Arizona. It’s a dry heat. Brittle firewood in no time. 
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I guess “wide” since I prefer the variety of what several guitars and basses provide.
I have in the past owned fewer guitars and basses that listed for well over $1000 even used but at the time I was actively gigging every weekend. Those eventually ended up being sold or traded. In the process of rebuilding my “fleet” I found the original MIC Squier Classic Vibe Series models to be a very good playable gear.
So I began rebuilding with those paying $300 or less modifying each of them to reach levels above what even MIM Fenders offered at that time. IIRC I did this with 7 or 8 of them three which I still own. To me they’re as good as any $1000-$1500 model Fender offers yet I have far less than that in each of them and I love them.
I’ve also added several Epiphones, Peaveys, G&Ls, Taylors, a Takamine, a PRS and several home built Teles and Esquires. I enjoy building and modifying guitars and basses and building them for friends. Most have cost me $1000 or less and the current count is thirteen guitars and basses all of which are import models.
More than anything I buy based on value and what I’ve found is top shelf imports are just not all that different from their US built counterparts. Whatever differences there may be is something I can easily deal with by upgrading the import version. And I still buy and sell some as my tastes change and I want something new.
Whether or not I’ll ever buy another top of the line or custom shop model again I can’t honestly say but right now I don’t have any real solid motivation to do so.
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Coming from the noob perspective, my current is wide. My one bass is a Squier P. But I already find myself GASing for a J (which I can’t justify to myself or the wife after just one month of owning the first one).
I feel like this is one of those things that may also change for people over time. Someone may start out wide, but then find something that speaks to them and (possibly subconsciously) switch to deep to really dig into that sound. Or vice versa…
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Well, I built myself a collection going through a wide range of bass guitars. I now have 7 basses and find it difficult to buy a new one, even though GAS is real 
Right now I have:
- a PJ modified BEAD
- 2 basses with humbuckers (4+5 string)
- a Jazz bass
- 3 Sandberg (VS, VM and Forty Eight)
Might get another P/VS bass sometime… 
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I have three + one basses.
Three of them are exactly the same model (Harley Benton MV-4MSB), but heavily modified. The reason for choosing the MV-4MSB is simple: I tried many basses between 150€ and 1500€ and this one felt great ergonomically. And I knew I could just mod the rest (as stock tuners and especially pickups s#cked!).
In my opinion, the “feel” of the bass is the most important, so I haven’t looked at anything else anymore (except that d@mn Reverend Avocado bass, but that’s just an obsession of mine).
So, this is what I got:
- Pink’s Hot (“Burgundy Mist” aka Pink"): MV-4MSB with EMG active P/J PUs. This is a candidate for modding to double Humbucker, as soon as I understand how to route.
- Ronin (Black): MV-4MSB with passive DiMarzio DP126 P/J.
- Minty-Minty-Mint (Seafoam Green): MV-4MSB with passive EMG GZR P/J. Made fretless recently, and I already ask myself why not every bass is fretless
On all those basses I just kept the neck and the body and replaced virtually everything else.
The logic behind it is to have one model that feels perfect and then adapt it to my three use cases:
- Playing on the sofa - with the best possible sound. That would be Pink’s Hot.
- Playing outside - sounding dirty! That’s Ronin, of course.
- Playing fretless. That’s Minty.
I still have my travel bass, which is a heavily modified Blackstar Travel bass. It has an active EMG precision PU and sounds surprisingly good for it’s size.
I’ll keep it for travelling by plane, but will use Ronin for all other trips.
So it’s kind of wide and deep at the same time, I guess!?
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I am in this camp for sure.
I only had 1 bass from ages 16 - 26.
A Modulus Quantum Sweet Spot.
It was a great bass for the wild and crazy Toast Machine lead-rock-bass stuff I played, and was not great for much else, but I didn’t know and didn’t care, and overplayed on every gig I was asked on (and, of course, not invited back to).
The next part of this story is obvious.
I then got a J bass (a Fender Jaguar, really, but I replaced the terrible electronics with a straight active EMG setup).
Then (of course), finally, after many disappointing gigs, recording sessions and an intervention from friendly recording engineers and music buddies… I got a P bass.
I now have 3 basses.
I actually just picked up a 4th - friends were moving out of a rehearsal space and let me borrow a USA Fender Precision fretless.
Pretty great.
So, now I have 4 basses.
One per decade.
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Sorry for not cropping that pic but the eBay tabs were from when I bought my 5 string Ray so that’s pretty cool. Hard to believe it’s been 5mo.
I still just have my American Fender Jazz and my Dean acoustic. Pretty happy with both.
I would like a Fender Kingman acoustic. Since it’s smaller, it would make for a better bass when sitting in my recliner.
Other than that, the only bass I still lust after is a double reverse P bass.
I can’t see ever having more than that.
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The fact that my son and daughter both play bass kind messes up my counting system. I started out playing my son’s MIM Jazz, he had an old squier affinity pj that he kept at school (high school). But, really wanted a 5 string, so we bought him an American ultra for an Eagle Scout/graduation gift. This was about the time I started playing. So, I inherited the Jazz. I gradually tinkered with it until it was set up perfectly. He started playing the jazz again and I wanted one of my own. I found a Squier SQ MIJ P and bought it. I now have 4 of those and they are awesome. But, my daughter took one of those, so maybe I only have 3. Then I wanted to try out a short scale, so I bought a mustang. Now that mustang is at my son’s dorm room. So in my mind I still have 3. I also have a jaguar that I picked up for cheap to keep at work, so I’m not counting the one either. Since my son took my mustang, I bought an offbeat short scale (it’s awesome) but that one has been at my son’s practice space all week because they have a gig coming up. In the mean time, the Jazz, squier affinity, and the Ultra are all at the house but those aren’t really mine, they are my son’s and don’t count in this equation. Then, Black Friday sales, so I ordered a bronco and sonic P bass. The bronco arrived a day or two ago. I’m not sure if the sonic p is gonna make it. So in my count I just have 4 that are mine that are currently at my house. But, I’m gonna have to take one of those to the lake in the spring and I’ll be down to 3 again. If you made it through this long rambling answer, I commend you. So, I guess “wide” for me. But for me, it’s more about how well it plays after I get it set up and make it my own. For this reason, I tend to try to find value. I rarely buy anything new for myself, except for the offbeat and I’ll probably buy another one of those at some point. I’ve also disallowed myself to sell any of it. I never want to say “I wish I had that one back”.
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I played my little Yamaha reverse P (obv not double) side by side with a Fender MIA P bass and the tone on that little BB was fuller, more “P bass” sounding than the Fender imo. For less than a third of the price of the Fender. I think part of it is the pickup alignment.
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I’m totally lusting after this one right now…I know its not reverse, but its a double
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And it’s on sale 
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Please report to the GAS thread immediately
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Translation : “MUST HAVE NOW!”
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I think this is probably true for every P and P/J BB, if that helps
They are just classics.
That said:
I am considering going back down to one bass 
If I do it I will be in another a Revstar situation and I’ll just buy another BB in the future, probably again and again, I know myself well enough to know this and after all I am already on my second one. But I am at a spot where I have a definite favorite right now out of the two instruments I am down to. We’ll see.
Not everyone has my thing where deeper focus on fewer instruments makes me feel good so I doubt many will understand. And this doesn’t explain my huge synth collection either, sure.
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This brings up an interesting point: Some musicians are multi-instrumentalists who might own a bass while others consider themselves instrument specialists.
For example, I know from firsthand experience and through close associations with a vast number of dedicated guitar players that guitarists, on average, own a sizeable collection of different guitars. Usually a shit ton of them.
This also holds true for the pro bass players I happen to know.
On the other hand, I know multi-instrumentalists who own a pretty good number of a particular instrument type (keyboards, horns, even percussion) and they also have a single bass as part of their stable.
Why is that?
Upon reflection, I think that members of the specialist group identify as a particular category of musician: a “guitar player,” a “bass player,” etc. In other words, they go way deep into the instrument they specialize in.
A more general or multi-instrumentalist might also specialize in a certain instrument type, but they happen to own a bass they use when it is needed, say, for laying down a track when recording. In other words, they don’t necessarily identify as a “bassist” but rather as someone who can serviceably play bass when required.
These distinctions don’t necessarily hold true for all musicians, for sure, but this is what I’ve observed with the pros I’ve associated with over the years.
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Yes this is definitely true for me. Good observation.
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Reverse just refers to which half of the split coil pickup is “on top”, right? Cause that looks reverse to me with the D/G side of the pickups on top.
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You are correct, I was totally looking at it wrong. Even more reason to buy it…
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