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Finding "The One"


TheGreek

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4 hours ago, Crawford13 said:

In the middle of last year I made a decision to choose one of my basses to keep in my music room the the rest I sold or put into storage. This meant I spent all my time playing rather than deciding what bass to play. It did wonders for my mental health as I wasn't using my mental bandwidth for anything other than playing.  I didn't feel anxious about having money tied up in expensive instruments, and I got to know my main bass intimately. My touch and dynamics improved massively. 

Just an idea. 

Marcus Miller said pretty much the same thing when he did a workshop at the last UK Bass Day in Manchester.

He was asked how many basses he has, which is "lots", but always plays his trademark Fender. 

His view is that by sticking with the one bass he intimately knows every square inch of the fingerboard, any little quirks, the pre-amp etc.

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As a lefty if I see a Bass that I fancy that I can afford I tend to grab it on principle.

However my modded KSD 605 is my favourite though it needs the bridge pickup sorting and is over 13lbs.

Wants - the Carvin on Marketplace here. An Ambler custom Thunderbird style. Quite a few of the (unaffordable) other lefties on sale here. Mike Lull thundebird style. A Gordon Smith semi hollow that appeared on their FB feed last year.

I only have five basses !!

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17 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I think I now know what I want. I'll just need to keep my eyes open for a bass that conforms to those wants.

I may have to put two of the three up for sale in the not too distant future.

If you know what you want great, get a custom made bass. There’s lots of really good UK luthiers. If it’s a jazz style bass shape I’d definitely be looking at Overwater. 

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3 hours ago, JottoSW1 said:

Wants - the Carvin on Marketplace here.

My "The One" is a Carvin BB75, (the one in my profile picture). Had it around 12 years now and even though a lot of basses have passed through my hands, it's the one that every time I pick it up and play it, a big smile appears.

Edited by BassBunny
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One of my Warwicks is my favourite 5-string; nothing too fancy, a German bolt-on neck passive model.

The grey tiger-striped one in the front row.

I9jg8AR.jpg

The SUB5 and RockBass are gone, but I also have a 5-string Steinberger Spirit with EMG pickups, which has a good sound.

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19 hours ago, Crawford13 said:

In the middle of last year I made a decision to choose one of my basses to keep in my music room the the rest I sold or put into storage. This meant I spent all my time playing rather than deciding what bass to play. It did wonders for my mental health as I wasn't using my mental bandwidth for anything other than playing.  I didn't feel anxious about having money tied up in expensive instruments, and I got to know my main bass intimately. My touch and dynamics improved massively. 

Just an idea. 

That’s a great idea @crawford, I’ve been chopping & changing trying to work out which bass to use in my current project, and I think following the above will get me there, all but the one I think is best for it in cases out of the way and just concentrate on really getting to grips with just the one rather than alternating between four.

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Forget the concept of "The One"! Stop being so picky and focus on being a better player.

I'm not saying we shouldn't buy better basses, but obsessing over a mythical creature is a waste of energy.

As per the Marcus Miller post, love the "one" you're with.

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I think 'the one' can only really be found after you've spent some time with an instrument. How many times do you see a new bass/amp/pedal day post, and then it's in the for sale section a week later?  I'm not saying that you need to love every bass you touch and shouldn't try them out but every bass I buy does a few gigs before I decide to keep or sell.  Sometimes 'the one' is not the fanciest, but the one you get used to over time.

It's kind of like a relationship- it takes more than a quick fingering to know if it's right for you.

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2 hours ago, prowla said:

What - being stuck in the house 24x7 with a load of musical instruments looking at you...?

True nuff. Have been playing a lot, listening to music. Don't do Television anymote. Been shielding because I'm diabetic. Difficult to get any exercise more taxing than Bass and long walks where I live in C London. Not ideal.

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I gave up worrying about tone years ago after seeing a bassist using a very fancy active bass in a big live production  supporting a big name singer, he might as well have been plucking a chicken....awful muddy drone.

The one for me now is an instrument that is light and comfortable to play..I almost dont care what it sounds like...all basses basically sound the same ...don't they?

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7 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

I gave up worrying about tone years ago after seeing a bassist using a very fancy active bass in a big live production  supporting a big name singer, he might as well have been plucking a chicken....awful muddy drone.

The one for me now is an instrument that is light and comfortable to play..I almost dont care what it sounds like...all basses basically sound the same ...don't they?

I came to a very similar conclusion. My bass was always sent to PA from a DI and then the engineer always tweaked my bass for the room and overall mix. It rarely sounded anything like ‘my tone’ it just did it’s job. 
As a result I got rid of my Aguilar rig as it was just a fancy monitor in the end and to be honest in the mix of the other stage noise and the venue we were in, it sounded no better than any other amp I have used. I might as well have been using a cheap secondhand Ashdown (not knocking Ashdown, just stating they can be picked up very cheap for what they are).

The same went for basses, no one cared what my bass sounded like, as long as I played my parts in time and in tune, no one gave a monkeys whether it was a 2 grand overwater or. £250 Squier and I gigged both. Actually I got more comments about the Squier!

The grand conclusion for me was that as long as the neck felt comfortable and it was reliable and made at thuddy bass sound, I’m good to go.

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On 06/02/2021 at 19:12, ProfJames said:
  1. How many members have actually found "the one"?
  2. How long did it take?
  3. How much to ultimately find it?

Like @hiram.k.hackenbacker, I did too but totally by accident. I have bought and sold many basses but one has just stuck with me. It was only my 3rd or 4th bass I think, and totally wasn't what I was looking for back then (I wanted a Stingray 5 but also considered ordering a Sandberg Basic Ken Taylor 20th anniversary new, but I ended up with a superjazz) but the moment I saw it online I needed to have it, and it didn't disappoint. Many more basses came and went after it (and many stayed, too) but it's still The One. My Status S2 Classic 5-string almost took the crown, but that Ellio Martina Forza is still my One. 

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I've always thought the world of blokes can be split between those who are gear fiends (whether cars, guitars, sports equipment, hi-fi, tools, electronic gadgets etc) and those who are not.  I'm pretty much in the latter camp. I've got 4 x  Indonesian made 4-string basses all bought new for less than £500 each. For me, customisation is changing the strings. My only buying criterion is such an such a bass good for slapping/thumping or not.

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16 hours ago, greavesbass said:

I gave up worrying about tone years ago after seeing a bassist using a very fancy active bass in a big live production  supporting a big name singer, he might as well have been plucking a chicken....awful muddy drone.

The one for me now is an instrument that is light and comfortable to play..I almost dont care what it sounds like...all basses basically sound the same ...don't they?

Yeah, James Jamerson sounds just like Chris Squire.😉

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13 minutes ago, 4000 said:

Yeah, James Jamerson sounds just like Chris Squire.😉

And what did the pedal board of JJ look like..? ;) A Ric plugged straight into a console sounds like a bass, just like a 'P'. The rest is in the playing style (the fingers, or thumb...). :|

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17 hours ago, NJE said:

As a result I got rid of my Aguilar rig as it was just a fancy monitor in the end and to be honest in the mix of the other stage noise and the venue we were in, it sounded no better than any other amp I have used

This in spades. Probably the most enlightening paragraph ever written on BC.

Id even go so far as saying don't let anyone tell you you need a fancy rig or bass....but definitely do listen to the guy who says you need to work on ur technique and practise more.

Edited by greavesbass
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