The ultimate bass

[paulie]

Ive been playing bass for about 25 years now and I have had the chance to own many from various brands.

Ive recently taken the plunge and done something I swore I would never do. I ordered a Fodera!

I had always recented their high price tag and status which I felt was undeserved. However Im softening in my old age and having owned many a bass Ive decided to give them a go.

But it got me thinking, who now make the best basses out there pound for pound?

My thoughts are as follows on a few of the top brands that I have owned :
[list]
[*]Zon : their basses are excellent. Necks are to die for and the more recent models with the pheno??? wood fingerboards are fabulous to play. Built quality is superb. However their tone can be a little sterile for me at times. But I will say they consistently make a great bass. You could easily buy one online and know that it will be well set up and play perfectly right out of the box
[*]Fender Custom Shop : Ive owned 5 or 6 of these and the only one that really stood out was a Cunetto era Relic. That was stunning. The others were nice but not worth the money IMO, especially those that are listed as special and one off etc and command a higher price. It also annoys me the way they fail to be period correct. The quality can really vary from bad to good. I have found poor fretwork and tastless relicing on some but others have been good. Hit and miss I think. Definately a try before you buy.
[*]Fodera : I'll let you know in a few days but Im hoping they shoot to the top of my list otherwise my faith in humanity will have been dented.
[*]Lakland US : Stunning basses. I have owned a Glaub, Osbourn and a 4-94. Their necks are sensational, build quailty is always great and their finish work is superb. They really nail the old school feel. For my money they offer the best alternative to buying a pre-cbs instrument because they have that broken in mojo feel but with perfect build quality and reliability. I cant fault them
[*]Alleva Coppolo : I hate to say it but I would never again buy one of these without seeing it first. I have owned 3 but played 6. He can make a stunning bass that has pre cbs feel and vibe but with the addition of a lush preamp (depending on the model) However his workmanship can be terrible at times. If you get a good one its a great bass but some of the bad ones would even make some of the late 70's Fenders look good, Examples include, block markers being applied completely off line on the neck, necks being attached offline with skewed neck pockets causing the strings to run off centre over the pickups, badly cut scratchplates. I also notice that nearly every bass he makes has been made for one or other of the Namm shows and ends up getting rushed out of his factory. If I pay over £3000 for a bass I expect it to be pretty flawless. So again I say, sensational bass if you get a decent one, an odditiy if you dont.
[*]Sadowsky : Great bass. Excellent workmanship and tone. They dont nail the vintage vibe as well as Lakland do so if you your looking to recreate that pre Cbs tone look elsewhere but if you had to own one and only one bass the Sadowsky would not be a bad choice. You can always set the action really low without buzz making them really playable. The only word of caution is that he has changed the profile of his necks over the past number of years so his current neck feels a lot chunkier than his earlier basses. I had an early 90's Sadowsky with a flame maple top and black hardware that I bought from the Bass Centre years ago. My mate ordered a similar spec bass a few years back having fallen in love with mine but he ended up having the neck sent back to be re-shaped. This is not a criticisim as Roger makes the neck they way he wants to but just make sure of the profile before you pull the trigger on an order. I can also say that the Metro's are also a great bass and there is very little difference between a good metro and one of the NYC vintage models apart from the body chambering which doesnt improve the tone to my ears.
[*]Skjold : Great bass, well made, good preamp and pickups. Distictive body shape. Great value used and pretty unique. I owned one and rated it highly.
[*]Rickenbacker : Great bass if you want that Rick tone but steer clear if you dont. They are well made but the plastic on the neckplate and scratchplate can feel cheap. They are also a little uncomfortable to play with the pickup cover in place but they do look cool especially in jet black imo. Their build quality is consistent though and one Rick is ususally the same as another from the same era etc.
[*]Tacoma : Superb acoustic bass. Probably the best acoustic bass on the market bar none. I have owned a Taylor AB and a Martin and this whips either for tone. Really playable neck also. Feels like a jazz bass in the left hand. No longer available new but well worth a punt on the used market. Just be careful of the finish on the basic model as they had a tendency to damage more easily than the higher spec models which were finished in gloss.
[*]Musicman : Pre ernie ball models are great as are the earlier Ernie Ball models with the string mutes. Not really into the later models as their necks seemed to become more sterlie and boring. Earlier ones had great fingerboards and broken in necks but not so any more. You can often get late 80's and early 90's models for good money with nice birdseye maple boards and they are a great bass. Build quality is great though and the tone rarely changes, a musicman is still a musicman.
[*]Fender US : Still a great bass for the money. Their quality took a dive a few years ago but I think the new US standard models are good. Come with a great case also. I recently had a 2012 Jazz bass in black and it sounded and played outstanding. I cant fault them in any way.
[*]Fender non US : To me the Geddy Lee is a cracking bass. The neck profile is to die for and it has the mojo with the blocks and binding, Id happily own one of these as my only bass if I had to.
[/list]
Well thats it for now. Ill update once the Fodera arrives.
So far my top pics are : US Lakland Joe Osbourn, Sadowsky NYC or a Japanese Geddy Lee

Thanks

[CamdenRob]

Congratulations, I'm sure it'll be an amazing bass, I've not played a Fodera but would like to.

I recently came to a similar decision and ordered myself a Wal... Everything else I have tried pales in comparison to the Wals I've played, so I just thought sod the 18 month wait I'm going to go for it.

I think sometimes you can dither about buying mid range bass after mid range bass when what you really should have done is gone for what you wanted in the first place...

[HowieBass]

That's some collection you've had! I've promised myself something special for the day I win several thousand on the Lottery (and of course half the fun will be trying a few hand-crafted instruments out) but I must say I've always wanted to get my hands on an original Greg Curbow bass. How long will it be until the Fodera arrives?

[xilddx]

Is there such a thing as the ultimate bass? I've play a good number and most of them were fine for what I needed and I adapted to each one's characteristics, I still sounded and played like me. Look and feel are my main requirements.

The more I play the less important the bass becomes, and vice versa. But of course, that's just me

[Mikkoantt]

Hi
What kind of Fodera you going to have? I used to have over hundred basses and my Fodera Monarch new standard 4 is best bass that I ever had. I think that I would call it THE ULTIMATE bass👍

[paulie]

Thanks
Im going for a used Monarch Elite which is a neck thru with jazz pickups, so shouldnt be a million miles away from what im used to in terms of tone (Im not a P bass guy)

As one of you said, the ultimate bass will be what feels great in the hands of each player. My ultimate bass might be like a baseball bat to somebody else.