Dropping down to one bass?

[SH73]

Id love to go down to one bass but all three are used for different styles of playing. The keeper is barely used at the moment.

[Yank]

I've got my main bass plus a spare........counts as one.

[therealting]

I think I enjoy the chase as much as anything. I almost always end up playing the same bass on actual gigs (my Dingwall Super P5).

[Owen]

[quote name='therealting' timestamp='1493644599' post='3289628']
I think I enjoy the chase as much as anything. I almost always end up playing the same bass on actual gigs (my Dingwall Super P5).
[/quote]

There is no denying the thrill of the chase

[Dandelion]

An object in possession seldom holds the charm it promised whilst being pursued.

[Dandelion]

Well, except perhaps an ice cream van.

[Yank]

or a woman.

[Woodinblack]

I have sold 4 in the last 3 months. So that means I am in single figures, which is sort of like 1.

I don't have any that I don't play though, that would be silly.

[Grangur]

I too am down to single figures, and I play them all regularly. I like the idea of having that one, single bass that does everything. The problem I have is finding a fretted bass with frets that drop to make it fretless. Please, will someone PM me when you see one.

Question to those who have 1 bass: do you practice every night?
Do you play solo, or just in a band?

I ask because if you play solo every night/day, I think you too would find one bass a bit monotonous.

[Woodinblack]

I don't see why it would be monotonous, I mean I just have one piano but never had an issue with it. Just not something I could do with basses.

[thebassist]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1494189402' post='3293939']
I too am down to single figures, and I play them all regularly. I like the idea of having that one, single bass that does everything. The problem I have is finding a fretted bass with frets that drop to make it fretless. Please, will someone PM me when you see one.

Question to those who have 1 bass: do you practice every night?
Do you play solo, or just in a band?

I ask because if you play solo every night/day, I think you too would find one bass a bit monotonous.
[/quote]

I always used Fender Jazz Basses and have had loads and loads and loads of them over years. I had 9 of them at one point.

But after meeting Ambient and reflecting on it for a good year, I started down the extended range root. Now I only have one 6-string bass! It's a beauty and I'm not finding it boring or monotonous... not yet anyway.

[Grangur]

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1494252033' post='3294336']


I always used Fender Jazz Basses and have had loads and loads and loads of them over years. I had 9 of them at one point.

But after meeting Ambient and reflecting on it for a good year, I started down the extended range root. Now I only have one 6-string bass! It's a beauty and I'm not finding it boring or monotonous... not yet anyway.
[/quote]
I too have 1 5-string bass and thinking of going for a 6-string.

Actually, what I was really trying to ask/consider is; if you're a bass player who plays in a band and never picks up a bass from one Saturday night gig to the next, then only having a single bass is no problem. If you play every night, the idea of being happy with a single 4 string bass could be a little more challenging?

With more strings comes a greater challenge and probably the variety of the places one can play on the neck make it more varied?

[Left Foot]

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1493192626' post='3286287']
I love having fewer basses. Not down to one, but was at three for last couple of years, currently at two, but looking for a third (on the cusp of ordering I think).

I guess my 'main' bass is my '71 Precision with flats, but that's obviously not perfect for every situation, so am looking for a quality P/J 4 string to have with roundwounds etc.
Also have a cheap but quality 5 string for the few gigs that call for it (Lakland 55-01).

Three, to me, seems to be the magic number :-D

Si
[/quote]
What happened to fodera?

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1494263030' post='3294501']
I too have 1 5-string bass and thinking of going for a 6-string.
[/quote]

I keep thinking of trying a 6, but then I try one and the neck is too big. If I could find a cheap one I would probably go for it.

[thebassist]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1494263030' post='3294501']

I too have 1 5-string bass and thinking of going for a 6-string.

Actually, what I was really trying to ask/consider is; if you're a bass player who plays in a band and never picks up a bass from one Saturday night gig to the next, then only having a single bass is no problem. If you play every night, the idea of being happy with a single 4 string bass could be a little more challenging?

With more strings comes a greater challenge and probably the variety of the places one can play on the neck make it more varied?
[/quote]

I was a bit nervous at first about jumping to a six but it's actually been fine and a lot easier than I anticipated to be honest. Needlessly worrying I was. Having said that, getting rid of everything but the six obviously left me with no choice but to play it!

[Hazy Bass]

At the start of last year I had 2 basses, having never had more than 2 basses before* at the same time (well, not counting the EUB obviously ....)

errrm ... now I appear to have eight! and they're all 4-string, and half of them are Jazzes ... although to be fair, one of them is currently up for sale at the Bass Gallery, and one appears to have been permanently requisitioned by my son for his band, so it's actually only six! Which really, when you think about it, is barely sufficient to cover all the basic essentials ... long scale, medium scale, short scale, round wounds, tape wounds, flat wounds, half-rounds, perspex body with flashing LEDs for Xmas gigs ...

* now, guitars are another matter altogether

[CamdenRob]

Currently down to one six string

[AndyTravis]

Not sure I can...

My Aria is so good. I don't think I can let it go.

[Jack]

[quote name='Yank' timestamp='1493716276' post='3290041']
or a woman.
[/quote]

Bah, if only. Once caught I lose interest.

[Skybone]

Oops, now 'down' to 3 basses, from 2.

[Sibob]

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1494265996' post='3294534']

What happened to fodera?
[/quote]

I sold it a little over a year ago, it was stunning and I loved it. But although I gig a lot, I couldn't justify having £5k tied up to in a bass that wasn't doing the vast majority of those gigs...my Precision was doing them! Plus I had my son on the way, so wanted the money in the back, precautionary rather than needed, but hey

One day I'll buy another Fodera, full custom though. For now though, very happy with my '71 P, my 55-01 and impending 44-94.

Si

[uncle psychosis]

I've got two basses, but one of them lives in a case and doesn't ever get played (it's purely a backup).

As for "I'd get bored with one instrument" I'd personally say if you get bored you're doing something wrong. The magic is in you, not in the instrument.

[Mastodon2]

I recently took up bass after playing guitar for 15 years and deciding that all along I'd probably been more of a bassist than a guitarist. I bought a Warwick Thumb 5 as I'd always lusted after one and within a few weeks of that, a reasonably priced Spector Euro 5LX popped up on my Facebook (and also on here at the same time) and I bought that. I'm fortunate to have two brilliant instruments and truth be told I could sell either of them and be happy with just once, but they do sound and feel really quite different so having some variety is nice.

While I agree that motivation to create music must come from within the player, I don't see owning multiple basses as being a negative thing. Different types of instrument do make me play differently and inspire me to take my phrasing in different directions. And there are of course, some instruments that are just really unbeatable for certain tasks - you can play country chicken picking licks on a boaty old Gibson Les Paul, complete with baseball bat neck and wooly pickups, but it's easier and sounds a lot more authentic to do it on a Telecaster with vintage singlecoils!

I could maybe be convinced to go down to one bass, but that would probably involve selling them both and rolling the money into a Ken Smith, F Bass or similar.

[DGBass]

[font=Helvetica][size=3]
I’ve dropped down to one bass on several occasions over the last few decades, its an Overwater custom I’ve now owned for 34 years. Mostly it was due to spells of not gigging regularly or using ‘extra’ basses as an easy option to raise cash for other projects. Ironically, I’ve always justified buying another bass again to use as a day to day instrument so that I don’t need to use the Overwater all the time. I’d be gutted if it got damaged and it has some serious sentimental value. I have however realised over the years that dropping down to one bass of each of my favourite type has worked very well. One P-bass, one Jazz, and one Stingray. Not sure if that actually counts as dropping down to one bass, but it works for me. No plans to part with any of them, and no GAS now for several years. The Jazz seems to get most use these days probably because i’ve owned more Jazzes than any other type of bass and always go back to it as a regular everyday 'one bass' option. [/size][/font]

[Trueno]

I have two basses and thought about getting rid of one. After months of careful consideration I've decided I actually need three.
The issue, I think is whether you have any basses that you don't play and it's a bit if a shame that they lie around unused. I've quit gigging and I thought I only needed one bass for bedroom noodling. Ironically, playing both basses to see which I prefer has led me to the conclusion that they are both excellent and very playable in their own ways... and both entirely different (a fretted Jazz and a fretless Thumb). Now I think a fretted Precision would complete the set... maybe a pimped up MIM.