Too many basses?

[Denis]

FALL!  Lucky stiff!  It's not 100 degrees here anymore but it's still hot and humid   We'll get our first tease of fall here in a couple of weeks

Although the evenings and mornings are pretty nice right now, it's still abnormally warm here; today it's supposed to be in the low 90s and that's not right. It's not humid and hasn't been and I don't think we've seen rain for a month. September is supposed to be one of our wettest months and we've gotten zip.

However, I digress. I might have one too many basses. Do I really NEED two Korean Epi T-birds?

[the mojo hobo]

Do I really NEED two Korean Epi T-birds?

Of course you do. One strung with flats, the other with rounds. 

[Denis]

Of course you do. One strung with flats, the other with rounds. 

Oddly enough, that's how they ARE strung!

[Pekka]

Too many? I don't think so and I have a list of additions an' it isn't a short one...

[chromium]

Nice basses, Pekka!  What is this one that looks sorta like a Epi Genesis or Pearl Export?  

Love the Aria too- great use of that aircraft-landing-strip of a headstock  (I have a old SB-Elite II)

[Pekka]

Nice basses, Pekka!  What is this one that looks sorta like a Epi Genesis or Pearl Export?  

Love the Aria too- great use of that aircraft-landing-strip of a headstock   (I have a old SB-Elite II)

Hmmm, you mean the one between the Ric and the '76? It's a 32" Alembic -style bass built by Marko Ursin, the same guy who built the non-reverse copy on the floor.

The Aria SB was a 9-string before (eeE-aaA-ddD) but now has six strings tuned E-E. Like a Fender Bass IV but with a 34" scale.

EDIT: Here are the details of the whole lot:

The wall, from left:
1980's Aria SB 700 (heavily modded, see above)
2004 Waterstone TP-2 12-string (wired in stereo and with a Mikkihouse Charlie Christian bridge pickup)
1991 Rickenbacker 4003
2008 Marko Ursin MPUlembic
1976 Gibson Thunderbird
2008 Danelectro Longhorn
2006 Ville Tyyster custom Jazz Bass
1983 Squier Jazz Bass

The floor, from left
2001 Hamer CH-12 neck with a Marko Ursin built body (wired in stereo)
2004 Ville Tyyster Telecaster Bass
2010 Marko Ursin non-reverse Thunderbird (Mikkihouse pickups)
1980's Fender Jazz Bass Special fretless

The front
2009 Hagström HB-8 8-string

[TBird1958]

^^^^^^^^^^


Beautiful Basses and Guitars!

Hard for me to imagine too many of such lovely instruments 

[chromium]

Hmmm, you mean the one between the Ric and the '76? It's a 32" Alembic -style bass built by Marko Ursin, the same guy who built the non-reverse copy on the floor.

Yes -that's the one.  Cool!  What sort of pickups are in it?

I have one of Marko's brass harp bridges w/sustain block on my Guild, and had another 2-pc one that I ended up selling (plans for another Guild project faded...).  His work is very meticulous.

[Pekka]

Yes -that's the one.  Cool!  What sort of pickups are in it?

It has Schaller Bassbuckers with 3-way switches (series/single/parallel). I have one extra Schaller in the drawer which I'm planning to install in the middle position. It has also LEDs at the neck.

I have one of Marko's brass harp bridges w/sustain block on my Guild, and had another 2-pc one that I ended up selling (plans for another Guild project faded...).  His work is very meticulous.

Yeah, a great guy. I'm planning to do something with the Hagström at the front. A new body (been thinking about something in the lines of Guild Jetstar or Hagström Swede) and an 8 -saddle bridge and it won't be hard to guess who's services I'll be asking for...

[Muzikman7]

I have many but they all get regular use. If you think about it collecting basses is no worse than any other hobby and with instruments if you've chosen wisely you have a valuable collection worth a lot of money.

[Basshappi]

Some amazing collections here.

MIne are as follows;
'75 MIA Fender Precision, Heavily modified - This was my first lefthanded instrument and is the bass that all others are judged by. I have had this bass almost my entire bassplaying "career" and it is my most treasured material possesion.
'83 Yamaha BB400 -bought it new as a replacement after my '75 Precision was stolen (amazing story that). Great bass.
Mid-80's MIJ Fender Jazz -My first Jazz and the only bass that truly rivals my '75.
2000s MIM Jazz
SX Jazz
Squier P-Bass Special, fretless
Warmoth PJ
Schecter Elite 5
Warmoth Rockbass Corvette
Woodshop Bass - Built it in high school woodshop. Short scale based on an Alembic Model I

Peavey MIA Foundation project bass
Warmoth Jazz 5 project bass

There are many others I'd like to have in my collection but in most cases they will have to be custom builds in order to have lefties so that will prevent me from ever approaching Uwe territory.

[Highlander]

... after my '75 Precision was stolen (amazing story that)...

Well...?

Nice collections...

[Basshappi]

My '75 Precision was my first lefthanded bass, I traded a Gibson RD Artist (my first pro quality bass) straight across for it. For the next several years it was my only bass. I did build a bass in high school woodshop but I didn't use it as a serious gigging instrument. I can't even begin to guess how many hours that Fender has spent in my hands, how many rehearsals and gigs.

Then one night while I was at the movies with my girlfriend, some @!#&^$*&^&# broke into my apartment and stole my Precision and my Fender Bassman 100 amp (still miss that amp). To say I was devastated would be a vast understatement. I searched every pawnshop and music store in town and called every one in the surrounding towns large enough to have any and left desciption and serial number, I even wrote a letter to Guitar Player magazine (which they printed in their Andre Segovia issue, still have that too )....no luck, it was gone.

This was in 1982 and I was living in Lubbock Texas at the time. Lefthanded instruments were nonexistant, the reason the music store had traded for my RD was they knew they would never be able to move a lefty bass, there was only one other lefthanded bassplayer in the whole county and he had traded the Precision against the purchase of a bass from some new-fangled company called G&L. I could not afford to order a new Fender or any other professional grade instrument for that matter and I was out an amp as well so my vaunted career as a musician was at a standstill. Fortunately I had my "woodshop bass" so I did some work on it and go it into decent playing condition and through the help of friends was able to borrow amps as needed to gig.

I saved money and bought a new Peavey MkIV amp, which I still use to this day, and I still had my Acoustic 2x15 cab so I was back in business. It was a few months later that one of the guys from the local music store called to tell me he had been in Dallas the weekend before and in one of the music stores he saw a lefthanded Yamaha bass. I called and they said they still had it (imagine that!) and so I drove to Dallas, 400 miles east, walked in and low and behold they TWO Yamaha BB400s! I played them both, bought the one that sounded the best and drove back home. I still have the Yamaha.

Six months later I moved to Tucson AZ. One day, about a year after I had relocated, I walked into a store called Rainbow Guitars which is still a fixture in the local scene here, to hang out and scope out all the cool gear (we all know how that is right ). At the time their store was very long and narrow and all the guitars and basses were hung on one wall running the length of the store. I happened to notice the reverse headstock of a lefty Fender bass all the way at the back and walked back to check it out. Lefthanded instruments were still custom ordered at this time, stores didn't stock them. As I walked up to it I suddenly realized that it was MY PRECISION!!

I grabbed it off of the rack and the sales dude came over to give me a hard time because you were supposed to ask permission before handling any of the instruments. He took a step back when I turned around, I can only imagine the look on my face at the time because I was fully prepared to fight my way out of that store with my bass if need be! I told him, "This is MY bass, it was stolen from me over a year ago in Lubbock Texas and I can prove it"!! In fact I still had a piece of paper in my wallet that had the serial number written on it. He took the bass up to the counter and called over the manager who said that the police had to be notified of stolen property and I stayed there as he made the call. He told me that the bass was there on consignment and had been sitting in the back room for two weeks until they had room for it on the rack. I went home to get a copy of my original police report.

My girlfriend (I still have her too ) thought I had gone completely nuts when I came crashing into the house screaming "It's here, I found it!!" over and over while tearing apart the place looking for the report and the copy of Guitar Player that had printed my letter. In the end I had to call the Lubbock PD to get another report faxed to the PD here but I took the magazine with me back to the store.

When I got back the police had already come and taken the bass. I showed everyone the letter in the magazine and they were as blown away as I was. I talked to the guy who had it there on consignment and he told me that he had bought it in a pawnshop in Oklahoma for $200 less than a year before. I was a typical poor musician, I offered to pay him what little I could afford but he refused and said that it was rightfully mine and that he was glad that I had gotten it back.

I went to the police department a few days later, signed some papers and took it home. I continued to gig with it for many more years until I hung up my spurs and stopped playing in bands. Several years later when I started gigging again I retired the Precision because I did not want to risk having her damaged or stolen. Now I use her to practice, at rehearsals or in the studio and I have been toying with the idea of taking her to gigs that I feel are secure enough. She is the best bass I have ever played and as much as I like my other basses, everytime I pick up my Precision it's like coming home.

Well, that "Dan's Incredible Bass Story" I hope it didn't bore you to tears.

[Hornisse]

That is a wonderful story!  Incredible how you happened to be at the right place and right time to get your bass back.

[Pilgrim]

I have three basses with stories.

My '63 P was bought by my parents in 1967, along with a '67 Bassman head (which I still have) and a 2x15 cab (which I sold a couple of years ago as I had no use for it.)  It was originally Olympia White (I think), but it was rather chipped up so I had it repainted a Ford Metallic Gold color in 1972.  About that same time, the truss rod in the neck broke on Saturday, and I had the neck replaced because I had a gig to play on Monday.  I played the bass through 1973 when I graduated from WSU and went out into the world of work.  My younger brother played it a few times, but it sat in its blonde tolex case in an unused bedroom until 1996, when my parents moved into a smaller house.  That was take it or lose it time - so I took it.  Unfortunately I had no way to move or store my King white plywood upright bass, so I had to sell it.

In any case, that bass was exactly as I had put it in the case 23 years before - and it re-awakened my interest in playing.

The other bass with a story is my '64 EB-0, which belonged to the husband of a good friend and co-worker.  One day she mentioned that he had an old Gibson which had been sitting in its case for 20 years or so, as their son never got around to playing it.  She offered to bring it to me and let me play around with it.  Of course I said yes, and told her that I belonged to a forum which had some very good Gibson types on it, so I could get her a valuation on it.  After a few days of careful play (the headstock had the typical partial break) I told her the accurate value I learned from this forum.  Her husband let me know that he appreciated my research, and then made me an offer which was well under half the value I had estimated for it.  I accepted, did the repairs and now it's a solid player.

There's one more - my early 70's Univox Sunburst 335-copy came from Laramie, WY about 80 miles from here.  I spotted it on Ebay, but the auction included a Bassman head and 2x15 cab...both of which I already had.  The price was high, so I emailed the seller and let him know that I'd be interested in the bass, but not the amp or cab.  The auction got no bids, so he contacted me afterwards and it turned out he worked construction and was coming to Fort Collins the next week!  He brought the bass and I brought cash - and I got the original factory case.  It had belonged to his father in law who passed away - evidently he only used it for practice at home, because there's not a nick or scratch on it.

Additional basses:

Applause AE-40 Acoustic-Electric, short scale, nice for practice.
Aria Diamond Mosrite/Hi-Flyer copy (about to go on Ebay)
Dano '63 Reissue in surf green (about to go on Ebay)
Dearmond Jet Star, Moon Blue
Epiphone Jack Casady Goldtop bass
Fender MIM Jazz, Midnight Blue
Gretsch 2202 Electromatic Jr Jet
(Lotus?) Defretted/Fretless P/J bass, my own red/black 'burst finish
Rogue VB-100 "Beatle Bass"
Schecter Diamond C4XXX
Squier Bronco with Gretsch/TV Jones pickup

There's a lot of variety in there, but some of those are basses I neglect, which is why I'm selling a couple.