How much has a new bass ever helped your playing?

How much has a new bass ever helped your playing?

  • It helped me play exactly what I imagined.

    Votes: 33 13.0%

  • It simply allowed me to play more cleanly.

    Votes: 67 26.5%

  • It gave me options I did not have before.

    Votes: 120 47.4%

  • It did not make much difference.

    Votes: 73 28.9%

  • I realized that like what I already had better.

    Votes: 21 8.3%
  • Total voters
    253
Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
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Metro St. Louis
#1
I still have GAS but not liked I used to. Now, when I get interested in something new and shiny, I find myself thinking what exactly would this bass give me that current basses don’t have that I would actually use?

Looking back, I can think of three times when a bass really made a difference. I bought a Rickenbacker 4000 the year I finished high school. It was the first bass I ever owned that that could take a good set up and the first I could really slap and get harmonics on. My second five was a Guild Pilot, and it was the first five I could actually play comfortably. Finally, my old Pedulla Pentabuzz was the first fretless I really got decent on. Looking back, the Pedulla was nice, but the difference maker was the fact that had made up my mind to get used to the fretless.
 
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#4
The bass that had the most impact was my first DB (still have it) I got 43 years ago for $300. Having to learn different fingerings than what I had been using on BG really opened up the fingerboard for me as well as an appreciation for economy of motion.

The other was my Steinberger L2. It was totally unforgiving of my sloppy technique in both hands, forcing me to shed more.
 
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#5
Kindness said:
New basses inspire me to pick them up and play them more, which is really the whole point of this hobby for me.
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Very similar to me. Besides 4 vs 5 string I cannot think of anything which I cannot play on any of my current or past instruments. If I can't play its not because of the bass.

That being said there are certainly instruments that feel better than others.
 
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#8
Going from a 4 to a 5 or first time with a fretless made differences in how I play. But otherwise a "nicer" bass never changed how I play or sound that much. Maybe rounds vs flats influences how I play more than the bass. Just me?
 
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#9
Dr. Cheese said:
I still have GAS but not liked I used to. Now, when I get interested in something new and shiny, I find myself thinking what exactly would this bass give me that current basses don’t have that I would actually use?

Looking back, I can think of three times when a bass really made a difference. I bought a Rickenbacker 4000 the year I finished high school. It was the first bass I ever owned that that could take a good set up and the first I could really slap and get harmonics on. My second five was a Guild Pilot, and it was the first five I could actually play comfortably. Finally, my old Pedulla Pentabuzz was the first fretless I really got decent on. Looking back, the Pedulla was nice, but the difference maker was the fact that had made up my mind to get used to the fretless.
Click to expand...
I have never found one that plays itself so, I am stuck with my playing regardless of what I use :banghead:...
 
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#10
I’m fortunate enough to be able to say that all of my basses throughout the years have been good enough that they didn’t negatively affect my playing. Main thing I’ve gotten from owning multiple basses is more options, which is definitely fun if you enjoy tinkering and tone chasing (I do, to an extent).

I currently lack a five string bass, so that’ll be my next purchase once I find the right instrument. I don’t expect that it’ll make me a better player, but the extra string definitely simplifies some stuff and adds even more options. Until I find the right bass, I think I might invest in some lessons, which I’ve heard is usually a better investment anyway. :thumbsup:
 
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#15
When I was still building up my stable a few years ago, each new bass offered something very different (extra string or two, drastically scale scale length, acoustic vs. electric). I'm now at the point where I should be content with the options available, and any further GASing is harder to justify. Time will tell how long this will last.
 
#16
My main for more than a decade was a G&L El Toro with a failing neck (kink/ski jump). When I finally replaced it with a Yamaha TRB-6, I could easily play things on the Yamaha that had become very difficult to execute on the G&L. Band used to joke that the action was so high on that El Toro that it needed aircraft warning lights.

If the new axe is a good one, I think there's always a bit more motivation to pick it up and play it. Kinda like when a golfer gets a new putter and their putting improves, at least for a bit, because they're practicing a lot more to get used to it.
 
#18
Dr. Cheese said:
I still have GAS but not liked I used to. Now, when I get interested in something new and shiny, I find myself thinking what exactly would this bass give me that current basses don’t have that I would actually use?

Looking back, I can think of three times when a bass really made a difference. I bought a Rickenbacker 4000 the year I finished high school. It was the first bass I ever owned that that could take a good set up and the first I could really slap and get harmonics on. My second five was a Guild Pilot, and it was the first five I could actually play comfortably. Finally, my old Pedulla Pentabuzz was the first fretless I really got decent on. Looking back, the Pedulla was nice, but the difference maker was the fact that had made up my mind to get used to the fretless.
Click to expand...
Likewise (and I still miss my Rickenbacker).

Fretless is something you simply have to decide you're going to master, and commit to getting there. I must credit Michael Manring for encouraging me to keep at it -- it really can take six months just to get 'adequate' control ... but once you have it, there's nothing else like it.

Nowadays, the only thing that motivates further purchase is getting some sound I otherwise can't -- and simply. The Casady bass has lately looked attractive for that reason: one three-way switch, and that's it. But then, three sounds is likely all I want; otherwise I'd use a synthesizer ... and I have a dozen of those ;)
 
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#19
IME the point of better gear should be to minimize resistance between concept & execution.
There's expanding your palette (acquiring a fretless / 5-string / active / 2-pickup – something you didn't have previously) and there's refining what you already have. (I've owned a 5-string of some sort since about 1991 but it's taken me many attempts over many years to get something that feels, plays, responds and mixes in ways that fully satisfy me.)
 
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#20
Ever? When I moved up to a Carvin from my old abused Peavey, it was great. I could play with half the effort, no more buzzing notes. And it had different pickup options….then I learned to set up a bass, and all that could be replicated (except the pickup differences).

So, anymore, it’s pretty much just tonal differences, but I wouldn’t say it makes me play any better. But when I was a kid? Sure did.
 
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