[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1368025627' post='2072211']If I send you a fiver will you rip us a copy on your CD Bhuna please?
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Ah! Some top-quality punnage there my friend!
Back OT... I don't really have what you might call heroes or idols; but there are quite a few bassists whose style and or tone interests me.
Owning (or at least borrowing) the same type of bass that they used allows you to get some kind of feel for whether the instrument facilitated or hindered their playing. Or at least it kind of does, because every individual bass varies of course - but at least it gives you an idea of what was going on in their hands, if not in their heads! You can also explore some of their individual technique better if you have a similar instrument, knowing that the differences between the way you sound on a sixties J and the way Jaco sounded on one (for example) is down to the differences between you and he, rather than the guitar itself.
Does that make sense?