Started on a Yamaha TRBX 304. Now play a Yamaha BB734. I switch back and forth on a regular basis, they are both great instruments.
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The Spector is gorgeous!
Bass #1 Epiphone Toby Tobias 4
Bass #2 Spector Legend 4 Standard
Bass #3 Steinberger XT-2 (arrived yesterday)
The Epiphone will be listed for sale this coming weekend as I can’t really justify having three, and I don’t have the space.
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First bass is Squier P bass that I won signed by Steve Winwood. I didnt play it much. The next was a Fender Steve Harris, i got him to sign it, so i didnt play it either. Next is a Fender P bass player. Then a couple others i sold then a Bongo, then a D Roc and lastly G&L tribute short scale.
My first bass was a Glarry P bass. I ended up painting it, replacing the neck, and putting in Fender pickups. All of that was done before I knew anything about basses. I gave it to my nephew who has a band, or at least long term loaned it to him.
Second bass was a Sterling Ray 4HH. I bought it because it played super well. If felt really good in my hands.
Then I bought my Squier CV 70’s P bass. I love this bass. I put some Seymour Duncan quarter pounder pickups in it and a Fender Hi Mass bridge. Then a purple pick guard just to finish off the personalization. At the recommendation of one of my favorite bassists. Of all the basses I own this one is still my favorite.
Between the Sterling and the Squier my needs have been very well met, but that didn’t keep me from buying several more basses.
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Late to this party but I just picked up a MIM P Bass.
I’m considering some upgrades - what would you consider essential?
It has some neck dive when holding it horizontally while sitting. Not sure if this is a normal thing with Ps but I’m curious if a high mass bridge or lighter tuners might help.
Yours looks so nice btw!
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I’d consider stringing it with flats and maybe get some vintage pickups if you like that sound.
Do you use a strap while sitting? If not, this might be normal.
My first bass is a Squire Affinity Jazz and my second is a Schecter Riot 4 in aurora burst. I still have both, the Squire is a really nice looking one and plays pretty well. The Schecter just felt so nice and easy to play when I tried it in the shop, I couldn’t resist. It helps that it looks very nice as well. Pricing can be all over the place and some shops in Australia have the Schecter for from about $2,400 up to $2,700, but another shop had it for about $1,400 so jumped on it a while back.
I’d like to have a Yamaha and an Ibanez as well, but I play guitar mostly and have a few of those so not really any room for more bass.
I don’t use a strap while sitting… and I don’t have one to test while standing.
Although I’ve researched a ton about the kind of sound I’d like to achieve (always ends up pointing toward a p bass), I’m not familiar with the peculiarities of owning one lol.
So I’m wondering if I should upgrade the bridge to add more weight and sustain, or get lighter tuners?
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Easiest would probably be to get a strap to start out. You won’t be spending your time playing bass seated all the time 
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My first bass was a super cheap Ibanez I bought on Amazon for ~$200. Wasn’t even sure if I would enjoy the instrument when I bought it so I figured if I end up hating it then I’m not taking a hit financially. Ended up falling in love with it and was bass shopping last year but never made any decisions. My wife surprised me with my MIM Fender J for Christmas last year. I absolutely LOVE that thing, but it does suffer from some pretty serious neck dive. I’ve learned how to get around that and really really enjoy the tone and feel of it.
I don’t plan on buying another bass, but I’m sure everyone here with multiple basses has said that at some point 
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Planning ain’t got nothin’ to do with it. 
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Technically, I cheated because I learned on a bass that wasn’t my own. I borrowed the Squire Sonic with a Rumble 15 non-bass practice amp (didn’t know that at the time I picked it up) from a music storage room at our church. I didn’t steal it, of course, I let the proper people know I was going to give it a whirl. 
I played that bass maybe a couple of times over the last year because I had it in my office. It wasn’t until the worship team mentioned something about adding a bass guitar to the vocal team (we don’t have a full band) for some low-end since our sound system lacks subwoofers. So for the last several months, all I’ve played is the Squire Sonic, which wasn’t setup at all and had old, crusty round-wounds on it.
I switched out the strings for some La Bella nylons and it made a positive difference, but the action was still way too high and the Rumble 15, I finally discovered, is NOT a proper bass amp. Using that on stage as my monitor quickly turned out to be a no-go.
Anyway, just yesterday - Wednesday, January 4, 2024 - I picked up my “second” (but really first as far as ownership) bass: an Ibanez SR1350B. See, during all that time messing around on and playing the Squire Sonic, I researched and tested out other basses at local stores. Our local GC had a used SR1340B (2022 model, I believe), and I fell in love!
TL;DR: I spent 0$ on my first bass because it was a borrowed bass. But then I spent $1400 on my second/first bass, depending on how you look at it. LOL I figured, I’ll save the money from the first and just apply it to my second and save myself some money overall! That worked for me, but not everyone has such a story.
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Waiting to spend the big money on something after you have some miles under your shoes and know enough to be sure it is what you will like is a solid strategy
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my first bass was a cheap white Peavey foundation.
my second bass was a super rare blood red Ricky 4003 that I ordered from Rickenbacker and waited months for.
weird. and yes, not much has changed with me 
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How do you get on with the raised ‘front’ corner of the PUs? Is it a problem when anchoring the thumb?
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I actually don’t notice it much at all. There’s an indent in the side of the pickup where my thumb fits perfectly. With my thumb there, the majority of my plucking goes between the pickups.
The only thing that causes me trouble is that the Fluance pickups are really close to the strings, action-wise. If I get to playing to hard/quickly my plucking fingers start clicking against the pickup’s surface and it feels weird.
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Thanks. That’s exactly what I was thinking and I don’t spend this kind of money regularly or lightly! But I did my research and made sure that I couldn’t get enough of a bass before investing. I’m so glad I did. I practice every day, sometimes for hours on end. I just love it!
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I think you mean Indonesia, but if you can show where it says Malaysia, I’ll defer.
Your best upgrade will be a strap, even when sitting.
Don’t bother with a bridge upgrade for “sustain” increases.
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