Why Do You Stick To The Same Type Of Basses?

[Dabndug]

I don't fit the mould. My current rotation:

- Fender MIJ J
- Fender Musicmaster
- Rickenbacker 4001
- Jerry Jones Longhorn

The upright is out of bounds due to an injury.
If I'm looking for a new-to-me bass, it has to offer something different from the herd.

 

[Playbyear]

I only play 4 string fretted basses... so, they're all the same bass.

 

[pbass2]

I started with a 4001 as my first good bass when I was 15, back in the mid 70's. I have however, not returned to a Ric(though I do love the sound). I'm a passive 4-banger pbass guy now for the most part, and I didn't truly start to embrace the P until about 18 years ago. Up til then, all through the 80's for example, I used pretty much everything except a P! Headless, active, fretless this and that, fanned frets, etc etc. I think when I was really young I was kind of resistant to it because some of the older geezers I played with were always bugging me to lose the Ric and get a Pbass). Funny, now I'm a geezer and if I could only have one bass, it'd be a precision.

 

[TemplesOfSyrinx]

My 1976 4001 in the center was my first real bass. Bought it used in 1982. I didn't discover the pure bass bliss of a Precision Bass until about 10 years ago. As you see I have a few now. Along with a fretted and fretless Jazz, a Kala Ubass and my Hofner. I like them all. But if I could only have 1 it would be a Precision with Geezer pups and LaBella flats. I like Stingray bass guitars, but have sold them since I'm not really into the active eq stuff anymore.

It's nice having a diverse arsenal especially when recording. Sometimes you just need that precision, sometimes you need to have that Rickenbacker.

 

[2F/2F]

Kind of. They are all bolt necks in the general Fender style, if not Fenders themselves (a bunch of Fenders and Fender-clone builds, a G&L, and a Music Man). That said, I do have a Czechoslovakian Les Paul Custom type bass on the way from Ukraine (supposedly).

 

[nilorius]

Because i like the sound type of that bass.

 

[Lowbrow]

I stick with P Basses and P clones with the addition of the G&L L-1000 (essentially a P update).
I have wandered many times and always return.
Why? Because they are the only basses that in my mind sound good -- simply put, it's the one configuration that tonally offers everything you could possibly need and nothing that you need to work against.

 

[mikopita]

First bass was an Aria Pro II SB Elite (wish I still had) that was my main bass up until 1993 when I picked up this beauty (first pic circa '93.. and still have it). Very early Sterling in blue pearl.

Since then I've mostly continued to play either MusicMan or Fender. RBV being my main player these days.

 

[Watchootognbout]

WhenI was 18 I heard and saw Stanley Clarke's beautiful Alembic basses.
I was smitten!
Exotic dark woods!
Gold hardware!
No pickguards!

The local music store didn't have Alembics and there weren't any natural finished basses in stock.
And I didn't have the transportation to drive to L.A. and look.
So I settled for a "walnut"pre EBMM Sabre.

Up until 2007 most every bass I had bass that wasn't exactly what I wanted.
Most makers weren't making them.
Most were painted,had pickguards and had chrome hardware.
Until I saw this bass.
Now there's no turning back!

 

[GIBrat51]

In answer to the question in the title;
Other than being all left handed; 4-stringed; and (with 2 exceptions) passive? I don't think they're the same at all...

 

[fourstringburn]

I played a few other Basses but for me, The Fender Precision and Jazz Bass are my favorites. I would like a 70's Ric though.

With Fenders, I love the feel, tone, and appearance. After playing another Bass, it's like coming home when I'm back holding my Fender's.

I'm considering building a Warmoth Fender style Jazz Bass just for fun to see how a good a non-Fender compares.

Here's my 1st Bass I owned which has recently had a Gold makeover.

It's a '78 Precision with EMG P/J pups but Seymour Duncan is making me some custom Gold pickup pole humbuckers with the J pup being a side by side split coil.

Hip shot D-tuner conversion on a Fender tuner, looks good I think.

 

[bherman]

Im in your camp, @JimmyM - I've played around with other configurations but always come back to a P bass with standard (1.75") nut width. Why? Sounds good, muscle memory.

 

[delta7fred]

I guess I just like P basses!

I owned and played one P bass (a 62) for about 35 years so I sort of got used to playing it. (Still own it and it's going nowhere.)

Then my circumstances changed (kids left home and my wife passed) and I discovered TB and GAS and got up to about 16 basses (including a DB and 2 EUBs).

A couple of years ago I decided it was time to thin the herd and I'm down to about half that now. (But more need to go, it's just deciding what!)

My 2 main basses are a G&L L-2000 for gigs (a P bass with humbuckers) and a G&L SB-2 (a PJ wired as a P) for a weekly studio session.

I do have other basses besides P or P inspired ones (fretless Jazz, EB3, Violin bass) but they only see occasional use.

It's no surprise that my main home practice bass is a P (made from a kit a couple of years ago).

 

[kev451]

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

I'm digging that P bass with the Maple neck. That's a great bass. I've got a small collection of basses. For awhile I was exclusively Spector basses. But I've branched out. My first real bass is an 86 Gibson Tbird. I then had that bass for over 20 years. Then I got into Spectors I've owned over 9 different Spectors and am now down to 1 which is my keeper. A Spector Euro Mike Starr Edition. I swapped preamp for a US Haz this with the build of the bass has essentially made it a US Spector. I then got a Fender Jaguar Japan edition bass. I modified it with a full Maple neck and that bass is just amazing sound wise. I then went and got a G&L L2000 which is a 2009 and that bass is pure power. Overall I've tried to get Basses of varying tones and sounds to be able to have instruments which I can apply to any type of music which is thrown my way.

 

[burgerdj]

I have always liked the ergonomics of the Warwick Streamer. Having multiple iterations of the same instrument is particularly handy when swapping out at a gig and utilizing one strap.

 

[Tom Gallo]

I don't stick to the same kind of basses. I have a Fender Mustang, Fender P, Dano Longhorn and a Rick 4003s. There's also a crappy Bronco bass around here somewhere.

 

[Sid Fang]

My early bass choices were mostly driven by a fondness for the round-wounds-and-humbuckers sound of bassists like John Entwhistle, but at one point in the late '80s I bought a Steinberger XL2A, specifically because it was easy to fly with. At first, the synthetic materials seemed creepy and soulless, but then I realized that it was a well-balanced neutrality. It didn't impose any character, but let me impose mine. The insane stability under temperature changes, the ability to tune precisely with the right hand without reaching across my body, the perfect intonation, the amazing sustain, it all clicked for me. So now I own 3 headless graphite basses with active humbuckers - the 'berger, and two Status Graphite 5-stringers (a Stealth and a Streamline), because the Steinberger 5-strings are all in the hands of crazy Japanese collectors now, and are anyway pretty narrow for my fingerstyle technique.

 

[Groove Doctor]

3 P basses
1 PJ Fretless
2 Tobias Classics (4 & 5) neck PU sounds like a P in passive mode.
The P sound works well for me.

I take my '69 P in Seafoam to gigs 90% of the time.

 

[Ostie]

I'm all over the place. I have a Jazz, Mustang, Epi EB0, Epi Jack Casady, and a Hofner Club. All this stuff about "I only like Jazz necks" or "I only play long scale" or "too much neck dive" is nonsense to me. If it makes a sound that I like, I'll deal with the ergonomics.

 

[awakefie]

Let's see... over the years I've owned and played the following:

Gibson G3 - Nice starter bass, wish I still had it (might be a nice conversation piece) but it suffered neck dive.
Peavey T40 - Weight just slightly under a metric ton IIRC. Sold it
Kramer Custom Bass - the bl laid down the law we would dress in black and play black instruments so I showed up at the next practice in bright blue parachute pants (remember those?) with a brand new bright purple Kramer Custom bass.
Fender Precision - Doodling base, sat well in the mix.
Rogue 6 string - Heavy, great tone for recording, wish I'd never sold it.
A variety of 4 and 5 string Schecters - Liked the modern tone, looks, fell in an out of love with each one quickly.
Spector Euro - great bass, just never loved it.
Fender Jazz - American Jazz - loved it. Had to sell it for $$ concerns.
Musicman Stingray HH5 - Bounce back from my beloved American Jazz. Super versatile and played it the longest of any. Fell out of love with it as I got older due to the weight.
Musicman Stingray - Solid, just never loved it.
Fender Jazz - Loved it, served me well, had to go to a 5 string and didn't love the Jazz 5 strings.
Sterling Ray35 - Still have it, it is my backup bass. Love the tone, can't stand the neck.
Fender Jazz - Still have it, play it almost every gig.

Not really married to one, but I keep coming back to the Jazz, just like the tone and necks. Precision sat in the mix the best. Musicman HH5 was the most versatile. Liked them all for their strengths but I tend to fall out of love with them from time to time and then that is that as they say. My current is a Mexican Jazz 4. Fell in love with the neck.