One bass only

[steve]

I had the same thought process a while ago, I'd accumulated a few basses but only ever played one favourite at any one time, so I decided to ditch all but one and get an ACG. Definately the [i]best[/i] bass related decision I've made. I've tried P's and J's, a 'ray and a bongo amongst others and nothing comes anywhere near for me. I've had the ACG for around 5 months, and it still makes me smile when I start playing it.

[Rayman]

There you go Steve, that's [i]exactly[/i] what I'm talking about, that's what I want.

[steve]

[quote name='Rayman' post='938580' date='Aug 28 2010, 06:38 AM']There you go Steve, that's [i]exactly[/i] what I'm talking about, that's what I want.[/quote]
The answer lies to the north Russ </gandalf>

[Soloshchenko]

I'm thinking of doing the same, pretty much down to one nice Wizard loaded MIM jazz bass which was my first proper bass. My Rick copy is off and my Sqiure CV precision is going on a long term loan to my best mate.

We'll see how it goes, I do think I can handle only having one bass. I think...

[BigRedX]

I think whether or nor you could get away with just one bass depends on what you play. Right now with the bands I'm in at the moment I could get away with just having the Black Gus 5-string (although I'd want a backup for gigs). However I have no idea what sort of music I'll be playing in 2 years time and what bass(es) I'll be needing then.

If I was to condense my collection down to the bare minimum that would cover everything I could imagine I'll need, It would be the Gus 5-string, The Sei fretless (with Lightwave pickups added) and a really good either 8 or 10-string (octave pairs)...












... and a spare for each!

[stingrayPete1977]

Im sorry guys I just dont get it,Would you have just one set of clothes (more than one set but all the same like Peter Griffin from Family Guy!) Or only ever eat the same meal 3 times a day? Thats the same and it would not harm you in any way and could be done be why would you? A jazz does one thing a P does another and a Ray different again and thats before you go to anything other than those three main choices and into 5,6,8 strings fretted, fretless etc etc etc. Has anyone really got an all in one bass truly? I like Rays (as some of you know!) and nothing sounds as funky as a pre EB and nowt growls like a 3 band EB say what you like I have heard them all trying too.Im not saying the Rays can do the myriad of sounds these sort of bass can quite the opposite and all the more reason for more than one.I know a guy with more basses than you can shake a stick at covering everything and I mean everything yet he looked pretty happy when he tried my pre EB and remembered what they are like and it made him play in a way he perhaps had not for a while which is where the all in one bass fails big time.

[jasethebass]

Ive owned over 30 basses(most quite expensive) in the past and have always come back to just 1. Im totally gassed out now, and i'm happy with my single bass. Just one mistress for me.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='938668' date='Aug 28 2010, 10:50 AM']Im sorry guys I just dont get it,Would you have just one set of clothes (more than one set but all the same like Peter Griffin from Family Guy!) Or only ever eat the same meal 3 times a day? Thats the same and it would not harm you in any way and could be done be why would you? A jazz does one thing a P does another and a Ray different again and thats before you go to anything other than those three main choices and into 5,6,8 strings fretted, fretless etc etc etc. Has anyone really got an all in one bass truly? I like Rays (as some of you know!) and nothing sounds as funky as a pre EB and nowt growls like a 3 band EB say what you like I have heard them all trying too.Im not saying the Rays can do the myriad of sounds these sort of bass can quite the opposite and all the more reason for more than one.I know a guy with more basses than you can shake a stick at covering everything and I mean everything yet he looked pretty happy when he tried my pre EB and remembered what they are like and it made him play in a way he perhaps had not for a while which is where the all in one bass fails big time.[/quote]
I see your point Pete but that analogy doesn't quite stand up. It would be like carting all you clothes around with you every time you went out and changing into a new look each time you wanted to portray something subtly different about yourself.

At the end of the day punters can't tell the difference between a Westfield and a Wal - We have all these basses because we love bass.

[stingrayPete1977]

If you are happy with one bass and the sounds it makes thats all well and good as jasethebass says I agree but to get the best from me I like to take a different bass out with me to different types of gig and will add a P to my setup very soon but I dont cart them all round I choose one from the cupboard plus the squier for a backup which gets lobbed in the car in its gigbag.Same as choosing an outfit from the wardrobe and maybe throwing a jacket in the car incase it rains whats the difference?

[Ou7shined]

It depends on if we are talking about our additional basses as being backups or taken along to enhance a particular sound or tonal range or just part of our collection. Like I say I see your point.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Ou7shined

[stingrayPete1977]

If you can only afford one or have limited space (I have a friend who lives in a boat)or if you have lot of junk that wont get played then have a cull.I sold a great jap Bass Collection SB320 and a usa peavey bass plus some other total rubbish I had made/picked up over the years to part fund my pre EB as none of it was going to get used,In fact there is something to take from that as the SB320 has a great preamp and P/J pups build quality to shame some big names and glass like trans finish (just look at some bass collection threads on here to see what people think)but I would still rather play a real P or a real J as its just not the same whichever way you want to look at it. Sometimes GAS just has to be dealt with its what we do,Im looking at cheap squier P basses on Ebay as we speak for £60,WHY? Because I can and whats to lose?I will try it and maybe upgrade it and if I really like it and get full GAS for a P I will buy one that suits the pocket and taste at the time.

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='blackmn90' post='938164' date='Aug 27 2010, 07:32 AM']Nope and i never will. The reason is when i havnt played on one of my basses for a while i will go back to it for a certain sound or gig and think wow why am i not using this all the time!?

So if i rotate them i get that same thrill of when you try one in a shop and you think youve got to have it.[/quote]
I'm the same way. I think having one bass would be like having one choice for lunch or one shirt.

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='938668' date='Aug 28 2010, 02:50 AM']Im sorry guys I just dont get it,Would you have just one set of clothes (more than one set but all the same like Peter Griffin from Family Guy!) Or only ever eat the same meal 3 times a day?[/quote]
I pretty much had the same thought 3 hours later

[lojo]

I could have only one, but I wont, they will however be the first things we sell if we ever hit hard times and can't buy food!

In the meantime, I would not rule out myself adding a few more to the collection

I like having my thud on flats P bass, and some brighter options as I do a wide ride of cover styles and have different bass moods

[bubinga5]

i could prob get away with one..a jazz bass, but for my soul i need a 5 string Sei..

[ped]

Used to have several but since finding my fretted Vigier, it really has blown everything else I have had out of the water. When I installed the Roland GK system it was the icing on the cake, because I can still cop stingray/jazz bass sounds and full on polyphonic synths but all on the one, most comfortable and best playing bass of them all.

I really like being able to call it 'My bass' as opposed to 'one of my basses'. I think you should go for it Russ, then you can concentrate on getting the best from it and not constantly wonder if it would sound better on the [i]other[/i] bass...

ped

[Bilbo]

I ohly have one electric bass (my Wal) and haven't really gigged with any other bass in over 24 years (I have had other basses just never used them more than once or twice each). I play jazz, funk, blues/rock, shows, Latin..... it does for all of them. I really do think a lot of the 'differences' between bass sounds are subtleties that escape me and probably 99% of the audience. There may be 1% of the people I play in front of thinking 'that would sound better on a Jazz/Precision/Sadowsky, Fodera, Alembic......' but I can't say it sways me from thinking that one good professional quality bass and a good professional amp with a flexible eq and a lot of headroom is all you need (you may [i]want[/i] more but that is all you [i]need[/i])

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Rayman' post='938179' date='Aug 27 2010, 03:38 PM']Oh yes I agree 100%, I've played some dire "Expensive" basses, the right name on the headstock, but not one once of soul coming out of it. I've been left cold by some top end stuff, and I've been knocked out by basses that cost a couple of hundred quid.[/quote]

Same here.

I got a DJ5 last year, spent money on it and it ended up costing me £1500. I never got on with it form the moment i got it.

I got a Squier CV Jazz a few months ago and instantly loved it. For a whiel i never thought i would spend money on another bass, and couldnt see why people spend £1000's on a bit of wood that does the same job. Of course that didnt last long but im still staying in the budget area.

I only ever take one bass to gigs, and i prefer not to have basses sitting around that dont get used. I do agree with rotating them though but normally i would have sold the old one before i tire of my new bass.

Im probably jinxing myself but so far ive not had any issue with my basses at gigs. Never broke a string or even gone out of tune.

[Rayman]

Well things didn't pan out the way I intended, but they never do with me.

Both G&Ls are away, and my main bass now is a Spector Euro 4LX. Stunning bass, and with a fresh set of Hi Beams on it, it's really very nice indeed.

Also incoming is an Ibanez GWB35, a fretless 5er, which should cover the jazzy stuff I like to play at home.

I'll only have the Spector for gigs though, so I guess I kind of ended up where I intended to.

[ped]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='943026' date='Sep 2 2010, 09:24 AM']I really do think a lot of the 'differences' between bass sounds are subtleties that escape me and probably 99% of the audience. There may be 1% of the people I play in front of thinking 'that would sound better on a Jazz/Precision/Sadowsky, Fodera, Alembic......'[/quote]

I never get that argument - I mean if you can't tell and aren't bothered, cool. But I pretty much know 99% of the audience won't be able to tell, but that's no excuse not to enjoy the intracity of your gear and your sound. Imagine if music was like that. 99% of the music I listen to wouldn't appeal to 99% of the average punters out there, and I thank god for that every time I fire up the stereo.

ped

[DDBass]

I quite like the idea of playing one bass for all my gigs, and being known for playing that one bass/having that sound. That bass for me is my Fender Jazz bass which I've had for 15 years. I also have a Squier P that I play at home, to save my strings!

Each to their own though.

David

[Ian Savage]

I've had to strip down to one through money and space necessities - ended up keeping my Bass Collection SB401 as it was my first 'proper' bass, I can get pretty much any sound I'm likely to need out of it, it's very forgiving feel-wise and I'd get nowhere near what it's worth secondhand. If I start gigging again I'll probably treat myself to a MM SUB though, purely because the look of the BC doesn't suit the more rock/blues stuff I tend to do with bands.

[JTUK]

I take 2 Sei J5's to a gig and see which one I fancy for the room we are playing in. Certain songs fit with one specific bass but if I am loving the sound then they are changeable so I don't worry about that. One bass is pretty much plug and play and it will work..it is my default set-up..and the slap sound is killer which rescues it even tho there are no specific slap parts in the songs we do. Otherwise, it underpins really well.

The other J5 is RW and has a more cultured sound and when that bass suits, I love it, such a subtle sound and quite different from a lot of sounds you might hear. In the track they sit well, IMO, but when you have a little fill, they work.

Because, I am working Jazzes atm, my Flam5 isn't getting a look-in but this bass has it own sound in the mix...so precise and defined. All the recordings I have made live really speak well with this bass, IMO. I hardly play it now, but for the mix reason, I can't quite bring myself to sell it, even though I want to.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Ian Savage' post='946811' date='Sep 6 2010, 12:05 AM']I've had to strip down to one through money and space necessities - ended up keeping my Bass Collection SB401 as it was my first 'proper' bass, I can get pretty much any sound I'm likely to need out of it, it's very forgiving feel-wise and I'd get nowhere near what it's worth secondhand. If I start gigging again I'll probably treat myself to a MM SUB though, purely because the look of the BC doesn't suit the more rock/blues stuff I tend to do with bands.[/quote]

I'll be selling mine soon £375?

I only need 2 basses, my jaguar and a musicman, got one coming soon, so the SUB will have to go.

[Ian Savage]

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='947046' date='Sep 6 2010, 11:44 AM']I'll be selling mine soon £375?

I only need 2 basses, my jaguar and a musicman, got one coming soon, so the SUB will have to go.[/quote]

Don't know how soon I'll have the money together (depends if someone buys my Breedlove electroacoustic, for which I'm asking exactly what you want for the SUB) but may well be interested...what's the colour?