andybassdoyle Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Very interested to hear the BC thoughts on this, I'm sure many of you are in or have been in this boat. Simply put, is it worth selling up the collection in order to fund one high quality instrument? I find myself with the dilema of trying lot's of different basses all with their own qualities but never finding that one bass that hits the 8 or 9 out of 10 mark consistently on all fronts. Some of the sorts of choices that need to be made are: 1) Fretted or frettless - this of all the choices is probably easiest as you can't really have one bass that does both for obvious reasons 2) B string - good for general/function work. Wider neck reduces playabilty, more bass to get around. Seems to 'ground' the tone where present. 3) C string - good for improvisation, chords etc. Not widely desired but the non-bass playing world in general. Same neck issues as point 2. Doesn't always work on a 5 string. 4) 6 or more strings - see 2 and 3. 5) Wood choices - does it really all boil down to ash/maple? The exotics look great but does it really make difference from the back of the bar? 6) Pickups/electrics etc - black magic and probably influenced by other factors. Keep it flat and clean or is there a good colour to go for? 7) Scale length - how do you know that a 33 is going to work well? Are there any 35s that are genuinely comfortable to play or is it the simple truth that 34 is the best scale length for bass (provocative perhaps!) I think a key thing for me is that the bass responds and resonates really well to being played. This might sound a bit daft but there are some instruments which just seem for whatever reason to invite you to play them and this usually translates for me into better tone and performance. I suspect the quality of the set up, frets and neck have a lot to do with this. More mysterious X factors. What makes the bass that you instinctively choose to use whatever the circumstances? I've met people over the years who will say get a custom bass made. Sounds like a good idea but I've no idea what ingrediants to tell the chef to buy. I've also no desire to let my mind change itself over the 12-24 months most of these builds seem to take. I suspect that the answer to this question is that there is no one bass to rule them all and that some form of bass coalition needs to be formed in order to succesfully govern all gigs. Question is probably more around who gets to be PM.... Interested in your thoughts BC folk!! Cheers, Abd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I had the perfect one for a while, but kept getting chased around by dark riders, so I had to throw it into a volcano. It was precious to me, that one. [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 The thing is.. your ideal bass tone is subjective, so whilst it may be possible to find a bass that 'Rules them all' for your own personal tastes to others it wil be anathema... I still think you could get near any core tone if you owned a J, a P, a Ray and a fretless, but it depends what your looking for. I love the tone of a Wal, that's the pinnacle for me, for others it will be the ric tone... which I personally can't stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 [quote name='andybassdoyle' timestamp='1413202636' post='2575747'] Simply put, is it worth selling up the collection in order to fund one high quality instrument? [/quote] Simply put... no. Unless you know exactly the bass you want. I just had a look through some of your "topics started" - and there were at least 4-5 basses sold, or up for sale in the £1400-1500 mark - from high end makers.... so I'm guessing selling them all to get one would be a fairly high price bass.... which is fine - go to bass gear or somewhere and play your fodearas and your Wal's and the like - and if one clicks with you then maybe that could be the one. But watch the "more expensive is better" thing... it's not - you could pick up a bass for £300 secondhand or something that could be "your bass".... but the problem is with the selling it all to get one idea isn't the bass - it's the pressure you're putting on yourself to find that "one" - only to find in a couple of years you're playing in a different band when all you need is a decent P tone.... No bass is 10 out of 10, thats why lots of folks have more than one. Enjoy it, change them around sometimes.... have fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybassdoyle Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Good advice and I suspect very close to the truth. Any other schools of thought folks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I think if you play one single genre of music it would be easier to find a bass that would be everything for you. However if you play a wide spectrum of music it may be necessary to have a selection of basses to give you what you need. That is not to say that one bass can't do it all for everything it depends on what you need tonally and if the bass is able to give you the sound you want for yourself or the sound the music needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Maybe you need to stop obsessing about trying to find a perfect solution and simply enjoy playing what you do have access to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 If you need a really versatile bass that does it all, and a lot of work is in the studio, then yes. If not I`d keep what you have, unless you can`t get the tones you want with any of them. I`m lucky, a Precision does all I need but appreciate that many might want a few more options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonepete Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Buy a mim P and give all your bass exotica to me! (You can of course have visiting rights to your stash o basses anytime!). Seriously though, you sound fantastic on all your basses, maybe the sound you hear isn't the sound everyone else hears? I hear you play just about every style and nuance from way back when and I don't think it's as much to do with what you play on as much as what you play. Caveat I know very little about these matters, but it sounds like chasing your tail to me. No offence intended, and the usual imo, imho, IMoho etc etc. Please and thank you , Cheers Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'd invest in a top spec rig over a ridiculously over-priced bass any day of the week. Essentially a £300 bass does the same things as a £3000 bass. A £3000 bass will not make you sound better if you're a sh*tty musician too. Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyvee Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 [quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1413211760' post='2575858'] Maybe you need to stop obsessing about trying to find a perfect solution and simply enjoy playing what you do have access to. [/quote] + 1 I suppose many of us really only need one bass and we could do everything we need to do with it. Thankfully playing bass does not have to be singular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 In all honesty I believe that the name playing the instrument is more important than the name on the headstock. In my experience the search for the perfect bass is like chasing the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 There is no one bass to rule them all. It is just fun having a change now and again. You have no idea how a custom will sound until it is built. I know this from expensive experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 They are all different. I keep re-discovering mine. Also one super duper bass, gets stolen, damaged whatever - is gone. I will not take some basses out now since they have become irreplaceable. Not vast value, just difficult to find another. Cheapy bass £150 has 90% + of the tone, does not matter if goes awol, damaged at gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'm slowly drifting towards two fretless and two fretted basses; each pair being somewhat different, be it construction or electronics and pickups for as much variety as possible. That feels about right to me, but I gues YMMV Atm I have three fretless and one fretted so decision point is approaching as the second fretted ACG is in build now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I now know exactly what I want, an American Precision in red with a maple board and rolled edges (do they all come with rolled edges?) I would just keep my mex for a backup and sell everything else. But that's just me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybassdoyle Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Folks thanks for the feedback. Obviously this is a really subjective issue but lot's of useful food for thought here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 For 25 years I had that one bass; my old Precision, but then I went to 5 'ers. Since then I've owned five basses, three of which made me think, I can't get better than this. . . . but I did. IME, don't worry about perfection, just get the best bass you can afford and play it until something else comes along. And if that next bass doesn't appear, guess what you've got? I probably wouldn't get a custom. You loose too much when you sell it. Also I would sell your basses for one quality instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doman Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Actually, 3 basses. Good P, good J, and good Stingray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 (edited) [quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1413211760' post='2575858'] Maybe you need to stop obsessing about trying to find a perfect solution and simply enjoy playing what you do have access to. [/quote]Spot On..!! Edited October 14, 2014 by bubinga5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybassdoyle Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 [quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1413211760' post='2575858'] Maybe you need to stop obsessing about trying to find a perfect solution and simply enjoy playing what you do have access to. [/quote] Ok guys, I get the message, only asked the question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 3below has the same thoughts as myself. All your eggs in one basket are easy to carry but the saying comes with a warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 I've owned a few "high end" basses and have, for the first time since I first picked up the instrument, ended up with just one. A MIM Precision, although with a few mods. I'm constantly surprised by what it can deliver, and I definitely don't miss having a B string. If anything its opened up the fretboard. I do hanker for a 70's Jazz bass but I wouldn't need it, it would just be fulfilling a long standing desire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 [quote name='owen' timestamp='1413237777' post='2576312'] There is no one bass to rule them all. It is just fun having a change now and again. You have no idea how a custom will sound until it is built. I know this from expensive experience. [/quote] did a furry leopard print double bass not sound like you thought? [quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1413315503' post='2577122'] I've owned a few "high end" basses and have, for the first time since I first picked up the instrument, ended up with just one. A MIM Precision, although with a few mods. I'm constantly surprised by what it can deliver, and I definitely don't miss having a B string. If anything its opened up the fretboard. I do hanker for a 70's Jazz bass but I wouldn't need it, it would just be fulfilling a long standing desire. [/quote] good point there - one bass and you have to really really learn to play it. Many basses and it's easy to fanny around swapping them or knob fiddling or the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 The Furry Leopard was a total fluke. I got it for nothing, I spent £2K on refurbing it and putting a 5 string neck on it and I have never ever had DB GAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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