How many basses

[JoashStilltheman]

So how many bass guitars do ya'll have? and what type? I have a 5 string..should I buy a 4 and 6?   

[malthumb]

So how many bass guitars do ya'll have?

4, with a 5th on the way

and what type?

In order of use......

Alembic 5 string
Marchlewski 5 string
Fender Marcus Miller 4 string
Alembic 4 string

waiting ever so patiently for a Roscoe LG-3005 fretless 5 string

I have a 5 string..should I buy a 4 and 6?   

Depends on your rationale for wanting / needing a 4 or 6 string.  I bought the Fender Marcus Miller primarily because it was on sale at a ridiculously low price and my intent was to turn it around quickly and pocket the profit.  I'm keeping it because it plays nicer than I expected and because I've started doing a bunch of old school / Motown gigs.  Anything I can play on a 4 I can play on a 5, so I don't really need a 4 at all, but sometimes not having the extra string when I know I don't need it frees me up a bit and let's me go after the neck more aggressively without worrying about having to mute the B string.  Other than that, it's a question of which bass do I feel like playing today.

As for a 6 string, I used to own two, one fretless, one fretted.  They were both really nice and sometimes I regret ever selling them.  I bought them thinking I'd work on some Wayman Tisdale stuff and some Gerald Veasley stuff, that includes a lot of soloing in the higher registers.  I never found the time to do it justice.  So the only real benefit I got from having the 6 stringers was I could go 3 octaves across the fingerboard without moving up and down the neck a lot.  There's a lot to be said for that, but given that I was in the mode of reducing my bass count, my 6ers were far more expendable than my 5ers, otherwise I'd still have them.

Peace,

James

[DWBass]

I had 11 at one time! I had to thin out the herd a bit so now I'm down to 4. 2 5 strings and 2 4 strings.

[MikeGee]

I have 3 right now..........

$ string is Ibanez srx300 my 5 string is an Ibanez sr305 and my fret less 4 is a Fender Jazz fret less.

I am working on one more and this is it.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/product?full_sku=519638%2e215

I want a cheap back up that is solid. It might say Squier but it feels and sounds like a Fender.

[gambit23435]

4 right now. i just sold one 5 string.
Current count is 3 5 strings and one 6 string.
The two that get the most use are DP Custom 5 string and the Schecter Stiletto studio 6 string.
 

[dhagler]

I currently own a Silvertone 4-string Precision (someone was kind enough to install an EMG Pickup in it) and an SX 5-string Jazz.  On the way is a Fender MIM 4-string Fretless Jazz, which will eventually replace the Silvertone (the wife won't let me keep more than two basses at a time!  )

[Andrzej]

Fender Custom Dinky J-Bass 4-string
Warwick Thumb 4-string
Warwick Custom Dolphin SN 5-string
Warwick Custom Dolphin SN Fretless 5-string
Warwick Custom Streamer Stage I 5-string
Pendragon 5-string (still being constructed)

The Streamer will be going to a new home soon as I am blessing my church's new bass player.  Providing my Pendragon bass ticks all my boxes (when it is eventually built!) I will probably sell off my Warwicks one by one and replace them with more Pendragon basses.  We are still working through the design and electronics package at the moment, so it's not quite right yet.  We originally put Andy's (company owner and luthier) handmade soapbars in it, but the tone was quite brittle, so we are going to install a very tasty 18v EMG electronics package into it instead.  The bass looks sick!  I have to remember to take a picture of it the next time I am at the workshop to show you what the bass looks like.  If you think Warwicks are strange looking...you ain't seen nothing yet!

It's up to you if you want to buy a 4 or 6 string bass aswell as your 5-string.  I like to have a 4 and 5-string bass just to swap around when I get bored.  My style or technique doesn't dramatically change depending on how many strings I have under my fingers.

[LO_RIDER]

I have  4:

JB Player acoustic 4 string
Lakland Skyline 44-01
Lakland Skyline 55-01
Lakland Darryl Jones Skyline 5 string bass

[sixstringpoet]

i have 6

ken smith 6
warwick 6 wideneck
ken bebensee custom 5
toby pro 6 (i hate it)
squier bronco bass 4 (for my son)
lado custom 6

if you are comfortable with a 6 string then go for it.

[JoashStilltheman]

So where do ya'll get the money to buy all those guitars. I guarantee if u were playing keyboards u wouldn't afford to buy so many. Yamaha Motif Es starts at $1,700. U can't have too many of those.

[Andrzej]

So where do ya'll get the money to buy all those guitars. I guarantee if u were playing keyboards u wouldn't afford to buy so many. Yamaha Motif Es starts at $1,700. U can't have too many of those.

I was blessed a few years back to be sponsored by Warwick and they built my basses for me and provided my backline for a very good price.  I sold whatever equipment I had at the time to finance a lot of it plus I had some cash to burn when my band got signed back then.  I am no longer sponsored by them, but I still have a good relationship with the company.  I am fortunate to pick up a new endorsement with Pendragon Custom Guitars.  They are a new company here in the UK and I am really happy and flattered to be their main endorsee.  They primarily build custom made acoustic guitars, but they are branching out into building electric guitars and basses.  There are also plans to make upright basses too.  Andy, the company owner, is an incredible luthier and his work makes your jaw drop!  He wanted me to help him with the bass design development as this is a new area for him (not that it shows!).  My first bass will be FOC as I am helping with the design development, but I may have to pay for the basses that follow, but at a good price again.  How much they will cost is still a mystery.  Put it this way, the base cost of his acoustic guitars start from £3000 ($6000)!!!  Thats before the extra cost that you add to change what you want with it!

[jeremyr]

So where do ya'll get the money to buy all those guitars. I guarantee if u were playing keyboards u wouldn't afford to buy so many. Yamaha Motif Es starts at $1,700. U can't have too many of those.

A new Ken Smith 6'er starts out around $5,000.

Roscoes new around around $2,500 - $3,000

MTD Americans are $2,500 +

Keyboards are CHEAPER then a quality built bass.

[BigFoot_BigThumb]

A new Ken Smith 6'er starts out around $5,000.

Roscoes new around around $2,500 - $3,000

MTD Americans are $2,500 +

Keyboards are CHEAPER then a quality built bass.

I've seen custom basses with a sticker price of $7,000 and up.  My dream bass(a Conklin custom 5-string) is gonna run me at least $5500.  Gotta save up for that.  The keyboard(A Roland Fantom X7) I'm planning on buying is gonna be $2500.

When all is said and done I plan to have about 5 basses total.  They all will have a specific purpose.  Right now I just have my Yamaha TRB 5-string, and a Fender Jazz copy with electronics that are absolutely shot.  I may rebuild it or just frame it like it was some art or something and buy a new one.

[malthumb]

I've seen custom basses with a sticker price of $7,000 and up.  My dream bass(a Conklin custom 5-string) is gonna run me at least $5500.  ...

I could shock you by telling you what these cost.  The list price on the 5 string was 5 digits back in 2000.  Today it would be obscene.  Rest assured I paid nowhere near list, but still more than a sane person ought.  Oddly enough, I got both of them within days of each other in June 2000.  It was a very good bonus year, is all I gotta say.



Peace,

James

[JoashStilltheman]

I could shock you by telling you what these cost.  The list price on the 5 string was 5 digits back in 2000.  Today it would be obscene.  Rest assured I paid nowhere near list, but still more than a sane person ought.  Oddly enough, I got both of them within days of each other in June 2000.  It was a very good bonus year, is all I gotta say.



Peace,

James

Those u wanna keep in a glass cabinet with air conditioning

[JoashStilltheman]

A new Ken Smith 6'er starts out around $5,000.

Roscoes new around around $2,500 - $3,000

MTD Americans are $2,500 +

Keyboards are CHEAPER then a quality built bass.

I see...true dat!!

[JoashStilltheman]

I was blessed a few years back to be sponsored by Warwick and they built my basses for me and provided my backline for a very good price.  I sold whatever equipment I had at the time to finance a lot of it plus I had some cash to burn when my band got signed back then.  I am no longer sponsored by them, but I still have a good relationship with the company.  I am fortunate to pick up a new endorsement with Pendragon Custom Guitars.  They are a new company here in the UK and I am really happy and flattered to be their main endorsee.  They primarily build custom made acoustic guitars, but they are branching out into building electric guitars and basses.  There are also plans to make upright basses too.  Andy, the company owner, is an incredible luthier and his work makes your jaw drop!  He wanted me to help him with the bass design development as this is a new area for him (not that it shows!).  My first bass will be FOC as I am helping with the design development, but I may have to pay for the basses that follow, but at a good price again.  How much they will cost is still a mystery.  Put it this way, the base cost of his acoustic guitars start from £3000 ($6000)!!!  Thats before the extra cost that you add to change what you want with it!

But why spend so much on a custom bass when half the people won't tell what kind of bass u got. Unless u wanna shape it into some symbol like Prince or Victor Wooten

[malthumb]

But why spend so much on a custom bass when half the people won't tell what kind of bass u got. Unless u wanna shape it into some symbol like Prince or Victor Wooten

It's not about impressing other people.  I've owned a number of basses over the years, and other than other bass players, most people couldn't tell one from another.  And they certainly couldn't care less.  The 5 string in the picture is the first custom I ever ordered.  I specced it to have all the features and characteristics I liked best about previous instruments I had owned.  Same thing with the 2nd custom I ordered.  My 3rd custom is still being built.  It's not as "specialized" as the other two.  It's more of a choice of materials and options as opposed to the level of detail that went into the other two.

One thing each of my customs have in common.....I ordered them with the intent of keeping them for as long as I can play them.  Then I'll pass them on to my kids.

Peace,

James

[BigFoot_BigThumb]

I could shock you by telling you what these cost.  The list price on the 5 string was 5 digits back in 2000.  Today it would be obscene.  Rest assured I paid nowhere near list, but still more than a sane person ought.  Oddly enough, I got both of them within days of each other in June 2000.  It was a very good bonus year, is all I gotta say.



Peace,

James

I know about those Alembics man.  I knew 2 cats that played them.  That's a serious bass.  You hardly see them these days.  I'm thinking about getting the Epic 5-string.

[gambit23435]

But why spend so much on a custom bass when half the people won't tell what kind of bass u got. Unless u wanna shape it into some symbol like Prince or Victor Wooten

For me, it was to build a bass that was comfortable in my hands and sounded good. I did not do it to impress anyone. I did it because most standard production basses just don't feel at home. Don't get me wrong they sounded excellent I tried the fenders, Musicmans, trabens, cort, warwicks, and spectors. But with long fingers like mine a skinny neck just did not feel comfortable at all. So I had one built. The price was very reasonable for a custom bass.