Does bad GAS hinder a 2 year rookie's playing?

[iconic]

I haven't got a bad problem playing (you may well disagree!) but it's this damn GAS I suffer from.

....we have a 09 MIM P bass, Yamaha BB414 p/j (racy P neck!) VM Telebass single mudbucker (racy P neck, super light bass!) VMJ (racing J neck boat anchor heavy) VMJF (racing J neck with tapeworms!) chinky P bass thing on flats...and 5 other basses that have come and gone!

.....so I have different necks and positions where my arms/hands/fingers naturally fall, rounds/flats/ tapeworm stings...

.....I was thinking this choice can't be good for improving bass playing, as I never seem to play the same bass for more than 30 mins....bit like learning to drive and driving 6 different cars....can't be good?

.....I see guys with but the 1 bass, and think I wish I could be like that, simply play the same bass day after day so you know every little thing about it...sort of like just one best mate rather 5 good friends....?


.....I reckon my GAS problem isn't so much the different tones, I simply like the differing way of engineering a bass, and the fact I think basses look so good...


...any thoughts? Keep one in the open and lock the others away maybe?

[ThomBassmonkey]

If you'd get bored and stop practicing if you were tied to one bass, having lots of basses to pick from is obviously better for your bass playing.

I've always had a main bass and at least one backup, I generally use the one best suited to what I'm doing or the better quality one.

[Machines]

I like quite differing tones for different styles of music, and no one bass can do that for me. If you think one is limiting then of course, indulge yourself. But if they're all fairly similar in feel or sound I don't see the point.

As for improving your playing - sticking with one will stop you focusing on the tone you're hearing and looking to improve that, rather than your musical ability or technique.

[Eight]

I can't see it hurting. And if it keeps you interested then great.

But to continue the analogy, if you learned to drive in six different cars, I think you would quickly get a better feel for things like clutch biting points than someone who only ever drove one car.

[Gareth Hughes]

Whilst I am more than guilty of being a gear slut, I finally came to the conclusion that, for me, it was a hinderance having too many options. I never really got to know one instrument inside and out, or one style of instrument - as in just a J bass or a P bass. At one point I was going back and forth between 34, 35 and 36 inch scales on 4, 5 and 6 string basses. Didn't help at all - I never felt comfortable with any of them. After much internal dialogue I changed things up and now everything is 34 inch and I feel it really helps normalize everything.

One thing that helped clear things up for me was realising that most of the great guys and gals we all know and love are associated with just one bass. Marcus and his 70's Jazz, Wooten and his Fodera, Anthony Jackson and his Fodera - he literally has played the same bass for the 15 or so years. The ultimate is Herbie Flowers who has only ever owned one bass.

I now have one main bass and a few other mess around things. The main one is the only one that leaves the house, and the one I practice the most one. And it's worked too in making me focus on what I'm practicing instead of 'maybe the fretless would work better here, or maybe the 6, or maybe I need a new preamp' etc. Not saying I'm a better player, just less of an indecisive one.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Machines' post='1200324' date='Apr 15 2011, 09:47 AM']As for improving your playing - sticking with one will stop you focusing on the tone you're hearing and looking to improve that, rather than your musical ability or technique.[/quote]

A good point, and well made.

I don't think there's any harm in playing a few - the same as with any hobby. Would you wear a single pair of rugby boots? Swing only one set ogf golf clubs?

Probably not, as there's a lot to be said for mastering the game as a whole, rather than mastering a single instrument.

[Doddy]

Right....I've got loads of basses,which is great because of my position,but I still favour my Jazz Bass over everything else. Too many people swap and change instruments all the time looking for the perfect tone and feel,and never spend the time to really get to know a bass.
It's great owning multiple instruments,but I think that there is something wrong if you've gone though 11 instruments in just two years of playing. I'm guessing that you've made the instrument is the priority over the actual playing.

[hillbilly deluxe]

I have to agree with Doddy on this one.I have several basses and i am always suffering with Bass GAS,but always revert back to either my Jazz 1 or my precision 2.This forum has me GASsing for basses that i know i will never use but want all the same.Now if only 1 or 2 could switch to fretless at the flick of a switch.......................................

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1201620' date='Apr 16 2011, 10:24 AM']Now if only 1 or 2 could switch to fretless at the flick of a switch.......................................[/quote]


[url="http://mikeyguitar.com/bass.asp"]http://mikeyguitar.com/bass.asp[/url] ?

[hillbilly deluxe]

OFFS im glad that im skint for once,especialy the Jazz version.

[hillbilly deluxe]

I just watched the video.

Resistance is futile

Ow ! SWMBO said no.

1 cruel heartless bitch for sale.Or swap for.......................

[SteveK]

The more time I spend here the more I realise - some BCers are bass [i]players [/i]and some are bass [i]collectors[/i]. Nowt wrong with being a collector.
But remember though - A collector does not a player make

[dougie]

Its maybe a newbie thing as im the same,played for just over a yr and have had/got Peavey T40,Ibby 800sr,Shecter Diamond,2 P copies,and another 3 oddball ones i experiment with parts,amp/cabs ive hd/got peavey mk111,a sh*te KMD 130w thingy,Marshall HDFX,peavey 1820,celestion 1x15,hartke vx210,and now using Hartke HA3500 + 2xVX410 ....using different bass`s hasnt affected my playing as im still consistent,albeit consistently rank rotten.it is strangely addictive though when a rookie and i find i even try to justify buying things to myself,you experienced players surely can assure us there urges go away with time surely???

Edited April 18, 2011 by dougie

[mcnach]

Maybe it's the "tapeworms" that give you that itch

I think, like with many other subjects, there's not a right or a wrong, but wvery possibility has its owns pros and cons and its up to you to choose what you're willing to trade off and what's more important... and what doesn't matter at all.

Playing a variety of basses can be really good, as it would accustom you to different instruments and you would probably not squirm when you go somewhere and hand you a different bass from what you normally play "here, play this". When starting out and not being very experienced, we can get too used to one instrument, and find it extra hard to play another.
At the same time, it's something that as you become more proficient, the extra effort involved in switching instruments becomes less noticeable, and more of an anecdote than anything.
In other words, I wouldn't play 10 basses when learning just to get used to a variety of them.
BUT if I wanted to have a variety of them... it's fine.

Having said that, here's the other side of the coin. I personally find that simple instruments, simple FX pedals etc, allow me to get on with playing rather than faffing about with settings and various other unimportant things.
When I got my first multiFX, I'd spend hours going through all presets and experimenting... to the detriment of actual playing.
With basses, I found that with something like a Warwick Corvette $$, with two pickups, active EQ, and parallel/singlecoil/series modes for each pickup, I would fiddle with the controls constantly to get this or that sound. Playing a P-bass, or a Stingray, allowed me to find a sound that worked quickly and just play. Even a Jazz, with two pickups but few other "distractions" worked great for me in that respect.

So, perhaps, playing a different bass every 30min like you say you do, is the equivalent, and that's where it may be detrimental to your playing.
Nothing wrong with switching basses, it can be fun. But make sure you focus on getting your serious practice... THEN, when you are done, you can fiddle about with changing basses and FX etc...
I'm sure there's one or two you prefer, overall. Maybe focus on those?

[dougie]

[But remember though - A collector does not a player make
[/quote]
You made that up!!!

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1200414' date='Apr 15 2011, 10:58 AM']It's great owning multiple instruments,but I think that there is something wrong if you've gone though 11 instruments in just two years of playing. I'm guessing that you've made the instrument is the priority over the actual playing.[/quote]

I'll add this to the list alongside every player needing to learn to read

People will find their own level in this interest. I see nothing wrong in letting them do so. Some people, myself included, will want to collect; or change; or whatever.

I suspect, if I were playing for my supper, I might have a different opinion; but, alas, I am safely salaried.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Gust0o

[Doddy]

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1203580' date='Apr 18 2011, 01:41 PM']I'll add this to the list alongside every player needing to learn to read

People will find their own level in this interest. I see nothing wrong in letting them do so. Some people, myself included, will want to collect; or change; or whatever.

I suspect, if I were playing for my supper, I might have a different opinion; but, alas, I am safely salaried.[/quote]

I've got no problem with people collecting instrument-I've got 23 now.
But the OP has gone through 11 instruments in 2 years and feels the need to keep picking up a different one every half hour. I think it's at that point you have to ask questions. If you want to progress as a player,it's better to spend some time favouring one instrument (even if it's a different one every session) rather than swapping and changing every half hour.
The OP asked if the constant GAS has hindered them at all,and I would say that if you can't sit down and practise (yes...including reading) for any length of time on one instrument,then it probably is.