One bass or many!

[Dan Dare]

1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

If I want to buy another bass, I will!!

As is your right, but we are being asked for advice by someone else who may not be in the position that we are - financially secure, etc. I can spend, within reason, what I like on toys, but not everyone is as fortunate.

[ezbass]

27 minutes ago, Fil1ip said:

Thank you all, 

Enjoyed reading the comments.

I currently have two Yamaha BB's and a Vintage branded bass.

Possibly around £850 all in. 

My thought process I suppose was one 'investment/ quality' bass. 

I have had hobbies in the past and sometimes I get carried away and end up with several variations. 

I love looking at gear and YouTube etc daily and wanting it however I always feel slightly disappointed when gear arrives which is always a constant battle. 

Nice quiver you have there, those Vintage basses really punch above their price point and Yamaha just don’t make a bad instrument, IMO. Which of those is your ‘go to bass’ and what is the pickup configuration? Is there anything you don’t like about it that could be improved?  It could be that you already have what you’re looking for/need.

OK, just for balance, BUY BUY BUY! 😆

[dave moffat]

Aye, I kind of got away from the OP. I think it depends what appeals to your ear. if you know what you like cashing in and splashing out on one 'special' bass makes sense.

I like all mine for different reasons.

[Gillian57]

I've just begun the process of trimming my basses down from 15, to a more manageable number. They are a collection of mostly Peaveys which I'm now preparing to keep just the ones I regularly gig or practice with.

I'll be keeping two of each model (one with round wound and one with flat wound strings) as I swap during the set according to what sound I want for a song. 

[mr4stringz]

I’m on 7 at the moment, which is the most I’ve ever had at one time. They all perform a function though. That said, I could easily be happy enough with one of them in particular. 
 

I see nothing wrong with being a ‘one bass’ player at all, particularly if you’re not playing in a band (where a backup is always a good idea). I’d be led by one thing only myself - do you LOVE any of your current three? If so you may regret moving it on. If you just, well, ‘like’ them all and don’t feel massively attached then personally I wouldn’t hold back from going for it.

 

Edited April 13, 2021 by mr4stringz

[ezbass]

5 minutes ago, Gillian57 said:

I've just begun the process of trimming my basses down from 15, to a more manageable number. They are a collection of mostly Peaveys which I'm now preparing to keep just the ones I regularly gig or practice with.

I'll be keeping two of each model (one with round wound and one with flat wound strings) as I swap during the set according to what sound I want for a song. 

14 then. 😆

[PatrickJ]

8 hours ago, Fil1ip said:

I am not sure if this has been covered before however I currently have 3 basses. As a bedroom player and not really ever thought about joining a band I have noticed I only gravitate towards one bass. I was thinking about looking at a custom order Sandberg or USA fender. 

If I sold all basses and put all my eggs into one basket will I be satisfied! What do other people think. What do others do.

A P bass or Bass with P/J or P and humbucker I feel I would not really require lots of basses? 

Looking forward to people's opinions but the other hand spending big bucks on a bass as a bedroom player is it needed! 

I have a modest collection of 4 basses.  2x Sandbergs, a P and a PJ, a fretless Ibanez SR and a custom Jazz. 

As a stay at home and play guy currently I could quite happily go to 2 basses, the Jazz and the fretless.  I like the P's and I do use them from time to time but I gravitate to the fretless and jazz much more because I enjoy playing them the most.  If I was to get back into a band, assuming it wasn't some Jazz thing, the PJ would become my primary with the P as a backup bass which was primary reason for purchasing them.   

If you could find the 1 bass, that would be amazing.  Don't get sucked into Basschat GAS.

[Andermtc]

New bedroom player here.

Started almost 1 year ago to the week, and I now seem to have 4 basses.

The 1st one was a Hofner Ignition,  because it was what McCartney used.
Then whilst awaiting a pre-order I bought a Harley Benton P-bass, because I couldn’t wait for....
.....the pre-order to turn up, a Betsy J-Bass, due to Guy Pratt.
A couple of weeks back I bought a 2000 Stingray in Teal, because it’s the one Rory MacDonald from Runrig has. Now fitted with flats.

I think that will be me for basses, maybe.

[Marvin]

8 hours ago, Fil1ip said:

Hello all,

I am not sure if this has been covered before however I currently have 3 basses. As a bedroom player and not really ever thought about joining a band I have noticed I only gravitate towards one bass. I was thinking about looking at a custom order Sandberg or USA fender. 

If I sold all basses and put all my eggs into one basket will I be satisfied! What do other people think. What do others do.

A P bass or Bass with P/J or P and humbucker I feel I would not really require lots of basses? 

Looking forward to people's opinions but the other hand spending big bucks on a bass as a bedroom player is it needed! 

If you were to want to put all your eggs in one basket I think you'd need to try that 'one' bass first (not that always helps).

I stopped gigging before the current unpleasantness and had 3 basses when I finished, a P bass, J bass and double pickup modern looking BRIGHT RED bass. I sold the last one as it never got used. It seemed pointless just storing it in a case in the corner of the dinning room. Most of the time I play the J bass, as it's the nicest bass I've bought. BUT, I won't sell the P bass because you always need a P bass  Neither of my basses were expensive though so keeping them isn't really an issue...unless I need the room. I did think about selling both and putting some money with the sale and getting something I really wanted...but I'm too lazy to advertise them and all the other faff 

Edited April 13, 2021 by Marvin

[Fil1ip]

35 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Nice quiver you have there, those Vintage basses really punch above their price point and Yamaha just don’t make a bad instrument, IMO. Which of those is your ‘go to bass’ and what is the pickup configuration? Is there anything you don’t like about it that could be improved?  It could be that you already have what you’re looking for/need.

OK, just for balance, BUY BUY BUY! 😆

It's the BB714bs as my go to, neck and p pick up

 

 

[Fil1ip]

31 minutes ago, mr4stringz said:

I’m on 7 at the moment, which is the most I’ve ever had at one time. They all perform a function though. That said, I could easily be happy enough with one of them in particular. 
 

I see nothing wrong with being a ‘one bass’ player at all, particularly if you’re not playing in a band (where a backup is always a good idea). I’d be led by one thing only myself - do you LOVE any of your current three? If so you may regret moving it on. If you just, well, ‘like’ them all and don’t feel massively attached then personally I wouldn’t hold back from going for it.

 

Thanks for the feedback

 

[ezbass]

37 minutes ago, Fil1ip said:

It's the BB714bs as my go to, neck and p pick up

 

 

Interesting, as that’s obviously not a typical pickup layout. IIRC the necks on these are quite chunky. All of which makes a new build/purchase a potential stab in the dark. If you wanted to go for just one bass, based on your current preference, a Billy Sheehan Attitude would be a good way forward. However, a brand new, current release, looks spitefully expensive, which means used may be the only option if you wanted to keep the BS vibe & feel (you may have a huge budget of course). Another way forward could be to keep the 714BS and also have a P/MM layout bass (as I think you mentioned) as a contrasting alternative, although the necks might be quite different.

[Fil1ip]

2 hours ago, ezbass said:

Interesting, as that’s obviously not a typical pickup layout. IIRC the necks on these are quite chunky. All of which makes a new build/purchase a potential stab in the dark. If you wanted to go for just one bass, based on your current preference, a Billy Sheehan Attitude would be a good way forward. However, a brand new, current release, looks spitefully expensive, which means used may be the only option if you wanted to keep the BS vibe & feel (you may have a huge budget of course). Another way forward could be to keep the 714BS and also have a P/MM layout bass (as I think you mentioned) as a contrasting alternative, although the necks might be quite different.

The 30th anniversary looked nice until I saw the price! 

Thank you for the feedback

[Woodwind]

I've only ever played in originals bands and when I was a bassist only ever had one bass at a time (ironically I have more basses now that my main instrument isn't the bass, go figure).

I had my sound which was a product of how I played on a particular bass and I needed my sound to do particular things within the context of what I was playing.

@fil1p If I was in your situation, ie the context is variable (I presume you are playing covers?) then I could see you either want to have enough basses to nail the exact sound of each of the tunes you play or you have one bass you love that you accept the sonic compromises of in relation to how the original song sounded.

I'd rather focus all my efforts on one main bass and get incredibly proficient on it. The WHAT of the sound being more important than the HOW of the sound

[meterman]

If you’ve got the money and room isn’t an issue then buy whatever you like, it’s not harming anyone.

Most basses I had at one time was five but that was when I had a studio, and I wasn’t the only person playing them. Now I’m down to a P copy with flats for most occasions, and a hollow bodied Hofner bass just for fun. I don’t absolutely need it but it’s fun to play and if I ever need a 60’s sound it’s right there.

My main instrument is percussion and so I only do occasional bass sessions and gigs but If I joined a band as a actual bassist I’d get another bass straight away, something more versatile, and be done with it.

Have what you want, there’s no rules. If you buy something that doesn’t turn out to be right for you, you can always sell it and get something else anyway. New gear is always fun. Don’t overthink it, just have what you want, you might regret it later on if you don’t buy ‘that’ one you wanted!
 

 

[uk_lefty]

13 hours ago, TheGreek said:

My impressions of the members here is that the majority of us are past our midlife crisis and are pretty much financially stable.

Mick, how dare you!!! I'm only just starting my mid life crisis!!! 

[Fil1ip]

7 hours ago, Woodwind said:

I've only ever played in originals bands and when I was a bassist only ever had one bass at a time (ironically I have more basses now that my main instrument isn't the bass, go figure).

I had my sound which was a product of how I played on a particular bass and I needed my sound to do particular things within the context of what I was playing.

@fil1p If I was in your situation, ie the context is variable (I presume you are playing covers?) then I could see you either want to have enough basses to nail the exact sound of each of the tunes you play or you have one bass you love that you accept the sonic compromises of in relation to how the original song sounded.

I'd rather focus all my efforts on one main bass and get incredibly proficient on it. The WHAT of the sound being more important than the HOW of the sound

Yes just playing bass lines and songs from my favourite artists. 

I don't worry about sounding like anybody just have the settings to what I like. 

[Cat Burrito]

Pre internet I spent 15yrs with a maximum of either one or two basses (same ones too!). Once the bass forums became a thing it crept up. Then I went a bit silly, then I sold everything off and went back to just two and now it is right back up. Make your own journey and do what feels right at that moment. Whether you subscribe to the "You only need one bass" theory or "I need to own all the basses", do what make you happy, so long as it isn't crippling you with debt or impacting on family relationships.

[stewblack]

I have rationalised my obsessive behaviour by the following rule. 

If all other basses left me would I be content to play just this one  forever? If yes, keep it, if no, move it on. 

Even sticking to this I have something like 30 basses. Once you start it's really hard to stop. 

[WinterMute]

I'd have said 2, one fretted, one fretless, but then these things accrete don't they?

I have 3 currently, and a 4th in construction, I have a 20th Anniversary MM SR5, which is a perfect bass, I have a Stealth Bongo 5 which was a 50th birthday present and I have a 5 string fretless built around a great MM SR5 Neck.

Alan at ACG is building me a new fretless 5 string, but I can't see much point in shifting a Frankenstein bass on, so I'll probably stick with 4.

Don't have enough wall space in the studio for any more frankly, unless I get a bigger studio...

My guitarist says the formula for guitars is (number of existing guitars)+1 

Edited April 14, 2021 by WinterMute

[Owen]

I have 10+. Each bass has a really specific sound, which cannot be replicated with another bass. The subtle differences really add to expression possibilities which will enhance all the different situations I play in, in specific ways.

Until anyone else starts playing, and my earplugs go in. Then they all do the same thing. Some go lower than others, but that really is it.

[itsmedunc]

As many as you can hide from the other half! 😁

[Lfalex v1.1]

There are considerably worse things to spend your disposable income on.

In 25 years,  I've only had one bass actually break irreparably, and that only cost £80. The greatest maintenance expenses most basses rack up are strings, 9v batteries and a refret one in a blue moon.

I had to sell some (and amps and effects, hi fi and record collection) to fund a house move due to a divorce, but managed to keep the really good / irreplaceable one plus two spares.

Once finances improve, I'll likely expand the collection again. They all get used, and look quite nice hanging on the wall when not in use.

I don't smoke, drive an expensive car,  drink much, take drugs or have any other expensive hobbies. I've effectively stopped gigging for the same reason I don't play online video games; I have to work with lots of people/joe public. I don't really want to engage with them outside of the work arena. 

That I enjoy playing bass is reason enough to own more than one. 

 

 

 

 

[fretmeister]

I have a lot but I tend to play 3 of them.

if I need a low B it’s my Ibanez. Then my favourite is my Sandberg 4.

And a cheap Ibanez that I keep in C standard tuning for writing stuff that I will be singing on.

[MacDaddy]

On 13/04/2021 at 11:03, Fil1ip said:

Hello all,

I am not sure if this has been covered before however I currently have 3 basses. As a bedroom player and not really ever thought about joining a band I have noticed I only gravitate towards one bass. I was thinking about looking at a custom order Sandberg or USA fender. 

If I sold all basses and put all my eggs into one basket will I be satisfied! What do other people think. What do others do.

A P bass or Bass with P/J or P and humbucker I feel I would not really require lots of basses? 

Looking forward to people's opinions but the other hand spending big bucks on a bass as a bedroom player is it needed! 

 

 

If times were different, I'd suggest going to a Bass Bash, and talk to people and play as many basses there as possible  

I would not buy a bass without playing it first, but it may be a while before you can do that