Why Not Just One Bass?

[Brad Johnson]

Get a new bass before that happens, and shouldn't you master one before you spend hours mastering all the others, I guess it might be nice to rotate, but why fix what isn't broken, if the same thing works, it works.

Mastering a bass is an illusion at best.

I just play mine.

 

[Brad Johnson]

But what if you want to play FOUR kinds of music?

As it turns out I know a local Pro bass player who only plays rock and he not only owns two basses (a Sguier Jazz, Ibanez) but also always has them on stage during the gig and changes according to the song.

Whoda thunk it? Who knows how many basses he'd own if he played Country too.

My earlier response was a tongue in cheek one regarding this:

"That's what one bass is about. Specialization. When you only have one bass you can only do that one kind of music and having just one bass makes you emphasize the musical aspects of your playing as opposed to wood-shedding whatever it is that makes basses different."


If it wasn't clear that I was being facetious, I'd hope it is now.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

2 words, alternate tunings.

 

[L.A. BASS]

I have 2...

 

[bassmastan]

Mastering a bass is an illusion at best.

I just play mine.

I would have to disagree, you can master a bass, everything from levels to strings, to the attack you use can be considered mastering the instrument, also the feel of neck, the weight of the body, everything about it, its like a flat head screw driver and a phillips head screw driver, sure they do similar jobs, but you can't stick the phillips head into a flat head screw. Its the same thing with basses, if you can find that "swiss army knife"(something that can do anyjob) you won't need anything else (a one trick pony isn't worth the money). If you get hung up on having more and you're ready to purchase something, always be on the look out for you're swiss army knife, you never know.

 

[kcole4001]

Different instruments feel different (DUH!).
Now that the most obvious observation is out of the way , those differences will tend to make you play differently, which can be just the inspiration you need to come up with more interesting parts.

 

[dvh]

Different instruments feel different (DUH!).
Now that the most obvious observation is out of the way , those differences will tend to make you play differently, which can be just the inspiration you need to come up with more interesting parts.

Again, I have to think about this in the context of a DB.

Good DB players are masters of interesting parts. Typically they have one bass to do it all with.

 

[VWbug]

Mastering a bass is an illusion at best.

I just play mine.

I love it! Lol.

I feel there are good points to both lines of thought.
I'm just wondering if this is one of those things you REALLY need to choose a side on and if being too intense about it actually is less helpful than just practicing and enjoying playing.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I would have to disagree, you can master a bass, everything from levels to strings, to the attack you use can be considered mastering the instrument, also the feel of neck, the weight of the body, everything about it, its like a flat head screw driver and a phillips head screw driver, sure they do similar jobs, but you can't stick the phillips head into a flat head screw. Its the same thing with basses, if you can find that "swiss army knife"(something that can do anyjob) you won't need anything else (a one trick pony isn't worth the money). If you get hung up on having more and you're ready to purchase something, always be on the look out for you're swiss army knife, you never know.

We probably have different interpretations of what the term means. Mastering to me means just that, I am a master of that particular instrument. I don't know you and I'm still willing to bet that there's someone out there that could pick up the bass you think you've mastered and do things you haven't even imagined with or to it.

I can do just about any of my gigs with any of my gigging basses. I know my basses pretty well. I still haven't "mastered" any of them. I'm going to be a work in progress right until the end


And IME there are far less one trick basses than one trick bassists... it's just easier to blame gear

 

[Brad Johnson]

I love it! Lol.

I feel there are good points to both lines of thought.
I'm just wondering if this is one of those things you REALLY need to choose a side on and if being too intense about it actually is less helpful than just practicing and enjoying playing.

Whatever works for the individual. We all have different goals.

 

[bassmastan]

We probably have different interpretations of what the term means. Mastering to me means just that, I am a master of that particular instrument. I don't know you and I'm still willing to bet that there's someone out there that could pick up the bass you think you've mastered and do things you haven't even imagined with or to it.

If someone can do something on my bass and do something I couldn't do, I have not mastered the bass. There is no real way to master it completley, because as time will tell new things will allways comeup and we have to learn them. That's my one instrument argument, because it is nearly impossible to master one why spend time learning another, when you can take the time to do that thing no one has done yet. I get hung up on gear myself sometimes, but I've come to realize this and it has changed everything about my playing and my rig. One day you might have the same realization, maybe I'm just going crazy either way its a good question with hundreds of different outcomes. And yes absolutly a tool is rendered useless in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it, but I still feel there is a different vibe each individual instrument gives off, for DB's (especially) and EB's if you listen carefully no two sound alike. Good argument, glad to see we don't all think the same

 

[Brad Johnson]

If someone can do something on my bass and do something I couldn't do, I have not mastered the bass. There is no real way to master it completley, because as time will tell new things will allways comeup and we have to learn them. That's my one instrument argument, because it is nearly impossible to master one why spend time learning another, when you can take the time to do that thing no one has done yet. I get hung up on gear myself sometimes, but I've come to realize this and it has changed everything about my playing and my rig. One day you might have the same realization, maybe I'm just going crazy either way its a good question with hundreds of different outcomes. And yes absolutly a tool is rendered useless in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use it, but I still feel there is a different vibe each individual instrument gives off, for DB's (especially) and EB's if you listen carefully no two sound alike. Good argument, glad to see we don't all think the same

I agree, there is no way to master it completely. That was my point. I'm not really clear on the rest of your post.

I'm not hung up on gear. I just like to play different basses and know how to get what I want out of them. So I don't know what realization you think I might come to.

 

[BioDriver]

Owning 2 basses is simple: You can't get a fretted to sound like a fretless, nor can you do the opposite.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Owning 2 basses is simple: You can't get a fretted to sound like a fretless, nor can you do the opposite.

It's quite possible... I'll leave it at that.

Of course I'd still rather have both.

 

[Means2nEnd]

I masterbass all the time... Gives good strong wrists

I'm sure Picasso could have made a masterpiece with one color but he chose many. I don’t NEED more than a fretless and a five fretted but I have 8 right now. I love the art of luthiery I love different kinds of basses with different pickups configurations and woods and feel. This is for my pleasure only and since I don’t drink or drug anymore I have lots more disposable income better put into basses than into South America. I haven’t found a “Swiss Army Knife” of basses yet. Different basses are great at some things and not at others. I don’t have to change strings as much but it is a Pain re EQing my amps for different basses. And finally GAS!!!

 

[khui]

how many pairs of shoes do you own? one pair would cover your feet just fine, but you dont have to be a professional runner to own more than one pair.

its just variety, different sounds, at the very least different colors even. some people are happy wearing the same color everyday or eating the same thing every day. others like to have something different from day to day. thats the way i look at instruments. heck, thats the way i look at most things. life is boring without variety, to me. its all personal preference.

Amen to that my brotha!

You ended my endless rationalizing of why I have to have so many basses. Hopefully my guilt will subside and don't have to decide on what to sell off.

k.

 

[crustychef]

I only play for fun in 2 bands. We gig rarely because of life constraints. I only need 2 basses both 5 strings one fretted and one fretless. Any more and I get distracted. I recently switched up fretless 5'ers from Streamer stage 2 to a Thumb BO it has taken me a couple weeks to just start to get pretty comfortable with it. I really like to get to know an instrument. When I played saxophone I had the same ones for well over a decade. I knew every bump and scratch on them. I can't wait to have that familiarity with my basses.

 

[billgwx]

I have three right now...a Fender '62 RI MIJ Jazz from the early 90's that is my go-to bass and a fantastic player, a Brice HXB-405 5-string fretless that I use just as much to go "down the low thick ones" as to play more expressively, and a Fender '97 P-bass that I just bought and am trying hard to like with flats on it. Have wrestled with the P in a couple of rehearsals and it's too boomy and mid-rangey for me...that bass will be easy come easy go unless I can tame it and really coax something nice tone-wise out of it, all that P-bass action on the Grammys be damned

 

[Blankandson]

Take as many on the road as you can pack. This is what Keith Richard took on a recent tour. I do not know how many he played on any given night but I imagine he played quite a few. Otherwise, why take them?
The most basses I've seen used by one player during one gig is three. Usually a fretted, a frettless, and one that has a unique sound.

 

[johnnycat42]

It seems to me that every bass I pick up and play still winds up sounding like me in the end. It took me way too long to come to this realization. And I'm still not sure if it is a good thing or not....