Innovations!

[Randy_Marsh]

Had a lecture today on innovations etc and it got me thinking... What are the best and most innovative products in the bass world?

There are quite a few i thought of straight away e.g. Neo Cabs and different pickups (ChiSonic's in particular)

What would you say have been the best?

[ahpook]

the electric bass for a start !!

[bubinga5]

everything that Dingwall do..

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='bubinga5' post='962313' date='Sep 20 2010, 03:49 PM']everything that Dingwall do..[/quote]

OK the fan fret thing... but... everything?

[Dood]

D and H Class amplifier technology - undeniable progress in the performance Vs weight debate. I can see even more improvements made in performance too - there is a lot to be said about the technology even now, compared to 'D Class version1'. I support it with open arms (and a healthier back!!)

[Fat Rich]

Graphite necks (Alembic I think), headless basses (Steinberger?) and Hipshot D tuners.

I prefer headed basses but headless was definitely an innovation.

Kubicki probably deserve a mention for their laminated necks and unusual low D arrangement.

[keeponehandloose]

The jack socket.
Can you imagine if every make had its own socket design to take a cable,rather like mobile chargers.

[Dood]

[quote name='keeponehandloose' post='962475' date='Sep 20 2010, 05:47 PM']The jack socket.
Can you imagine if every make had its own socket design to take a cable,rather like mobile chargers.[/quote]

Good call!

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='keeponehandloose' post='962475' date='Sep 20 2010, 05:47 PM']The jack socket.
Can you imagine if every make had its own socket design to take a cable,rather like mobile chargers.[/quote]
I always thought the plug should be called the the Jack and the socket should be called the Jill.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Optical Pick-ups (eg; Lightwave)
Variax Modelling instruments. Love 'em or hate 'em, it was a bold concept and a good attempt. Imagine those electrics in a Status...
Midi systems (whether by hex pick-up or voltage sensing frets or other means)
Active EQ systems
D.I.
Digital Tuners

None of these are [i]essential[/i] to electric bass playing, but how many of us have [i]never[/i] used a DI or digital tuner? And I'd contend that these two have done the most to ensure that what we're playing is in tune and faithful to what's being played.
I know some folks prefer their cabs to be miked up, but for recording purposes, a mixture of mic and DI or DI alone is a common methodology.

[KERMITNT]

sorry i have to say it the inovation slaping the bass and roundwoond strings

other techniques as well make the bass sound awsome

[chris_b]

Neo Cabs, 5 string basses and moulded ear plugs.

[Dom in Dorset]

[quote name='KERMITNT' post='963546' date='Sep 21 2010, 05:04 PM']sorry i have to say it the inovation slaping the bass and roundwoond strings

other techniques as well make the bass sound awsome[/quote]
Roundwound strings +1 try to imagine any rock bass player using flats. I read somewhere that it was down to John Entwistle nagging Rotosound that roundwounds for bass came into being (I could be wrong) before that it was all flats.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='963589' date='Sep 21 2010, 05:49 PM']....I read somewhere that it was down to John Entwistle nagging Rotosound that roundwounds for bass came into being (I could be wrong) before that it was all flats....[/quote]
You are right.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='963589' date='Sep 21 2010, 05:49 PM']try to imagine any rock bass player using flats.[/quote]
OK, I'm imagining Steve Harris. Now what do I do?

[Dom in Dorset]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='963606' date='Sep 21 2010, 06:08 PM']OK, I'm imagining Steve Harris. Now what do I do?[/quote]
Tell him to re-string his bass and stop messing up my contribution to the debate.

[lozbass]

A significant amount of invention and incremental innovation preceding the Steinberger system (hardly radical, but a major disjunction) then more incrementalism in the period since. I'm not discounting some real progress (neck through, filter-based pres, neo etc.) but it has to Steinberger for me

[flyfisher]

The OP referred to 'innovations in the bass world' - do we take that to mean [u]unique[/u] to the bass world or merely the adoption of things?

Electric basses, jack plugs/sockets, class D amps etc are certainly all good innovations, but not unique to bass and not, I believe, even developed specifically [u]for[/u] the bass world before being adopted elsewhere.

Is there anything truly unique in the bass world (at least at the time of its innovation) - apart from low notes?

[Kiwi]

[quote name='lozbass' post='967329' date='Sep 25 2010, 09:11 AM']A significant amount of invention and incremental innovation preceding the Steinberger system (hardly radical, but a major disjunction) then more incrementalism in the period since. I'm not discounting some real progress (neck through, filter-based pres, neo etc.) but it has to Steinberger for me[/quote]

+1 But I'd suggest Fender (50s/60's), Alembic (70's), Steinberger (80's). I could add Status with their Stealth Mk II bass, the use of epoxy foam for the core was an innovative step. Not sure the rest of the instrument followed through though. Parker could have been a contender but they just ended up with a brittle sounding instrument for all the technology it had in its construction.

Buggered if I know who would fit in the last 10 or 15 years otherwise, there hasn't really been a lot of demand for innovation in the market.

[EBS_freak]

I'm guessing Enfields Super 8 pickup would be the last innovative thing out there... don't know if it's experiencing much success though.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='967366' date='Sep 25 2010, 10:11 AM']I'm guessing Enfields Super 8 pickup would be the last innovative thing out there... don't know if it's experiencing much success though.[/quote]
At £2650 for the [i]basic[/i] Enfield model, it doesn't surprise me that it's not a runaway hit. [b]Sweeping generalisation here[/b], but I reckon people who are spending that sort of money generally aren't looking to reproduce the P, J and MM tones; they're often after something more "hi-fi"/hi-tech-sounding.

If they licensed the technology to a manufacturer that could produce it cheaply and have it installed in a wider range of lower-priced instruments (even around the £1000-1500 mark), I think they could sell loads. I'd definitely have one. It's such a versatile concept.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='967368' date='Sep 25 2010, 10:22 AM']At £2650 for the [i]basic[/i] Enfield model, it doesn't surprise me that it's not a runaway hit. [b]Sweeping generalisation here[/b], but I reckon people who are spending that sort of money generally aren't looking to reproduce the P, J and MM tones; they're often after something more "hi-fi"/hi-tech-sounding.

If they licensed the technology to a manufacturer that could produce it cheaply and have it installed in a wider range of lower-priced instruments (even around the £1000-1500 mark), I think they could sell loads. I'd definitely have one. It's such a versatile concept.[/quote]

The trouble is, isn't the super 8 pickup the whole selling point of Enfield. Who would buy one otherwise?

[Musicman20]

Lightweight amp heads. Whether they be A/B or D.

No matter how much a cabinet weight, I still think a lightweight amp head is one of the best innovations in bass guitar technology. I still like an old school normal weight tube amp, but for most of my gigs the light amps are used.

Lighter cabs are great, but most of the time we are only talking a pretty small difference in weight, and you still have to carter about 50-60lbs thats normally pretty large.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='969113' date='Sep 27 2010, 08:30 AM']The trouble is, isn't the super 8 pickup the whole selling point of Enfield. Who would buy one otherwise?[/quote]
Hmmm, indeed. I'm sure they're beautifully constructed and finished instruments (if a little bulbous around the lower bout for my liking), but yes, you'd probably only really buy one for the electronics.

I say this having never even been in the same room as one. Could be the bass of my dreams in terms of playability, but at the same sort of pricetag that could get you a pair of matching fretted and fretless ACGs (for example), it'd just continue to be the bass of my dreams.

[clauster]

Being, at heart, mostly a fan of the Precision bass, I have to say NONE!