Why Do You Stick To The Same Type Of Basses?

[Seashore]

I usually like for my instruments to be as different as possible from one another, but when I decided to go back to playing six-string last year, I stuck with the Ibanez SR series to make the transition as easy as possible. As much as I wanted some longer-scale tone monster, I'm happy I made the choice I did, I'm having more fun this way.

 

[dkelley]

I have a personality defect (or 5 or 6).

The grass is always greener on another bass, after the honeymoon is over.

So I have always had lots of different basses. And instruments other than basses.

Edit: I have decided, though, that my avoidance of the ibanez SR series for much of my career was misguided, and it is currently one of my favorite lines of basses. So if I were to buy more basses, and had a choice in the matter for the features I was looking for, I would strongly consider ibanez soundgears.

 

[ChrisBowsman]

I'll post a pic later, but my basses are all pretty varied:

Yamaha TRBX174, Ant I P, QP J
Squier P with Allparts neck, Ant II P
Ibanez Mikro piccolo BEAD
Warwick Corvette Standard passive fretless

I've had the Corvette less than a week, and already wish all the others were fretless.

 

[Danny O Danny]

I've bounced around between a lot of different basses. I've owned Precisions but never felt a particular bond with them (I'm about to sell my last remaining P bass: a Mike Dirnt Roadworn). Ditto with J's. Over the 40 years I've been playing I've owned an incredible variety of basses (and had lots of fun doing so). I've pondered that perhaps my lack of fidelity to any particular type of bass is because although my very first bass was a no-name Precision copy, within a few months I had sold it and acquired an Ibanez Flying V bass (because it looked cool). I played that V in rock bands for a few years until it was stolen and I replaced it with a Gibson Grabber (because KISS), then an Ibanez Les Paul bass, then a Kramer, then an Ibanez Destroyer (Explorer), then a B.C. Rich, then a Thunderbird, then a Music Man Stingray, etc., etc. Over the years I constantly bought, sold and traded basses. I've owned Wals and Moduluses (Moduli?) and Pedullas and Alembics, as well as Squiers and Hondos, etc. The most basses I've ever owned at one time was 8, but I prefer to have fewer than that, so my rule is that if one comes in, at least one goes out. I've owned 5 and 6 stringers, but I always come back to 4.

The one bass I will probably never part with is my beloved Rob Allen MB2 fretless. I've had it for 10 or 12 years now. Every time I pick it up it just feels like a part of me, and its voice is my voice. That's the one that will be cremated with me when I die. About 6 months ago I acquired an NS Design NXT4 electric upright in a trade and that has become my main instrument, so perhaps that will be another "lifer." Both the Rob Allen and the NXT4 are piezo-only instruments.

Besides that there is a revolving cast of other basses. Most recently I've gotten into NS Design Radius basses (so comfortable!). I bought a WAV4 a few weeks ago and just today ordered a CR4 (which means the Dirnt and the Yamaha TRB will have to go). I really like the blend of the piezo and magnetic pickups on the Radius basses.

Generally, if I'm playing my own (original) music, I play fretless and if I'm playing covers I go fretted.

FWIW, although I've been highly promiscous when it comes to basses, I've been faithfully married to the same woman for 32 years.

 

[bobba66]

Mostly the voices in my head.

 

[bassbrad]

Why? I have been playing the same bass so long that it just feels like home, the body and neck just feel like an old lover, we know just how to bring out the best (and worst [wurst]) in each other. Me and Taz have traveled many miles together and everyone just understands that we are Mated.



My main bass is an '82 Carvin LB50 Koa Taz stereo bass that has been my main squeeze and constant companion since being delivered from the factory. 2 humbucking pickups, 2 volumes, two tones, coils splits and a phase switch and I use all the electronics for tones.

I have a total of four of these beauties (top to bottom) Tweety is my main piccolo bass - Toney has a set of EMG HB pickups - Taz my main squeeze and Tyger the real beauty currently has a ADGC piccolo set but may be getting a set of Roto TruBass strings.


Like everyone should I had a long affair with Fender basses mine was with a Precision The Unknown Blonde a '66 after many years of travel and touring had to be retired and resides somewhere in the Hard Rock Cafe guitar collection.

Only photo I have of the old girl. My bass and guitars from college. Still have the classical, only.

 

[ianc_54]

I really like jazz bass necks. I've only got small hands and the 38mm nut feels just right to me. But I wanted the P bass thump so my go to bass for some years has been a hybrid I created with a mex jazz neck bolted on to an ash p bass body. I've tried hollow body medium scale basses and narrow spaced 5 strings but found that when I swapped instruments during a gig, I'd screw up. So now, any basses have to be 34" scale and 38mm nut. For a long time this meant that I didn't look at Musicmans even though I love the sound. Recently, I realized that a couple of their sterling range match my requirements and I have just taken delivery of a SUB ray4. Somehow, I don't think it'll take the place of my "frankenbass" but who knows....

 

[crucislancer]

I spent the first 12 years playing basses from various manufacturers, in an effort to figure out what I liked and what I didn't, before settling on Fender Jazz basses almost exclusively, which I've been playing for the past 20+ years. Before that, I had basses from Epiphone, Cort, Rickenbacker, Hohner, Ibanez, Steinberger, Tobias, and even a couple of Fenders. But in 2000 I happened upon a '97 American Standard Jazz, maple board, ash body in white blonde. Gorgeous bass, and the tone was to die for. I wish I still had that bass, but I've been lucky to have some fantastic Jazz basses over the years, especially the 2 that I have now.

I still prefer Fender basses, and along with the 2 Jazz basses (MiM Geddy Lee in sunburst and American Performer in white with rosewood board), I have 2 Precision basses (Nate Mendel P and Precision Deluxe special edition in sunburst/maple board), but I have been looking at other options as well, some of which are Fender clones and others that aren't. Of course, I really don't need another bass right now, but in the future I may buy one outside of the confines of the Fender aesthetic.

This pick is nearly a year old, but the line up is the same now.

 

[Koshchei]

I play fretless very nearly exclusively (haven't even played a fretted bass on a gig since early 2014). I've settled primarily on 5 string Ibanez fretlesses.

I've owned a GWB35, which I loved, but I wanted something that didn't only have a bridge pickup. I then had a Portamento SR705F that I upgraded the pickups and pre to higher-end Bartolini, and that was a great bass. Then I bought a cheap SR375EF as a backup, but fell in love with it. I even like the stock pickups and pre ... The Powerspan pickups actually impress me, and I feel no need for any electronics upgrades. I wanted a little better action than I could get with it from the factory, so I had Mike Lull plek it. Now it both plays and sounds amazing.

Reasons I wound up in the Ibanez camp:
1. I love narrow-spaced 5s, and the 16.5mm spacing on the SRs is just perfect for me. I owned two very good 5s with 19mm spacing, and ultimately didn't care for them.
2. The neck feel. I like thin and narrow necks. These have that in spades.
3. Light weight and ergonomics. My 375 is one of the heavier Soundgear models, with its maple body, but even this one just weighs 8.5 pounds. My SR705F was about 7.5 pounds, and my one fretted bass, an SR505, is around the same. They all balance very well, and upper fingerboard access is great.
4. Sound. I love how these sound and how versatile they are.

So that's how/why I wound up where I am now. Here's my 375:
View attachment 3659235

@Inara put me onto an Ibanez GWB205, which I dutifully snapped up, as I also really like narrow string spacing. I'm in the process of going totally fretless right now. There's something to be said about having complete contact and control over the string and how/where it vibrates.

 

[Ellery]

Posting this as hopefully a fun thread with without judgment, without whininess because someone doesn't want to play yours or my favorite basses. I'm in it for the pics and fun stories of why some folks have settled on only one type of bass or one beloved favorite for everything. So please don't muck up this thread with douchebagginess, but yes, I'm going to talk about why I ultimately stuck with Fenders or Fender "tributes." Please feel free to contribute stories about what made you stick with only one type of bass if you have, and leave the sniping at other brands to a million other threads. And post pics.

When I started, my first good bass was a new 76 Fender Precision. We had a store in Orlando with a great selection where I could play all the different types of basses out there from Alembic to whatever ended in Z back then and the P sounded and felt as good as any that I was willing to pay for. Nice bass, a little too wide a neck pocket but as good as any from that era once you deal with that. I'd occasionally paint it and mod it over the years once I decided the pickup wasn't doing it for me by itself, but it was my only good bass for 15 years and I couldn't wait to ditch it and get something more high end and "modern" back when "modern" was the proper term for a bass with now-45 year old technology. That's what I did. I totally didn't want to play Fenders just on principle of being too broke to afford anything else.

So once I got some money, I experimented with others. I've tried everything from hollowbodies to active neck-thru boutiques, the cheap to the sublime, and they work very well for me on some types of music, OK for others, and not too great on a couple types. The only thing I could bring and always sound great on everything no matter what it was were Fenders. I still have bouts of wanting to use a different type on a gig, but I've given it up. Love a good P, love a good J, but I've decided on the PJ format with Geezers for my number one all-around does-everything bass, though I usually stay on the P. I'm counting my P in with the PJ's, too, but a PJ always goes to first time meetings with new musicians.

In black of course. With Hipshot Bass Xtenders. Still got that 76 Precision too, though the only thing left of the original bass is the body. It's the one in flat black. Doesn't have to be a real Fender, though. My go-to is a Hammersmith PJ I got 3 years ago. But it has to be black and have Geezers. I have a pieces parts PJ with flats in seafoam green, but it almost became black 2 weeks ago until my wife ordered me not to touch it. So it can stay here for her whilst I rock the Black Brigade:

View attachment 3659163

Ok, you make a post that is not intended as a challenge to one's preferences; but could easily be interpreted as one by an egocentric mind. Here. And then expect no whininess, douchebagginess, or sniping. Ok JimmyM...Ok. BTW I love your basses!

 

[BergerHead]

It's like bad habits, once you're into, it's hard to get rid of!

 

[gjohnson441496]

Question...
Why Do You Stick To The Same Type Of Basses?
Answer...
Because the P bass is the only bass you need.
Thread closed.

 

[TonyP-]

The dark Lord told me to

 

[abarson]

As I managed to blow off the tips of two left fingers and half my left thumb, finding a comfortable neck is a challenge for me. I've also had an inexplicable and irrational aversion to standard Fender shapes, maybe because they are so ubiquitous. Granted, the first basses I played before buying numero uno were Jazz derivatives, but since they were borrowed I couldn't complain. The stop-gap Silvertone LB11 Precision copy didn't last, but I can truthfully say I gave it a try.

The first bass I bought in '82 was a short scale Gherson Les Paul, which definitely checked my two criteria boxes. But it was heavy and didn't offer a lot of tonal variation. It's only in the past year or so that I've realized how significant its short scale was for playability, and my current odd-duck SS Squier Bronco has a great neck.

My Tobias Growler has been my go-to (and usually only) bass over the past 16 years. The asymmetric neck profile and fretboard radius are very compatible with my hand and there's no question that it isn't from Leo's lineage. I think my dream bass would be a 32" scale MTD CRB with PJ pickup configuration. I bet Mike would do it but I'd need to win the lottery first.

 

[Rib 13]

My only criteria for 'same bass' is having two pickups......with that said, Fender and Fender-ish basses always seem to be 'me', but I like variety: I went from small Fender variations (Musicman and G&L) to wider Fender variations (Peavey, Carvin, etc) and, while I still consider J basses the most "Me", I am getting a kick of discovery out of unorthodox instruments like MIJ Electra-Westone and Fernandes with atypical pickup configs and electronics -- mainly because nothing sounds like them....Im currently not GASsing for anything but I can see in my forseeable future acquiring many oddball Fernandes basses with unorthodox pickup configs, types, and arrangements

 

[craigb]

Because they are the only ones comfortable enough for me to play as much as I want to . . . fortunately what works for me is nice (G&Ls with a 1.5" nut width - preferably 90s profile). My favorite tones have been semihollows (Rumblefish PJ, DiPinto Belvedere Std, Epi Casady, Ibanez SRH500) but none of them have fit my hands/wrists well enough to stay put.

I tend to oscillate on which G&L tone I like best at any given time which caused a lot of churn as I'd reorient my small collection every 6 months or so. But lately have narrowed it down to a single pickup in the P sweetspot being what I want. I like the other options, but not enough to keep them around any more.



All have flats on them, the SB2 is DGCF.

I have a couple of 23" scale uke basses as I find those comfortable to play also and the acoustic-ey tones are fun.

It took a bunch of trial-and-error (and slow degradation of my capability to be comfortable on a wider variety of basses) to get here, but here is a pretty good place to be.

 

[Planespotter]

I started out playing a Tokai P bass copy at my high school and got a Peavey Fury P copy as a gift not too long after. I think the sound and response of the split p pickup is just burned into me as what a bass sounds like. Not too surprisingly I've played P basses almost exclusively over the last 25 years.

 

[Knavery]

I finally think I've learned what I like after losing a LOT of money buying and selling basses. And that is the Fender Jazz Elite. It has a lot more to do with comfort than the sound. I recently had a Stingray Special HH that was incredible, but sold it because I couldn't get used to the real estate the pickups used. When I pick up the jazz, it's just so easy to play. That's why I stick with it.

 

[SteveC]

[I'm in the process of going totally fretless right now. There's something to be said about having complete contact and control over the string and how/where it vibrates.

I don't know if I could go 100% fretless (I did consider it a while back) but I agree about the contact/control thing. There's a certain feeling (not sure how to describe it) when playing fretless. If I had to choose one bass, I think it would be my fretless 5. A fretless doesn't always have to be played/sound like a fretless. It just so happens that my fretless is the best sounding of all my basses.

 

[iiipopes]

Hmm. The oldest bass I currently have is my '81 Rickenbacker 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3"), which I got in the early '90's. I have several basses. No other Rickenbackers. My stable of basses are all different makes, models, scale lengths, etc. I guess I am just the opposite: when I get with a new band or substantial change of repertoire, I find an instrument that better fits the circumstances, better fits my ergonomic circumstances as I grow older, etc. I make sure I am fitting the ensemble, repertoire and playing style, rather than trying to force the ensemble, repertoire or playing style to fit me. I have gotten many, many more gigs over the years than I would have otherwise with that philosophy.