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Why own SO many basses?

How many basses do YOU own?

  • Just 1!

    Votes: 30 7.8%

  • 2-4

    Votes: 169 44.1%

  • 5-8

    Votes: 96 25.1%

  • 9+

    Votes: 88 23.0%
  • Total voters
    383
  • Poll closed .
#103
I am embarrased to say that I own 10.....and I havent played a gig in two years. I find bases that are knockoffs of the bases that were used by historic players....the only reason why I bought my Gibson SG bass was use to learn a number of Jack Bruce Cream bass lines. My limit is ten and I trade them out all the time.......but my main bass is a 1957 Fender American Vintage P Bass Reissue - a copy of the missing james jamerson bass that still has not been located!
 
#104
I have two. My main and my ex-main which is now my backup.
My lady's got one, which is my ex-backup. So we have three basses in the house. I play my backup and my ex-backup for house working, and my main for recordings, rehearsals and gigs. And my backup has saved me one time during a gig when the screw of the strap lock has suddenly broken. And the question was ?
 
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#106
I have three basses right now: a P with flats, a Music Man with steel rounds, and an upright. I have a fretless Squier on order, so that makes four quite different instruments. I have plans to get a fretted jazz one of these days and then a high end extended range Ibanez.

All of these instruments have unique tonal and playing characteristics that make them different. A split coil, two single coils, humbuckers, extended range, fretless... Yes they're all basses, but to me they are as different as Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Mountain Dew. Sometimes I want one over the other, and that's okay.
 
#109
Sold all but 1 once: 1989 to move family to Texas
Reloaded slowly.....
Sold all the "expensive ones" once, 2005(?) to help with college expenses for children.
Reloading now.....making cheapo's and orphan basses gig-worthy and good-sounding is becoming a useful hobby.
 
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#113
Ramashack said:
I am embarrased to say that I own 10.....and I havent played a gig in two years. I find bases that are knockoffs of the bases that were used by historic players....the only reason why I bought my Gibson SG bass was use to learn a number of Jack Bruce Cream bass lines. My limit is ten and I trade them out all the time.......but my main bass is a 1957 Fender American Vintage P Bass Reissue - a copy of the missing james jamerson bass that still has not been located!
Click to expand...
Are we sure Jamerson wasn't buried with it???
 
#115
KevInDaBassment said:
This is definitely a YMMV topic, but I fall in the camp of owning significantly more than one bass. Sometimes friends/bandmates find it cool, but every so often I pull out a different bass or try something with a different one and I get the "eye roll" from someone. Same old song and dance, if it works for you go with it, but I just want to elaborate on why I choose to own as many basses as I do...which is 7.


- I love the versatility it offers me. I don't have to freak out if I want to try flats on a bass, I've got several others that can get the job done that sound different. I'd call it more of a "safety blanket" for me, I know I've got something that can get the job done. Any of them can work, but it just makes me feel more confident when I know a P-bass will fit best and I've got one in hand.

- I've got more backups than I know what to do with! My 5-string aside, I've got several basses in case one goes kaput. Strategically have basses that are passive or can run passive as well (in case batteries are short supply). If the gig isn't gelling well with the bass I have, I can try another one later until something works out.

- Believe it or not, it actually reduces GAS for me. With the variety I have, I can get many of the common sounds needed or ones that I really like. I can generally get in the ballpark of tones I want within reason. That Wal Mach III is still eluding me, but maybe if I end up stupid rich I'll get one lol.

- Getting in the "vibe" of certain music is easier for me when I have a bass that inspires me. Picking up the 50's P I have gets me stoked to play Motown, 60's, or even classic rock or blues music. My mindset changes with that bass in my hands, helps me focus on conveying that vibe to others as I play. My Matt Freeman P is just pure punk, I can't resist banging away at it with a solid pick and some grindy amp tone.

- Inspiration might come as a surprise, but just as the basses get me in the vibe of certain genres, a different bass can take my mind other places when I write. Maybe it's the tone or feel, but my Ibanez 5'er takes me different places than my Matt Freeman P does.



What draws you guys to owning more than one bass?
- VT
Click to expand...

Agree with all

I own 5.
3 5 strings which sound different, act as backups, one is always needing a setup somewhere & 2 fours. VERY different sound in all. Honestly... no gas. I have not been on Talkbass nearly as much in the last few weeks.
 
#117
I recently sold a couple so I'm down to 4. They're all different because I like to have basses to suit the different kinds of music I like.
  • 4 string active/passive
  • 4 string passive fretless
  • 5 string passive (tuned ADGCF, because it keeps me thinking)
  • 4 string passive shortscale
Now I'm looking for an acoustic bass. Not sure about uprights, but who knows...
 
#120
I think I'm down to eleven electric basses, reduced from a high of somewhere between twenty and thirty.

I own more guitars than basses, with Telecaster variants leading the count.

I had music in my life well before a wife, she knew what she was getting in to, and after 30 years of marriage to my brand of stupidity, she's still supportive, never a complaint.
 
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