What bass gear isn't currently available but would probably sell well?

[AndyTravis]

Yamaha - BB3000 reissue. I know they’ve done it for domestic market before...but we need some.

[Linus27]

5 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

I wish Fender would do a 1951 reissue Precision again. I've owned 3 and it's the only bass I regret selling. Don't know how well they sell but it's long overdue a reissue.

I literally just came here to say exactly the same. Also an unlined Fretless American standard Jazz and Precision.

[paul_c2]

37 minutes ago, knirirr said:

This probably doesn't count, but I suspect that there might be a few people who'd like to buy a standard Fender/Squier Jazz/Precision with an unlined fretless board. I'd have bought one years ago and put and end to GAS before I wasted too much money.

 

I was going to say Fender/Squier unlined fretless too, they all seem to be lined these days. Maybe its something to do with the availability of suitable woods?  Having said that, there is something about playing a lined fretless and nobody noticing its a fretless for about 6 songs - THEN putting a few extroverted slides or similar in, which illustrate its definitely a fretless!

[knirirr]

16 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

I was going to say Fender/Squier unlined fretless too, they all seem to be lined these days. Maybe its something to do with the availability of suitable woods?  Having said that, there is something about playing a lined fretless and nobody noticing its a fretless for about 6 songs - THEN putting a few extroverted slides or similar in, which illustrate its definitely a fretless!

I presumed that it was simply cheaper for them to offer a lined one only.

Unfortunately for me, I find the lines a bit confusing and the side dots in the wrong place; the first bass I had was an unlined fretless and I've got used to that.

22 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

I literally just came here to say exactly the same. Also an unlined Fretless American standard Jazz and Precision.

Good choices. ;-)

I should perhaps add that I don't much fancy playing fretted basses but would buy a '51 P reissue for the Monk Montgomery connection:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17494060.2015.1085888

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by knirirr

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I've just thought of another mustang-related one. Fender fit their own 9050L stainless flatwound strings on the JMJ mustang, but they only make a longscale set. They are the only stock strings I've ever kept on a new bass, & I liked them so much I also put a set on my CIJ mustang switching allegiance from TI-JF324s which were my favourites for the last 10 years or more.

Fender really should make a mustang-specific version of the 9050L set.

[Krysbass]

A Fender Jazz bass with natural wood body and a rosewood or other dark wood fretboard. 

I'm not keen on maple fretboards, but suprisingly this seems to be the only option with natural wood on the body.

Curious, or maybe its just me being too fussy?

 

Edited July 13, 2019 by Krysbass

[paul_c2]

I get the feeling that at the lower end of the model range (for example, the entry level Mexican Fenders, whatever they're called today) they definitely restrict the colour/neck combinations a little bit. Spend a bit more on an American, and there's more combinations available. I guess at the upper end, there are at least a few custom shop Fenders which are sold, and they're pretty much the same spec as a non-custom shop but in an otherwise unavailable colour combination.

[Bolo]

A Musicman bass VI, perhaps even in the St.Vincent body style.

[Rich]

A lightweight rackmountable Trace Elliot head combining the GP12SMX preamp features with a Class D power amp. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

[jrixn1]

2 hours ago, Krysbass said:

A Fender Jazz bass with natural woid body and a rosewood or other dark wood fretboard.

They have this new one:

[CameronJ]

2 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I've just thought of another mustang-related one. Fender fit their own 9050L stainless flatwound strings on the JMJ mustang, but they only make a longscale set. They are the only stock strings I've ever kept on a new bass, & I liked them so much I also put a set on my CIJ mustang switching allegiance from TI-JF324s which were my favourites for the last 10 years or more.

Fender really should make a mustang-specific version of the 9050L set.

They’re great strings I agree. Was surprised how much I liked them on the JMJ. Weird that they don’t sell them in a short scale set despite clearly fitting a short scale set to their own short scale bass!

[CameronJ]

And now I’m thinking it’s a shame they don’t do a 5 string set...

[Deedee]

Oops, see below

Edited July 8, 2019 by Deedee
See below

[Deedee]

1 hour ago, Rich said:

A lightweight rackmountable Trace Elliot head combining the GP12SMX preamp features with a Class D power amp. I would buy one in a heartbeat.

8 hours ago, thodrik said:

A Trace Elliot GP12 SMX preamp with a class D power section would see a proper return to Trace Elliot’s roots, rather than a Peavey mini amp painted green. 

I’d like to take it further and ask them to remake the smaller 250/280 GP12SMX heads exactly as they were. I’m sure there'd be huge interest.

[obbm]

13 hours ago, la bam said:

Mini /half rack units.

So I could rack my quilter 800, stomp, and future wireless kit in a tiny case.

Have a look at this company's offering

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3U-10-5-inch-266-mm-Half-Rack-300-mm-DEEP-STACKABLE-AV-AUDIO-CABINET-CASE/290886863893?hash=item43ba354c15:g:RRUAAOxyTP1SPEUT

I use a 4U half rack bits to drive my pleasure board.  Good quality components.

 

[JimBobTTD]

A jobbie that makes the output volume completely level, so when you stomp on various boxes, your level does not drastically change. I’d buy that in a heartbeat. I have tried with compressors, but to no avail  

If this already exists, let me know! 

[Chris2112]

Strings that never dull. 

On another note, American made Peavey models. They were never 'fancy' but to those in the know they were indispensable. It was (at one time) a very well defined and high quality range of instruments. There was the TL6 doing a decent take on the Yamaha TRB formula. The Palaedium was an absolutely exceptional passive bass for jazz and fusion. The B-Quad took the high tech materials made popular by Alembic and Modulus and repackaged them in a hyper-modern instrument and the Cirrus was a consummate boutique instrument in the shadow of Ken Smith. For a long time, if you didn't play a Smith in Gospel you probably played a Cirrus. Truly, a great range of instruments. All that, whizzed up the wall by a company that seemed unable to appreciate it's own value. 

[bazzbass]

An ELF 500 watt @ 4 Ohm amp. 300W @ 8 Ohms I'd be DONE. For ever.

[ped]

1 hour ago, Chris2112 said:

Strings that never dull. 

If you like the way they play and sound, Elixirs do! I honestly felt like they were a miracle when I first discovered them. I've got one set here that are over two years old!!

[thodrik]

3 minutes ago, ped said:

If you like the way they play and sound, Elixirs do! I honestly felt like they were a miracle when I first discovered them. I've got one set here that are over two years old!!

Okay, I will just say this. I love the D'addario Balanced Tension 120-50 set (pretty much the only set of production strings that work for me for D standard/drop C or the classic Black Sabbath tuning of C# standard).

I must spend about a couple of hundred quid on strings a year.

If Elixir or D'addario did an coated equivalent of that 120-50 then I would buy those. (Elixirs don't do singles of those gauges so it is not really an economical option).

[fretmeister]

17 hours ago, DoubleOhStephan said:

Do Fender make a P with Jazz neck? If not, that. 

I would like that too.

 

And weigh under 8lb.

 

My American Special Precision is 7-3/4 lb so it is possible!

[la bam]

2 hours ago, obbm said:

Have a look at this company's offering

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3U-10-5-inch-266-mm-Half-Rack-300-mm-DEEP-STACKABLE-AV-AUDIO-CABINET-CASE/290886863893?hash=item43ba354c15:g:RRUAAOxyTP1SPEUT

I use a 4U half rack bits to drive my pleasure board.  Good quality components.

 

That, in rack case form with handles and front and back removable lids would be awesome.

 

[obbm]

6 minutes ago, la bam said:

That, in rack case form with handles and front and back removable lids would be awesome.

 

Talk to Flightcase Warehouse.  They made one like that for me a few years ago. 

That Ebay seller can provide the rack-trays but be careful with dimensions as they do 2 different widths.

[la bam]

Cheers.

[funkgod]

im going to go for the SWR red head.

When fender took over, im not sure whether they made it any better or worse,  but i think people just did not like it cus it was fender ? but in any case sales fell when they took over, now ... here is my thought on it, i may be wrong ! i think the original pre fender super red head had a great following being helped promoted by the likes of marcus miller which helped define his sound, Now... the bass community is a small patriotic bunch that likes to follow our fave product and in our own way help support that product, and the red head had its following, it had been going a fair amount of time before being sold to fender for 8 million in 2003, so, long enough for most bass players to have heard of them before fender and they either passed it by or went with it, so its established core users were already there, ... when fender took over they had ideas of revamping and selling more units, as is the idea of most bigger company's  when they take over a smaller company, ...you can guess what happend, yea, they never got their sales they wanted and so about 10 years later fender axed it, and i think nearly all swr products, a shame,  i think for the red head i dont think fender had anywhere to go with it, as swr had already engineered a product that you could not squeeze anymore power out of a small box with two 10" speakers, so in terms of power v size and features and sound it was already at its pinnacle.  I am not sure if there is a market now for a new red head as most bass players will see right through it as making cash from an old name, but i would not mind seeing a new incarnation of it just to see what could be done, weight cold be one thing !.. i love my super red head and will use it till it falls to bits or blows up, i don't think there will be another to take its place, we will see.......

here is fenders list and history of swr products. interesting.

https://support.fender.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002366263-Vintage-SWR-Products

Edited July 8, 2019 by funkgod