I’m down to one bass…

[Thump]

Beware of the man with only one bass , he probably knows how to use it

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I don't know how many basses I have. It is probably around umpteen, but could be more than that.

[bassbiscuits]

One bass is cool. I only started looking for a second bass when my P needed a refret and I was doing pub gigs so bought a back up, which I kept when the P was repaired.

 

If you’re not gigging and/or needing a back up for a temperamental vintage instrument then one bass is fine. 

[Rayman]

It's an enviable position, to have just one great instrument, that you really love and know inside out. Many have tried to get there, by selling off most of their basses and just keeping that special one, that becomes two again, then four.... and up the numbers go once again. I don't know anyone who's managed it. 

 

 

[Lozz196]

To quote "I`m down to one bass"

 

Basschat response "Traitor!"

 

But on a serious note once I stop playing live I`ll go down to just two and that`s only because I can`t bear to part with my all-time fave Precision due to the history we have together, even though I rarely play it anymore having switched to short-scale which suits me better (even when sitting down & playing at home), otherwise one would be plenty enough.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Lozz196

[Jackroadkill]

I would have one if I could get away with it.  The problem is the different tunings we use in the band.  I use one for standard and drop D and a second for a half-step down and drop C#.  I hate drop tunings but some of the songs we play demand them.  I then have my backup bass should there be a problem.

 

I could keep detuning and re-tuning, but that doesn't sit particularly well with me form a set-up point of view, and it's one less thing to remember to do between songs when onstage.  As it is I have to tune to my drop tunings between songs and getting that right can be harder than it sounds, for some reason.  It seems that two stage basses plus a spear is about where it's at for me.

[neepheid]

I don't envy this position at all.  I just like basses too much, and I enjoy the variety.  Only poverty would cause me to go down to one bass.  Only having one bass would be an undesirable situation for me to be in.  It wouldn't be hell, just... a bit dull.

Edited November 23, 2023 by neepheid

[BigRedX]

I'm down to 4 from about 40 - a main and a spare for each band (I play 5-string in one and Bass VI in the other). If I could use the same bass for both bands I'd be down to 2.

[Kitsto]

Used to have nine. Now down to three. I got rid of two (Chowny and ESP Ltd 4 string) by gifting them to my local hospice (where I'll end up one of these days) and they sold them online for a tidy sum. I now just have an ESP Viper (a sort of updated EB3) and two Epi Tbirds - one a Pro which is active and the other a black goth which isn't yet packs a big punch. No longer gigging so three is plenty.

 

No longer suffering from GAS either, which is great (I used to have GAS for a Gibson Tbird anniversary edition in bullion gold but the finish doesn't look that great to me).

 

My big regret is that I've never been able to play Fenders (hands too small). I used to have a mid 70s Precision which I sold here a few years back. Now that was a beauty.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Kitsto

[TeresaFR]

I have just 2, a Schecter Riot4 and a Schecter SLS Evil Twin, the former is in drop D whilst the latter is in D standard. I've told this story before, but I'll go again - I'd bought an Evil Twin online from Anderton's but after about 7 months of waiting for stock to arrive I was getting a little impatient, and I just happened to notice they had a lefty Riot4 (Aurora Burst) in stock so changed my order for that - which had been my second choice when I was considering new basses, anyway. Fast forward about a year and I still had a bit of a thing for the ET design and just so happened to be looking on Anderton's site around Christmas last year and noticed they'd finally gotten some lefty ETs in stock and on sale. When they ended up increasing the discount to (I think) £460) I just had to buy! I mean, £460 off is a huge saving on a £1450ish bass. 

 

In order to make sure I use both, I had to have them tuned differently otherwise I'd just have the Riot sitting in the corner looking pretty but not getting used.

[Tandro]

1 hour ago, Kitsto said:

 

No longer suffering from GAS either, which is great 

 

How...How does one achieve that status, that I would love to know

[neepheid]

On 22/11/2023 at 17:11, Geek99 said:

After selling my P I’m left with a vintage est96a stingray clone, and a beaten up six string acoustic rescued by Simo from going to the tip. It cost me £7 for the parts to fix it up 
 

chap who bought my P says he has 27 basses. Twenty freaking seven. 
 

I only have one and understand scythes are being sharpened as I write this. Why are Amazon suddenly out of stock of both tar and feathers? 

 

The mask has slipped, we are definitely not the same person!

 

[TheGreek]

2 hours ago, Kitsto said:

No longer suffering from GAS either, which is great

 

1 hour ago, Tandro said:

How...How does one achieve that status, that I would love to know

 

He might be kidding himself but he's not kidding the rest of us..😉😉

[Geek99]

On 23/11/2023 at 01:31, Thump said:

Beware of the man with only one bass , he probably knows how to use it

So, I’d like to think there’s only one thing that any one person can be wrong about at any given time.
 

Rest assured that after that wildly optimistic statement, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be right about everything else 

[Geek99]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

The mask has slipped, we are definitely not the same person!

 

Probably twins… In The swarzenegger /de vito sense 

[Thump]

4 hours ago, Geek99 said:

So, I’d like to think there’s only one thing that any one person can be wrong about at any given time.
 

Rest assured that after that wildly optimistic statement, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be right about everything else 

It was a bastardised version of a quote i heard a few years ago , the original referred to a gun instead of a bass

 

I am however quite confident i am wrong on a whole lot of everything else , specialising in particular , most things

[ribbetingfrog]

Im on two, plus one I found dumped on the street and rescued, so three really.

 

I have many more watches than I do basses!

[paul_5]

I've got three. One fretless Jazz/MM Hybrid and a fretted counterpart, and a P bass in the lounge for noodling at home.

[TheLowDown]

My target is 3: a lightweight 6 string fretted, 4 string fretted, and either 4 or 6 string fretless.

[Geek99]

27 minutes ago, TheLowDown said:

My target is 3: a lightweight 6 string fretted, 4 string fretted, and either 4 or 6 string fretless.

Mind you, that’s from a starting point of 76

[TeresaFR]

10 hours ago, Tandro said:

How...How does one achieve that status, that I would love to know

I think I've achieved something akin to that. I can look at basses casually but other than a custom build, almost nothing really comes close to being an upgrade from what I have - which is above both my needs, ability to afford and my skill. As for things like effects - I just got an HX Effects, I virtually have all the effects I could want at this point. As for amps and cabs, I love my VTBass DI and don't need much for home amplification. Plus, I've never found amps and cabs to be particularly pretty - some of those tiny amps are kinda cute though. Now, I say all of that and tomorrow I'll find out someone like Ibanez are releasing a neck-thru lefty headless fanned fret bass with Fishman Fluence pickups, gothic fret markers, Luminlay side markers, ebony fret board and the most beautiful finish I've ever seen and at a price point that's not beyond my ability to save up for - now that, that would get a lass lusting after something new.

[Tandro]

3 hours ago, TeresaFR said:

I think I've achieved something akin to that...Now, I say all of that and tomorrow I'll find out someone like Ibanez are releasing a neck-thru lefty headless fanned fret bass with Fishman Fluence pickups, gothic fret markers, Luminlay side markers, ebony fret board and the most beautiful finish I've ever seen and at a price point that's not beyond my ability to save up for - now that, that would get a lass lusting after something new.

A-ha!!!!! So you see....no matter how hard we try, there is always something else out there, that elusive thing (that as you describe in your case, is not even a real thing...as yet) but its in your minds eye, and you want it...and if it were to be real, and not have it...you would be GAS'ing for it 😜 

[Guest]

At one point I had one bass, and then it had to go to visit the tech, and while it was there I had no bass, and I thought, I'm never making this mistake again.

 

So now I have two basses, and at the moment one of them is visiting their mummy in California, and I've still got one bass to play. 

[iconic]

Funnily enough I've got myself down to a P, and a J, sold 7 since January. Feel sooooo much better for it too.

 

One thing I've noticed over the years, is that the really serious players, you know, those that play for a living, tend to have the least amount of basses....maybe just me? 

[sandy_r]

 

i have 6 basses:-

• i built my 1st bass at age 16ish - still have it, still works. Keeper;
• i bought/rescued an abused Hagstrom Viking semi (my teen dream machine), whilst at college. Had it refinished. Keeper;
• After a brief diversion with a headless, fretted 'stick', i sensibly traded it for a fretless Yamaha which became my gigging workhorse for a couple of decades, then upgraded to a BBN4 fretless. Keeper;
• Bought an old fretted Warwick Streamer, 'cause I thought i'd need a fretted bass in the Blues/Rock pub band which i'd started - never used it ...because…
• Saw a fretted Aria travel bass which amazingly had my name on it - became my goto bass for my band and for depping. Had it converted to fretless when my band became defunked (!).  Started using it as an EUB on a stand, with more acoustic type lineups now. Keeper;
• Added a uBass for its portability, great sound, and acoustic-friendly nature. Keeper;

So, across a 55 year journey of bassing, i can see that all my Keeper basses have some mystical elements of individuality, both in terms of looks - and utility

 

...bye, bye Warwick! 😥