Which bass do you want, even though you shouldn't?

[dclaassen]

On 24/01/2024 at 08:23, Rich said:

I would love one of these. I have no gig for it at all, and don't envisage a suitable one any time in the future, so it would basically never leave the house. But I would love one anyway.

Had a play on one last week…nice tone, but different feel. I didn’t care for it.

[ASW]

The aesthetic doesn't really fit the type of music I play in bands (bluesy rock and a punk band) and I don't need 6 strings for the other music I'm writing and recording.

 

However, I accompanied a friend to PMT when he was trying and buying a guitar and this was sitting on a stand, so I picked it up, plugged it in a tried it out for a few minutes. It was lightweight, very comfortable and surprisingly easy to play given the number of strings and the multiscale frets. That was over a year ago and I still think about it!

 

I should probably just buy one as they're not prohibitively expensive, but was hoping to get one used. They don't seem to come up for sale used very often at all. It is my birthday next week, so perhaps I should treat myself!

[Lfalex v1.1]

Yamaha SBV.

 

Because.... well,  why not?

[Skybone]

An 8 string, octave course. Just fancy one.

 

And a Dingwall D-Roc, because they look ace.

[Cat Burrito]

Having owned everything from two flying V basses to a uke bass, there's a lot to be said for the "Probably shouldn't" camp. Invariably they get sold on for a small loss. If you can take the hit, no dramas but I do feel my bass buying days have been replaced with buying other things. My mainstay basses are now varied, decent and I've had them for a long time.

[Ed_S]

1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said:

Having owned everything from two flying V basses to a uke bass, there's a lot to be said for the "Probably shouldn't" camp. Invariably they get sold on for a small loss. If you can take the hit, no dramas but I do feel my bass buying days have been replaced with buying other things. My mainstay basses are now varied, decent and I've had them for a long time.

 

I'm very much in the "probably shouldn't" zone myself, and am working on having had my current selection for a long time. It was a near-complete clearance and switch back to 5 strings, though, so we're only ranging between about 1 and 6 years together at the moment.

 

Fortunately I've reached a point where if I decide I want something and then take a few hours agonising over specifications, finish, potential upgrades, who has the best deal etc. and then finally put it in my basket and sit there having made the decision to buy it... I can usually just remove it from the basket having had my fun. In the various recent Black-Friday/Winter/Xmas/January sales I reckon I've seriously chosen about three basses, a couple of amp heads, a guitar and a guitar cab, all of which I enjoyed shopping for, and none of which I actually bought.

[bassbiscuits]

Would love a Thunderbird even tho I know they don’t fit me at all. 
 

I miss my Jack Casady Bass, even tho it didn’t fit me at all. 
 

And I lust after an SG bass / EB-3 etc even tho I have no use for one at all. 
 

It’s nice to still dream about basses that make your heart beat faster tho eh. 
 

[obbm]

Some years ago I parted company with my Stingray 5, the one with a Status neck, because I was finding it too difficult to play with my small slightly arthritic hands and it didn't fit the band I was in at the time.  I went back to playing 4-string basses yet I keep getting the urge to get a 5-string USA Sterling.  Ridiculous really when I know that I won't be able to play it well. 

 

[Grahambythesea]

On 23/01/2024 at 21:33, MichaelDean said:

A Gibson EB-2 would be fun, but I'm not sure I'd use it enough to warrant owning it.

 

I hanker for an EB2 as well, the annoying thing I used to own one! They don’t play that well, but still………,  not at the silly prices they are asking now. I traded mine for £650.

Edited January 29, 2024 by Grahambythesea
Correction

[msb]

I’d love to find a vintage batwing Harmony H22 , but they’ve become sought after in blues circles. Before the reissue they could be found quite cheap. Not so much today. I’ve had my eye out for one for some time now , and I’m sure I’ll eventually find one. There was a later version with a double cutaway , but the earlier single cuts are the ones .

[tauzero]

There's another one I'd like - an unlined fretless Sei Flamboyant 5-string. However, @Boodang seems reluctant to give (or even sell) me his.

[kwmlondon]

8 hours ago, tauzero said:

There's another one I'd like - an unlined fretless Sei Flamboyant 5-string. However, @Boodang seems reluctant to give (or even sell) me his.

Yeah, I've had hankerings to get a fretless 5 string. God knows why. It took me two years to be able to get to grips with a FRETTED 5 string... probalby the mission for the rest of my life to make a fretless work but hey. 

[Dood]

I am in the very lucky position of being able to video review some of those guilty pleasures. The thing is, once I've played them and realised how good they are, it can be very hard to have to send them back again, as much as I wish I were allowed to keep them! Unless they are absolute piles of **** in which case, they haven't even got as far as a review. It's a good way of getting rid of any of those G.A.S pangs!! 

[Dood]

To answer the question though, I love the look of thunderbird basses and the Steinberger LX "cricket bat" basses, but I've yet to have found comfort in them as much as they are cool. Most other instruments are fair game though, so my list regarding the OP is rather short! 

[Muzz]

I still look adoringly at Les Paul basses, even though they all weigh the same as a small planet and would last about 20 minutes in my house after I'd stood up with one on a strap...oh, and headless Statii...I've had one, and didn't like the sound at all, but I do like the shape...oh, and yes, Stingrays, despite me having had three of the things (great basses, but everyone else sounds better with them than me), if I faltered in the wrong place at the wrong time I'd have a fourth...

[Boodang]

16 hours ago, tauzero said:

There's another one I'd like - an unlined fretless Sei Flamboyant 5-string. However, @Boodang seems reluctant to give (or even sell) me his.

.... but I will let you look at it!

[Old Horse Murphy]

On 29/01/2024 at 12:20, obbm said:

Some years ago I parted company with my Stingray 5, the one with a Status neck, because I was finding it too difficult to play with my small slightly arthritic hands and it didn't fit the band I was in at the time.  I went back to playing 4-string basses yet I keep getting the urge to get a 5-string USA Sterling.  Ridiculous really when I know that I won't be able to play it well. 

 

For different reasons, but a 5 string has to be my weakness too. I only ever gigged with a 5 string a handful of times, so I've never really needed one as such and as much as I enjoyed owning them, I always moved them on. 
 

Still, it's doesn't stop the itch, does it!

[Boodang]

On 24/01/2024 at 13:23, Rich said:

I would love one of these. I have no gig for it at all, and don't envisage a suitable one any time in the future, so it would basically never leave the house. But I would love one anyway.

I have a CR4 which initially I bought just for a laugh but have ended up using it for so much. Once depped for a mate in a Hendrix tribute band and much to the consternation of the guitarist I used this! It ended well tho as it was quite the novelty but it's actually a very versatile sounding instrument.