“The one” and bass chasing!

[Lozz196]

I’ve found The Two!

 

Fender 2015 US Standard Precision & Fender JMJ Mustang Bass.

 

If I could only save one it would be the Precision as it has many sentimental memories but I can’t play full scale basses in bands anymore due to back issues hence putting the JMJ up there as well, I truly love these little basses.

[neepheid]

I don't really subscribe to the whole "the one" idea.  The way I see it, I've got two hands, so I get to save two from a burning building.

 

Those two would be the Epiphone Jack Casady and my wunkay.  Make of that what you will.

[Dan Dare]

The obsession with chasing "the one" applies to a lot more than basses. There is no ultimate "one", just our current unattainable ideal. The minute we have it, we hanker after something else. It probably stems from our tendency to become bored once a desire is satisfied. As soon as what was previously a pipe dream becomes reality, it gets absorbed into our everyday existence. I guess continuing dissatisfaction is the reason humans no longer live in caves and hit things with wooden clubs. So it's not all bad.

 

My old '72 J that I've had since the early 1980s is the instrument I always come back to, so I guess that's my "one". 

[Skybone]

Before buying my first 4003, I'd bought, played & sold any number of basses. Been after a Ric for many years, but never quite took the plunge. 

When I finally did get one, it was more than I expected, and became "The One". Cue one Economic Down-Turn, and a few other financial priorities, and "The One" had to become the one on sale. 

 

Thankfully, a few years ago, I lucked out in finding a relatively cheap "player grade" one, so bought it. Yup, that's now "The One".

[msb]

 Now when it come to practice at home I do try to pick up most of the ones I accumulated over the years , and the two favourites have turned out to be Gibson shortscales. It was a DC LesPaul Jr that initially got me. Simple two knob layout and a nice DeCola humbucker in the sweet spot. It actually works much like a Pbass , although a short scale , set neck Pbass. I loved it so much I picked up an SG. It took me a while to really appreciate that , but it happened. Something about the tone it has , and it’s simply a very comfortable bass to play.

[JapanAxe]

I've been playing for 45 years now and have never had a 'one' guitar or bass.

 

For a time I tried to find a single do-everything skinny-string guitar that could cover all bases. The closest I got to achieving that ambition was a Yamaha Pacifica 604. I reached the point of thinking that a Precision would meet all my bass needs, but have recently moved away from that with my current brace of Dingwalls.

 

So no - and why should there be a 'one' instrument? Here's to enjoying lots of instruments!

[TheJonJonJonJon]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

The obsession with chasing "the one" applies to a lot more than basses. There is no ultimate "one", just our current unattainable ideal. The minute we have it, we hanker after something else. It probably stems from our tendency to become bored once a desire is satisfied. As soon as what was previously a pipe dream becomes reality, it gets absorbed into our everyday existence. I guess continuing dissatisfaction is the reason humans no longer live in caves and hit things with wooden clubs. So it's not all bad.

 

My old '72 J that I've had since the early 1980s is the instrument I always come back to, so I guess that's my "one". 

I suspect this is very much the case. Some people are never satisfied (myself included) and as others have said, half the fun of all this is in the chase.
 

It would also seem the sentimental value of an instrument has a large bearing on whether it is “the one”.

 

I did almost sell my CS 64 Jazz but, took it back from the shop after talking myself out of it, and I was genuinely relieved to have it back so maybe this will be the one that hangs around. If Basschat is around in 30 years and someone posts this same question I might be able to say that Jazz was “the one” 😁

[msb]

Skybone , I was a Ric guy before I settled on shortscales. And I’ll always be one. And had been a Pbass guy before that. I was on the search for a Ric for many years , this was before the internet and they were extremely rare here in Nova Scotia.  I finally found a 4001 in Toronto. It was to become my main bass for quite a few years. 
Later I managed to buy a 4000 in NS. I was surprised to discover that I didn’t miss the extra pickup and knobs one bit. There’s a lot to be said for two knob simplicity.

I’m mostly playing short scales now , but I still get a little weak in the knees when I see a nice Ric.

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

I don't really subscribe to the whole "the one" idea.  The way I see it, I've got two hands, so I get to save two from a burning building.

 

Those two would be the Epiphone Jack Casady and my wunkay.  Make of that what you will.

Whats the wunkay bass ?

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Must admit when i bought my WAL Custom in 80's i think that would have been my "one" bass had it not suffered from a dead spot on G string and WAL didn't want to know. £740 for a bass with a dead spot when a Fender J was around £300 new if i remember right.

Had a great feel and the tone was sublime for me. It was a lined fretless.

On hindsight and having a better knowledge of basses now that i'm older i reckon the dead spot was possibly an easy fix like a rigid saddle not seated properly. If i had known a decent luthier back then i would have taken it there. Think i traded it for a new white Ric 4003 that i wasn't impressed with after a few mths and sold it. Bought my first proper Fender J and that was glorious and where my love of J basses started.

Dave  

[neepheid]

39 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Whats the wunkay bass ?

Dave

 

G&L L-1000.  Wunkay is its nickname - One K.

[dmccombe7]

3 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

G&L L-1000.  Wunkay is its nickname - One K.

[Hellzero]

My "one bass" has to be a fretless, and a sixer.

 

I've been playing bass for 40 years now, been a semi-pro (meaning I still had a job) for around two decades divided in two periods and met someone in the early 90's who changed my perception of what is a really good instrument, a master luthier named Christophe Leduc, who has become a friend over the years.

 

During these 40 years, I've owned and played over 400 basses including around 40 Leduc basses, but I always come back to these Leduc basses and especially one Leduc bass that I sold twice and bought back twice.

 

This is a bass that I now own for something like a decade or a bit more, bought to the first owner that I knew and chased it for a decade or a bit more as he didn't want to sell it, and is like an extension of myself.

 

This "one bass" is this Leduc Masterpiece MP 628 SF with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard:

 

 

 

But, I ordered a custom Leduc U-Basse 6 fretless, also with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard as they are my favourites, a bit more than 5 years ago and got it for my birthday last month.

 

It's a totally different instrument with its patented floating soundboard and the ability to split the magnetic pickups and the twin piezo pickup.

 

I met a story teller this weekend and it was an instant match, she tells the stories and I enlighten them with just a fretless, so this custom Leduc U-Basse 6 fretless will become the new extension of myself and that "one bass" as the sound palette is broader and fits perfectly the needs for this new project, and I already feel at home with it:

 

 

 

And there's a third sixer fretless which is also that "one bass" and is a gift from my wife, a Le Fay Remington Steele 6 RHT CC CAP Big Block with a stainless steel fingerboard and an amazing tone:

 

 

 

So, I own 3 totally different "one bass" for different purposes and reasons.

 

Now, the quest is over.

Edited March 10 by Hellzero

[TheJonJonJonJon]

38 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

My "one bass" has to be a fretless, and a sixer.

 

I've been playing bass for 40 years now, been a semi-pro (meaning I still had a job) for around two decades divided in two periods and met someone in the early 90's who changed my perception of what is a really good instrument, a master luthier named Christophe Leduc, who has become a friend over the years.

 

During these 40 years, I've owned and played over 400 basses including around 40 Leduc basses, but I always come back to these Leduc basses and especially one Leduc bass that I sold twice and bought back twice.

 

This is a bass that I now own for something like a decade or a bit more, bought to the first owner that I knew and chased it for a decade or a bit more as he didn't want to sell it, and is like an extension of myself.

 

This "one bass" is this Leduc Masterpiece MP 628 SF with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard:

 

 

 

But, I ordered a custom Leduc U-Basse 6 fretless, also with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard as they are my favourites, a bit more than 5 years ago and got it for my birthday last month.

 

It's a totally different instrument with its patented floating soundboard and the ability to split the magnetic pickups and the twin piezo pickup.

 

I met a story teller this weekend and it was an instant match, she tells the stories and I enlighten them with just a fretless, so this custom Leduc U-Basse 6 fretless will become the new extension of myself and that "one bass" as the sound palette is broader and fits perfectly the needs for this new project, and I already feel at home with it:

 

 

 

And there's a third sixer fretless which is also that "one bass" and is a gift from my wife, a Le Fay Remington Steele 6 RHT CC CAP Big Block with a stainless steel fingerboard and an amazing tone:

 

 

 

So, I own 3 totally different "one bass" for different purposes and reasons.

 

Now, the quest is over.

Absolutely stunning looking basses!! 

[bassbiscuits]

I’ve never chased “the one” but my bass for life has just become that over time. 
 

I didn’t set out to crown it the ultimate bass - seems a bit unrealistic. Mine has just become my companion over years and years of playing. 
 

Im sure there are many others I’ve yet to discover. 
 

Bit like being married in that sense!

[White Cloud]

On 04/09/2023 at 12:13, TheJonJonJonJon said:

So I’m sure many of you are in the same boat of trying to find that elusive “the one” bass or trying to chase a tone in your head that may or may not exist.

 

I am a self confessed bass junkie and it doesn’t matter if I buy a £400 bass or a £4000 bass, I’ve never managed to really bond with any to the degree that I could say ‘OK, this bass is a keeper’ or think ‘I definitely don’t ever want to part with this bass’. 

The only bass I can think of that came close was an early 2000s Warwick Standard Corvette 5 I had which was my first high end bass and took me through music college and many gigs and foolishly, I sold it some years back. Thinking back on it, I feel like that bass was ‘the one’ but, I didn’t realise it at the time. Hindsight eh?! 

 

So does “the one” bass actually exist and who here can claim they have actually found that bass?

It doesn't exist. It's an idea not a reality.

[TheJonJonJonJon]

15 minutes ago, White Cloud said:

It doesn't exist. It's an idea not a reality.

Some here would argue that isn’t strictly true but, I think there is some truth to this.

[White Cloud]

14 minutes ago, TheJonJonJonJon said:

Some here would argue that isn’t strictly true but, I think there is some truth to this.

Well, it's just my own thoughts but I could be wrong 

[Hellzero]

48 minutes ago, White Cloud said:

It doesn't exist. It's an idea not a reality.

If he was still alive, it would have been interesting to ask James Jameson who died just after his Funk Machine was stolen what were his thoughts about this...

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, bassbiscuits said:

I’ve never chased “the one” but my bass for life has just become that over time. 
 

I didn’t set out to crown it the ultimate bass - seems a bit unrealistic. Mine has just become my companion over years and years of playing. 
 

Im sure there are many others I’ve yet to discover. 
 

Bit like being married in that sense!

What bass is it ? If you already mentioned it earlier my apologies.

Dave

[Rayman]

Closest I came to the one, was a Kinal MK5 and an Overwater Progress 5 and a ‘78 Precision and a Shuker 6 and a …… 

 

You get the point, they all came, they all went. I realised a long time ago that I love buying, selling, trading, and the fun is in that process rather than a need to own any of them long term. That, and financial pressure that forced me to let some of the basses go that I wish I hadn’t.

 

I’ve never been a wealthy man, so buying anything is a big deal, even a modest bass. Some of those modest basses have been some of the best I’ve had. Price and origin are not important when the instrument is just brilliant regardless.

 

Anyway, the fun goes on….. it’s the journey not the destination.

[dmccombe7]

4 minutes ago, Rayman said:

Closest I came to the one, was a Kinal MK5 and an Overwater Progress 5 and a ‘78 Precision and a Shuker 6 and a …… 

 

You get the point, they all came, they all went. I realised a long time ago that I love buying, selling, trading, and the fun is in that process rather than a need to own any of them long term. That, and financial pressure that forced me to let some of the basses go that I wish I hadn’t.

 

I’ve never been a wealthy man, so buying anything is a big deal, even a modest bass. Some of those modest basses have been some of the best I’ve had. Price and origin are not important when the instrument is just brilliant regardless.

 

Anyway, the fun goes on….. it’s the journey not the destination.

I hate buying and selling basses but i agree 100% that bass price doesn't guarantee a great bass. My Geddy Jazz CIJ i got new in a sale at £625 around 2010 and its just a fantastic bass. Compared to the pricier USA Jazz basses i've owned or tried over the years it just knocks them out the park IMO.

Dave

 

[ricksterphil]

My current go to, which is a Mike Lull P4.

Everything is right including the weight, the neck dimensions and how it feels around my not inconsiderable paunch.

 

My cold dead hands bass

[PaulThePlug]

Gonna swap the Maida Vale for the Tonerider in my P Bitsa...

[dmccombe7]

I now have a hankering for an Xotic J bass that's in Bass Direct. Just love the looks of them and the in built EQ looks very interesting. Any reviews i've seen have been good. It could be "the one". 

Wish i hadn't followed this thread now. 

Dave