Has anyone "switched" allegiance?

[Lozz196]

Just interested, my fave guitarist Mick Mars (of Motley Crue) switched allegiance from Gibson Les Pauls to Fender Strats some years back, citing weight/easier to play as reasons.

 

Now I`m obviously aware that this is a bass forum so the real point of this post is last night I picked up my Jazz for the first time in a while and I was amazed at how much easier I found it to play than my Precisions. Additionally I always seem to scoop a lot of the mids out of my Precisions tone, ending up with a sound nearer to the core tone of the Jazz, so I`m just wondering if it seems that the Jazz is calling out to me.

 

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar, where although they had a favoured type of bass they found that for whatever reasons another type ended up being more suitable?

[Ralf1e]

Yes I picked up my lovely old vintage Westone Thunder 3 the other day and for the first time in 30 years noticed it's neck dive.

It seems that having a Spector Euro5 LX and a Headless FF 5 string by Steven Hart guitars has spoilt me as far as playing comfort are concerned. oops!!

Edited September 12, 2022 by Ralf1e

[spongebob]

I played a variety of Rickenbackers for years, never thought I'd stray. Tried a few Fenders, loved them, but they never stuck around for some reason.

 

However, what got me was a MM Stingray. So much more comforable and easy to play, and I can get the grind, the treble....everything I loved about my Rics, just 'bigger'.

 

For me, I'd now never consider going back. And they look as cool as......

[neepheid]

Despite my reputation, I've been pretty omnivorous the whole time I've been playing. I've played gigs with Gibsons/Epiphones, Fenders/Squiers, and many others on the periphery of the neverending great holy war. I believe that as long as I have roundwounds and humbuckers, I'll sound like me.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I bounce around mainly between my mustang basses and thunderbirds being my favourites. At the moment I'm playing my JMJ mustang more than anything else, but will probably switch back to a thunderbird vintage pro within a few weeks.

 

Guitar-wise I've changed from telecasters to mustangs, however I have an Epiphone Casino incoming so it will be interesting to see whether that unseats my vintera mustang as my daily strummer.

[asingardenof]

I go back and forth between my P and my J-style. Sometimes I think I haven't played one for a while so I'll give it a go, love it, play it for a while, then repeat the cycle with the other one.

[chris_b]

I used to select the bass based on the sound required for each band, but I was told I make my J5 and PJ5 sound pretty similar so these days I just play what I fancy on the day.

[ezbass]

45 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I bounce around mainly between my mustang basses and thunderbirds being my favourites. At the moment I'm playing my JMJ mustang more than anything else, but will probably switch back to a thunderbird vintage pro within a few weeks.

 

Guitar-wise I've changed from telecasters to mustangs, however I have an Epiphone Casino incoming so it will be interesting to see whether that unseats my vintera mustang as my daily strummer.

The Casino is an easy one to pick up as it’s reasonably loud acoustically, due to its hollow body, so is more responsive without having to plug it in. However, swap out those pickups pronto, as they’re not good at all. I fitted a pair of Artec P90s and, despite the low cost of the Artecs, the difference is like night and day. Because of the difference in the height of the treble pickup on the Casino, you may need to source a shim to raise it to the correct height for even output between the two, unless you reuse the original covers.

 

Sorry for the guitar talk, as you were.

[Adee]

After playing long scales for 40 odd years I've switched allegiance exclusively to Short Scale basses, started with a Fender Mustang and not looked back!

[ezbass]

21 minutes ago, Adee said:

After playing long scales for 40 odd years I've switched allegiance exclusively to Short Scale basses, started with a Fender Mustang and not looked back!

I barely pick up my long scales any more and I've become disenchanted with fretless too. Shorties with speed bumps is the way for me at the moment. I'm seriously contemplating selling my 2 Maruszczyk custom builds (33") and my Rob Allen MB2 (35")!

[NancyJohnson]

Once I was able to afford them (post-mortgage), I was cleaning up Gibson Thunderbirds.  Lots of them.  Then I visited WH Smith in Reading and saw a copy of Bass Player magazine with Jeff Ament on the cover; he was holding a Mike Lull.  It was as if someone threw a switch.  

 

I bought a Lull JAX-T4, then a Lull NRT5 - both oversized bodied.  Sure I have other basses, but the Lulls are the main ones.  I don't have any Gibson guitars at the moment.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I think I’m completely the opposite. The first bass that I properly fell in love with was a jazz. Over the decades I’ve spent a lot of time and money discovering many other makes and models only to come to the realisation that the jazz bass is where it’s at for me. There are others I like a lot, but a jazz just feels like home.

[Paul S]

I am married to a Precision bass.  I have had a few mistresses and one night stands, look at a lot of porn.  But still happily married.

[crazycloud]

Not really. My first bass was an Ibanez and apart from the years when I played my Steinberger all the time (still had the Ibby) I've been an Ibanez player for 40y. My main basses are all Ibanezes now as the Steinie has been retired as it's too valuable to me to be used outside the house.

[msb]

Old Pbass guy that loves a nice Ric and acquired many of the classics over the years , somehow got hooked on Danelectros. Don’t know just how it happened but I’m ok with it.

They weigh next to nothing , sound great and are a heck of a lot of fun to play.

Also developing a thing for Gibson short scales.

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by msb

[Gareth Hughes]

New PM, new monarch and now Lozz is ditching Precisions. I can’t take this much change in one week!!!!

[Clarky]

5 minutes ago, Gareth Hughes said:

New PM, new monarch and now Lozz is ditching Precisions. I can’t take this much change in one week!!!!

If @Stingray5 and @stingrayPete1977now chime in and say "Stingrays are not all that ..." I will have an attack of the vapours

[Reggaebass]

I’ve been through lots of different basses over the years and it was a good learning experience for me to find what I liked best , first I thought it was a precision, then I realised it’s the jazz that I’m most comfortable with for tone and playability, but a P with flats does have a really nice distinctive sound, so what I’m saying is you need both 😁

 

[ped]

1 hour ago, Paul S said:

I am married to a Precision bass.  I have had a few mistresses and one night stands, look at a lot of porn.  But still happily married.

I think lots of us are sleeping with your wife 

[Grahambythesea]

After 20 years of playing 5 strings I seem to have graduated back to 4 strings, partly driven by my acquisition of a NS EUB .

[Jonesy]

9 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Just interested, my fave guitarist Mick Mars (of Motley Crue) switched allegiance from Gibson Les Pauls to Fender Strats some years back, citing weight/easier to play as reasons.

 

Now I`m obviously aware that this is a bass forum so the real point of this post is last night I picked up my Jazz for the first time in a while and I was amazed at how much easier I found it to play than my Precisions. Additionally I always seem to scoop a lot of the mids out of my Precisions tone, ending up with a sound nearer to the core tone of the Jazz, so I`m just wondering if it seems that the Jazz is calling out to me.

 

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar, where although they had a favoured type of bass they found that for whatever reasons another type ended up being more suitable?

 

 

Hang on a minute.......last time you favoured a Jazz over your Precisions.....wasn't that just before Corona kicked off?? Don't risk anything else bad happening, just stick to the Precision!!!!

 

In answer to your question though....I don't really stick to one type of bass and like to have a few different flavours to play around with.

 

[Lozz196]

Yeah was a kind of shakeup that affected the whole world, maybe I put everything a bit off kilter. 
 

Thinking on the content of this thread I did play both earlier and although I found the Jazz easier to play I enjoyed playing the Precision more, which to me is quite telling. 

[Ed_S]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

although I found the Jazz easier to play I enjoyed playing the Precision more

 

Sounds totally relatable - I sometimes describe a bass as demanding a certain physicality to get the best out of it, and whilst I don't fancy the idea of playing full sets on them, I do like half an hour at home now and then. Used to have a Yamaha TRB-1005J which was a really good example of that.

 

As for switching allegiance, I seem to do a 7 year cycle with a 3 year thinking-about-it period. I did three years initial getting into playing followed by seven of black-and-pointy 5s, then three years making sure I wanted a change and discovering Precisions followed by seven of predominantly P and J variant 4s. I'm just currently coming to the end of three years changing over to Ibanez SR 5s, so I should be set for the next seven and just starting to fancy a change by 2029 with a view to being fully kitted out with the latest and greatest in 2032.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Luckily I am a free man with no sworn allegiance to any big corporate multi national companies.

 

Or at least that's the lie I like to tell myself, even if deep down I am perfectly and painfully aware that the truth of reality is that we are all slaves with a barcode printed on the back of our necks and a price on our heads. 

 

Guess I, as the poor man I am, would be in the pocket of China.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash

[gjones]

I've always been a Fender man, who has occasionally dabbled with the odd Stingray.

 

But a few years ago I bought a G&L L2500 tribute and was amazed at how ridiculously versatile it was. It can do the P bass, Jazz bass and Stingray thing, without any drama.

 

If I had to get rid of my basses and could only keep one, then the G&L would be the 'no brainer' choice.