You Guys With Many Basses - how do you play them all?

[BtaylorTheRogue]

Unless you are part of an international cabal restricting the manufacture or sale of instruments, you need to reassess any feelings of guilt.

Are you feeling guilty because your spending fiscally impacts a partner?
Because you never buy instruments, and instead only steal them?
Because for every instrument you own, once a year you must LITERALLY take a piece of candy from a baby?
Because some people on a website implied that it's morally wrong to have more items than you can use at once?

If you exclusively buy and collect limited edition, limited run items that you never even plan to use, even then you have no guilt. The entire burden of responsibility for those items not bringing joy to others comes down to the manufacturers.

This userbase has a weird obsession with feeling bad about owning certain types of objects, as though the rarity of those objects is controlled by them.

 

[Savage_Dreams]

Like this….

It’s like anything else. Do you own more than 1 shirt? Do you wear all of them everyday? You just grab whichever one fits the mood that day.

 

[Cookies0nDowels]

I just play whatever Basses are in which of my houses that my Driver has taken me to.

I pay a man to come around once a week to play the extra basses i keep in south wing.

 

[Chickenwheels]

Swapping instruments occasionally keeps the ears fresh. It nice to hear some different tone in the mix. I like a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of variety.

 

[Andy Marshman]

I'm not gigging any more because I'm done with bar gigs and the late hours at my age. I now jam for fun and have 3 different projects. I have 9 basses and I tell folks that every time out I take a different one because us boys have to play with our toys. I have a small practice amp that goes to one jam, a bigger amp to another jam and the 3rd one has a bass rig in place permanently (belongs to the host). So, I don't want or need more amps. The basses change over a period of time...sometimes I keep them for months, sometimes for years and years.

 

[Ric5]

Somehow I have acquired more basses than I can handle. Total feelings of guilt. This is really bugging me.

How do you play all your basses?

I have vintage Fender fretless & fretted, Alembic fretless, Ibanez 4 & 5 string, carved upright tuned in 4ths for jazz, carved upright tuned in 5ths for classical. To top it off during this covid pause in gigs I added a Yamaha grand piano and an old family violin to the mix. Yeah I’ve taken up piano and violin every day. Oh, and I have two Larrivee acoustic guitars calling out to me.

I practice one to three hours a day. That is normal for me, even in times of gigs. I don’t have a day job.

Today wandered into a music store to look at a reissue bass I’m thinking of buying. Yeah, I need it like a hole in the head. But it would be a nice match to an old Ampeg fliptop I have. Getting home it really struck me that I’m not playing all my basses.

I gotta play my basses. Maybe 20 minutes at a time on each one and keep a rotation going?

I have 15 basses and i am building 3 more ... all 3 builds have stalled because I do have a day job. I also want to build more basses so I will end up with more than 20.

I don't play every day, and they don't all get played on a regular basis. It is a job changing string, tuning, and doing setups.

Years ago I started putting wall hangers around the house and using some of the basses as wall art.

 

[basspraiser]

Somehow I have acquired more basses than I can handle. Total feelings of guilt. This is really bugging me.

How do you play all your basses?

I have vintage Fender fretless & fretted, Alembic fretless, Ibanez 4 & 5 string, carved upright tuned in 4ths for jazz, carved upright tuned in 5ths for classical. To top it off during this covid pause in gigs I added a Yamaha grand piano and an old family violin to the mix. Yeah I’ve taken up piano and violin every day. Oh, and I have two Larrivee acoustic guitars calling out to me.

I practice one to three hours a day. That is normal for me, even in times of gigs. I don’t have a day job.

Today wandered into a music store to look at a reissue bass I’m thinking of buying. Yeah, I need it like a hole in the head. But it would be a nice match to an old Ampeg fliptop I have. Getting home it really struck me that I’m not playing all my basses.

I gotta play my basses. Maybe 20 minutes at a time on each one and keep a rotation going?

Sounds like you got it made!

I have several.... To answer your question with sarcasm ...One at a time of course!..

Realistically....I do have a rotation... Its pretty fluid and yes .. Some get played more than others.

I do have a few " relief pitchers". Not used often but they each are unique and I'm glad I have " that sound" when I need it ..
"

 

[Hano Rokpony]

I switch off once a week.

 

[petrus61]

One at a time?

 

[red_rhino]

Somehow I have acquired more basses than I can handle. Total feelings of guilt. This is really bugging me.

I absolutely get that. Having too many basses makes me anxious, and I begin to question myself. The most I've ever had at once was 10. Worked my way down to 3, and now I'm back up to 4.5 (the .5 being a Mayones Cali 4 mini-bass ).

I've discovered that my happy point is 4 or 5 basses max, as long is they're not all just different flavors of the same thing. (Why do we keep buying the same bass over and over?) Beyond that, getting them all into a regular playing rotation starts to feel like a chore and an obligation.

 

[bassfootballguy]

Sooooo… how many is “many”?

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, at one time I had over 15, a couple of Flip Tops, plus some other amps. I'd sit down to noodle and automatically start mixing and matching. Usually would spend more time getting things out, plugging them in and them putting them away than playing. Had a couple of big sell-offs to solve this....probably due for a final one.

But this is something that a lot of us have gone through...especially when the kids are gone, house is paid for, and there's a little more discretionary income.

And now I'm very happy with my Rickenbacker and a Hartke kickback combo.

 

[Dluxe]

I don't.

 

[SteveBassJr]

I have 12. I use 5 pretty regularly. I use specific basses for different woodshed sessions. When I play out, depending on the gig. I will use one more than the others during the week. And I always bring two with me.
I even have a uke bass in my work locker for break time Pratice sessions.

 

[Anemic_SluG]

I played 2 basses and amps for 20+ years. Had a few that got mixed in but always went back to 2. Then over the last 10+ years it was more of a collection of what I feel like playing. Some get played more depending on the project I am in. So for now I have 3 Fender Jazz basses, a Nash, 2 Fender pj, a Fender p, USA mockingbird, Gibson Thunderbird, a Warwick, Musicman USA sub, a charvel, and a LTD. oh wait 4 guitars, a few different amps, a PA system, and a drum kit. Most importantly I have a vibraslap because everyone needs one. And I forgot a Sandberg 48. Some get played some sit in cases. I have tried to sell but don’t want to give anything away so for now I just put things in rotation.
As far as the justification, I will only live once and there is a difference between a tool to do a job and a collection. I like collecting, so if something sits I am ok with it.

 

[bassfran]

Well, in my case, I really don't.

The actual question is, how do you store them all.

 

[A9X]

I've discovered that my happy point is 4 or 5 basses max, as long is they're not all just different flavors of the same thing. (Why do we keep buying the same bass over and over?)

That baffles me at times, as 6 J basses don't sound that much different. And I'm not talking one with flats, one with rounds, a fretless etc, but often near identical in all aspects. I've been guilty of it myself at times, but not so much any more.

 

[beatdatthang]

I own 10 (soon to be 11 as soon as I assemble one) and have the parts to have 12. Do I need them? Nope, but I am incredibly lazy about tuning and setups. I play all kinds of things in all kinds of tunings. I have 4 of the basses tuned to standard (including my 5er), 3 tuned to D standard, 2 tuned to Eb standard, and one 4 string dropped down BbEbAbDb. I could probably get by with 4 or 5 and be able to cover all those tunings, but whatever. My wife has more shoes and handbags than she ever really uses, and she doesn’t feel bad about it…

I do tend to only really play the more expensive basses when recording, at rehearsal with the band, or playing out. Typically, I grab my cheaper ones to play around with at the house or practice. I guess I see the nicer ones as more “special” so I don’t want them to get the normal wear and tear.

 

[ThaCoast]

I got too much to count, considering ive built half my collection of gear - though i do fairly rotate between each during band rehearsals. All different tones, scale lengths, constructions (solid vs semi hollow) materials (mainly wood, though one lucite). Some need a good fix to get them better, however those that are playable are in constant rotation.

However, i should sit down one day when all my gear are in working order & blindfold play test unplugged & filter through which i keep which are sold off. (Mainly for those which are factory bought, my builds stay til forever

 

[jza57]

Do you wear every set of underwear you own at one time ? Come on !