Lifer Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Birthday coming up soon and was thinking of getting a bass from my year of birth to celebrate both of us getting this far. 80s basses are not my specialty so what have you got that was made in 1983? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Westone Thunder 1 - it's not for sale though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifer Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 No worries re stuff for sale, just need some ideas for basses to look at/for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizontalste Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I've got a Matchbox Ford Escort & a 10p peice. Not basses but from 83 non the less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) Have a look through the [s]catalogues[/s] sorry 'Inventory' here, plenty of ideas from the 80's - [url="http://andybaxterbass.com/"]http://andybaxterbass.com/[/url] If anything takes your fancy - he's got a pretty good reputation I hear - "for finding" PS: You've got an easy YOB, try finding a choice from 1951 Edited December 28, 2012 by KiOgon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Look for a nice JV squier. Ask gareth, hes probably got a few more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 You know my answer great year for them too as they were mostly made for them by Charvel and the quality is superb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Wal Custom fretless. Also not for sale I'm afraid. An old Ibanez from that period would be cool, similarly one of the Aria SB series. Oh and a Steinberger L2. Hen's teeth these days though and not cheap. P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutton Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) I have an '83 USA Precision. It's marvellous! Edited December 28, 2012 by Hutton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='philw' timestamp='1356700606' post='1912578'] Wal Custom fretless. Also not for sale I'm afraid. An old Ibanez from that period would be cool, similarly one of the Aria SB series. Oh and a Steinberger L2. Hen's teeth these days though and not cheap. P [/quote] +1 on Phils selection here . I remember 1983 vividly , and the Wal and the Steinberger were amongst the pantheon of "superbasses " that were well beyond my financial means at the time . You could add to that list a JD , an Ashley Pangbourn and a Status too . At the time , an Aria SB1000 or an Ibanez Musician bass were slightly more attainable - they had both in local music shops at the time - but still a bit beyond my own modest means . For what its worth , with the benefit of hindsight I actually think the Aria SB1000 is a better designed bass than many of the more exotic boutique basses of that time , and it's sound is equal to anything out there even in the present day in my opinion . Providing you dont mind the weight , if you see one in reasonable condition at a good price I would say that they are the best bang for your buck if you want a bass from 1983 that encapsulates the sound and spirit of the age . I got a JV Series Squier in 1983 and it was a lovely bass , but what I really wanted was an Aria SB1000 so I could tell the girls at school that I had the same bass as John Taylor out of Duran Duran . Anyone who was in their early teens at the time will know the power of that association . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1356700439' post='1912571'] You know my answer great year for them too as they were mostly made for them by Charvel and the quality is superb! [/quote] I'm guessing its a ray, were rhey made by different people at different times? And can you tell the difference in quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) [size=5][sub]At this time, bass playing had been thoroughly influenced by the likes of Pino, Jaco, Louis Johnson, Nate Watts, Norman Watt-Roy, Mark King - so things had become technical - look at Nick Beggs - Kajagoogoo (top 10 single etc).[/sub][/size] [size=5][sub]So basses of the era - Musicman Stingray, Sabre or Cutlass.[/sub][/size] [size=5][sub]Ibanez Musician; [/sub][/size][size=5][sub]Steinberger; [/sub][/size][size=5][sub]Wal[/sub][/size] [size=5][sub]All choice basses of the time. Alembic if you could afford one (few people could); Jaydee if you couldn't.[/sub][/size] [size=5][sub]Fenders were off the radar for many serious players at this time as seriously out of date and unhip, but found in the hands of punk rockers etc.[/sub][/size] Edited December 28, 2012 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 What drT meant was, get a Stingray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1356702657' post='1912608'] I'm guessing its a ray, were rhey made by different people at different times? And can you tell the difference in quality? [/quote] The best quality/consistency by a country mile is the EBMM version. Pre EB's can weigh up to 15 lbs and are variable (some are great) - I had one new at the time - loved it but for instance, within a few weeks, one of the mute pads fell off to be lost forever on a dark stage one night - remember we are talking the era of late 70s early 80s manufacturing (think cars, where sun visors regularly fell off in your lap, amongst other faults unheard of these days). 60s cars were little better. The Japanese introduced better quality amongst other things, and manufacturing grew up to compete or died, from the late 70s onwards. The thing with early 80s Musicman basses is that they introduced new colours (as well as the Cutlass models with graphite necks), rosewood fretboards, and some colours moved to alder rather than ash bodies so give an arguably smoother sound. The 2 band Stingray EQ has been more or less the same since 1979 to date. And yes, made by Charvel. So there was, basically, a broader choice, and a number of Musicman fans revere these early 80s instruments - a possible downside (dependent on your view) is the lack of through body stringing on the bridges (through body may increase sustaina little). Edited December 28, 2012 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1356703756' post='1912625'] What drT meant was, get a Stingray! [/quote] How did you guess. Several people I knew at the time had Ibanez Musicians - an awesome bass for playing early 80s dance music (eg The Whispers; Shalamar etc etc) and could get you into Alembic sound territory. Stingrays are on pop stuff like Culture Club; Thompson Twins; Go West etc. Sabres on Spandau Ballet - all from the early 80s. Blame Bernard Edwards - he made lots of people (including me) want to play a Stingray. Edited December 28, 2012 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I've got a Vox Standard from @ '83. Here's what it originally looked like (not my actual bass)... & here's what it looks like now (my actual bass)... I stripped it & sprayed it metallic purple when I was a teenager & then a couple of years ago I started to restore it as a fretless but haven't had time to get any further than what you see there. They weigh about the same as an Ampeg 8x10 with added concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifer Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Firstly thanks for the replies! Not really a Stingray or Fender fan and can't afford the Wals/Alembics (the Westone Thunder is definitely nearer my price range!) Favourite bass is my Guild B301 so a Pilot is looking good at the moment, maybe an Ibanez Roadstar (always been a fan as was mad on Supergrass in my youth). The Arias look like they've got quite a thin neck? Also not too worried about it being an 'iconic 80s bass' as my 80s bass hero was playing a 70s EB3! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingus Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 From memory , the neck on the Aria is narrow but has some depth front to back . This excellent review gives the lowdown on this all - time classic bass : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6CxlKPi7-8&list=UUg1jR-OooZ8um3gAEvGYz7w&index=2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) I have a JV squier Jazz bass. This is my favourite bass I have owned. Edited December 28, 2012 by deanovw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I had a vox the same as that nice bass dimarzio pickup sound good,i had sold my gear when i was skint and my mate had the vox sat in his room for years sold it to me for £35 really liked it. another mate who was heavily into dub reggae and weed had an ampeg 1510 plugged into his sound system i hassled him till he sold it to me best cab i ever had crazy days lol! As for early 80s basses i have a westone thunder 1a also classic basses and an aria sb black and gold but i think thats 84 an ibanez roadster rs900, the last two were fate as i didnt know till after i bought them that phil lynott had used an rs900 and cliff burton some times used an sb black and gold and there two of my all time favourite bass players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 [quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1356707422' post='1912723']From memory , the neck on the Aria is narrow but has some depth front to back .[/quote] SB1000 is 45mm at the nut, with 16mm pitch at the bridge. If you want a smaller nut and wider spacing you want an "R" version, so, R150, R80 or R60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Oh, and if you want year of creation/year of birth to intersect, I'd suggest the Yamaha BB3000. Officially introduced in December '82, the standard version is 42.5mm wide at the nut, while the narrow version - introduced in '84 - is 39.5mm. You also have the BB-X (aka BB1600) to consider - that model was introduced in '83. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifer Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Oh I like them! Troy from Mastodon plays a Yamaha which is good enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clashcityrocker Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 There is a seriously nice JV squier jazz from 83 just listed in the for sale section, she is a beaut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Wal Pro1/Custom - though it may possibly be a year too old for your purposes. Not for sale anyway - [b][color=#ff0000][i][font=comic sans ms,cursive][size=8]EVER!!![/size][/font][/i][/color][/b] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.