Just one bass?

[Lozz196]

Well my intention is to be a one bass only bassist, as I only play Precisions, and realistically, I only need one, as I`ve not broken a string in some 20 years.

I did have a problem earlier on this year at rehearsal, when I turned up and my bass wouldn`t work - turns out a dodgy solder joint. Quick jaunt home to get the other one. But if it had been at a gig, seeing as I never take a backup, I`d have been knackered, so now always make a point of checking the bass is fully operational before leaving. If something happens en-route/at the venue, well sh*t happens.

This all leads me to thinking maybe I should keep one of my other ones, for the just-in-case-moments, but seems a waste to have a £500 bass/£1200 bass doing nothing.

[stingrayPete1977]

I dont see the issue with having more than one, I like them so I have them. I am not into shoes or suits etc so I only have one pair of shoes and one suit. Most of my gear has been paid for by gigging over the years too so its a bit of something to show for all the hard work and the 2 pre EB's realistically although used in anger the least are never going to go down in value so unless I need to sell them they wont be going anywhere for a while

If I had to keep just one strangely it would be my cheapest, the 2007 Ray5 which was once a fretless but now has a 2004 fretted neck!

As said before needs and wants are different.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1356917546' post='1915231']
Big difference between 'want' and 'need'. We all only [i]need[/i] one bass, but the wanting is a very different story entirely for many of us. I have far more than I need, but there's still 5 or 6 that I want!
[/quote]
[quote name='MrTaff' timestamp='1356920462' post='1915239']
I certainly need more than one, we swap between standard & drop c tuning a few times during a set, so that's 2 different basses needed.

Are people really gigging without a backup?
[/quote]

Again, you don't really need a second bass - you could play the standard tuning songs on the drop C bass or learn all the repertoire on a 5 string, so really, the two bass option is still a choice, making it a want reather than need. Not criticising your choice here by the way, just making the point that it is a choice not a necessity.

[martin8708]

I only had one ( or two at max ) till I joined Basschat .
Never needed a back up bass in 25 years of gigging .
Only needed one Combo amp , since joining basschat I've been through 5 heads and 6 cabs .
Mind you , I suppose there are worse things to spend your money on .

[discreet]

I don't have any problem with anyone having as many basses as they want - I find some people's SIG list highly entertaining - but multiple bass ownership is not for me. I just know I'd spend too much time faffing about with them instead of choosing one and then playing it.

Edited December 31, 2012 by discreet

[niceguyhomer]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1356944896' post='1915330']
Funnily enough in about the same time span I've only NEEDED to swap istruments once - and Rayman and Niceguyhomer were there to watch me need to. [/quote]

I remember it well Dave

I'm a one bass man - never needed backup so I prefer to blow all my budget on one decent instrument which at the moment is a Clover Avenger 5 Custom. I carry spare strings and all my basses have had a preamp bypass fitted just in case.

[TimR]

I have 3. An '87 Jackson Charvil that sits in the loft until gig time, then stays in the boot during the gig.
A japanese Marlin Sidewinder that was £120 in '85 and impossible to play when I bought it, I pulled the frets out of it when I bought the Charvil. But it made little difference. A few years ago I realised it was the truss rod that needed adjustment. I reworked the electrics and now it's quite a nice bass.

The only bass I use is an Ibanez SR400. One of the machineheads sheared off at the beginning of a gig and I had to play 3 strings with all the strings moved up one position for the rest of the gig. Hence the Charvil now comes along as a spare. That remains the only failure I've had in 25+ years.

[Dr.Dave]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1356945585' post='1915340']
but seems a waste to have a £500 bass/£1200 bass doing nothing.
[/quote]

Fair play to you BUT........ if you have a spare bass at gigs , even if you have never used it and hope you'll never have to , it is NOT sitting there doing nothing.

[LukeFRC]

I had one bass. needed a P bass so bought that.
Sold my first bass to buy a Warwick which I had wanted for ages.
So had two basses.

Picked up a variety of fretlesses and jazzes and stuff just to try. Didn't cost me much and I could try something new and sell it for normally the cost of a cinema ticket.

[Gust0o]

I could go down to one, in which case it would be my trusty Lakland DJ4 - well, one of them, anyway!

I'm just very unlikely to go down to just one. I'm fortunate to have the opportunity to own more, in a time when I can, and I enjoy the variety - each to their own

[MrTaff]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1356949951' post='1915391']
Again, you don't really need a second bass - you could play the standard tuning songs on the drop C bass or learn all the repertoire on a 5 string, so really, the two bass option is still a choice, making it a want reather than need. Not criticising your choice here by the way, just making the point that it is a choice not a necessity.
[/quote]

Neither is really an option though, as with most metal the songs are written for the tuning and riffs make heavy use of the open strings, for example sometimes we play "For Whom The Bell Tolls" it's got loads open E's that just wouldn't work with drop C.

[TimR]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1356954285' post='1915466']


Fair play to you BUT........ if you have a spare bass at gigs , even if you have never used it and hope you'll never have to , it is NOT sitting there doing nothing.
[/quote]

I certainly don't think my spare bass is worth anything near £500 resale. It's probably worth around £1000 in terms of replacement value though. That's the main reason I've never sold it.

[Dr.Dave]

My much loved 73P has a value of about £300 to me. I'd never sell it while there's breath in my body and if it was nicked I wouldn't even attempt to replace it with a similar instrument (probably about 2 grand). I'd just pick up a Jap P to chuck about as a spare and carry on using the 54 Reish. as my main stage bass.

Having said that I expect - beyond the wailing and gnashing of teeth - I could get 'creative' with the insurance claim !

[thisnameistaken]

When I was too poor to own two basses I only had one. That situation went on for years and years! Now I've got two.

There are a couple of others I would like but they would cost more money than my conscience would let me spend. I do also have two double basses but they each have their uses, although the busking bass has got dusty since it's done nothing but rain for six months.

[chaypup]

Your friend has excellent taste so I can see why he'd only want that one!

FWIW I've always had a back up bass on stage and never needed it.

About 2 months ago I'd sold a bass and was waiting for my new one to arrive so I didn't have a back up and guess what happened?

Yep, the E string snapped half way through the gig! Luckily my mate had just finished gigging in the venue next door so I legged it there to borrow his!

[Bilbo]

One bass, my Wal Custom fretless 'stock, off the shelf' that I have had since '86. I also have one double bass but they don't do the same gigs anymore so I think that still means one bass per se.

[xgsjx]

I'm a 1 bass guy too. My trusty Ibby SR1000 has never let me down at a gig. I did have an issue not long ago with the active electrics at home, so I ripped them out & rewired it as passive.

I wouldn't mind a 5 string fretless though.

[lastnotleast]

[quote name='MrTaff' timestamp='1356920462' post='1915239']
I certainly need more than one, we swap between standard & drop c tuning a few times during a set, so that's 2 different basses needed.

Are people really gigging without a backup?
[/quote]

My point precisely. I play a 5-string but carry a 4-string just in case.

For drop tuning, have you seen the Bass Xtender drop tuners from Hip Shot? I was going to put one on my 4 until I found a bargain on a 5.

[Highfox]

More than one bass here.
I use the Ric for one band exclusively.
Another band it's the P or the J, depending on how busy I want my playing to be. Then there are a couple of numbers that the fretless could come out on.
Recording I'll use which ever bass I think suits the song the best.. Each bass seems to give a different colour to the music.
I could use just one but enjoy the swap and the subtle differences each has.

[gjones]

After having just the one bass and one combo for years.............I discovered basschat. I then went through a buying frenzy, over about 2 years, where I bought 9 basses, 4 amps and 4 different cabs.

It was fun while it lasted but I have now reduced the stable back to one bass and one amp/cab. I learned a lot in that 2 years about what I wanted/needed from my bass and amp sound and I've distilled that down to what I own now.

Edited December 31, 2012 by gjones

[jezzaboy]

At the moment I own 2 and they are only worth around £180 each. Not so long ago, I had 9 but that was frankly, mental! I am about to start doing pub gigs again shortly so I will keep my eye open for a cheap Yammy or similar to take as a back up to one of the other 2.

I would really like to own and gig one bass but am too much of a woosy pants to do that. The thought of my main gigging bass going kapoot for whatever reason on a gig and not having a back up, is too scary to think about.

[BigRedX]

I could go down to two basses - one fretted and one fretless - but it wouldn't be much fun.

[RhysP]

If i had the money I'd certainly have more basses, but I'm in a situation now where I just cannot afford to have more than one bass, and to be honest it's starting to look like that might have to go before long as it just doesn't get played enough to justify keeping it.

[SteveK]

If I were doing a casual pub/small club gig, then, I'd probably only take the one bass. Anything larger, where people are paying good money to see you, then I'd say a spare was essential. In my 40 odd years (and some of them have been [i]extremely[/i] odd ) of gigging I've had a bass fail 4 or 5 times for various reasons. Funnily enough one of those times was our last gig (2 weeks ago) where a straplock gave up on a 6 month old custom Warwick Corvette mid song. Thankfully the spare was already out and ready for action, and strapped on within 20 seconds.

[Mr Fretbuzz]

I've got 3, my eye on a fourth and the boy has his first and we're still in the bedroom.... Any cheap vans going in BC Classifieds to carry it all :-(