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One bass? Is it possible?


Crawford13

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My experience of people with "just one bass" tends to be either younger players starting out or guitarists who use it to record at home. 

I went down to just two Squiers for about 3 years around 2013 but I quite like having a collection so went back up to about 8 (I think!) and don't sweat about it. If you can manage on one, good for you and if you own dozens, it's your life! Who are any of us to judge others?

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On thing that blocks me from hitting the ground is that no size fits all.

Each of my drummers has his preferences, and that differs wildly. A bass that pleases one drummer, annoys, distracts or puts to sleep the other drummer.

I like my drummers, I like having many basses, so we're fine.

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8 minutes ago, marcblum said:

On thing that blocks me from hitting the ground is that no size fits all.

Each of my drummers has his preferences, and that differs wildly. A bass that pleases one drummer, annoys, distracts or puts to sleep the other drummer.

I like my drummers, I like having many basses, so we're fine.

I wouldn't tell my drummer what type of drums / cymbals to play, and I wouldn't expect them to tell me what bass I should play. 

That being said I do get it that different basses make you play in different ways, though if I'm totally honest I think string choice plays just as big a role in this as the actual bass itself. 

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4 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I was happy with 4 basses, then I joined BC and read the Sandberg thread, and bought one, read the Yamaha thread, and bought one, read the 5 string thread, and bought one, etc, I’ve now got 12 basses, 5 amps, 4 cabs and 3 pedals 😁

That'll teach you for going to school and learning to read :laugh1:

Nice wee collection having 12 basses. I used to have 10 but slowly reducing them. Now at 7 and looking to move another couple on at some point but no rush. If i sell 2 i will buy myself a Precision (either a Fender or maybe a Sandberg)

Dave 

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I had 11 basses back in 2014 

I liked having 11 basses but to be honest i raraly played them, so decided to sell them all and start from fresh

I only have 2 basses now

a fretless which should be on tge way soon and a fretted, now I'm sorted!

Fretless is my main instrument and play fretted  from time to time but I love to have tge option

one bass only I'm not sure

but a bass of different kind is what suits me the most

1 fretless

1 fretted

and a double bass if you play one

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52 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

I wouldn't tell my drummer what type of drums / cymbals to play, and I wouldn't expect them to tell me what bass I should play.

I don't remember having said anybody telling what bass I should play. Do you?

Edited by marcblum
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8 hours ago, ped said:

 

To this day I still have that 'one' bass that I know is just perfect for me, but it doesn't 100% stop me wanting to buy and experiment with others too, so that way I look at it is that I have MY bass, and sometimes one or two others that I play with for fun, but I never buy them for keeps, and can easily slim right back to that one bass at any point.

There are so many other areas of interest this applies to. The word "bass" could be substituted for so many others......

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Just now, GuyR said:

There are so many other areas of interest this applies to. The word "bass" could be substituted for so many others......

I was going to say but didn't mention how I'm becoming the same with watches. I think I have 'my' watch now, after years of buying and selling. I was also like that with cameras, and also have found 'mine' - so I'm looking for new areas to waste money on!

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I had just one bass for years and years. Then I got less time to play and had actual paid jobs so my gear acquisition has increased as I have progressed from impoverished student to employed "adult". Basses are a lost cause for me now, I have four and have eyes on more both new and second hand, it's amps!! I've got two but neither are valve amps so...! 

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I am now down to one, and that's the way it's going to stay until this current situation passes*. Anything more could just end up being very expensive fire wood!

 

*or I grow another pair of arms.

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37 minutes ago, ped said:

I was going to say but didn't mention how I'm becoming the same with watches. I think I have 'my' watch now, after years of buying and selling. I was also like that with cameras, and also have found 'mine' - so I'm looking for new areas to waste money on!

Reminds me of a bloke I sold an old Hofner to a few years ago. He said he was a 'dealer', and when I asked him was it just in guitars, he replied - 'No mate, I do all the middle aged bloke stuff - cameras, watches and motorbikes as well as guitars'.

 😂

( As I was probably pushing 60 at the time, I can only guess he was trying to flatter me for a better price)

Edited by casapete
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Just now, casapete said:

Reminds me of a bloke I sold an old Hofner to a few years ago. He said he was a 'dealer', and when I asked him was it just in guitars, he replied - 'No mate, I do all the middle aged bloke stuff - cameras, watches and motorbikes as well as guitars'. 😂

Motorbikes - there’s an idea!

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I have way too many basses. I cannot justify them. I like trying different flavours. I could have many much worse pastimes. I actually like the idea of going down to one but could not choose so I do not sweat it. 

 

Edited by owen
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39 minutes ago, ped said:

I was going to say but didn't mention how I'm becoming the same with watches. I think I have 'my' watch now, after years of buying and selling. I was also like that with cameras, and also have found 'mine' - so I'm looking for new areas to waste money on!

Don't mention watches Ped.  I'm up to about 10.

After redundancy in April 2016, I panicked a bit and sold 3 basses and a US Strat and a few excellent amps.  I wish I hadn't sold them.  I'm still buying the odd bass and I won't be selling any more unless I need the money.  I reckon they hold their value far better than cash at the moment anyway.

I'm at about 10 bass guitars and about 5 guitars and I gig all the basses and play one acoustic guitar at home.  I feel totally comfortable with this. :)

Frank.

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I'm on two basses (Stingray and a Jazz) and two guitars (strat and acoustic). If I'm honest, I could survive quite nicely with just the strat and the stingray. I've been there in the past with massive (expensive) collections of synths and recording equipment, which I didn't miss one bit when I sold it. Gear/GAS is just a distraction and prevents you from enjoying and playing music. But we all have to go through it. 

 

 

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GAS is such a weird one. I'm a very poor guitarist, I hack through cowboy chords and do some uncoordinated picking. I want to play rhythm guitar for a band I dep in occasionally but I know it's not realistic without serious practice I don't have time for. I bought a Squier Tele at Xmas and rarely ever play it. At the same time I upgraded the bridge pins in my electro acoustic and it took on a new lease of life, I play the acoustic far more. I'm considering trading both in for some type of hybrid electric/ acoustic thingy but there's really no need. I can't see me actually gigging on guitar for a long time. In the three years I've known him I've never been to my mates monthly acoustic open mic thing though I want to, kids and work etc. mean I don't really have the time. I've got my eyes on a new fretless but I put a Kiogon loom in my old fretless and it turbo charged it in to a new instrument. Epiphone are bringing out a lefty Jack Cassidy, I don't know if these will last so considering putting down a deposit... But I miss having a jazz bass... 

I put it all down to boredom. A Stingray and my fretless are really all the bass I could ever, ever need. 

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Well, would one bass give the disired feel and tone to a particular song especially when one records various genres of songs e.g. basschat comp? I think not.

Would it be morally acceptable to play slap on a legendary heavy metal basisst's signature bass, I think not.

Would one bass, that preserves a selling value be enough to invest your hard earn cash in? I think not

Would you be bothered to keep restringing your bass with flats, rounds etc strings? I think not

Would one, old, battered, very heavy bass be practicable to hang down your shoulders to play a 2-3 hour gig, I think not.

Would you take your most expensive , loved bass to play a gig in the roughest pub, I think not.

My answer to the post is, I think not.

 

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1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

 

A Stingray and my fretless are really all the bass I could ever, ever need. 

A Stingray's the one itch (lefty wise) I'm still yet to scratch.

I came close with a G&L L2000 Trib, sound was monster but the baseball bat neck and the weight drove me to part with it.

I must admit even though I love my 32" P, my go to at the moment is a deko Harley Benton 5 that I picked up from the forum for 40 quid. It's so much fun to play, and having to engage my brain to do it is keeping me coming back to it.

I wonder if a nice compromise might be the 5 string Sterling SUB that's just been released? 

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Lockdown has made me wonder if gigging ended entirely, I'd have less GAS and fewer basses. 

Have done various collabarations on lockdown - folk, electronic, jazz. If these were live gigs, I'd have taken a different bass each time. 

But home recording - all ended up on P with flats..(and all quite different sounds in the final mix). Appreciate this is the punchline to many a BC question, but there you go. 

Edited by Drax
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