THE ULTIMATE BASS ??

[Fionn]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1405588763' post='2503250']
Great idea - but reading between the lines Fender are saying, 'That's nice dear, but we don't consider consumers' input in the slightest when coming up with new products and in any case we hardly ever deviate from our tried and tested lines. When we do try something a bit different it gets slagged off on the forums so we don't bother any more. We're doing all right anyway, thanks very much. If you want to make your idea a reality it's best (for us) if you pay through the nose and get Custom Shop to do it because we aren't interested. I'm just a bean-counter anyway and know bugger-all about bass guitars and care even less'.
[/quote]

Exactly this

[Reversebird]

I think Fender are trying. Even they realise that although the P and Jazz bass are timeless classics still with a place in modern music that there is an generation out there looking for their own sound and their own image and an older generation looking a classic with a bit more hence the Modern Player Series and concept basses like the Cabronita. Ok so again not really moving to far outside their comfort zone but different enough and with the Modern Series fairly affordable. I haven't read any really bad reviews on the Modern Series. Gibson have new models out too again nothing revolutionary but different.
I love playing live and I agree audiences would rather see a band enjoying themselves bringing music to the masses (I've seen plenty of bands that's look like they would rather not be there) than 100% accurate bass sound.
My original post was about my dream bass, a bass that suits my needs and style there must be those among you who given the opportunity to have a bass build for you would have an "Ultimate Bass" design??

[CamdenRob]

Well I guess they did try the dimension... but that wasn't really breaking new ground as much as trying to grab the attention of people buying stingrays.

Everyone is looking back and trying to replicate... not many manufacturers looking forward and trying new things.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1405599252' post='2503445']
Musicman made "the game changer" it mostly got slagged off on here, it matches your needs quite closely and better still you can save pre set settings too. To many knobs for me I'll stick with the single switch on my stingrays thanks.
[/quote]

Ay, the Gamechange HH has countless options and a lot of them get you into Ric/Jazz and P sounds.

That, with the Musicman sounds, and loads of others, 4 band EQ or passive with passive tone control....great bass.

I had one and I wanted it in a 5er, which they don't do.

The bass was incredibly fun to play.

[stingrayPete1977]

I don't tend to rely on pickup configurations or settings, it's all in the fingers, it really is. With double bass having a massive come back a lot of innovation has gone into electric upright, most people still want a full size DB though.

Edited July 17, 2014 by stingrayPete1977

[discreet]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1405620783' post='2503787']
I don't tend to rely on pickup configurations or settings, it's all in the fingers, it really is.
[/quote]

I tend to agree.

[cocco]

An interesting concept all those controls would annoy me though, but I'm one of those who thinks a passive well built P-bass is the be all and end all of everything and that even the Jazz bass is a pointless invention and that Leo should have stopped after he put the split coil pickup in the P-bass.

[discreet]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1405622529' post='2503823']
An interesting concept all those controls would annoy me though, but I'm one of those who thinks a passive well built P-bass is the be all and end all of everything and that even the Jazz bass is a pointless invention and that Leo should have stopped after he put the split coil pickup in the P-bass.
[/quote]

I thought that for decades until I got my Hayman 4040 (twin split-pickups) that roars like a beast, and then this drew me to the Jazz...
Funny how things turn out, innit?

[cocco]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1405622820' post='2503826']


I thought that for decades until I got my Hayman 4040 (twin split-pickups) that roars like a beast, and then this drew me to the Jazz...
Funny how things turn out, innit?
[/quote]

Your 4040 is pretty sweet mind. I can't see me ever taking to jazz basses though, I don't know why I've just never got on with them, I do have a slight soft spot for the stingrays though, not sure about the whole active thing mind.

[discreet]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1405623377' post='2503830']
...I can't see me ever taking to jazz basses though, I don't know why I've just never got on with them...
[/quote]

I had GAS for a Jazz about every 18 months over forty years, would buy one, not get on with it and sell it on. I loved the look of them but just didn't like the thin neck and narrow nut. So it would be reasonable to assume that I'm not a Jazz man. I gave them every chance and then some, right? But now I really love my Limelight Jazz and the neck isn't an issue at all - and I don't really know why! I'm glad I persevered, though...

Edited July 17, 2014 by discreet

[jezzaboy]

Look, all you need is one of these!! I give you Mr Phil Lesh and his Big Brown.

[attachment=166946:7784869848_3a4eb462f8_z.jpg]

Edited July 17, 2014 by jezzaboy

[discreet]

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1405631658' post='2503957']
Look, all you need is one of these!! I give you Mr Phil Lesh and his Alembic customised Guild Starfire.
[/quote]

Christ! He must spend the whole gig fiddling with his knobs.

[wingnutkj]

If you've got more than one of 'em, you might as well do something with them.

[jezzaboy]

Not like you to come away with a Larry Grayson moment Discreet
[size=4]Had to alter the post as I think that is Big Brown, which may be the same bass but wouldn`t want to give out bum info.[/size]

Edited July 17, 2014 by jezzaboy

[discreet]

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1405632033' post='2503963']
[size=4]Had to alter the post as I think that is Big Brown, which may be the same bass but wouldn`t want to give out bum info.[/size]
[/quote]

Big brown... bum?? Shut that door!

[Musicman20]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1405620783' post='2503787']
I don't tend to rely on pickup configurations or settings, it's all in the fingers, it really is. With double bass having a massive come back a lot of innovation has gone into electric upright, most people still want a full size DB though.
[/quote]

It is, but it's fun to have lots of things to play with. Then its nice to gig a Classic Ray 5 and just used pick/fingers/mutes and get all sorts of tones.

Too many pickup settings can be tiring though.

I tend to think it has more effect on an electric guitar, hence the Gamechanger seems to have been more popular with them (much more noticable in the mix).

[gsgbass]

After playing a few basses, my ultimate bass is the Fender Am. Std. Series Basses. My Olympic White Jazz is the top dog.

Edited July 19, 2014 by gsgbass

[stingrayPete1977]

Won't sound like a p bass or musicman or a soap bar super jazz though will it?

[SubsonicSimpleton]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1405681122' post='2504272']
It is, but it's fun to have lots of things to play with. Then its nice to gig a Classic Ray 5 and just used pick/fingers/mutes and get all sorts of tones.

Too many pickup settings can be tiring though.

I tend to think it has more effect on an electric guitar, hence the Gamechanger seems to have been more popular with them (much more noticable in the mix).
[/quote]
Having never heard of the Gamechanger I googled it - some of the sounds Dave La Rue and Tony Levin were getting out of it in the videos looked promising, but if it costs ~£2500 and nobody in the UK actually has one in stock, then it isn't really suprising that the bass version is being ignored.

[cocco]

[quote name='Reversebird' timestamp='1405587790' post='2503236']

Been thinking for a few years now about my ultimate bass. With sooo many artist basses around I wondered what I would build if Fender ever approached me to build a signature bass.

So I had a think and wrote to Fender with my ideas, the reply is at the bottom from those very nice people at Fender UK.

Dear Fender

Leo Fender was a great innovator of guitars, especially basses and over the 65 years of Precision bass there have been a few changes but everybody is still looking for the holy grail of basses. A bass that does everything and is the bass for every man (women). I also love Jim Burns innovations, a man I really admire for his thinking outside the box in the early years of the guitar and bass. I would like to see if it was possible to build a bass that uses Leo's great bodies and Jim's electrical genius.

I have been playing bass for around 25 years now and I have tried every bass going from big makers to small, expensive basses to some modern cheap basses. My problem is I haven't found a bass that well "covers all the bases" excuse the pun.
I think these following basses are the basis for all others body shape wise and pickup arrangement wise.
Fender Precision one split single coils middle passive
Fender Jazz two single coils bridge and middle passive
Musicman Stingray humbucker bridge active
Gibson SG two humbuckers neck and bridge passive
Gibson Thunderbird two humbuckers bridge and middle passive
Rickenbacker 4000 series two single coils neck and bridge passive
Burns Bison three single coils neck bridge middle
Hofner Violin bass two humbuckers bridge and neck passive
Ibanez/yamaha/warwick etc two soap bar humbuckers bridge and middle active

I want a bass that does all of the above, I play in covers bands so although I get
by one bass does not suit all (yes you can use pedals etc) I like really powerful passive pickups like the Seymour Duncan Quarterpounders in a Precision, the tone knob actually works but I love the boost and cut you get across the musical spectrum from an active bass like the three EQ Musicman Stingray.

Is it possible to have a bass with:
Three passive "super hot" soap bar humbuckers, bridge, middle and neck.
Controlled Passively with three stacked volume and tone pots for total control over volume and tone and space saving.
Each pickup having a micro coil tap switch so you can get the single coil sound as well.
The middle pickup as well as having the coil tap has a second micro switch to allow the pickup to be split top and bottom like a Precision ( Burns did it on some of their basses but it was bridge and middle pickup split top and bottom)
6 way rotary tone control like the Gibson SG bass and Aria SB 1000 for even more
Tone choices when in passive mode.
I think it might also require two three way pickup selectors unless it's possible to wire a another 6 way rotary switch so you can get front / front and middle/ middle/ middle and bridge/ bridge/ bridge and front
I was also thinking maybe 6 dip switches on the upper horn like a Fender Jaguar might work for this task. Forgot I also need all three pickups on at the same time.

On top of all that an active switch that allows a three band EQ to be used so
you can create the Musicman and modern bass sounds. Could be stacked into two knobs. Treble and Bass on one and mids with a frequency sweep on the second or just three knobs bass mid treble but I do like the mid frequency sweep option.
The coil taps and Precision mode would still have to work in active mode although
the 6 way rotary switch would be a bit overkill I think.
The active switch would have an led light to confirm its in active mode.
Not sure whether is needs to be 9 or 18 volt because I wanted to use "hot" pickups
for when the bass is in passive mode 18 volts might give a bit more headroom.

To achieve all of this it may require an active and separate passive circuit with two output jack sockets one passive and one active.

All of this would be shoehorned into a Jazz bass style body as this shape is the most popular throughout the world or at least something similar, probably with scratch plate the size of a Marcus Miller to house all the electrics.
The neck would be that "not quiet a Precision not quiet a Jazz neck" that everyone seems to like.
I call it the "Everyman Bass" I am sure nobody has ever produced a bass that really could sound like a dozen other basses without the compromise of being active or passive, certainly not on a mass production scale. Maybe you might know of a bass but I don't and that's even if it's possible to build electronically

The reply:

Thanks for getting in touch!

Sounds like you've got an interesting project on your hands. I'd recommend going to talk to one of our Custom Shop dealers if you'd like to get something along these lines speced up or just to find out if it's even possible. My knowledge of the electronics of a bass is somewhat limited. If you'd like to find your nearest Custom Shop dealer follow this link.

Kind Regards

Josh Franklin
Sales Administrator
Fender Great Britain & Ireland
[/quote]


It strikes me that the Musicman Big Al has a lot of the features you describe.

[stingrayPete1977]

I want a big Al 5, never seen one for sale though

[Riot_Code]

My ultimate bass is the Warwick Corvette $$, everything about it was perfect for me. It had two big double bucks, you could swap one or both to single, has a tone, volume for each pickup, active EQ, everything I need in a bass is there!