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Why have multiple basses?

#61
So many Basses so little time...

I went with one bass for years when I was young and gigging a lot. there were a few different ones, but always one at a time. When I stopped playing for a few years I kept the last bass I had and figured that was it. Then I wanted to play seriously again and that bass wasn't what I wanted to play. So I bought a new bass which was very different form the other; more strings, less frets.

That second bass a Rob Allen MB2 could be the only one, but every once and awhile something catches my eye and the GAS gets so bad I need some relief. So I now have five basses.

One fretted an ESP parts Pbass (the last one standing from my early days), and four fretlesses: a Rob Allen MB2 5 string, a Yamaha APX-B12F ABG, an Ibanez SR 1305 and a Squier VM jazz.

Every one of them is different and while the MB2 is my go to bass for gigs and recording, every one gets played. i find that each one helps develop my chops
in a different way and they each sound different enough that if i need a different sound for a gig I'm set.

Next up: a fretless and a fretted six string (s friend of mine's building them), and any unique instrument that catches my eay at the right moment of solvency.

I'm a Bass Player and I need the right tools for the job, and...


I like my toys too.
 
#64
for me i like to buy guitars/basses because i like to have new things i like to have different things; 1 because they look nice, 2 because they sound different, 3 because what else am i gonna do i see it as anyother hobby/interest that people might have. and when people say "youre buying another guitar? youve got (x amount) guitars" i just say its better than me spending my money all on beer and other bits of **** ie games/dvds etc, which basically is what would happen to my spending if i didnt play guitar/bass. If you can pay you bills and put some money in to savings then why not buy basses with the rest if you enjoy them.

if you enjoy basses they buy them what else am i gonna buy
 
#67
I have my original epiphone power bass which I won't get rid of b/c of sentimental reasons... I have my MIA P-bass which I played and gigged with for many years... (also sentimental value) I have my modified squire fretless which I have just to have a fretless when need be. I have my Rickenbacker 4003 which is my current main bass and love and is gaining sentimental value with every day I play it. I also have my double bass which I enjoy and was a gift from all my friends a few years ago for my b-day. (More sentimental value)...

I guess for me it has a lot to do with sentimental value and a bit to do with tone. I guess as the the years progress, I'll have enough tone variation for any occasion just based on the the basses that have proven to be important in my life. :)
 
#68
ZUR13L said:
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.

:)
Click to expand...

Some of my basses are redundant, some are not.

I have a fretless 4 string, a fretted Jazz, 2 fretted P copies (redundant), a T-40 (doesn't really fit any one category), a headless Steinberger copy, a Peavey Foundation (quasi J bass), an ABG (belongs to my wife), a 12 string, 2 five strings (one vintage sounding, one modern sounding), a fretless 5, and two six strings.

So, if I wanted to eliminate redundancy, I could get rid of one of the P copies, the Foundation, and one six stringer.

That would reduce my arsenal from 14 basses to 11 basses, each of them capable of doing something different. Yeah, there would be some overlap, but I could justify each individual bass.

Of course, I don't have to justify anything to anybody, except to God, my wife, and myself.
 
#70
A rather interesting coincidence coming across this thread this morning since I came on talkbass wrestling this exact question. I have four four-sting basses that are all P/J/PJ configured and thought, "Why?" They do have (slightly) different tones or (somewhat different) attributes but I don't tend to rotate them based on that, I tend to play whichever one is most "speaking" to me at the moment. A few weeks from now, that could be a different one. The choice rarely has a logic that I could even try to put in words. But, in the end, I like the four basses I have and every time I think of getting another I realize that I just don't have the desire anymore. And that is a pretty major step for me as I bought, sold and traded about 40 basses over two decades to get to this point.

But to answer the question pragmatically: If you are just starting out (played less than five years), just get one and focus more on learning than gear lust. If you are a gigging musician, even a weekend warrior, get a second so you are never caught off guard if your main bass is lost or stolen. After that, it all comes down to personal preference. If you feel the desire to get another bass, and you are not hurting anyone by getting it, then get it. If you don't want any more basses, don't get any more. I'm happy with my four. Some might be happy with their one. Others might be happy with their thirty. It's all good.
 
#71
IMHO it's all a matter of taste. I have been fortunate enough to try many kinds of food, from fast-food to exotic and many things in between. I had the desire to taste they different types of food, recipes and ingredients and I put the effort to search and try. Now I know what I like, not by looking others eating and by listening to stories regarding food, but from my own personal gustatory experience. Same goes for basses. Unless you try a bass for a "reasonable" amount of time (more than 5-10min that is), under different conditions (solo, in a band situation, in a recording situation, in different styles), noone can be sure if the playability, ergonomics and sound(s) suit a given situation. I went to over 50 basses owned at once (side-by-side comparison is the best test) and now I am thinning the herd to the ones that speak the most to me.
 
#72
Because my tastes, ability, and musical environment all evolve and I don't immediately sell the obsolescent basses....

But I've only got four: a fretless Jazz, which will go on the block soon; a '51 P RI that a friend has fallen in love with, so we get that one out when we play together; and my gigging basses, fretted and fretless Precisions.

I'd really rather have just one, but until I invent the instant interchangeable fretted/fretless neck I'm stuck with at least two.
 
#73
i of course want to have all the sounds
i have a p bass stingray warwick
i want a fretless and some other things

what i dont under stand even if you have the money
is getting multiple versions of the exact same instrument, unless its a backup
one guy in my town plays identical black stingrays and thats it

other people ive seen on this website have 5 different stingray 5s
and 4 fender j and all that

it just seems overkill and pointless
 
#76
It has been a journey and an education. I like basses, they sound different, I am affected by them, so depending on WHAT I am playing, I will choose one appropriately.

1. My first bass was a Yamaga BB404 (good J style bass BTW)
2. Next I got an SX ash 5 stringer Jazz style, then another (I modded them with a high mass bridge and alnico pups), the mods gave me fuller tone, but I lost some of the punch of the stock pups. I strung one with flats. EVERY bassist should have at least one bass strung with flats!
3. Then I got a neck-thru that had soap bar pups (oh the depths!).
4. Then I got a pair of SX Bass Collection copies (both PJs, fretted and fretless) they are very light and easy to carry together when I want both a fretless and fretless. (fretless strung with tapewounds)
5. Then I got an SX PJ so see get closer to a P experience (it IS different tonally and feel-wise than the Bass Collections)
6. Then, to get the SX Jazz punch back, I got another one to leave stock.
7. The above are all passive, I also got a five string fretless neck-thru, strung it with flats. Ohhh the tone!
8. Decided to try 6 strings. So I got some of those to, they are all active (I'm going to get rid of one).
9, Finally, I got another SX Jazz to put an audere pre in (that Z switch sounds like a sweet thing to have, along with the 2 band EQ!).

I could not have these experiences, and sounds with just 3 basses. I also am compensating for my childhood. And I like a fairly wide style of music. If I only liked/played one genre, I might be able to get all the sounds I wanted out of 1 bass, but heck, I'd STILL want to play something DIFFERENT just for the change!

Diversity is a good thing!
 
#79
with me its all about a backup and the possibility of having a different tuning readily available (thats a small reason because I could always retune if I had to , well more of a lazy reason, but anyway) I'm not worried about different tones, I'm getting all the sound I need out of my thunderbird. Thats why I'm going to get ANOTHER thunderbird as my back up :]
 

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