which way the wind is blowing.

But, all else being equal, I will grab a black Jazz Bass.

Here is the first one I acquired and restored in 1987. Still have it. It's passive. The original pickups are in the case, because I prefer the Seymour Duncan SJB-2's.

Here is my workhorse, which goes to any gig on which I can get by with the 4 + HipShot. It's a parts bass, made up of a 1988 Warmoth body, a Fender Highway One gen2 neck, Delano JMVC pickups and a Sadowsky preamp. Pretty much the bass by which I measure all others.

 

[mambo4]

I have a 71 P bass and boutique Jazz : Mike Lull MV4 (pictured in my avatar).
I stick with Fender and Clones because I concluded years ago that the "perfect Tone" Is a myth.
What I hear on recordings is an artifact of thousands of dollars of gear and decades of engineering know how.
Where I want a good, reliable, useful sound with as little fiddling as possible, by myself of the sound guy.

Perfect is the enemy of good, as they say

 

[Pings Bass]

I've been basically progressing through the Leo-designed basses: P, J , Ray, L-2K (though not in that order). So I guess you could say I've got a type. I used to think I wanted an exotic wood neck-through, but I don't even know why anymore. Sonically, what I got does it all (not pictured: 80s JB Special fretless PJ and Kay C1, neither designed by Leo, of course).

 

[SteveC]

I don't... I see no point in it. However if you have lots of $$$ you can buy the same bass(es) in different colors, woods, etc.

I agree. Maybe the same bass for a backup?
I guess I have the same bass but one fretted and one fretless. Then a P bass. All the same builder.

 

[Fun With Dirt]

Familiarity, I'd suppose. I haven't really given it much thought. ...but, I'd have to say familiarity. Now, my big goal in life is to have "one" bass. So far, for 3 years, I have done just that. I can't say I am forcing myself to do it though. I just really haven't had the urge to get anything else. Guitar, though, I have utterly failed. I have 4 (down from 8) but still have plans to buy others. Seriously, something damn wrong with me. lol. Actually, 3 of the 4 I have involve sentiment. One is a Heritage H575 that was built the year my son was born and my wife's great uncle was one of the founders of Heritage. So, not allowed to sell that one ever. My Gibson acoustic is from her family so it is something to hand down. Not going anywhere. My Gretsch was kind of a divorce guitar. Focusing on building that up with my friends kept me from going nuts. So, yeah. Outside of that, I have a parts caster. lol.

 

[Marcus Willett]

Over the years I've mostly stuck with Jazz-oriented designs (in a loose sense), but there have been exceptions.

First bass was a Ric 4001, a '76 IIRC...because Geddy/Squire. Circa 1984.

Then discovered Jaco...growing up in Ft Lauderdale and all...so, Jazz Bass

Had that one for a while, maybe 8 years or so. Then a brief departure to MusicMan, the first new bass I ever bought.

Then "the switch" to 5. Around 1995.

Whereupon I realized what I actually wanted was a Jazz style again, 5 strings but smaller neck. And so began many purchases trying to get it right.

It was almost there, but not quite. The Jazz part was there, the spacing was there. A couple tweaks and I tried a custom Stambaugh.

At this point I had figured that I wanted a slightly larger body, so Stambaugh #2 was born.

This was it. Literally cannot think of anything to change about it. I did need a backup however, so Stambaugh #3.

So, with brief diversions, since about 1986 or so, a more-or-less Jazz styled designs.