Why I slowed down gear acquisition.

[31HZ]

Good post Doc. I think I have a slightly different perspective.

Long ago I made a conscious (and painful) decision NOT to pursue a career in music, largely because I wanted to be able to afford a stable and comfortable life (for my family and also for my music). Music has always been a major focus though, and I've striven to have a "professional" attitude as far as the music goes. However, I've never bought into looking at how many professionals have fancy instruments or a large arsenal. Some of them play cheapo instruments and sound great. Some have rooms full of Alembics and Wals. But, so what? Their life is not mine. They made different choices.

I'm looking at retirement within the next couple of years, and I'm planning to spend my time playing music as much as I can, at the highest level that I can. So I'm looking for the couple of forever basses and amps while I have an active income. I'm lazy about selling, so I have about 12 nice basses. I'll be doing some major divestiture in the near future. But in the short term, this all means that I've been on a major GAS explosion.

We have a lot in common, friend.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Good post Doc. I think I have a slightly different perspective.

Long ago I made a conscious (and painful) decision NOT to pursue a career in music, largely because I wanted to be able to afford a stable and comfortable life (for my family and also for my music). Music has always been a major focus though, and I've striven to have a "professional" attitude as far as the music goes. However, I've never bought into looking at how many professionals have fancy instruments or a large arsenal. Some of them play cheapo instruments and sound great. Some have rooms full of Alembics and Wals. But, so what? Their life is not mine. They made different choices.

I'm looking at retirement within the next couple of years, and I'm planning to spend my time playing music as much as I can, at the highest level that I can. So I'm looking for the couple of forever basses and amps while I have an active income. I'm lazy about selling, so I have about 12 nice basses. I'll be doing some major divestiture in the near future. But in the short term, this all means that I've been on a major GAS explosion.

 

[Gervais Cote]

My cure for G.A.S. was having K.I.D.S.

It will come back as soon as they leave the house !

 

[Element Zero]

Despite buying a newer larger home at the end of '22 and especially since I probably won't be gigging anytime soon I've completely stopped buying gear. I still wish my Fodera would sell so I could pick up a fretless of some kind, but that'd likely be it for me. My wife's Stingray 5 is phenomenal and I play it often and am QUITE comfortable on it so if/when the Fodera goes, I'm good on the fretted side. Just need… ahem… WANT a fretless and call it a day.

 

[Element Zero]

It will come back as soon as they leave the house !

Easy for some… mine are 3 and 6.

 

[KenSmithFan]

I slowed down to almost nothing when I asked myself a few simple questions before buying a new piece of gear - first, what does this do that none of my other gear will do and second, what will I not use because I'm using this?

 

[Wasnex]

Way too often, I got the shiny new thing, only to miss that old and used thing I let go to get it.

That's why I don't sell stuff...mostly I just buy more and continually cycle through the collection. So I have a different problem: Space is limited and I am beyond the point where it's becoming a challenge to find a place to store new each acquisitions, without blocking in existing pieces.

My thing is amps more so than basses. I have 9 basses and have not bought a bass for many years. I did purchase a Hamer Cruise 5 with a 2-Tek bridge a year or so ago, but I had to return it due to a broken truss rod.

My #1 bass has been a Yamaha TRB6P since about 1995. So my most likely bass guitar purchase is a spare TRB6P. Mine only has one truss rod and the neck experiences lot's of seasonal drift. The fretboard has a pretty nasty crack that's not going to get better.

The TRB6P I played for 20 years in the military had dual truss rods and they almost never needed adjustment. So I keep my eyes open for a good deal on a dual truss TRB6P.

In general I am more of a try before you buy type, especially with basses. Things might be different if I lived in an area with cool brick and mortar stores with nice basses.

I would like to get a decent student-level carved upright and also an NS Design EU6. I played both professionally, but the instruments were provided by the military.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

My acquisitions have increased. My needs keep changing; I'm doing a very wide variety of gigs and styles. Blues/R&B, funk, pop/rock, metal, singer/songwriter etc. Some gigs require Eb tuning so I leave 2 or 3 basses tuned that way. Some gigs require five string. Some gigs require a Precision Bass (flats and rounds). Also, I see no reason to sell a bass when a new one arrives. Plus it's awesome having a dozen or so basses at your disposal.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

I slowed down to almost nothing when I asked myself a few simple questions before buying a new piece of gear - first, what does this do that none of my other gear will do and second, what will I not use because I'm using this?

Right. We have only two hands at most. It is enlightening to reflect on what passes through them each day.

Maybe we buy stomp pedals out of jealousy over the drummer?

 

[Nephilymbass]

I think probably 1/10 times the new guitar made me a better player. The other 9/10 times I was rolling the dice on hitting that 1/10 chance. It's a fine art to know when that is.

or we're just big kids and we like new toys

I go through waves of GAS. Played the same Warwick nt5 into SWR750x into ampeg 810 setup for a decade. Now I've had my dingwall ng2 and mesa subway rig for around 5 or 6 years. But before and between those two "eras" of my bass journey I changed gear a lot. What calms my gas is realizing the gear isn't the problem. The recording is the problem, the mix is the problem, me not practicing and pushing my playing enough is the problem. I've been playing nice gear for almost 25 years. The gear was rarely the problem. The only times that gear became a problem in those eras where I stuck with the same setups were when the gear either started having issues or after many years, it no longer inspired me. There are occasionally reasons to buy gear. I don't hate on people buying nice gear. It keeps the gear industry going. And if nothing else at least it's money they aren't spending on drugs or booze. I know guys who spend a lot more money on things like Motorcycles and Sports cars than lose half their value immediately and often end up being worth 1/10th what they paid for it. There are worse ways to blow money

 

[Matt-J2]

I'm attempting to reduce my "stuff" footprint overall. But in regards to basses, as a very casual hobbyist:

I have 2. Sometimes, I think that's 1 too many. Every once in a while I think about adding a 3rd, but that's usually because I want to build/assemble one. Even then, I wonder which of the current 2 would be let go to make space.

 

[MtManiac]

Way too often, I got the shiny new thing, only to miss that old and used thing I let go to get it. The USA SUB Sterling in the video was one of the best basses I ever owned and I got much cheaper than I will ever find one again. I traded it towards a bass kind of like a Music Man with more features only to never be quite satisfied with that bass, especially its slap tone. I have also found that while I really like five string basses, I am perfectly fine using fours. In fact, I would often find myself getting stuck in the first position on fives instead using the whole fingerboard. Of course, since I have noticed that tendency, I do it much less on fives now, but my point is that any bass is versatile if you know what you are doing.

I *absolutely* agree that any bass is versatile if you know what you're doing, and man, I hate that feeling when you've let something go and later wish you hadn't.

I'm currently selling off a few basses, I just don't need 12 of the darned things. I'm actually down to 10 now, having moved my two Fender Dimensions, and I expect to settle at about 5 or 6.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

The only gear i have ever sold, were Ricks.I still have the first acoustic guitar my parents bought me in 1970 as well as the electric guitar and amp (Sears) they bought me two years later.
There are basses I would buy if the deal is good, gas is gas after all, but I haven't bought a new bass in a decade.
Fishheadjoe

 

[Kubicki Fan]

My aquisition of multiple basses has never had anything to do with getting magical tones or extreme playability. I buy basses because they are pretty. Think of it a musical harem.
I know that how I sound, how well I play, or how easy a bass is to play has nothing to do with the maker, the finish, the wood, or the electronics. That is all on me. The only magic is the time spent practicing.
At the moment I, too, have slowed my aquisitions. The primary reason for that is I don't see anything prettier than what I already have.

Amen.

 

[J Wilson]

Elite level instruments are meant for elite level players. Besides the very high price, I don't think it is an accident that relatively players use Alembics. I know the owner of my favorite shop told me that he would rather play a mid level Spector than a Fodera. A few years ago, he sold some Foderas as part of settling a deceased TB member's estate, and he told that the Foderas reflected every glitch in his playing in a way his Spector Pulse never did.

The Price of Admission can be steep (as if ANYTHING is cheap any more. . . ), but just like every other bass out there, with careful shopping and being flexible in what could work for you, I was in both of mine for right at 5 grand. New or new-ish prices can be breath-taking, if not a blood pressure check, but then again, these are built to standards few can envision if you've never been around one. They are lifetime instruments by any conceivable measure.

I'm hardly an elite level player, believe me, I was a working cover- and bar-band guy, and that was fine. But honestly, as I've said many times, Alembics are NOT for everyone. The ergonomics can be wonky, their design language is unique, and most of all, it's often an alien electronic and tone environment for guys who were raised on Fenders or most common basses. It takes a while to wrap your head around filters, the brutally clean tone, the sometimes heavy weight, it's a different world that not everyone takes to. That and the price and the production numbers fairly guarantee they are not going to be common, a brand and tradition a lot of people lust after.

For someone like me where big and clean were the only waypoints (no pedals, no distortion), they were just what the doctor ordered, but . . . not everyone goes to the same Dr.

 

[singlemalt]

Another great gear purge is coming, but it's not a 911 at the moment. At some point, I'll do another round of everything goes up for sale, last one standing stays.

The shopping habit has faded, but when the itch comes up, I buy a set of strings. Eventually, I'll get around to installing them on one of the four basses, and doing a thorough cleaning and set up.

Used, keeper, string sets get soaked in the denatured alcohol tube.

The new sets get explored, and if they aren't working, I try to pass them along.

The latest are a set of DR Dragon Skin Quantum nickel rounds, 100-40, I'm thinking the Dingwall AB 1 four string. $35. I haven't ever tried any of the coated strings, I'm usually into nickel and nickel alloys. Stainless feels too sticky and raspy.

So, that's how I do it….I got to shop, do a bit of research, gab about it in a couple threads, threw down a few bucks to get in the game, watch the tracking, pick up at the post office, and I've still got the install, set up, break in period and review to go. Pretty good mileage for $35.

Same behavior cycle as buying a pedal or bass, but way cheaper.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

The Price of Admission can be steep (as if ANYTHING is cheap any more. . . ), but just like every other bass out there, with careful shopping and being flexible in what could work for you, I was in both of mine for right at 5 grand. New or new-ish prices can be breath-taking, if not a blood pressure check, but then again, these are built to standards few can envision if you've never been around one. They are lifetime instruments by any conceivable measure.

I'm hardly an elite level player, believe me, I was a working cover- and bar-band guy, and that was fine. But honestly, as I've said many times, Alembics are NOT for everyone. The ergonomics can be wonky, their design language is unique, and most of all, it's often an alien electronic and tone environment for guys who were raised on Fenders or most common basses. It takes a while to wrap your head around filters, the brutally clean tone, the sometimes heavy weight, it's a different world that not everyone takes to. That and the price and the production numbers fairly guarantee they are not going to be common, a brand and tradition a lot of people lust after.

For someone like me where big and clean were the only waypoints (no pedals, no distortion), they were just what the doctor ordered, but . . . not everyone goes to the same Dr.

I always think of the late Seventies when used to regular watch those package concerts with three or four acts. Between 1977-1980, surely due to Stanley Clarke, lots of bassists toured with Alembic, but a number of those J caught again and the bassists were back to FSO style instruments. What is ideal for one person, may be a terrible fit for someone else.

 

[Alexis Duntov]

Way too often, I got the shiny new thing, only to miss that old and used thing I let go to get it. The USA SUB Sterling in the video was one of the best basses I ever owned and I got much cheaper than I will ever find one again. I traded it towards a bass kind of like a Music Man with more features only to never be quite satisfied with that bass, especially its slap tone. I have also found that while I really like five string basses, I am perfectly fine using fours. In fact, I would often find myself getting stuck in the first position on fives instead using the whole fingerboard. Of course, since I have noticed that tendency, I do it much less on fives now, but my point is that any bass is versatile if you know what you are doing.

Instead of "gear acquisition", how about "tune acquisition" or "new skill acquisition". Like, "hey, I learned how to play Donna Lee on the bass. In B major. Check it out!". That's something to be proud of and which is inspiring to others.

 

[conttador]

Way too often, I got the shiny new thing, only to miss that old and used thing I let go to get it. The USA SUB Sterling in the video was one of the best basses I ever owned and I got much cheaper than I will ever find one again. I traded it towards a bass kind of like a Music Man with more features only to never be quite satisfied with that bass, especially its slap tone. I have also found that while I really like five string basses, I am perfectly fine using fours. In fact, I would often find myself getting stuck in the first position on fives instead using the whole fingerboard. Of course, since I have noticed that tendency, I do it much less on fives now, but my point is that any bass is versatile if you know what you are doing.

I rarely sell or trade basses. I used to switch basses all the time but now I've got a straight ahead jazz bass, a funk bass, a soul bass, a modern jazz bass and just a P bass. Lately though, it's the straight ahead jazz that's been seeing lots of action! If you can, hold on to your instruments.

Thankfully I don't have any regrets other than some Smith basses and that's mainly because they've gone up in value, almost exponentially!

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I should have said this in the OP, my mind got on this topic because I had planned to buy a "nicer" fretted five this summer, but it looks like expenses that are cropping up will make that unlikely since I have a nice amp on the way already. The thing I am realizing is that not getting another fretted is not going to stop me from doing anything musical that I want to do.