What do you spend your money on?

[mcgraham]

Had an interesting thought this morning, I wonder where people tend to be drawn with regards their GAS or their need for a new instrument.

I tend to be drawn towards basses more than anything else as for the last few years I've only been able to play through a pandora, so looking at amps or cabs seemed pointless. I also like simplicity, so effects and serious upgrades never did anything for me. That also extends to what I feel is reasonable to pay for something, I look at an instrument and think 'hmmm 1200, doable', but point at an amp for 500 and I think 'woah, bit pricey!'

That's starting to change at present as I have a bass I'm happy with and now I'd like to explore some amplification options.

What about you guys? Do you find that you're drawn to buying amp after amp/bass after bass/cabinet after cabinet/effect after effect/brand after brand?

Mark

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='mcgraham' post='108434' date='Dec 23 2007, 09:41 AM']I wonder where people tend to be drawn with regards their GAS or their need for a new instrument.[/quote]
I tend look at basses first. I guess we're "bass players" after all rather than "amp players". Amps are more functional, I guess.

[umph]

i love pedals i got a great amp/bass atm so ;o

[Jebo1]

When Hendrix was around, a guy who I know said he saw him live and he's the only guy who ever 'played' his amp. He could do anything with it.

That mastery is something I aspire too, I just never get enough solid time to get my sound perfect (unless we're out on tour and then it's fine...)

[spike]

I only have GAS for basses, I haven't changed my amp for nearly 20 years!

[ergon]

i seem to have this thing going on where if i update one piece of kit everything else has to rise to the same level, i've got a new bass, this means i'll have to trick out my old one and make it a similar standard just because, i got a new amp therefore i had to get a new bass, there are allso litle extras i keep getting round the side, like a looper pedal and just yesterday i bought guitar brackets to mount on my bedroom walls.

[OutToPlayJazz]

I was thankfully GAS free for many-a-year (about 16, actually!) and I bimbled around playing my 1988 Status S2 through a Trace 15 combo with a 4x5 bright box on top. That never really changed for a very long time. Now I guess I'm wealthier & go through phases...

After I got my KingBass, I got the urge to get another 5-stringer... An MIM jazz, which was a beautiful bass in all apart from the poor output. I then went through a plethora of bargain buys & several basses passed through my mitts in the space of about a year!

Fender Jazz V MIM, Status Groove, Squier 70's VMJ, Jackson CMG concert bass, Ibanez SRX-705, etc, etc...

I've now got some non-Status basses that I really like and play a lot... Warwick Corvette $$, Fender Geddy Lee CIJ, Yamaha TRB-6, etc. Now all my basses have a specific job & I don't have anything surpluss.

I've just got my new Status S2-classic & have another KingBass on order for 2008, but that's because no matter what you may see me playing out and about, I'll always be a Status player at heart. So in answer to the question, given a choice, I'd give all my hard earned to Rob Green in Colchester so he could make me a fabulous collection of basses

Edited December 23, 2007 by OutToPlayJazz

[warwickhunt]

I suppose I'm always susceptible to (though not always actively searching for) an unusual or rare Warwick.

I went for 15+ years with the same combo but when they died I had an alarming turnover of cabs and amps, which also sparked me to try other bass manufacturers (I believe there is a synergy between certain bass/amp/cab manufacturers).

My GAS is subsiding though

[ARGH]

GAS...

Ive GAS for education.

[Mobius]

A bit of everything, probably pedals recently because I don't have the cash or need for more amps and instruments at the moment, but I haven't bought anything apart from strings for a year.

[bassbloke]

Basses - I'm happy, although I would very much like a Fender jazz fretless that felt and sounded as good to me as my main bass.

I'm cursed where amps are concerned - either never been able to hear myself properly or owned amps that are unreliable. Once you experience a piece of equipment fail on you, it's very hard to resist the urge to just get rid of it ASAP and buy something new. I'm going through this at the moment with my Tech heads, but I've managedto restrain myself and get them check into a local repairer for a full service.

[mcgraham]

OTPJ, hows that double buck working out for you?

I've been looking at trying/getting a warwick (preferably second hand) since I was able to try a streamer double buck on the weekend. I was astounded by how versatile it was, copped a VERY good 70's J tone from the single-single setting. A lot of warwick's marketing (IMO) comes across as hype, and the double buck configuration struck me as that initially, two big humbuckers, big deal... Oh my goodness how wrong I was, that thing can nail so many tones it's unreal. AND it's at a stupidly low price, about 200-300 off what it should be even on GAK. I may bite sometime next year, we'll see.

Mark

[tauzero]

I've got perpetual mild GAS for basses - I haven't got any 6-strings, I'm not entirely settled with a 5-string fretless, I'm happy with the 4-strings and the 5-string fretted.

My big problem at the moment is amps. The Gallien-Krueger has served me well for 15 years but hasn't quite got the low-end oomph that I want, and the bigger stuff I've had or have got is heavier than I want. I've recently picked up an Ashdown Superfly which I'd like to keep going with, but the speaker I made to go with it isn't sensitive enough and is a little bulky (though it is excellent for range and lack of colouration) so I'm planning to make a pair of Omni 10.5s (which I could also use for PA for the acoustic duo) - but the Markbass CMD 121P and 151P both really tempt me too. Aaargh!

[Bassassin]

JapCrap, JapCrap & more JapCrap!

What's pathetic is that (theoretically) I buy & sell stuff as well as collect it - but if a lovely bass comes my way, it tends to stop - that was how I got my CSL Jazz no. 1 bass - picked it up for pennies, plugged it in & fell in love - after 25 years of playing, it sounded & felt - and still feels - more "right" than any other bass has. I similarly acquired my Ibanez Roadster in the same way - but it's worth much more to me as a beautiful & deliciously playable instrument than the scandalous 400% profit I'd probably make if I sold it!

I also have a no-brand Gibson Grabber replica (the only way you'd tell it from a real one is the "Made In Japan" neckplate) which I'm finding it hard to part with - it cleaned up & set up beautifully, and I love to sit & plonk around on it, even though it sounds wrong for the band & feels weird to play live - so I won't gig it, which is usually my benchmark. I may be open to any sensible offers!

I have no such scruples when selling g*it*rs, though - I've recently been experiencing GDS (Gear Disposal Syndrome) with a lot of skinny-string planks, and I feel vaguely disloyal by admitting my next bout of GAS will be for a 40" LCD HD telly, thanks to said planks!

Jon.

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote]OTPJ, hows that double buck working out for you?[/quote]

As a rock/funk bass I love it! Only complaint is a loss of output on the G-string, but that could be how I've got it set up. It's a fantastically fast bass to play & has a general sound that I can only liken to that of God shouting!!!

[Kiwi]

I've pretty much got all the basses I've ever gassed for. Having said that, there is the Shuker MIDI 6 being made and I wish I didn't need to take 3 basses to a gig to cover all the different bass tones. So if there was a 5 string bass which could do a MM Stingray and a p-bass sound, that would be good...

I do admit to having a weakness for well made English valve bass amps though.

[Jebo1]

As someone who (in a very cottage industry way) deals in vintage guitars (not basses, the basses I have I play, the guitars I look at :-), I'd say that I'm really GAS-ing for the late 50's Danelectros. They sell well. Unappreciated 60s Fenders (the Coronado, Villager, Shenandoah and the like) are all good ones, and money makers, as are the less in demand Gibsons (Melody Makers etc).

If I could GAS for one thing, it would be that the guitar shaped gap in my life was filled and that I wasn't constantly looking for more guitars, basses, effects and amps to buy.

Thing is, I have only used 2 basses for the past 4 years, and 2 amps. All this stuff is flight cased, is the stuff I call on day in and day out, and is the only stuff I will ever use (until it breaks/gets stolen). I know this but I still can't help clicking bids on Alembics, Ampegs, Hiwatts, Gibsons and many more items that just sit around the house and do sweet f""k all until they get sold on again (admittedly for a profit).

Is this just me?

I did once tot up all the guitars I had owned and it came to over 300. That's frightening. Especially as I only started buying and selling in about 2000. That works out at nearly a guitar a week. I currently waiting for 4. There is an issue here.

Edited December 25, 2007 by Jebo1

[Jase]

Tell you what I'm gassing for bad....a Vintage 62 Fender Jazz, it's weird if I had the money I'd buy one straight away, last one I saw was $6500

[attachment=4324:Vintage_62_Jazz.jpg]

but then I'd only be happy to spend up to £1000 on a new Fender Jazz.

As for amps, I'm on my third, Peavey, Trace and at the moment Hartke ( in that order ) an amp is an amp to me I suppose, if it breaks down get it repaired, if it dies get another one, same goes for cabs. So for me it's basses all the way

[Tait]

Not amps!!! I just don't GAS for them, simple as that.

My dad buys all the pedals and I barely use effects anyway, so no need for them.

So I only really GAS for basses.

[Jono]

pedals - i own about 60. Guess you could say I'm obsessed. Less obvious to the Mrs also. She always notices new basses...

[mcgraham]

[quote]Thing is, I have only used 2 basses for the past 4 years, and 2 amps. All this stuff is flight cased, is the stuff I call on day in and day out, and is the only stuff I will ever use (until it breaks/gets stolen). I know this but I still can't help clicking bids on Alembics, Ampegs, Hiwatts, Gibsons and many more items that just sit around the house and do sweet f""k all until they get sold on again (admittedly for a profit).

Is this just me?[/quote]

It's not just you bud, lets be honest we can only 'really' play one at a time. Same situation with me and my bass, despite the posted/discussed neck 'issues' that it has, it does everything so well. Somehow I'm on this irritational search for something else, "I want something different but that sounds almost the same.... " that should be an indicator that I don't need something different, that I only WANT something else.

[quote]As a rock/funk bass I love it! Only complaint is a loss of output on the G-string, but that could be how I've got it set up. It's a fantastically fast bass to play & has a general sound that I can only liken to that of God shouting!!![/quote]

How do you find the ovangkol neck? I'm a big fan of maple and I find that of all the warwick's I've tried, it's been the ones with traditional wood combos (i.e. ash/maple) that I like the most.

Mark

[King of Loss]

Right now, I'm happy with my basses. I have a high end Ibanez fretted 6 string, and have a fretless 6 string under construction by Alan at ACG.......that is all paid for (the money is in the bank, ready to go) so my new GAS stuff involves pedals, another cab for my rig (2x10 at the minute, I think I might add a 1x12 to it) and studio recording gear. Along with an EUB, cello, electric guitar and amp etc.

I just bought a POD X3 today - Seems like a great bit of kit, I think I might buy the software (not cheap at £100!) because it'll let me edit settings and patches using the mac, as opposed to a tiny LCD screen. Over summer I think I'll work alot, and hopefully buy some good nearfield monitors, a small sub, and a recording interface, to start my home studio setup..........so many things I would like to get, but it can all wait. There are more important things in life than a hell of a lot of audiophile gear!

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote]How do you find the ovangkol neck? I'm a big fan of maple and I find that of all the warwick's I've tried, it's been the ones with traditional wood combos (i.e. ash/maple) that I like the most.[/quote]

Mark, I love the ovangkol/wenge combination. It's very smooth and very fast. You mentioned that you'd tried the Double Buck Streamer, well the Corvette is a very similar sound and feel, only the neck is a bit thinner (in the all important thumb-fingers dimension!) Also, I personally think that the wider Corvette body balances better than the Streamer.

Rich.