When is it time to stop buying more basses?

[lownote]

1 hour ago, gjones said:

If you buy basses that never see the light of day but you buy them as an investment i.e. you'd make a profit if you ever sold them, I don't see a problem with that.

 

If it's a hobby, you can afford it and they bring you joy, then I don't see a problem with that.

 

If its a compulsion, you lose money every time you buy a bass and the ownership of them brings you no joy, then it's time to stop.

 

 

I lose money almost every time and ownership brings me no joy.  My pleasure is in the spot, the hunt, the kill. I'm not even looking for The One - got there several times and sold again, so i can repeat the whole process.

[Marc S]

11 hours ago, stewblack said:

When is it time? 

When Harley Benton goes out of business.

 

Ah, but @stewblack- surely then you would "need" another HB before they became rare?  

[gjones]

15 minutes ago, lownote said:

I lose money almost every time and ownership brings me no joy.  My pleasure is in the spot, the hunt, the kill. I'm not even looking for The One - got there several times and sold again, so i can repeat the whole process.

Hmmmmm.......

[cetera]

When is it time to stop buying more basses?

 

No idea...... I own 76 at the moment!

I guess when I run out of room....?! lol!

[Crusoe]

Is the answer, when you look at a piece of wood and think that it would make a nice bass, but the piece of wood is the underside of your coffin lid?

[stewblack]

35 minutes ago, lownote said:

what's the best HB IYHO?

 

For me the absolute star is the all black Pbass with the tort plate. 

It cost me less than 100 quid, but that's actually irrelevant. In looks, sound, weight, balance, feel, stability, it is everything I can ask for in a bass. 

 

[stewblack]

29 minutes ago, Marc S said:

 

Ah, but @stewblack- surely then you would "need" another HB before they became rare?  

I shall have to consider this carefully 😉

[Oomo]

I don't own many, but I do think that playing a bunch of basses is beneficial.

 

Mostly in that it's a good way to hear a bunch of different sounds, figure out which you like or don't, how to achieve those tones, etc.

 

Plus helps to identify things you love or hate in future basses to save money, or to wisely spend money when some ultra rare bass becomes available.

[CJPJ]

45 minutes ago, cetera said:

When is it time to stop buying more basses?

 

No idea...... I own 76 at the moment!

I guess when I run out of room....?! lol!

Basses et cetera right? 😄

 

I have just two at the moment. I don't want loads of 'standard' basses as I don't have the skill to actaully appreciate the different nuances of their sound . . . .  but equally I don't have the skill to justify buying an expensive or rare bass as it would be wasted on me. I suspect one day I will save and buy ad very special bass and just hang it on the wall as a thing of beauty and up from time to time to play and adore.

[Misdee]

Every day I am bombarded by constant chatter in the media about the cost of living crisis and the rising prices of utilities and food, but there seems to be no mention whatsoever about the rising cost of basses. 

 

 Since well before Putin invaded the Ukraine we have been asked to pay increasingly unrealistic prices  for  new basses and no one seems to care. Where was Rishi Sunak  and Money Saving Expert when EBMM put their prices up? I am currently without a Stingray and now I need two ( one for rounds, one for flats). No mention of that in the Budget, no token £150 cash rebate. No wonder people are having to use food banks if it's three grand for a Stingray Special nowadays. No doubt I will be joining them soon. 

 

I haven't bought a bass lately because I look at likely candidates and assess whether they are worth the asking price, and mostly the answer is no. I've already got enough basses to keep me entertained, but even this approach is folly, because I know that when the price has risen even more I will wish I had bought them after all. 

 

 I suppose the overall lesson in all this is that if you are looking for happiness in material things, you will never find it, only dissatisfaction and the need for more things. But I will still end up buying more things.

[Cat Burrito]

The answer is purely financial for me. If money is a worry and buying a bass is going to cause issues, don't buy it. I scaled right back when I got divorced many years ago and then played catch up when I came out the other side. I think with the cost of living right now I am playing things very cautiously but my finances will change again in a few years so I can relax then.  

[steantval]

In answer to the posters question.

 

When the utilities bill drops through the letterbox.

[Vin Venal]

13 hours ago, molan said:

Of course, the simple answer is ‘never’  but this thought genuinely occurred to me this afternoon. 
 

I walked into my study and looked at the main wall of hanging basses:

 

Ritter

Stenback

Sadowsky NYC

Sei

Fodera

Alleva Coppolo

63 & 66 Jazz

21 black paisley Jazz

 

In other parts of the house there’s:

64, 78, 87, 93 Precision

82 JV Precision medium scale

70, 86, 07 Jazz

Rickenbacker 4001

2 more Sei

McIntyre based Precision

Warwick Star

Fender Starcaster

Ibanez 824

Various other Japanese Squiers, Aria, Fernandes etc

Oh, and a token Fender Strat and a Novation Bass Station

 

Surely now is the time to stop 🤪

 

 

Nice collection. Is the Starcaster vintage, or one of the reissues?

 

Got pics? 👀

[Bassfinger]

When you're dead.

[Barking Spiders]

If I was a pro all I'd need is a StingRay, an Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe and a Jaydee Supernatural 1 or 3 series. I'm also a fussy s0d and colourwise it has to be natural or cherry red. No 'bursts', blacks, blues, whites/creams for me thankee. As it is I've two Corts and two Sterling Rays and that'll do me till I croak.  Still, I like going into the stores and playing around with gear and ending up spending only a few quid on guitar strings.

[BigRedX]

I've got my "collection" of about 50 guitars and basses down to just 6:

 

Two Gus G3-5s that I use in one band - main and a spare for gigs.

 

An Eastwood Hooky Bass 6 and a Burns Barracuda (soon the be replaced with another Eastwood) for my other band - again a main and a spare.

 

Two Guitars a Gus G1 and a Fretking Esprit V Custom that I use for writing and should I ever find myself playing guitar in a band again.

 

I also got rid of my fairly large collection of synths, samplers and other high-tech electronic musical instruments apart from the Tenori-on and whatever comes free with Logic.

[Marc S]

5 hours ago, Oomo said:

I don't own many, but I do think that playing a bunch of basses is beneficial.

 

Mostly in that it's a good way to hear a bunch of different sounds, figure out which you like or don't, how to achieve those tones, etc.

 

Plus helps to identify things you love or hate in future basses to save money, or to wisely spend money when some ultra rare bass becomes available.

 

Yes indeed. I remember way back, when I only owned one bass (yes, there was such a time lol). Whenever I then picked up someone else's bass, or tried one in a shop, I usually didn't feel that comfortable - most likely I was only used to my own bass, and the way it was set-up. 

As well as having a different array of tones, I play different basses in slightly different ways. It's good to have a choice of what basses I'm going to take to my next gig - it will be a different choice, depending on which band I'm playing with and what sounds I want. Also, I recall once being in a pub, where there was an open-mic. The guitarist pal who was with me suggested we get up and have a jam - this was fine, but the only bass there was a 5 string..... and I hadn't played a 5'er much at all. Hence these days I keep just one 5'er for occasional "noodling" - just in case this happens again. I know that's a long shot, but I just wanted to be able to get up and give a fair account of my playing.

Of course, it's all too easy to get "one of these, one of those, one with flats, one with rounds etc etc...... and I have been guilty of this  

[Misdee]

I don't know about anyone else, but in my life I have found that when I couldn't afford very much, I was most keen to buy the things I wanted but could barely afford. Later in life when I could more easily afford things, I didn't feel the same urgency to get my hands on them. Just knowing I could have them whenever the fancy took me was enough. 

 

For so many years I only had one or two basses at a time. I used to dream about going to The Bass Center at Wapping and laying down the cash for something suitability expensive and exotic. I will never forget the first time I visited that shop and the overwhelming impression it made on me. It was like Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory but with basses. No Umpa Lumpas maybe,( then again it was the eighties and fake tan was definitely a thing...) but the it was truly magical nevertheless. As far as I was concerned, whatever money I could get my hands on from then on I was just holding on to it for a while until I could hand it over to Barry Moorhouse and his wonderful shop.

 

Nowadays  it has to be something special to rouse me from my torpor. I almost dread buying basses because you have to make sure that they work properly ( and bitter experience has taught me that spending a lot of money on a bass is no guarantee of it being put together properly, but that's another story) and is the right weight ect.  Also, you never really know if you actually like a bass until you've had it a while. 

 

Funnily enough, for the first time in quite a while I just saw something( Fender Custom Shop) appealing late last night that has aroused my interest. I don't need it, it's overpriced and all of that, but it's "me" if you see what I mean. I will now work through my process of deliberation, indecision and uncertainty over the next few days until hopefully the shop sells it and then I can begin my regret phase. Works out cheaper in the end.🙂

Edited April 28, 2022 by Misdee

[Stub Mandrel]

On 27/04/2022 at 21:14, molan said:

I can’t play them 😱

 

I’m a ‘thumb on the neck pickup’ player and the MM pickup positioning always catches me out 🤦‍♂️

 

Get a 5-string, the B-string makes an ideal thumb rest for the 99% of songs without a low B ☺️

[Paul S]

23 hours ago, cetera said:

When is it time to stop buying more basses?

 

No idea...... I own 76 at the moment!

I guess when I run out of room....?! lol!

 

Well, heres a plan then....

 

 

[cetera]

22 minutes ago, Paul S said:

 

Well, heres a plan then....

 

 

That's what I've already got! lol!

Great minds and all that......

 

 

[Downunderwonder]

23 hours ago, lownote said:

I lose money almost every time and ownership brings me no joy.  My pleasure is in the spot, the hunt, the kill. I'm not even looking for The One - got there several times and sold again, so i can repeat the whole process.

That's all a bit different from the OP who seems to only accumulate.

 

I buy the odd bass and sell the odd bass also, only stuff I haven't had a go on and want to try. If a bargain comes up I jump on it and it's no trouble to offload without taking a loss.

 

The latest is pretty much 'the one'. It may stay or it may go. 'It's a bit heavy' is the only complaint, otherwise I seem to be covered.

 

A better upright would be nice if I was flush.

 

As for the OP, I would say the time to stop accumulating is long gone when a bunch only rate a mention in passing.

[CJPJ]

17 hours ago, Misdee said:

I don't know about anyone else, but in my life I have found that when I couldn't afford very much, I was most keen to buy the things I wanted but could barely afford. Later in life when I could more easily afford things, I didn't feel the same urgency to get my hands on them. Just knowing I could have them whenever the fancy took me was enough. 

 

 

^ this. I'm at my absolute worst when I can't really afford something - I buy and then sell and then buy and then sell just to have 'had it' but never actually necessarily wanting it in the first place or really appreciating it when I have it. It's most a physological state I suspect where I have to prove to myself that I can have it if I want it. My best and most considered purchases are generally when I don't impulsively dive in, just wait and really check in with myself if I really want and or need whatever I'm buying. It sort of just allows me to play out the purchase-and-sell routine in my head without actually having to go through it. 😉 

 

 

[molan]

On 28/04/2022 at 07:42, bassfan said:

What Sadowsky NYC do you have Barrie? Has the funky Lakky gone now?

The Sadowsky has an ash body but rosewood board with a flamed maple top and burst finish. 
 

Usually Roger uses ash/maple or alder/rosewood combinations so I guess it’s a kind of hybrid. 
 

The Lakland custom sits in the kitchen on the wall - it’s the only bass my wife allows in the house and I often forget about it 🤦‍♂️

[molan]

On 28/04/2022 at 10:47, Vin Venal said:

Nice collection. Is the Starcaster vintage, or one of the reissues?

 

Got pics? 👀

It’s a Chinese reissue. Actually surprisingly nice and way better made than other Chinese Fenders I’ve tried. 
 

It doesn’t really get played much I’m afraid