Hello, my name is Emily and I have a problem...

I've been a collector for as long as I can remember. My first collection consisted of all things pertaining to unicorns and lasted from the time I was 6 years old until I was at least 10 years old. 

Then, I matured a little and started collecting anything having to do with horses. When I was 12 years old, we moved to a new house in the country and I got my first "real" horse as part of the deal. 

After a little more maturing, I started collecting Native American art...then Irish/Scottish objects (including bagpipes, Irish flute, and Irish lap harp). 

When I started playing bass in 2003, I borrowed the first bass I played from a bassist friend before buying my own the following year. I never considered collecting basses--mostly because of the expense involved--but also because I was completely satisfied with my first bass (Ibanez SDGR SR500). 

After a few years of playing, however, things started to change. Brad and I would travel to Nashville music stores and I would start trying out other basses. I would occasionally buy another bass, play it for a while, and then decide that I didn't like it as much as my Ibanez. 

So, it would be sold and I would move on. I never kept more than two basses at a time. After all, Brad and I were starting a family and had two small children and a very limited income. 

Fast forward several more years...

The kids are older (and are becoming musicians) and Brad and I both have incomes now. After buying my first short-scale bass (Gibson SG bass), I got hooked on short-scale basses. These basses (while more available now), were harder to find several years ago. So, when I happened across one, I bought it (money-permitting). Occasionally, I would find a long scale bass that I couldn't pass up, but for the most part, I only bought short-scales. 

After my 6th bass, I started considering myself a collector. I still have one rule, however, when it comes to my collection: if I don't like the way it plays/sounds, I don't keep it. I've yet to send a short-scale bass back, but I have returned or sold several long scale basses that didn't do it for me. 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I used to only buy nicer basses ($500 and up), but several of the short-scales that have come out in the last year or so have been super cheap (cheap as basses go), so I've modified my previous protocol for buying new basses. In fact, the last four short-scale basses I've purchased have cost less than $300 each...and they actually play good and sound decent. 

I still don't consider myself a collector of basses in general...more of a collector of short-scale basses. And I'm always on the lookout for more! ;)

Short-scales basses to date: 11 
Total basses: 13