One bass? Is it possible?

[Fozza]

[uk_lefty]

2 hours ago, rasher80 said:

A Stingray's the one itch (lefty wise) I'm still yet to scratch

It's funny I was in Wunjos with some tax rebate money. I loved the USA Fender Jazz, great look and really gorgeous tone, and whatever I bought my MIM Jazz was being traded in. But the Stingray just had something that fits "what I do" which is play covers for people to sing and dance along to. And it was a sizeable amount of money more than the Jazz. The jazz would have been great to keep at home but the Ray is perfect to take to "work". 

Long story short. I still want a jazz though I don't need it. 

[dmccombe7]

4 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

It's funny I was in Wunjos with some tax rebate money. I loved the USA Fender Jazz, great look and really gorgeous tone, and whatever I bought my MIM Jazz was being traded in. But the Stingray just had something that fits "what I do" which is play covers for people to sing and dance along to. And it was a sizeable amount of money more than the Jazz. The jazz would have been great to keep at home but the Ray is perfect to take to "work". 

Long story short. I still want a jazz though I don't need it. 

Love the Stingray tone but having tried one in 80's i found the necks a bit too wide for my tastes and it put me off. My hands have adapted a bit more these days so maybe i should give one another try.

Dave

[ped]

21 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Vigier?

Yeah, I’ve had that for about 15 years now and it’s seen off everything especially with the synth built in so it can do perfect (to my ears) impressions of J, P, MM styles too. But I like that it has a unique sound of its own, it’s one of a kind and sounds so even and plays so well it’s almost digital! 

I used to think I’d also need a 5, a fretless and so forth but in reality when I was playing something else, especially something easily recognisable like a Jazz, I kind of felt like I was copying a sound rather than playing MY sound on things if you see what I mean.

There’s an album by Gov’t Mule where each track has a different bass player and it’s really good to see how an instantly recognisable ‘signature’ sound can be used in different contexts and still sound great. Flea plays on a fusion blues kind of tune with his Modulus and it sounds amazing, whereas my first thought might be ‘oh I need a P for that tune’

I guess when you’ve had a bass long enough and used it live, at home, in studios and all sorts you just get to know it so well that you just feel at home on it and know how it’ll sound in every situation. 

[ezbass]

13 minutes ago, ped said:

 

I guess when you’ve had a bass long enough and used it live, at home, in studios and all sorts you just get to know it so well that you just feel at home on it and know how it’ll sound in every situation. 

^^^ This.
 

 

 

(Ezbass then goes off and looks at new basses and FX online and tries to keep drool off the keyboard*.)

 

 

 

* Yes, I need help 😂

Edited June 11, 2020 by ezbass

[Thunderbird]

I have 9 at present but only really play one of them in all honesty I could get by with one as I don't gig or anything but I do enjoy cleaning my basses and tinkering with them and I do like having a collection lol

[meterman]

I reckon I could probably get away with one bass for the rest of my days. And I'd be happy if it was the bass I've just bought, a MIJ Squier Bullet.

I only have two sounds anyway - flats played near the neck and flats played near the bridge. Three sounds if you count playing with a pick.

At one time I had 5 basses (USA Fender Bullet, a Squier Mustang, an infuriating Shaftesbury Tele style bass, a little Tanglewood EF-18 from a charity shop, and an unbranded short scale acoustic bass) but I sounded pretty much the same on all of them. Could have been the flats, but more than likely it's my lack of proper technique. That's my signature sound: lack of proper technique 😂 and I only need one bass for that!

 

[Barking Spiders]

'Why do you need more than one bass?' asked an ex mrs Spiders when she caught me furtively lurking outside a guitar store?Why do you need more than one pair of shoes?  I replied. Back of the net!

Edited June 11, 2020 by Barking Spiders

[sbrag]

I have done before but as others say where is the fun. For my current band I am tuned DGCF but also need one in standard for other things and learning songs. A spare for each would be nice and I probably ought to get a fretless and even though I don't like 5 strings I probably should have one and I'd like a Stingray and a Ric etc.

[chris_b]

Jacko only needed one.

[chris_b]

. . . . oh, and James Jamerson.

 

[4000]

1 minute ago, chris_b said:

Jacko only needed one.

I’m assuming you mean Jaco. Actually he had loads at various times.😂

Edited June 11, 2020 by 4000

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Not wishing to kick off the old 'you should take a spare bass to every gig' argument again, but if you're in a gigging band, you should have something to fall back on if the unexpected occurs.

I really cannot get my head around why, if you have the means, you wouldn't do that (if you're in a gigging band).

[bigjohn]

Own 5 basses currently. A fretless, a bass vi, a jazz a precision and a pj. 
 

I play my p 99% of the time and 100% of the time i play seriously so I could easily live without the others. 
 

I did take my jazz to a gig last year, but never played it. 
 

I noodle on the others. Each one probably less than once a month. 

[bigjohn]

4 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Not wishing to kick off the old 'you should take a spare bass to every gig' argument again, but if you're in a gigging band, you should have something to fall back on if the unexpected occurs.

I really cannot get my head around why, if you have the means, you wouldn't do that (if you're in a gigging band).

I carry a set of broken in strings. Ive broken a string twice in nearly 15 years... 

[dmccombe7]

Nowadays i would always have a back up bass at a gig more so for a quick change-out in event of a bass failing for any reason. I even carry a spare lightweight amp head for same reason.

Dave

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

10 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

I carry a set of broken in strings. Ive broken a string twice in nearly 15 years... 

I must admit, I’ve not had a string break on me for years and if that was all that could go wrong, I might agree. 

I have had a wire disconnect from an input jack and a nut snap though. Not so easy to fix when you’re halfway through a set at a festival. If you’re happy to take the risk, good luck to you sir. 

[dmccombe7]

5 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I must admit, I’ve not had a string break on me for years and if that was all that could go wrong, I might agree. 

I have had a wire disconnect from an input jack and a nut snap though. Not so easy to fix when you’re halfway through a set at a festival. If you’re happy to take the risk, good luck to you sir. 

I've broken a string once in 44yrs

[OliverBlackman]

26 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

Own 5 basses currently. A fretless, a bass vi, a jazz a precision and a pj. 
 

I play my p 99% of the time and 100% of the time i play seriously so I could easily live without the others. 
 

I did take my jazz to a gig last year, but never played it. 
 

I noodle on the others. Each one probably less than once a month. 

Sitting here playing my P bass i agree with this although I do try and share the load of practice at home between my 3 but it basically comes down to: P bass 90% of the time, Fretless when I feel fancy and the jazz for when I'm learning a slap tune because it nails the MM tone.

[la bam]

I've gone into the way of thinking of:

Main basses - for tribute band (so cant change them).

Completely different basses just for the love of it - different looks, sounds and style, and see what I like. In this part I only ever buy then sell, so it doesnt cost me anything.

[BigRedX]

It is perfectly possible to get away with only one bass. I think on here we spend too much time agonising over the details of different bass sounds, whereas in reality on stage and even in the studio one good bass will do the job perfectly well.

Even in the days when I had a lots of basses I was mainly using one (and a spare) at any one time for any given band.

If you intend to play live in a band where it is important not to break the flow of the performance then you definitely need a spare. Or alternatively you need to practice changing strings (and retuning) until you can do it in under a minute in near-darkness while drunken people shout at you.

I'm down from well over 40 basses to just 4. I play in two very different bands that require very different basses so I have two 5-string basses (one main and one back-up) for one band and two Bass VIs for the other.

[marcblum]

If I were forced by some mysterious power (AKA wife) to get along with only 1 instrument, it would be the Vigier Arpege III 6string.

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

25 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I've broken a string once in 44yrs

Yes, it wasn’t until I bought my second bass (decades ago) that I realised that it was the saddles on my first bass that were the issue regarding string breakages and not me. But as I said, strings breaks are not my real worry.

[la bam]

I've previously always been locked in to one bass (plus cheap spare) per band. A usa sunburst precision in my first indie band, a red and white jazz in my function band, a yamaha red bb424x in a dance band, and whatever I needed to replicate in tribute bands.

However, it became quite stifling, where I would have liked to try another bass, but couldnt or was that paranoid it wouldnt work I never did.

However it's been really refreshing watching old youtube clips of The Bangles, of all bands, recently. Almost every video I've seen, even of the same song, the entire band just seems to be playing whatever they want (2 guitars and bass), and I kind of like that. The freedom to play what you want. Also, it has zero effect on the bands sound.

Edited June 11, 2020 by la bam

[Drax]

1 hour ago, Barking Spiders said:

'Why do you need more than one bass?' asked an ex mrs Spiders when she caught me furtively lurking outside a guitar store?Why do you need more than one pair of shoes?  I replied. Back of the net!

And why she’s also now an ex