Thunderbird Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Ok as most of you will know I have been on a quest to find the right bass and I thought due to my silly hands jazz basses would be the answer with there nice slim necks but I now know that a P bass was the right thing all along for me so I have decided to stick with one P bass and my trusty old Thunderbird I have also been playing about with effects a lot lately and luckily I have found what I was looking for very quickly so all I will be using now is my trusty Boss TU2 tuner a cheap EQ and a couple of OD/distortion pedals I have also been through a few amps and have decided I like my Warwick amp, so I have learnt an expensive lesson as I am sure many of you have done in the past I have also decided that having 4 or 5 basses and lots of effects is not going to make me a better bass player in fact I think it has hindered my playing as I have spent more time messing about with pedals and new basses than actually playing and using the time constructively and actually enjoy my bass like I used to I think I have wasted to much time and money going through gear so I am going from 5 basses to 2 from a big board full of pedals down to 4 pedals and from 3 amps to 1 and hopefully I might start enjoying the bass again so the cull commences lol. Any of you guys been through this and did pretty much going back to "basics" help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Exactly the same journey T-bird. I've found that the fewer things I have to play with, the better for me. A passive P-bass, an amp with as few controls as possible and an efficient cab does it for me. Any more and I'm 'knob twiddling' all night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I too have been reading all the ads dor gear. Buying basses, selling them etc. I've now come to the conclusion that I've been subconsciously searching for some short cut to being a good player. It won't happen. I need to quit looking and start practising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I am down to two basses from - at one stage - about six or seven. If my Jazz sells, I will be down to one. I agree, the more distractions from actually playing and practicing the less likely you are to progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I think its pretty normal to go through the entire spectrum of basses until you find the one that suits you. Sometimes it might be the first one you ever tried you end up going back to. This is much more sensible approach than buying a P bass first, never trying anything else and declaring that it's the only bass worth having.... something I see a lot of on BC.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1382423241' post='2251827'] I think its pretty normal to go through the entire spectrum of basses until you find the one that suits you. Sometimes it might be the first one you ever tried you end up going back to. This is much more sensible approach than buying a P bass first, never trying anything else and declaring that it's the only bass worth having.... something I see a lot of on BC.... [/quote] I agree and I know that no one bass can do everything but lets be honest I think it is mostly about knowing your own ability's and finding a bass thats comfortable and that suits your musical style way I see it is no matter how much I practice and no matter what gear I have I am never going to be Billy Sheehan or Flea or any other master bass player I am just going to be "me" and have my sound and just be as good as I can be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Same. Getting down to 2 Ps, one standard and one PJ. Combo for smaller gigs, head and cab for larger. Same amp in each rig. Tu2. OC3 instead of a 5-string for one song. Good cables, a good mic stand, and an SM58. Job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1382424549' post='2251842'] I agree and I know that no one bass can do everything but lets be honest I think it is mostly about knowing your own ability's and finding a bass thats comfortable and that suits your musical style way I see it is no matter how much I practice and no matter what gear I have I am never going to be Billy Sheehan or Flea or any other master bass player I am just going to be "me" and have my sound and just be as good as I can be [/quote] Yeah exactly... I think it's part of our development as musicians to find a bass that best communicates whats we have written to those that are listening. At the end of the day our bass is only a tool we use to play our basslines... Its what we are playing that really counts. I'm still searching for my sound..... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 [quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1382421854' post='2251818'] Exactly the same journey T-bird. I've found that the fewer things I have to play with, the better for me. A passive P-bass, an amp with as few controls as possible and an efficient cab does it for me. Any more and I'm 'knob twiddling' all night [/quote] Yep, same here. In fact i got rid of my P-Retro as i found i was playing with it too much during gigs. I would like to use effects, ive got a Zoom B3 amongst other things, but i really cant be bothered with the extra leads and messing around. Bass/wireless/BDDI (never adjusted during a gig)/Amp/Cab does all i need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Nope. I like variety and a choice of instruments with a distinct character. Yes, I've sold on a few, but I still own 10. I ought to sell the Status, probably at a monumental loss, and buy a nice fretless 5. I find having a good range of instruments keeps my ability to play most bass guitars I might encounter alive. And a nice range of toys/tools depending on the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1382428554' post='2251891'] Yeah exactly... I think it's part of our development as musicians to find a bass that best communicates whats we have written to those that are listening. At the end of the day our bass is only a tool we use to play our basslines... Its what we are playing that really counts. I'm still searching for my sound..... Rob [/quote] Dont know if I have totally found my sound yet Rob but all I know is if I have lots of toys to play with or keep looking for a new sound I will never find "my" sound I think when my playing standard becomes higher "my" sound will just come one day I hope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Pah! Everyone knows that the more basses you own, the better you must be. I balance up having too many basses by only using one finger ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Riffed Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1382424549' post='2251842'] I am just going to be "me" and have my sound and just be as good as I can be [/quote] That is it right there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 I prefer the simple approach. I'd be quite happy with one control on my bass - a mute switch - since I don't even use the EQ on my active bass. As for amps, I'm happy with just gain, bass, mid, treble and volume controls. If there's a graphic EQ it gets switched off or left flat. The only effect I really need is chorus, and a Small Clone is ideal with its depth switch and rate knob (I now use a Clone Theory, but never go near the edge or vibrato modes). When gigging, I only take one bass as the only need for more would be if we used multiple tunings. Always amuses me when bands change instruments as much as every song, despite playing their whole set in a single tuning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1382442299' post='2252121'] Pah! Everyone knows that the more basses you own, the better you must be. I balance up having too many basses by only using one finger ... [/quote] Me to but it is usually the middle finger I use it when people boo at my crap playing lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fretbuzz Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Luckily I've found after 18 months playing that I love my second Bass, my P. Sold 3 basses in the last 2 weeks. Looking to sell my G & L 2500 Tribute 5 string probably but it's a great bass so might keep it for the future. Definitely keeping my Warwick Pro Star Bass. Going to get an AM Standard Jazz. Possibly a Rick in the future. That should do me and cover most basses, pun intended... Famous last words :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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