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What do you do when you've found The One?


Skinnyman
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[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1457393598' post='2998179']
Like many other things in life, once you've found 'the one' you simply go looking for another - because as we all know, you can never have enough basses!!
[/quote]

+1

I have different basses that work best in different bands, which allows me to avoid having to commit to the idea of having just 'the one' bass.

Having said that, if I really had to pick one bass, it'd be my '84 BC Rich Eagle.

But - in typical Basschat fashion - the very recent acquisition of a Hayman 40 40 may just change that!

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I currently have jut the one bass - in the past I've had two knocking about but since getting into 5 string my second 'back up' 4 string just wasn't getting used. I now only have one bass, a 5er, and it is the one for now and as far a I know the near and distant future. It's lightweight, sounds and plays fantastic.

I have two rigs. One lightweight head and a power amp/pre amp set up with a 212 cab. They cover all my needs and I think my stable is complete....... well I'd find it hard to justify any more kit ;)

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[quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1457176378' post='2996005']
Over the years I've amassed a nice collection of basses, all of which have been gigged regularly.

But a few months ago I bought a Sandberg VM5 that, for me, is just perfect. It's exactly the sound I've been looking for. It's now my only gigging bass.

So now, I don't know what to do with the other basses. I've spent a lot of time (and money, but don't tell the wife) getting them and they're all fantastic in their own way - but I know that they just aren't going to get the use they deserve.

So do I thin the herd and take a massive loss selling them? Or hold onto them for the occasional rehearsal?

Anyone else been in a similar position?
[/quote]

You are barely back from honeymoon and you already want to ditch your ex' girlfriends?

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My collection has been up to 11 at one point (not a lot by some standards I know, but it's the most I've ever had at any one time). I've tried most of the big 'classic' Bass brands (Fender, musicman, Ricks, warwick) over the years and I've come to the conclusion that for me 'the one' doesn't really exist.

IMHO it's more a case of the 'right one for the job'.

If you've only ever been in one band for your whole gigging life then maybe 'the one' does exist (think Steve Harris's Precision, which is clearly 'the one' for him).

After all these years (25+ years gigging), I've finally found what works for me is having a Precision & a Jazz that I really love playing, using either one as the gig suits.

YMMV of course!

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[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1457445667' post='2998645']
My collection has been up to 11 at one point (not a lot by some standards I know, but it's the most I've ever had at any one time). I've tried most of the big 'classic' Bass brands (Fender, musicman, Ricks, warwick) over the years and I've come to the conclusion that for me 'the one' doesn't really exist.

IMHO it's more a case of the 'right one for the job'.

If you've only ever been in one band for your whole gigging life then maybe 'the one' does exist (think Steve Harris's Precision, which is clearly 'the one' for him).

After all these years (25+ years gigging), I've finally found what works for me is having a Precision & a Jazz that I really love playing, using either one as the gig suits.

YMMV of course!
[/quote]

I agree here - I have 2 Lakland 5's - one P (Lakland Owners group special :D ) and one 55-01
I use the P for the majority of things, but the function work just like having the active set up so I can change sounds in the 1-2 s between songs a lot easier (eg a bit of boost for reggae songs etc)

I also have two fretlesses (I need to fix one to sell, the only bass I can get rid of) and then my First ever Bass (never gonna sell) , and a bass my GF bought me (and thus I cannot sell.... its a thunderbird - lovely for slap but I just don't get on with the scale length of it)

Add in a Double bass and Electric double bass and I have the "Eight" or whatever ;)

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I agree if you've found the right one/ones for you then you know it, and the others aren't really going to get used anyway however good they are so you'll probably end up flogging them.

Saying that, i'd be in no rush to sell them unless i needed to for financial reasons, as tastes/situations change and you might be glad of them being available.

Cool that you've found the right bass tho - feels great doesn't it?

I think I might have finally slimmed mine down to just three basses, but three that are near perfect for what I want. It's taken 30 years but its been a fun trip...
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I had 6 at one point, now down to a single bass which is only a Squier! I think we tend to believe we *need* the best quality equipment when most basses are more than adequate nowadays and even then we end up getting a backup "just in case" anyway!! :lol:

Certainly professional players may need this but ultimately, standard hobby players (like me) buy because we like having them there to play with, even if it is only occasional use. So, if they make you happy and you can afford it, keep them, if not move them on get what you need.

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I found the "One" bass about 3 years ago when I eventually got an Alembic Series II 5 stringer. It is more bass than I expected and easily the most complete sounding and versatile bass that I have ever owned and would cover any genre I was playing with ease. Just because I have found it does not mean that other basses have no place. They have all earned their place and their sound still has a place in the music I play. The thing is I really enjoy playing them live as well as at home and rehearsals, so I don't think it is necessary to offload basses once you have found what you have been looking for. Unless of course thats what you want to do or have to do.
It's good to have options and sometimes different instruments inspire you to play differently.

Edited by jazzyvee
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[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1457547215' post='2999593']
I found the "One" bass about 3 years ago when I eventually got an Alembic Series II 5 stringer. It is more bass than I expected and easily the most complete sounding and versatile bass that I have ever owned and would cover any genre I was playing with ease. Just because I have found it does not mean that other basses have no place. They have all earned their place and their sound still has a place in the music I play. The thing is I really enjoy playing them live as well as at home and rehearsals, so I don't think it is necessary to offload basses once you have found what you have been looking for. Unless of course thats what you want to do or have to do.
It's good to have options and sometimes different instruments inspire you to play differently.
[/quote]

And with that - I think we need to start seeing pics in this thread!

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[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1457548169' post='2999599']
This must be why you have three listed in your signature :lol:
[/quote]

Now, now. I have said elsewhere that I have recently moved to being a two bass man so I can keep one in the rehearsal studio. The four string is purely there for the convenience of conservative types at jam nights.

Hence the rather broad price ratio between them of £10k:£1k:£40

Edited by colgraff
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I think that we'd be lucky if there are a handful of forum members who actually have found the one and will still have it in a year or maybe even less.

There have been threads in the past that many members including yours truly have posted in stating that we've found "the one". If you can find the threads I can almost guarantee that most of them are sold.

For me it's just a tool, plus I like shiny, I want to like certain basses so may have had 10 of them over the past 28 years just to be sure, I've bought some because my favourite player at the time has used one, it looks nice, and so on.

I've had 9 4-string Stingrays and am on SR5 number 5 for example.

I will never find the one and the closer I think I get, the more I don't actually know what I want and what I have is good enough for what I want it to be able to do.

Edited by Delberthot
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Though I understand that the posts saying that we all sell 'the one' eventually have some credence, there are lots of guys including famous players that do stick with the one.

I used to think of some of my basses as keepers, but ended up selling them for various reasons as many of us do. Every keeper that I had was never the one because I always felt like they were one of a collection that gave me what I needed. So my pre CBS P Basses for example were great, but I also needed an active bass or jazz bass to cover the angles I wanted. No one bass covered all my angles.

That all changed with my Lull. I've had 2 other Lulls that have all been great, but this one can do it all for me (bearing in mind that I also run it through various pre amp pedals depending on what tone I'm after).

So this Lull covers all the tones I like, is the weight and balance I need due to back issues, is my wood preference of ash and maple and is more complete than any other bass I've ever owned. The colour never jumped out at me, howver that can be easily sorted with a respray at some point, but the colour actually makes me know that it must be special if I still love it that much anyway.

So having owned a silly amount of amazing basses, my Lull has gone from keeper to the one by the sheer fact that I couldn't sell a bass that suits me this much. This is the first time it's happened to me, and I wasn't even looking for it, didn't think it existed to be honest.

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This is 'the one'. A supernatural series 2 by Jaydee, which I've owned since 1995.


[b] [size=5]What do you do when you've found The One? [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]easy - put some LED's in the front face. BOOM !!! B)[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] [/font][/font][/size][/b]

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Keep them if you can, I thought I'd found "the one" when I got my TM5, then after a few weeks of gigging I decided I didn't like the pre-amp, not a big problem, but now, a few months down the line, I've decided the humbuckers is in the wrong place, I still love it as a jazz bass, but I'm really glad I kept my stingray, because I couldn't do without that sound in my life.

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[quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1457176378' post='2996005']
Over the years I've amassed a nice collection of basses, all of which have been gigged regularly.

But a few months ago I bought a Sandberg VM5 that, for me, is just perfect. It's exactly the sound I've been looking for. It's now my only gigging bass.

So now, I don't know what to do with the other basses. I've spent a lot of time (and money, but don't tell the wife) getting them and they're all fantastic in their own way - but I know that they just aren't going to get the use they deserve.

So do I thin the herd and take a massive loss selling them? Or hold onto them for the occasional rehearsal?

Anyone else been in a similar position?
[/quote]

Ive just found what i will call "the One". My new (to me) Fender P. All my other basses have been bagged up and taken in to work to store, never to be used again.......until i realise the can never really only be one.
While im over the moon with my P, i also like Jazz basses, and quite often fancy a play on a 5 string. This has nothing to do with the P bass lacking anything, just that i cant limit myself to only using one tone (you know what i mean) for the rest of my life. Just aint going to happen.

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[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1457547215' post='2999593']

It's good to have options and sometimes different instruments inspire you to play differently.
[/quote]

+1

I think this is very true; different basses have always brought out in me a slightly different playing style..

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-1

I play the same ham fisted, club fingered way on all my basses :)

EDIT

+0.5

My Gibson Victory Artist inspires me to stay still while I'm playing more than the others because it weighs the same as a small moon.

Edited by neepheid
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[quote name='SimonEdward' timestamp='1457557611' post='2999709']
This is 'the one'. A supernatural series 2 by Jaydee, which I've owned since 1995.


[b] [size=5]What do you do when you've found The One? [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]easy - put some LED's in the front face. BOOM !!! B)[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] [/font][/font][/size][/b]
[/quote]

Wow that is gorgeous. Did someone get him to make it that colour or was it re-sprayed - I ask because I started gassing for one these recently when I saw pics of a refinished one in pink on Talkbass, also with LEDs. The red is v nice, but he doesn't advertise them in colours on his website.

Edited by drTStingray
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Sold my "the one " in the early sixties to buy a guitar. Couldnt afford both at the time.
Here I am with a relatively poor substitute ( a 62 reissue P Bass) and my old knackered working bass which I was given in 1983.

Have to say that over the years I have owned some nice playable basses but nothing that compared with the memory of that original 62 Precision.
Wonder how much of it is distance lending enchantment?
Oh and YES the "new" 62 sounds like the old one and almost plays as well. At least I could afford a case for this one. Old one traveled in its taped up fender cardboard box even after I sold it.

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