bassbora Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I went to a band practice last night. We have not had much time of late due to conflicting diaries so we mostly just do the gigs. We have now a new singer so a rare chance to run through songs in practice setting was on. I am not much into buying and selling bass guitars and currently have 3 basses. I have two 5 strings and have mostly been using the one I bought 2 years ago. To stop this rambling I used the old 5 string last night and I was blown away. I bought it as a student in the mid '90s and chose it for a reason. It could handle jazz soloing all over the fret board and chords along with classical pieces to Motown and anything else I might throw at it. I spent so many hours on that fret board. It was like a home. But I guess we all fancy a change so I had stopped using it until last night. I kept making mistakes because I was not listening to the band but to the core tone and possible variations thereof has I applied different right hand techniques. I remembered why I had chosen this bass all these years ago and what a pleasure it was to play it. Have you guys had similar experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Yes. My '66 bass was pretty much retired a few years ago but I dragged it out on Saturday, as I was doing a gig in memory of a very guitarist I last used it regularly with. The neck is just beautiful on it, worn in and with an almost non-existent action. I would use it more but my finger style playing has worn two grooves in it, over the years, that I don't want to get any worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbora Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Yes it is nice to rediscover your instruments. That's why I am always reluctant to move them on because I usually put in quite a bit of research and choose them for a specific reason. And most of the time they have worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I used to play my old Squier frequently, then since getting 'better' basses it's been stored away. Then when we did a couple of gigs in potentially rowdy pubs recently I decided to use the £200 bass instead of the £1000 bass. I'd forgotten what a great instrument it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 My old 89 P Bass was dusted off for a gig at Christmas. It had been retired for a number of years purely as I didn't want to risk gigging it (sentimental value etc.) As the gig was a "safe" one (not public),I decided to bring it out and even restrung it with DR Sunbeams as opposed to my usual TI's. Wow, it was like coming home and I haven't put it back in its case since Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbora Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 I have also noticed that you can really see how your playing and technique has changed when you go back to the 'old friend'. Sometimes for better and sometimes for worse if you have picked up bad habits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I've owned a 1970 P since 1994, but i didn't really use it for a number of years in the early 2000s, partly when i moved away to college for a year and left it with a mate, and later when i left my band acrimoniously and wasn't interested in playing for about two years. Then it needed a refret, so just got stashed for a long time when i wasn't gigging much. Finally had it back up to speed by about 2009, and been reminded what a cool bass it is. In a way its taken me all these years to grow into it. When I was 20 i didn't really 'get it' so much, but now I'm a different sort of player in my 40s, its perfect for what i want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki_Sixx Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 My first bass was a Hohner Rockwood P bass, a wonky old thing with a 'SALE' star sun-burned into the white pickguard from many months in a shop window. After buying my 2nd bass it moved into a case under the bed for the next few years until I sold it on for a few quid. Getting it out of the case to take the photos I remembered the good times it had given me. Handing it over felt quite poignant - a lot of my mates kept their first guitars - but the buyer had the same look of joy on his face as I did when I first bought it. I don't miss it, but it was nice to revisit those memories for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 I have three Fenders , an SX and an ABG. I usually play my MIA P, but whenever I use my MIM P, I am amazed at how close it is to the MIA. The neck is as slim as the MIA, it sounds the same. I don't even mind the white pickguard. Then I play my Jazz and wow, different but tasty. But why are we surprised when we go back to an old friend, I mean we bought it because it felt right at the time, right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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