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BEST BASS MONEY CAN BUY?

TheGreek

By TheGreek,
in Bass Guitars

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cameltoe Community Regular

cameltoe

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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='943896' date='Sep 2 2010, 08:28 PM']Why would you lose money everytime you played a vintage Fender?[/quote]

[i]Really[/i]?

Ok, you play it a few times..... Oh where did that ding come from? It was [i]mint[/i] before. Big wedge off the value for that. Get it refinished? Forget it, you'll lose even more money.

Play it a bit more.......Oh it's stopped working. Turns out a piece of solder has broken in the electrics and it will need resoldering. There's another wedge off the value right there.

If I bought a vintage fender where money was no object, it would lose value just by me looking at it.

I'd be scared to take it out of the case.

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molan Veteran

molan

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[quote name='TheGreek' post='943797' date='Sep 2 2010, 07:06 PM'][size=3] We recently went to a Victor Wooten seminar (that's his [b]Zon bass [/b]I'm holding) - what about these? He wouldn't be using these if they were s**t..or is it just that it was free?[/quote]

Whilst Joe Zon might be happy that you're quoting his basses might be very good I have a feeling that Vinny Fodera might not be quite as happy that you went to a Vic Wooten [b]FODERA[/b] clinic & failed to register what make of bass he was promoting, lol.

From everything I've heard VW is a pretty tough task master & absolutely would not be playing Fodera if he didn't think they were the best basses in the world. He purchased his first Fodera Monarch in '83 and still plays it to this day (although he now has a few others as well!).

As it happens I think Fodera would be pretty near top of the list for me based on personal experience. A Vic Wooten Yin Yang (like the one in your pic) is going to set you back about $12,500 plus shipping & duties which would take it up to circa £10K in the UK.

Would I buy one if I had £10K kicking around - without hesitation!

Fabulous basses, stunning build quality, ludicrously 'playable' and, to my humble ears, a clean focussed tone to die for :)

Whilst we're up in stratospheric price land then the higher end Alembics are also stupidly well put together & many have gorgeous wood finishes. Quite different from a Fodera but every bit as desirable. Looks of some models can be a bit love it or loathe it but attention to detail is phenomenal.

As far as 'vintage' type builders go then I'd be voting for Jimmy Coppolo. The best of his LG range, currently called Classic Supreme, are just such nice basses to play and his in-house pre-amp and pickups are really 'musical'. Some of the design features aren't to everyone's taste but they've really grown on me :rolleyes:


Gimme a couple of weeks and I should be able to write a much better comparison as I hope to have one of each of these to try out back to back :lol:

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thepurpleblob Proficient

thepurpleblob

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It depends on what you want a bass for. If you play in a rock band and want to sound like a Fender Precision then it's probably an eight hundred quid Fender Precision. If you want to do fancy noodly stuff up the dusty end you might want something much more exotic. Without wanting to sound all grumpy... it's the same as the "who is the best bass player" question. Best at what?

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Fat Rich Community Regular

Fat Rich

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It would have to be a fantastic bass and previously owned by a bass legend and have lots of mojo too.....

James Jamerson's old P bass - the Funk Machine.

[url="http://www.philbrodieband.com/muso_james_jamerson-funk-machine.htm"]http://www.philbrodieband.com/muso_james_j...unk-machine.htm[/url]

Hope they find it one day and give it back to the Jamerson family.

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Bigwan Veteran

Bigwan

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FOR ME the 2 best basses I've played in my 18 years of bassdom were a 66 P bass and Flanker/CK's old Celinder Jazz Update (the black bass featured at the top of this very page I believe - the scarbee celinder). Should have bought both of them to be honest. Neither were scandalously expensive - the Celinder was used and the P-bass was a refin.

I GASed for a WAL for years, then owned one for a while, now not remotely interested any more. It was good, but no cigar... I don't really GAS so much for basses I haven't laid hands on any more. I'm pretty close to these 2 choices with my top 2 basses I currently have so my GAS doesn't bother me as much as it used to - although nearly every Alleva Coppolo that turns up on here sets me off, especially Clarky's! Maybe an AC should be my answer, but without playing one how would I know?!

Edited by Bigwan
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SS73 Enthusiast

SS73

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[quote name='cameltoe' post='944011' date='Sep 2 2010, 10:31 PM'][i]Really[/i]?

Ok, you play it a few times..... Oh where did that ding come from? It was [i]mint[/i] before. Big wedge off the value for that. Get it refinished? Forget it, you'll lose even more money.

Play it a bit more.......Oh it's stopped working. Turns out a piece of solder has broken in the electrics and it will need resoldering. There's another wedge off the value right there.

If I bought a vintage fender where money was no object, it would lose value just by me looking at it.

I'd be scared to take it out of the case.[/quote]

But it's money no object, in this case I would buy a mint vintage Fender, distress it, replace all the old electrics so it sounded like it did when it was new and then gig it, Hard. :)

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bluesparky Collaborator

bluesparky

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For me it's a stingray 5 string.
I always wanted one, when i got one i loved it and it's simply the best thing i've ever owned.
I don't want to play devil's advocate but for me it IS the best.
I love it's feel, sound, look and i don't want or need another sound.

Even if i did have an uber-bass worth thousands which is the best in the world, it'd be wasted on me as i'm not the best in the world.
(i'd dread the tuts and skyward rolling eyes of people / other bassists would think i wasn't worthy of such a beast).

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bluesparky Collaborator

bluesparky

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[quote name='longtimefred' post='943901' date='Sep 2 2010, 08:30 PM']i'd have one of these

[url="http://www.huort-ch.com/lang_eng/en_stage_std.htm#t1"]Atelkof Stage Deluxe / Lite[/url]

Jazz/Precision/Stingray IN 1 BASS!!!! mint[/quote]
Has anyone here played one of these?
It looks like a bit of a car crash?!

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Ou7shined Mentor

Ou7shined

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[quote name='bluesparky' post='944226' date='Sep 3 2010, 09:05 AM']Has anyone here played one of these?
It looks like a bit of a car crash?![/quote]
I actually don't think it's all that bad. :blush: It's kind of parallelling the concept of the Pingray... right down to the Delanos. The 8 pole part of the humbucker is a pointless gimmick and just looks so wrong (they should just of kept it 4 poles IMHO) and I hate Neutrik sockets on basses.

I didn't think much of the sound clips though - quite thin and awfuly bright to my ears. It might benefit from a decent warmer sounding pre-amp. Out of those clips I think I preferred the P+Ray setting, it had a sort of Status sound going.

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Ghost_Bass Proficient

Ghost_Bass

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I think the best bass i'll ever get is the one i don't own... the GAS keeps comming!

More seriously, a few years back i would say a Stingray or a TRB-5PII but having both now i've tried and liked very much a Ken Smith bass. I've tried it aginst a Fodera and it crushed it easily (*runs for cover!). If i had a Ken Smith instead i'm pretty shure i would be GASing for the TRB though...
I've also tried a Alembic 6-string and loved it. Both tries were too far appart in time to get a good comparison with the K Smith.

Just one last note to a make nobody mentioned yet - Jerzy Drodz - great top-end basses!

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TheGreek Grand Master

TheGreek

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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='943882' date='Sep 2 2010, 08:14 PM']Personal taste again surely and I have nil GAS for a Wal or Status or anything similar I dont like them so dont put us all in one basket.Always comes to the same thing and Im not the biggest fan of J or P s' but there is a reason why they are popular all the great players that have used them cant be wrong can they?

So the question should be whats the best bass money can buy for me? which is an ongoing thread spread across many pages and ends the same everytime as said above with "whats wrong with a nice Squier J or P ":)[/quote]
[center]This is (partially) my point..if the Fender Js and Ps were the ultimate bass nobody else would be in business!!
The reason other companies are still in business is because Js and Ps are [b]practically the same instrument they were in the 50s [/b](They're even re-issuing them!!). [b]Active basses [/b]have been around since the 70s/80s but Fender have only recently installed Active circuitry. I only own basses with thru necks - Fender (to my knowledge) [b]still haven't produced a thru neck J or P bass[/b]. Thru necks have also been around since the 70s at least..and what about exotic woods? why haven't we seen a Bubinga J or P?
If Fender had kept up with the times - in fact, with the financial resources available to a company this size, [b]why weren't they the innovaters?[/b] - surely there would be far fewer guitar companies around today.
Its no bad thing, in my mind, that there are many other companies building, arguably, better instruments - but I return to my original question [b]"which is the best bass money can buy?"[/b][/center]

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TheGreek Grand Master

TheGreek

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[quote name='molan' post='944020' date='Sep 2 2010, 10:37 PM']Whilst Joe Zon might be happy that you're quoting his basses might be very good I have a feeling that Vinny Fodera might not be quite as happy that you went to a Vic Wooten [b]FODERA[/b] clinic & failed to register what make of bass he was promoting, lol.

From everything I've heard VW is a pretty tough task master & absolutely would not be playing Fodera if he didn't think they were the best basses in the world. He purchased his first Fodera Monarch in '83 and still plays it to this day (although he now has a few others as well!).

As it happens I think Fodera would be pretty near top of the list for me based on personal experience. A Vic Wooten Yin Yang (like the one in your pic) is going to set you back about $12,500 plus shipping & duties which would take it up to circa £10K in the UK.

Would I buy one if I had £10K kicking around - without hesitation!

Fabulous basses, stunning build quality, ludicrously 'playable' and, to my humble ears, a clean focussed tone to die for :)

Whilst we're up in stratospheric price land then the higher end Alembics are also stupidly well put together & many have gorgeous wood finishes. Quite different from a Fodera but every bit as desirable. Looks of some models can be a bit love it or loathe it but attention to detail is phenomenal.

As far as 'vintage' type builders go then I'd be voting for Jimmy Coppolo. The best of his LG range, currently called Classic Supreme, are just such nice basses to play and his in-house pre-amp and pickups are really 'musical'. Some of the design features aren't to everyone's taste but they've really grown on me :rolleyes:


Gimme a couple of weeks and I should be able to write a much better comparison as I hope to have one of each of these to try out back to back :lol:[/quote]
Thank you for correcting me on VW's choice of bass and providing info on it.

Got to say I like a man with a well reasoned argument - thanks for your input..

By the way it was a Hartke clinic..

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stingrayPete1977 Grand Master

stingrayPete1977

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[quote name='cameltoe' post='944011' date='Sep 2 2010, 10:31 PM'][i]Really[/i]?

Ok, you play it a few times..... Oh where did that ding come from? It was [i]mint[/i] before. Big wedge off the value for that. Get it refinished? Forget it, you'll lose even more money.

Play it a bit more.......Oh it's stopped working. Turns out a piece of solder has broken in the electrics and it will need resoldering. There's another wedge off the value right there.

If I bought a vintage fender where money was no object, it would lose value just by me looking at it.

I'd be scared to take it out of the case.[/quote]

I cant beleive this keeps coming up. loads of people play vintage gear all the time,Do you think only mint unplayed versions are expensive? Why do companys relic stuff?because thats what a lot of people like.Unless you buy a particular rare one then barring snapping the neck or a body horn off you wont go wrong value wise.The more this keeps coming up the more I want a pre CBS P bass to use until its worn out and by then I will be dead and who cares I buy for me not the next owner in years to come. Im going to start a who plays vintage gear thread just to get this put to bed! Calling Birdy again :)

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