aside from everything already mentioned, because i want new things and don't want to get rid of the things i already have and really like.
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Why have multiple basses?
- Thread starter ZUR13L
- Start date
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,350
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
I love bass! I don't need to justify my puchases. I buy basses that I think look nice on the wall. Some people buy paintings; I like basses. The best part of my art is I can play them(and I do).
I have a P with flats, jazz with rounds, a fretless thats great and a 5 string. All of my basses get played.
I have a P with flats, jazz with rounds, a fretless thats great and a 5 string. All of my basses get played.
+1.
Althought it looks like I will personally be thinning the herd from 13 to 9 tomorrow.
I NEED 4 or 5 basses.
But how can I sell my 1974 P that I just love but hardly play? My wife bought me it for my birthday a couple of years ago..... sentimental value comes into play too...
Fretted and fretless is all I NEED. However, I prefer having a short scale, and anything that is out of my norm to get me to approach the instrument differently.
- Dec 5, 2002
- 4,165
- 2,254
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Ernie Ball Music Man/Sterling By Music Man
For me, it's not about "oh, they sound different" or having a backup or needing a different bass for the classic rock band than I do for the rockabilly gig.
It's because bass is what I do, what I love, what I think about all the time.
Some guys have guns, others like cars. People collect dolls or little statues of weasels or hotel ashtrays - or beer cans. Whatever. If it floats your boat, then it's good.
Basses float my boat. I like having them around. I like playing them, and when I'm not playing them, I like looking at them. I like fiddling around with them, adjusting them. I like to have one in my lap when I'm blah-blah-blah on the internet late at night.
I watch Mythbusters with a bass on my knee.
I have a bunch of basses because I can, yes. But also because I just love them.
Even the ones that some of you play? The ones I don't? Screw it, they're basses, not mandolins or harpsichords, so I even kind of like them, too.
I'd have a million of them if I could.
It's because bass is what I do, what I love, what I think about all the time.
Some guys have guns, others like cars. People collect dolls or little statues of weasels or hotel ashtrays - or beer cans. Whatever. If it floats your boat, then it's good.
Basses float my boat. I like having them around. I like playing them, and when I'm not playing them, I like looking at them. I like fiddling around with them, adjusting them. I like to have one in my lap when I'm blah-blah-blah on the internet late at night.
I watch Mythbusters with a bass on my knee.
I have a bunch of basses because I can, yes. But also because I just love them.
Even the ones that some of you play? The ones I don't? Screw it, they're basses, not mandolins or harpsichords, so I even kind of like them, too.
I'd have a million of them if I could.
This is just my reasoning. But I buy basses for many different reasons.
I bought my first bass (P Bass) because it was cheap in a pawn shop, and i figured why not. Number 2 (Spector 5 String) came because i felt like it was time to try a longer scale and 5 string. 3 (squire jazz) was bought as a backup that never saw any action and eventually phased out. 4 (Lakland 55-01) was just too good of a deal to pass up and i really liked the way it felt and sounded, became my main bass. 5 (Ibanez SR506) was gotten in trade for 2 when i felt like it was time to try my hand at a 6 string and i wasnt playing the spector anymore. 6 (Warwick Corvette Std.) because although i do not care for J Basses, i felt like having something in the arsenal with a J/J pup arrangement would be nice, and I had been gassing for a 'wick. 7 (EBMM Stingray) Bought from a guy at work, needs serious work, but for the price i can completely refinish and restore to sell it and still make a profit.
number 8 will most likely be a lined fretless of some sort, and hopefully 9 will be a Warwick 6 string.
those are my reasons.
I bought my first bass (P Bass) because it was cheap in a pawn shop, and i figured why not. Number 2 (Spector 5 String) came because i felt like it was time to try a longer scale and 5 string. 3 (squire jazz) was bought as a backup that never saw any action and eventually phased out. 4 (Lakland 55-01) was just too good of a deal to pass up and i really liked the way it felt and sounded, became my main bass. 5 (Ibanez SR506) was gotten in trade for 2 when i felt like it was time to try my hand at a 6 string and i wasnt playing the spector anymore. 6 (Warwick Corvette Std.) because although i do not care for J Basses, i felt like having something in the arsenal with a J/J pup arrangement would be nice, and I had been gassing for a 'wick. 7 (EBMM Stingray) Bought from a guy at work, needs serious work, but for the price i can completely refinish and restore to sell it and still make a profit.
number 8 will most likely be a lined fretless of some sort, and hopefully 9 will be a Warwick 6 string.
those are my reasons.
It's amazing how a different bass will alter your approach! I started playing upright 2 years ago after many years on electric. 95% of my practice time since then has been on upright. I thought this would take a toll on my electric playing, but the opposite has occurred. The fresh perspective has crossed over in interesting and surprising ways.
My idea of a perfect Sunday night.
P.S. I tend to drink lots on Saturday night and Sunday is all about doing nothing IMO.
If Jack said NFL from noon until 10:00pm, I would love him more.
- Jun 19, 2004
- 4,782
- 83
- 42
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist, Schroeder Cabinets
Weird question, I know.
Try not to jump on my head too much, but, how many basses do you really need?
A fretless? A fretted? An upright? 4, 5, 6 string?
I'm really not trying to flame, just understand. Why have multiple 4 string fretted basses, for example?
Thanks.
I have 4 basses that I mainly use, and a few others that I don't.
My main basses are an MTD Artist 5-string, which has a single MM-style humbucker. It's punchy and plays very well and is my main live bass.
I also have an MTD Z6, which I use as a back-up for my MTD 5er when I'm playing live. It's a bit neck-heavy, not as a fast as the 5er, and also has much weaker output (2 single coils versus a MM humbucker), so it's really not ideal for performance. However, it's great for practicing sight-reading while seated, which is mostly what I do with it.
My other two main basses are for recording: a Line6 Variax 5-string, and a back-up Line6 Variax 5-string. I had a Seymour Duncan SSB-II magnetic pickup installed in the second one, and a custom (faster) neck built for it. I tend not to gig with these because they're pretty heavy and they eat batteries.
I also have two "fun" basses, a Squier Badtz Maru (Bronco) bass, which I have tuned as a tenor, and a New York Pro 5-string (piece-of-****) bass I got for $200 just to mess around with. I'm actually about to sell these last two because I never use them.
Hope this helps,
Right now, I have 2 basses (1 fretless Fender "J" neck bolted on a Squier "P" body, and a Peavey T-20). But I'm about to return the Peavey to my niece.
I've decided to learn how to play a fretless. After "A/B'ing" both basses, I realize that the fretless is not has hard to play AND it's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, after playing the fretless, the fretted Peavey just felt awkward to play.
I've decided to learn how to play a fretless. After "A/B'ing" both basses, I realize that the fretless is not has hard to play AND it's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, after playing the fretless, the fretted Peavey just felt awkward to play.
Most painters don't use one brush to create their art. Why use one bass to create our music? In the studio having two or more basses gives you a more diverse palette of tones.
Aside from everything mentioned previously...
My band plays a wide variety of music, (Bar House Band) that said i keep two basses on stage at all times which are tuned differently, that way i don't have to spend time in between songs to tune up or down for the next song. i just hit stanby on my rig and swap basses....
i also hate carrying all my gear around so i have a bass or two that stay at home and a few more that live in our practice space, and even a beater that lives at the bar.
My band plays a wide variety of music, (Bar House Band) that said i keep two basses on stage at all times which are tuned differently, that way i don't have to spend time in between songs to tune up or down for the next song. i just hit stanby on my rig and swap basses....
i also hate carrying all my gear around so i have a bass or two that stay at home and a few more that live in our practice space, and even a beater that lives at the bar.
- Mar 24, 2005
- 1,625
- 44
- 81
- Disclosures
- Seymour Duncan/Basslines SMB-5A Endorsing Artist
Besides everything mentioned previously...
To avoid transporting an instrument from one place to another . . .
There are a pair of fretted (main bass and back-up) and a fretless with the band's equipment (we rehearse there, too.)
There are a pair of fretless (*one is strung EADGC) and a fretted at the studio where I work . . . this is where I spend almost ALL of my waking hours!
There's a fretted bass at my home, in case I want to play something or practice when I'm there. But I'm almost never there.
All are 5 strings, tuned BEADG (except *), and were made by Carlos Carbajal of Mexico City . . .
Oh, I almost forgot . . . . . . the ol' 4 -string (a '58 Pbass that I got in '67) is at the studio, too.
To avoid transporting an instrument from one place to another . . .
There are a pair of fretted (main bass and back-up) and a fretless with the band's equipment (we rehearse there, too.)
There are a pair of fretless (*one is strung EADGC) and a fretted at the studio where I work . . . this is where I spend almost ALL of my waking hours!
There's a fretted bass at my home, in case I want to play something or practice when I'm there. But I'm almost never there.
All are 5 strings, tuned BEADG (except *), and were made by Carlos Carbajal of Mexico City . . .
Oh, I almost forgot . . .
. . . the ol' 4 -string (a '58 Pbass that I got in '67) is at the studio, too.
im not a pro so ive questioned my own collection quite a few times: "why the hell do i have so many basses when i dont gig 3 times a week or do session work?"
ive honestly struggled with it. in the end ive come to realize i work hard for my $, i first and foremost take care of "real life" expenses and i really enjoy my instruments. theyre one of the few things im passionate about. its fun an i love it
ive honestly struggled with it. in the end ive come to realize i work hard for my $, i first and foremost take care of "real life" expenses and i really enjoy my instruments. theyre one of the few things im passionate about. its fun an i love it
