Gigging bassists... how many basses do you own?

[TheRev]

I have six - three double basses, two electric basses and one acoustic bass guitar. I did something like 70 gigs last year and played the same bass each time except for one gig where I used my Eminence portable double bass due to space constrictions.

I should really sell the electrics as they only get a little bit of home use.... but I don't need to sell them, and TBH, I don't want to.

[Lozz196]

25 - 30 gigs a year, 2 basses, a black/black/maple US Precision as my gigging bass, and a black/black/maple MIM Precision as my backup. I look after my instruments so very little wear & tear on them.

[RockfordStone]

ive got 6

Fender Aerodyne Jazz, Fender Sandblast Jazz, Fender MIM Precision, Warwick thumb 5, Squier VI and Squier Precision

the Fenders are my main gigging basses which i use for different projects so can be in different tunings, but usually i run with 1 stage and one back up. the other 3 are for studio use, and in the squier p's case purely kept as it was the first bass i owned

[basexperience]

I've got 9 if you include the Ashbory - I tend to use the 6 string a lot because it's got a GR55 it can drive, which means it can "be" several basses thanks to COSM modelling ;-) the musicman bass is particularly good on that, digs in beautifully.

I gig regularly with 4 of these, one or two I wouldn't gig because they're dear to me, but the irony is I gig the expensive ones and don't mind them being dinged, etc - all part of the history you get with a working instrument!

[Roger2611]

I have way too many.... 13 basses at present, I was doing about 30 gigs a year and pretty much only used my Precision's, this year will see a lot less gigs and the usual new years resolution of culling the herd of the ungigged basses....bet that doesn't happen

[EssentialTension]

Fender Precision - covers everything I do if necessary, but mostly used with The Big Fat Chords

Lakland Decade - something a bit different and mainly used with band The Binmen.

Takamine B10 - fretless big bodied acoustic and commonly played with Americana band Barabajagal

Upright bass - sometimes used with Barabajagal but mostly played at home.

Squier Bass VI - never gigged, some studio use, but mostly noodling at home.

[blue]

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1.

😊
[/quote]

One gig or one bass?

Blue

[ambient]

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One gig or one bass?

Blue
[/quote]

One bass. That used to be a Modulus Quantum 6, it's now a Roscoe SKB3006.

[ead]

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Are they all ACGs?
[/quote]

Some of them are ACGs, but 2 definitely are not

[jezzaboy]

I have 3. Nate Mendel P bass for the ACDC tribute band, BB1100s that is a bit fragile usually comes as a back up and a Pawn shop Mustang that rarely gets gigged.

The thing is, the BB sounds the best and is the handiest especially on the rare occasion I`m not using my own amp due to the active/passive/pj options but the Nate P is damm cool and the neck is perfect for me.

Oh first world problems!

[partly_dave]

Not sure if I qualify, was about 20 gigs last year?Standard weekend rock warrior pubs and small festival. Rock, bit of metal and Britpop. So not a great tonal range. 2 hour gigs usually. Had 3 basses for most of last year.

Was mainly playing a 2013 Epi T-bird classic. But when the ergonomics of it p*ssed me off I'd take my Modern Player jazz instead. Always driving so room for a spare too:

My £68 from EBay 1990s Squier P as a "back up" which I'd inevitably end up finishing gig with as I'm seriously fond of the cheap arsed thing's neck.

Of the 3, I reckon only the Jazz would stand up to proper, regular road work.

Have done this on and off for 20 years. On no occasion have I actually needed to switch to a back up. But I do carry strings, tools, wires and soldering iron in my gig bag. Which my guitarist's Tele gets most use out of.

[casapete]

I currently have 10 plus an upright.
For some strange reason I have accumulated 4 Fender Precision Lytes, which is the bass I use with my main band. My s/b one
is my go to bass, with the others for spares and misc other gigs. Must get rid of one or two of these I think....
Also got a 63 P-bass which gets an occasional airing if its somewhere safe, and a 93 Stingray which I love but isn't getting used
after I had a shoulder injury which makes anything medium weight or above difficult for me. (hence the P-bass Lytes...). Can't face
selling it just yet though, have always had a Musicman for so long, it just would n't seem right.
Danelectro Longhorn for my country rock band. Just love this bass. Also a Danelectro DC bass which I bought on a whim and am
getting more used to now.
Washburn AB20 for acoustic duo gigs. Had this for so long, and still loving it. Played straight into the PA, simple.
Also a P-bass copy which is just so good it's laughable for the money - cheap and cheerful.
My upright isn't getting used, so may consider moving it on - especially as have GAS for a bass uke!!

[The-Ox]

some top responses, quite a range!!! Always interesting to hear. I think I am gonna try and keep mine as minimal a possible, will try and keep a max of 2 basses

[3below]

In my peak (a long time ago in so many aspects) 70+ gigs per year plus weekly rehearsal. This lasted for about 4 years. One bass, Gibson EB2 (£80, circa 1975, seems unbelievable now ). It even fell off the strap and the headstock stayed on. Built my own flight case as they were not readily available (and I was 16 and broke). Not in my peak - as in now, OMG 9/10? basses of which two are main players. Gigs - hmmmmm not many. Accumulating basses is another worry. As per casapete, I have this strange need / want to get another Warwick Corvette. Why? I have one, it is my first choice bass at the moment, it does what it should and very well IMO. Why do I feel the need for another?

Edited January 7, 2016 by 3below

[chris_b]

I own 3 5 string basses but only take one bass to gigs. I play in multiple bands playing diverse genres and one bass covers everything. For years it was my Lakland 55-94 which I used in an acoustic duo through, originals and blues bands to covers. That was replaced as No1 bass by my Lull PJ5. My basses work. They do hundreds of gigs and they get looked after. They have very few scrapes, scratches or wear marks.

I've tried playing different basses in different bands, like using a Wal in the originals bands and a Rob Allen in the acoustic duo but while they did get compliments and sounded great to me they didn't seem to raise anyone else's heart rate enough so I sold them and went back to the Lakland. I've never seen the point in changing basses for particular numbers.

I'm not precious about my sound. I'll do what fits best and my experience is that if you buy a reasonable "Fender type" bass, get a good sound out of it, play it well (good timing, no bum notes) and be easy to get on with most people will accept and be happy with "your" sound.

I don't know anyone else on the "circuit" who is significantly different. We all seem to have made the "one size fits all" philosophy work.

[drTStingray]

In the context of damage to basses, the answer is very little - they are mostly pristine. I'm extremely careful these days as guitars are easily knocked over by the most obvious and sometimes least obvious suspects - I well recall rescuing my SR5 from its stand just before a 2 yr old or so child reached it having made a bee line for it at an outdoor private party. The child's mother also caught up with him just in time as well - he had the choice of various old Gibson or Fender guitars but chose the natural finish SR5 - he must have liked the sound at sound check!! I make a point to always have my bass in its case and out of the way before anyone starts dismantling or moving metal work (such as drum kit), PA leads, Mike stands, cabinets etc.

One or two basses have minor dings from being knocked over by clumsy fellow musicians (usually drummers or singers - the latter whilst fiddling with PA mixers usually) - it's really irritating when you get those minor dents in the side of the fretboard as a result - or odd headstock dings from being accidentally bashed by me on very low pub ceilings. However my Bongo, unusually, has a ding free headstock, and despite suggestions it could be possible, that particular headstock has never had anybody's eye out!!

The worst incident I ever had was at a jazz quartet rehearsal in a small church hall with a parquet floor - I dropped my SR4 fret less on the floor completely off its strap and it landed flat on its back - the only damage was a very slightly bent and subsequently rattling G string tuner which I've since replaced.

I only usually take one bass at a time to gigs nowadays - I used to take two to some gigs but really can't be asked anymore unless it's really essential.

Edited January 7, 2016 by drTStingray

[peted]

Three but only take one to gigs. My first bass that I learnt on will never leave me but needs some tlc to be playable. My Warwick Thumb BO 4 I love to bits and made an effort to use 100% of gigs last year. My main gigging bass now is the Shuker Singlecut 6 as it can do everything.

[Telebass]

Just two.
1) An all-Fender bitsa that started life as a 2004 MIM Precision. This has done maybe 600 gigs all told. The body shows some signs of wear but is still in pretty good nick.

2) A recently acquired Yamaha BB414. Completely stock. Cracking bass. Fender has had 20 mins playing since I got it. Will be looking to move up the BB market, but will stick now with two, and the bitsa is going nowhere.

[TrevorR]

I have a total of six basses, of which my main basses are my [b]1985 Wal Mk 1 Custom [/b]and my [b]1979 Wal Pro IIE[/b]. When I was in a covers band I would tend to take both to each gig.

I almost always took two basses to a gig as a redundancy/insurance policy – not that I ever had a bass fail mid gig but given that both are more than a quarter of a century old I thought “Better safe than sorry”. Having two lovely basses at the gig I would then use both – divvying them up between sections of the set depending on which songs we were doing. Pure indulgence on my part and I’m sure no one else noticed the difference. However, whilst either bass could more than adequately cover all the set, I enjoyed using whichever bass particularly suited certain tunes. For example, It Must Be Love, Roxanne, Babylon, Long Train Running and Lady Marmalade just felt and sounded particularly good to me on the Mk 1 Custom. Similarly, A Town Called Malice, Hey Jude, Sweet Caroline, Get It On and any Oasis numbers seemed to particularly suit the Pro Bass (or the Frankenjazz). Maybe no-one else could tell the difference but I could and it made my smile.

I also tended to take good care of them when playing live so wear and tear wasn't such a big concern...

The other basses are [b]"Signature" Frankenjazz [/b]from BuildABass off eBay which I bought as a project bass and because I fancied having a souped up Jazz. When my Pro IIE was in need to some TLC and temporarily retired from gigging pending some work this accompanied my Mk 1 Wal to gigs. It also gave me the option for a more era-appropriate looking bass when the band as doing “60s” events. Currently that bass is on long term loan to a chum.

Then there is an [b]Aria SB700 [/b](my first ever bass, hardly used but kept for sentimental reasons), a [b]custom built Tony Revell acoustic bass [/b](which is acoustic only and too precious/fragile to take out of the house) and a [b]Faith Neptune Titan acoustic bass [/b]which gets used occasionally for acoustic sessions and for practice around the house.

Edited January 7, 2016 by TrevorR

[Graham]

I have two, well three, but one of those is my first bass - a Squier Affinity Precision that's covered in stickers and is just kept in the bedroom for me to noodle on first thing in the morning sometimes.

My others are G&Ls - a '95 American SB2 and a more modern Tribute L2500

Since getting the L2500 last summer I've barely played the SB2 and can't see myself buying another four string, I don't plan to sell the SB2 though as it's handy to have a four string that looks like a Fender available.

I play 30-50 gigs a year and take the SB2 as a backup, but have never needed to use it, the L2500 gets we used for the whole set of pop and rock covers.

I haven't noticed any wear in the instruments, but I take fairly good care of them; I think I may have put a small ding in the headstock of the SB2 by connecting it with a cymbal though.

[ThomasB]

I've been playing for some 6/7 years now, still a beginner compared to some veterans on here

I started with a Tenson California, a cheap P/J in black with a white pickguard and some stickers, will never be sold because it started my love for the fat strings.
2 years later, I saw a Fender Jazz Bass 60's roadworn in fiesta red in my local music store, and that bass has been my first choice for years. I use it every week at band practise, and comes to every gig.
Next came the Sterling by MusicMan Ray 34 in a gorgeous limited edition white, because I was looking for some humbucking punch. However, this bass is currently for sale since I recently bought a 2003 Status Kingbass standard, which is the best sounding bass I've ever played. Since I bought it, it has been my main bass and it will only lose that spot to a Status S2 Classic, custom built to my specs.
About 2 months or so ago, I came across an old Status S3000, which was supposedly owned by John Edwards of Status Quo, and it has his autograph on the body.

For gigging, I always take my Kingbass and my Jazz with me, as the sound of the King can be adjusted to suit about 95% of the songs ever made, and the Jazz is mostly used as backup or just to switch to because I miss playing the neck on it. The Ray comes too if we play songs that are in a different tuning, because the King is headless and takes a bit longer to tune. However, it's been in standard tuning for about 7 months now with only 1 or 2 finetunes in that time, got to love those graphite necks!

As for wear, I take very good care of my basses. The Jazz is a roadworn, so it's pretty hard to tell what has been done in the Fender factory and what has been caused by me, but the fretboard and neck are still in the same condition as when I bought it, and the same applies to the Ray.
The 2 Status basses are both natural finish, and the Kingbass looks almost as if Rob Green just did the final inspection on it yesterday.
However, the S3000 has scratches, dings, the end of the neck has chips of lacquer missing and the knobs have been replaced. It even has a few Danish Crowns behind the strap buttons. To be honest, I think this adds to the story of the bass, as it's been around the world with Status Quo, and it should look played and lived.

[tauzero]

I use a Sei fretless 5 as my main bass and take along another one too as backup. The others are all fretted 5s except for a Sei 6 and I just take whichever one I fancy. Everything's pretty ding-free which is helped by not having any painted ones.

[mrtcat]

I do about 100 gigs a year. I have 2 basses (Jap 75RI Jazz with J-retro + MM SR5 HH) one 4 string one 5 string. Both go to every gig but I mainly use the SR5 now (only had it a couple months). I'm not overly precious with either but both are in really good condition, I have no idea what people do to get their basses so mojo'd.

[acidbass]

I own the following

Squier Classic Vibe 60s Precision (flats)
Fender Jazz Bass MIJ (flats)
Squier Classic Vibe 60s Jazz (flats)
OLP Stingray Copy modded (rounds)
Fender MIJ P/J hybrid unlined fretless bass (rounds)

Listed in order of how much I use them.

Would love to add a 70s styled Jazz bass with rounds, and a 5 string high end bass with humbuckers (Sadowsky, Fodera etc)

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1452180825' post='2947348']
I use a Sei fretless 5 as my main bass and take along another one too as backup. The others are all fretted 5s except for a Sei 6 and I just take whichever one I fancy. Everything's pretty ding-free which is helped by not having any painted ones.
[/quote]

Do you still have the Buzzard?