Signature Basses That Don't Exist...But Should

[White Cloud]

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1388805019' post='2326355']
Didnt i read somewhere that he used a really cheap'n'nasty Washburn fretless on the Graceland sessions?
[/quote]
Cheap yes...but evidently not nasty!

[thodrik]

A signature bass/guitar for a player who plays in alternative/drop tunings that is actually set up for those tunings from the get go. Is it really a signature model if it is set up in standard tuning that is never used by the artist in question? Troy Sanders/Biffy Clyro sigs, I'm looking at you!

I am probably of the opinion that there already too many signature models as there is.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1388805019' post='2326355']
Anyone else fancy a Tony Levin signature 3-string Stingray?
[/quote]
I don't think even TL has one now after the fire does he?

[icastle]

I reckon they should make a bass that's 6' long and has 88 strings.

Dood Bass

[leschirons]

How come no manufacturer has ever offered "signature" upright double basses? (No doubt someone will prove me wrong but I've never heard of any)

I guess they must think that upright players wouldn't feel the need to lash out around £35,000 for a "Ron Carter RC55 deluxe" or a "Charlie Mingus Mojo 2"

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1388919079' post='2327536']
How come no manufacturer has ever offered "signature" upright double basses? (No doubt someone will prove me wrong but I've never heard of any)
[/quote]
Here's one...

[url="http://kolstein.mivamerchant.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KMI&Product_Code=1LRTB13&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1"]http://kolstein.miva...=Yes&Quantity=1[/url]


and a signature EUB....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bunny-Brunel-Signature-Series-Electric-Upright-Bass-/150543268015

Edited January 5, 2014 by BetaFunk

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1388919079' post='2327536']
How come no manufacturer has ever offered "signature" upright double basses? (No doubt someone will prove me wrong but I've never heard of any)

I guess they must think that upright players wouldn't feel the need to lash out around £35,000 for a "Ron Carter RC55 deluxe" or a "Charlie Mingus Mojo 2"
[/quote]
I suppose it's because all the great jazz bass players played 19th Century basses so it would be difficult to make a signature version.

A Scott LaFaro signature bass made by Kolstein would be nice though.

[spacey]

I would rather see Fender take the brand back in house and only put the name Fender on it's best USA range.
The squire brand is established enough to cover the Chinese. Japanese, mexican stuff.

But churning ot basses from China with Fender on has devalued the brand.

We have SQ basess that are better than starter Fenders and that should not be so.
Fender was and should be a premium brand that commands respect, not something chopped out by a CNC machine in a country where they get executed for not been a slave.

Edited January 5, 2014 by spacey

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388927746' post='2327656']
Fender was and should be a premium brand that commands respect, not something chopped out by a CNC machine in a country where they get executed for not been a slave.
[/quote]
Have a good look at a 60s or 70s Fender and you may wish that they had CNC capability back then.

[spacey]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1388928683' post='2327676']
Have a good look at a 60s or 70s Fender and you may wish that they had CNC capability back then.
[/quote]

They did not as they were not invented, but comparing them to other instruments of the time, they were comparable.
It's more about the brand, where next Fender from Koesung North Korea ?

There is always a market for the best, come on Fender !

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388928862' post='2327678']
They did not as they were not invented
[/quote]
Yes, that's why if you notice i said 'wish'.

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388927746' post='2327656']
But churning ot basses from China with Fender on has devalued the brand.
[/quote]
Fender have always churned out basses. Whether it's China and Mexico nowadays or in the U.S. in the 50s, 60s & 70s. These are (and were) mass produced in their thousands.

[Dingus]

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1388763867' post='2325784']


Klaus Flouride's legendary JB.

Package should include strap, DK car sticker and a small jar of blood to stain the pickguard.
[/quote]


This is what students at Manchester Polytechnic used to look like in the late 1970's.

[Dingus]

On the theme of "Signature basses that don't exist that should do" , , what about signature basses that [i]do[/i] exist that shouldn't? I would nominate the 34 inch scale Alembic Stanley Clarke. That contraption takes neck- dive and overall playing discomfort to a new level . I tried one once and it was horrendous, despite sounding like an Alembic .

[Dingus]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388928862' post='2327678']
They did not as they were not invented, but comparing them to other instruments of the time, they were comparable.
It's more about the brand, where next Fender from Koesung North Korea ?

There is always a market for the best, come on Fender !
[/quote]

If they had been making Fender in North Korea we would already be having heated discussion on whether the Kim Jong -un era basses are as good as the ones produced under the leadership of Kim Jong-il. ( I think the Kim Jong -un ones would probably actually be better because they might have the new lightweight tuners on them).

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1388936822' post='2327799']
This is what students at Manchester Polytechnic used to look like in the late 1970's.
[/quote]
Only if their name was Geoffrey and not really Klaus Flouride.

Edited January 5, 2014 by BetaFunk

[spinynorman]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388927746' post='2327656']
I would rather see Fender take the brand back in house and only put the name Fender on it's best USA range.
The squire brand is established enough to cover the Chinese. Japanese, mexican stuff.

But churning ot basses from China with Fender on has devalued the brand.

[/quote]

On the other hand, Gibson preserved the value of their brand by only putting it on US-made instruments. Whether or not you like Gibson guitars and basses, it would be hard to argue it's had a positive effect on their sales, and it hasn't done much for Epiphone either.

[Immo]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1388937142' post='2327804']
On the theme of "Signature basses that don't exist that should do" , , what about signature basses that [i]do[/i] exist that shouldn't?
[/quote]
All those sigs that look and sound just like a widely manufactured basses. I understand (and admire) a sig that has major custom features like reverse headstock and no pickguard and control plate on Dusty Hill's Fender bass, but a signature that's just a CAD P-Bass with Badass bridge and SD pickup or just a body decal/custom pattern on scratchplate is silly - you pay more for a signature on a headstock.

[louisthebass]

A Fender Berry Oakley "The Tractor" would be cool - his son Berry Oakley Jr still uses it .

[url="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=rPUruJrQWzBHrM&tbnid=0-4ZlBF-ep2gmM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.talkbass.com%2Fforum%2Ff8%2Fberry-oakleys-tractor-440045%2Findex4.html&ei=wI3JUoPrDO_60gX6r4BA&bvm=bv.58187178,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNGE-IGJaTmbDN9m2XPW77YiEyM1wA&ust=1389027126598826"][/url]

Edited January 5, 2014 by louisthebass

[chriswareham]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1388928862' post='2327678']
They did not as they were not invented, but comparing them to other instruments of the time, they were comparable.
It's more about the brand, where next Fender from Koesung North Korea ?

There is always a market for the best, come on Fender !
[/quote]

I used to own an industrial model PDP-11 computer that came from a 1970s CNC machine, so they definitely existed back then. Peavey actually undercut Fender and others by offering an extremely high quality, US made bass guitar (the T40) at a very low price thanks to the use of CNC machines. The CNC machining meant they were quicker to make, with much better consistency than Fender could manage.

[Owen]

I would pay SERIOUS coin for a bass sustainer.

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1388694024' post='2325019']
I wish Washburn would do a Peter Steele signature of the very rare M series bass that he used towards the end of his life. Cool looking bass, probably customised with a prototype Fernandez sustainer (why oh why did that not go into production?).
[/quote]

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Freddy Le Cragg' timestamp='1388690001' post='2324929']
Sorry if this has been done but what "famous" bass guitars would you dig if you could get a company to release a replica?

I think mine would be this fella



Leo Lyons 1962 Jazz Bass. Sublime
[/quote]

What's special about this bass, though? Is it just an old Jazz with a certain pattern to the paint?

[Cosmo Valdemar]

John Entwistle Slab P bass. Fender, of course
Or, the legendary Frankenstein that grew out of it - sounds lthe same but looks a bit more ordinary.

[NJE]

I wouldnt mind seeing a Jaco jazz with his other less known, fretted maple Precision neck. I would kill for a Jazz bass with a bulky old maple precision neck as I find the jazz neck a bit scrawny.

[jazzmanb]

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1388693696' post='2325010']
I thought JJ went with Shuker because Fender wouldn't do him a sig bass???
[/quote]Think you're right,i think it was the body weight/strength Fender struggled with..The Marcus miller and the Jaco are the stand out ones for me with distinctive features.The Geddy bass is nice but do the original 70s basses not have the bridge pick up positioned different?