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When you get a new (to you) bass


Blademan_98
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I picked up my bass from Megallica today :)

It's got 5 strings and it's fretless.

Makes no difference to me it is second hand and only £80.

It plays really well and I am now itching to change it to BEADG instead of having a high 'C'.

But as I glanced at the other two basses sat in their stands, I did wonder if I really should be a one bass chap.

(oh perhaps two as a backup is always good at a gig...)

Do you chaps all abandon the existing kit for the new bass?

How long before you return to the others?

Blademan

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[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1132897' date='Feb 18 2011, 11:15 PM']Do you chaps all abandon the existing kit for the new bass?[/quote]

Nope. :)

All the basses I have are totally different and each stands (or falls) on it's own merit.
If I add another instrument to my collection then it's either a replacement for an existing (retired) instrument or adds something different to what I already have.

I show no real favouritism to any particular instrument I own, they just get used to suit different musical requirements.

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[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1132897' date='Feb 18 2011, 11:15 PM']Do you chaps all abandon the existing kit for the new bass?

How long before you return to the others?[/quote]

Nope :) They all do different things which given the amount of styles I play, I need. In a couple of weeks I'm playing for a production of Sweet Charity, so natural choice is the fretless Warwick, or possibly the EUB. Also been asked about Boogie Nights, that's a job for the Wal, and Jesus Christ Superstar is best suited to the fretted Warwick. So really it depends what I'm playing :)

If i'm just sat noodling at home though, I tend to find myself reaching for the Wal.

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I have a Stingray rotation! I only have one project that has to be done on the 5 other than that I change from practice to practice and gig to gig. My most unused one at the moment is my Jazz which is a shame because it's great! I might use it for some home practice tomorrow now it's been brought up in this thread :)

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I use a six and a four for all gigs. Depends on the numbers. If I buy a new bass, it's either a replacement or something I need that I don't have (ie, a fretless) Only ones I don't gig are a couple of cheapies that are in different rooms of the house to noodle on.

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I have felt a bit disloyal to my current instruments when buying a new bass, almost as if I`m saying that they weren`t good enough, and now have found something better.

When in reality, they are pieces of wood/metal, and what I have bought is exactly the same, just in a different colour scheme.

I suppose its this that shows I`m in touch with my inner-self, lol.

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No, never. Sure I might spend more time with the latest aquisition for a while, but I find when I play the other instruments I get a completely different vibe or sound from them and often play in a slightly different way - this said I don't, as such, have two instruments that are on the same space (i.e all have different string configs/number of strings or are fretted or fretless), so it's not like one's really replacing another.


EDIT: One day I'll type something without a mistake :)

Edited by purpleblob
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Well, depends on whether you treat your basses as just tools to do a job, or whether you have a more personal connection to them.

For me they are tools, but I have grown to love their different tonality, so when practicing, I generally reach for the Ibby, as it's in standard tuning, however, if I want a slightly different feel for a song, I may grab the Squier.

Who knows what'll happen if and when I get another bass. If I got the Cort GB34A I've been after for ages, then I'm hoping that will bring something new to the mix, as my current two basses are both passive. Also, I've had great fun playing the Ray34 my friend has, and I'm looking for that humbucker style of bass, hence the Cort. Plus it's available in Candy-Apple Red, and I'm a sucker for Redheads :)

I'm not sure I'd feel guilty for getting another bass, when I have two already - they all have their uses in certain situations, and I reckon I probably play my current two about equally, give or take a couple of gigs. I tend to favour the Ibby for church, but that may change soon.

HTH,
Ian

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Good question.
Don't throw up at the following but at me age I can get away with it. LOL !!! :)
I have a sentimental attachment to 3 off my basses as follows :-

Warwick - 1st bass I bought after meeting my wife back in 89
Fender Jazz - wife bought me it for my 40th
Overwater - wife bought me it for my 50th

The others not so sure about as they were cheapies to see if I would like 6 stringers or for some other obscure reason.

My Warwick is probably my 1st choice and use it for most styles and will be the one I pick up instinctively.
When mucking around at home this is the one I use for finger, slap, jazz, strumming, 2 hand tapping or anything new I fancy having a go at. I find things easier to learn on the Warwick for some weird reason.

Overwater I bought for specific reason to challenge myself and improve my technique and I love the sound of fretless.

Oddly enough when rehearsing with rock /blues band my Jazz bass fits the bill far better than others and seems more adaptable at changing styles from hard rock to slow blues ballads to Pink Floyd.

To answer your original question - YES when I bought the Overwater I felt I was betraying my trusty old Warwick until the novelty wore off and now I play the 3 of them pretty evenly shared.

Historically I only ever had one bass which was either sold or trade to buy a new one.

Dave
:)

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I have only bought one bass as a direct replacement for another, which was the Sadowsky Metro I bought to replace my old Precision. The Precision was just getting a bit fragile for constant gigging, so it has been retired from gigging so I can just enjoy playing it myself.

The others are organised in terms of tunings and purposes. Whichever bass I'm using depends on what I'm doing, though from recently getting a five string I have found that it can cover most ground, if I had known this ten years ago it may have saved me a good bit of money!

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The novelty of having a new bass wears off after a few weeks for me and then I start A/B ing the different sounds of my basses.
This is all hypothetical at the moment as I have only got my trusty Ibanez Roadstar until I receive my new (to me) Yamaha.

Glad to hear you're enjoying the fretless five string Blademan_98 and a pleasure to meet you

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when i got the Schecter i felt bad cos i swore blind my Ibby 800 was the only bass id ever need,now i just swap between them.....kind of like a mormon bass player except i dont hump them..the P copy the wife bought me i actually left on the back seat of the car hoping some pikey would nick it but no luck there,even at this early stage of playing each one of them means something to me.

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[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1132897' date='Feb 18 2011, 11:15 PM']Do you chaps all abandon the existing kit for the new bass?

How long before you return to the others?

Blademan[/quote]

No, I have my 2 main basses that do different things but I am getting a favourite out of the 2 but I do need both on gigs, I think, especially as I have only had both around a year.

My 3rd is now not used, and I can't see me using it soon, tbh so I am coming to terms with selling it.

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[quote name='megallica' post='1134014' date='Feb 20 2011, 07:50 AM']The novelty of having a new bass wears off after a few weeks for me and then I start A/B ing the different sounds of my basses.
This is all hypothetical at the moment as I have only got my trusty Ibanez Roadstar until I receive my new (to me) Yamaha.

Glad to hear you're enjoying the fretless five string Blademan_98 and a pleasure to meet you[/quote]

It's sounds really mellow through my Orange amp.

I bought a low B from the local music shop and will get it fitted today.

I will stick with the roundwounds for now as the flats I want cost nearly half as much as the guitar!

The misses and kids said it sounds good but could I 'PLEASE TURN IT DOWN' :)

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[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1134062' date='Feb 20 2011, 09:19 AM']It's sounds really mellow through my Orange amp.

I bought a low B from the local music shop and will get it fitted today.

I will stick with the roundwounds for now as the flats I want cost nearly half as much as the guitar!

The misses and kids said it sounds good but could I 'PLEASE TURN IT DOWN' :)[/quote]

I've had a quick google for flatwounds and they do seem quite expensive, I suppose they will last longer as they should retain their smooth sound for longer

If I had a pound for each time I've been asked to turn it down I could afford that Ampeg 8 x 10 cabinet I've always wanted

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