3V17C Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Is it just me or can anyone else never decide which bass to use?! I've got a few different basses (2x Yamahas, Fender P, Fender J and a Zon Sonus) and whenever it comes to gig time I can never decide which bass i want to use!! Aaaaargh! I'm sure many of you have been in a similar position but its really annoying! The idea of me buying the Zon was to get a good all rounder bass and its so easy to play/sounds great and ticks most of the boxes but despite having used it exclusively in my new band, last rehearsal I took my P bass along and that just seemed to fit better sound wise! But then I like the look/sound of my relic Jazz bass too! and whenever I have a gig i can never decide which basses to take!!! i guess it doesn't really matter and no one in the audience probably even notices but it bugs me! Wish i could just make my mind up and stick to one bass + one spare and thats it!! bah. peace c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 In this case I would advise selling the P and just keeping the Zon and the jazz. Let the Jazz cover the old skool sounds and then just do everything with the Zon anyway, because they sound so amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Really you answered your own question - "I took my P bass along and that just seemed to fit better sound wise! ". I had a similar problem. I never wanted a P, but one came up at a price I couldn't miss and, from the moment it came out of the case at the first practice it felt and sounded right in the band. It was a wrench, admitting that the boring old P worked better than basses that appealed far more to my image, but the sooner you admit it, the sooner the pain will go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colledge Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 i don't like you. for the last 4 years i've had A bass. humph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 [quote name='Johnston' post='865409' date='Jun 12 2010, 05:59 PM']Bad mood or very good mood the T-bird gets pulled out and cranked up.[/quote] Ha Ha Ha - I was in Foul mood before the acoustic blues jam night on Tuesday, so instead of my tanglewood acoustic bass, fretless precision, NS-upright or an ashbory, I took my thunderbird and a very long strap. Cheered me up a bit. My default bass for most gigs though is the mustang or the tanglewood for acoustic gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I have 3 very different sounding basses 1 - a geddy lee with roundwounds 2- a 30 yr old Schecter with a P and a Jazz pickup a mute and tapewound strings and 3 - an old Squire Jazz, also with roundwounds. The reason I have them is because they all sound so very different from one another. So if it's an acoustic blues type gig I'll take the Schecter, if it's a rock gig I'll take the Geddy and if it's something that needs a bit of everything I'll take the Squire. My next purchase may be a Stingray, as one thing I don't have is an active bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Can totally identify with this predicament, which is why I've managed to get my collection down from twelve to four basses over the last six months. The aim at the moment is to get eventually down to just two P-Basses ('62 RI & tokai) - one with flats & one with rounds. Keeping my Ibanez Roadstar for sentimental reasons. Must be an opposite to GAS(?) Realised that's all I need, & had enough of wasting time prior to gigs trying to decide which bass to take.... bit like my Mrs. spending ages deciding on what pair of shoes to wear on a night out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I get over this predicament by trying to only own 1 bass at a time. That way I don't have to think about what bass to take as iI only have one. I've never been one for having a bass for this and a bass for that. Personally, if I can't do everything on the bass I have strapped on at that particular moment in time then the bass isn't good enough. Tonight I played an entire wedding gig with an Epiphone EB-3. Everything from Journey, The Killers, Queen, The Jam and the Clash to Nat King Cole and the accordianists we backed during the night and it was able to sound right in every song Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I've been using my Ibanez 6er for 10 years, never felt the need to have different basses for different jobs. Recently got a Warwick because I fancied a change and used the fact I'm playing slightly less riff based stuff (so I can be faster on arpeggios) to get a 5er. The Warwick into a Gallien is a very distinctive sound so I'm using that as an excuse to get a Jazz for the bits of session work I'm getting for a more classic sounding set up. So I'll be using my Warwick for "my" band and my Jazz for everything else basically. They might get swapped about if I want to use drop D in my band or I need a 5 string for some work but there's always exceptions to the rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodaxe Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 [quote name='Colledge' post='865610' date='Jun 12 2010, 11:09 PM']i don't like you. for the last 4 years i've had A bass. humph[/quote] Just you wait... You've only been here six weeks. I had ONE bass from 1982 until I joined back in 2005, that's TWENTY-THREE years! 2005 to 2007? GAS! - I've got six of the buggers now & it's only unemployment that's preventing that figure from going up Trust me, a year or so down the line & you'll be up to your eyeballs in gear. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Just the one bass, which I've had for 34 years. That's going to change soon though, since coming on here and getting the GAS!! Going to try and keep it to one bass and one backup, though. Hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 At home I go between two J5 basses as these are what I take to gigs. The 3rd 5st doesn't get used now, and I am trying to come round to the idea of selling it...from a sentimental POV and I am sure this will happen, just that I don't need to do it now...and the market isn't so good anyway, IMV Basses need to be used, ... not point having them lying around as ornaments. Never understood that. What is all that about..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah5string Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 This is why I have (currently) 1 bass. My 5er. However I *like* to have one for every job, so am about to get a 4 string fretless, and in the future am planning on getting a 4 string for slap, as although I can (kind of lol) slap on my 5, the string spacing is very narrow so it's hard going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3V17C Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 [quote name='spinynorman' post='865606' date='Jun 12 2010, 11:06 PM']Really you answered your own question - "I took my P bass along and that just seemed to fit better sound wise! ". I had a similar problem. I never wanted a P, but one came up at a price I couldn't miss and, from the moment it came out of the case at the first practice it felt and sounded right in the band. It was a wrench, admitting that the boring old P worked better than basses that appealed far more to my image, but the sooner you admit it, the sooner the pain will go away. [/quote] hmm yeah maybe so! used the P bass at rehearsal again tonight.. and again... soundwise it was bang on... only thing is, compared to the Zon its nowhere near as nice to play!!! Aaaargh!! Got a few gigs away this week so think I'll take both and decide on the night. The other thing, which is stupid really, is that I prefer using the Zon because its much more unusual! The gigs we're doing are heavily populated by fellow musos and i always like to stand out a bit and Precisions are ten a penny!!! haha oh well. peace c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 [quote name='3V17C' post='866442' date='Jun 13 2010, 09:14 PM']hmm yeah maybe so! used the P bass at rehearsal again tonight.. and again... soundwise it was bang on... only thing is, compared to the Zon its nowhere near as nice to play!!! Aaaargh!! Got a few gigs away this week so think I'll take both and decide on the night. The other thing, which is stupid really, is that I prefer using the Zon because its much more unusual! The gigs we're doing are heavily populated by fellow musos and i always like to stand out a bit and Precisions are ten a penny!!! haha oh well. peace c[/quote] I find my P very easy to play, but then I've never had anything like a Zon, so I don't know what I'm missing. I also don't care about being noticed - well, at least, not for what sort of bass I play. I wouldn't mind being noticed for being a good player, but that's unlikely to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 [quote name='Delberthot' post='865680' date='Jun 13 2010, 03:09 AM']I get over this predicament by trying to only own 1 bass at a time. That way I don't have to think about what bass to take as iI only have one. I've never been one for having a bass for this and a bass for that. Personally, if I can't do everything on the bass I have strapped on at that particular moment in time then the bass isn't good enough.[/quote] Thats my thoughts as well. I only ever gig one bass, and its always the one ive just brought. If iv'e gone out and brought a new bass then it becomes my main (and only gigging ) Bass. Until the next one comes along. I guess part of this is to do with not driving so i have to get on a tube, so taking 2 or three basses is out of the question. We also dont really use set lists so when the singer calls out the next song i need to be ready. Too many time my guitarist has been caught out without a guitar strapped on (he HAS to take 3 to each gig). Ive not come a cross a bass that i cant play every song on. Sure, some might fit the music better than others but im sure the audience dont care and neither do i. As long as i like the tone i have and the bass plays well then thats the ideal bass for all our songs. Any bass i buy is purely because i fancy a change or im bored, never because i have to have it for a song etc. I can understand others doing it though, and certainly in a recording studio so im not putting anyone down, its just not for me. Saying all that, i do have the OP's dilemma when it comes to taking cameras/lenses out. But thats another story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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