The bass model design that You hate with passion.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 20/04/2024 at 15:31, Musicman666 said:

well taking the logic to its ultimate conclusion wouldn't that be all we really need regardless of fretless or fretted ..just the dots along the leading edge, everything else would presumably be decorative fluff? 

 

That's how my fretless is, it is all one needs.

[NikNik]

Musicman Bongo

[TheLowDown]

Hate is much too strong a word, but I'm unlikely to buy a BC Rich-style(don't find the designs practical), greatly overpriced brands(eg Rics, Fenders, etc), boutique basses, thunderbirds(terrible ergonomics), lined fretlesses(the side dots in the 'wrong' place really throws me), or a jazz(tend to be on the heavier side and doesn't offer anything that I need).

[sadders]

Never liked the look of long horns. The body looks too squat to me. 

[12stringbassist]

Fender P and Jazz copies by companies like Lakland and Sandberg et al.
Why don't they have the imagination to do their own body shape designs?

[dudewheresmybass]

tbh I'm not a fan of most of Warwick's shapes. The only one of theirs I like the look of is a copy of another brand's shape 

 

I really don't like Jazz shapes, and certainly don't 'get' the super Jazz copy thing either

[nilorius]

30 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said:

Fender P and Jazz copies by companies like Lakland and Sandberg et al.
Why don't they have the imagination to do their own body shape designs?

They just think that Fender design absolutely rules the earth and it will be easier to sell j and p shape models.

[Count Bassy]

1 hour ago, nilorius said:

They just think that Fender design absolutely rules the earth and it will be easier to sell j and p shape models.

To a large extent Fender did get it right with the P and J bass body shapes. They fulfill the essentials of balance, access, and comfort etc.  If pretty sure that when they came up with them they didn't just draw a shape and say "That'll do". Even the P & J shapes aren't really that far apart. These shapes can be tweaked by other companies, but in many cases coming up a dramatically/instantly recognisable different body shape is to the detriment of basic function.

 

They same way that  the vast majority of cars are basically the same shape.

IMHO of course.

Edited April 22 by Count Bassy

[neepheid]

30 minutes ago, Count Bassy said:

They same way that  the vast majority of cars are basically the same shape.

 

Well they cetainly are now.  Can people please stop buying these SUV/crossover blobs on wheels?

[nilorius]

1 hour ago, Count Bassy said:

To a large extent Fender did get it right with the P and J bass body shapes. They fulfill the essentials of balance, access, and comfort etc.  If pretty sure that when they came up with them they didn't just draw a shape and say "That'll do". Even the P & J shapes aren't really that far apart. These shapes can be tweaked by other companies, but in many cases coming up a dramatically/instantly recognisable different body shape is to the detriment of basic function.

 

They same way that  the vast majority of cars are basically the same shape.

IMHO of course.

Brick house

[SurroundedByManatees]

Fish&chips

[Doctor J]

4 hours ago, 12stringbassist said:

Fender P and Jazz copies by companies like Lakland and Sandberg et al.
Why don't they have the imagination to do their own body shape designs?

As opposed to FMIC who didn't design anything either but, instead, bought the name and copyrights from the company who bought the name and copyrights from the guy who actually did design something?

[Nice Guy Rich]

I love Precisions but, I HATE them with PJ pickups. 

[Chris2112]

On 21/04/2024 at 04:39, Musicman666 said:

well of course you can always remove or reinstall training wheels but fretlines are permanent .. I think of them more like the diagram on top of a gear stick, essential at first but once you get the hang of it then not so much, however its good to know that they are there to fall back on when required. I have heard some reasons to not want fretlines such as they put some people off or others like the look of a plain board, but I suspect some just like to flex in front of an audience. If you want that no fretlines experience then you can always turn off the lights, ..so far I never felt the urge. Fretlines look pretty much like frets to me and I'm very comfortable with that particular look.

 

 

It's a neverending debate. I prefer fretlines myself as we all have positions where we're less fluid and accurate and the lines are a useful reference to compliment muscle memory, and particularly in any venues where the absolute clarity of the note you're may be compromised! Funnily enough, most lined fretless players don't look at the lines at all once they're playing, I don't think, because even the line on the side of the board is offset from where your fingers will be due to the angle of the neck and fretboard relative to your body. 

 

FWIW I have two fretless basses, one lined and one unlined and I like them both. There is definitely a 'flex' to playing an unlined board but unless you're Alain Caron it may be good to keep your ego in check. I've seen and heard a couple of guys playing fretless bass on unlined boards over the years who were probably not quite as in-tune as they thought 😂

[Baloney Balderdash]

3 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

There is definitely a 'flex' to playing an unlined board but unless you're Alain Caron it may be good to keep your ego in check. I've seen and heard a couple of guys playing fretless bass on unlined boards over the years who were probably not quite as in-tune as they thought 😂

 

[nige1968]

Low F♯?!  Is that so pigeons can enjoy it too?

[Chris2112]

9 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

 

 

Damn 🤣🤣🤣

 

Funnily enough I was just speaking to my brother about this very video the other day (as well as another one where he has another extremely ostentatious Warwick custom, a seven string Corvette IIRC). It's an excruciating watch really, to the point where I almost feel bad for the guy. You can see he just wants to hold the bass and bask in it's implied credibility and the nervousness in him is entirely apparent as it becomes clear he's going to be asked to play it on camera. The interviewer almost seems sheepishly reluctant to ask him to play it and the results are... woeful. I suppose it's a bit like turning up to a track day in a Le Mans car only to find your skills are Miata Cup level (if that). 

 

Given that his two basses are probably commissions both well in excess of £12,000 (at a guess), I was interested in seeing who the guy is as he's not a name you see discussed in bass circles. I note his online biography mentions a host of other, more-lucrative pursuits before stating that he is a musician, which may explain that. Outside of Alembic, I can think of a custom shop more expensive than Warwick. Maybe Fodera, but their builds are maybe less 'jewel-like' these days. 

[lozkerr]

On 16/04/2024 at 11:10, ezbass said:

The sexiest looking bass out there and the Firebird is the sexiest guitar ever. However, I just can’t deal with the ergonomics of either of them. If I had untold pots of cash, I think I’d have one of each, just to look at (I’d probably still try and play them though).

Horrible thing to play. I've appropriated the Girls Rock School Epiphone Thunderbird for teaching purposes as it's a bit mean to expect complete newbies to try to deal with the horrendous neck dive while they're learning the basics. Judging by the scrapes and dings on the end of the headstock, it's already hit the floor a few times - I'm quite surprised it's still attached to the neck.

 

The Thunderbird looks seriously badass and sounds awesome, but it's a dreadful beginner's instrument. I think it's only surpassed in that respect by the Flying V.

 

Just my 0.02.

[Kiwi]

I've only ever had one experience of using a bass that was so awkwardly dysfunctional that it killed all desire to pick one up again.  It was a Ricky 4001, clearly designed for pick players rather than fingerstyle and so much hardware seemed to get in the way.  Of course, they're a well known bass for a reason but most (not all) players I've seen using them are using a pick.  Too much compromise for me.

[Angel]

I don't like most singlecuts. They just look ugly to me.

 

However, I can pick one bass that I HATE the look of, the Parker Fly bass. The original Parker fly guitars I think looked brilliant, so original. The Bass version just looks like a whopping great a r s e.  Horrible horrible. It looks like one of the guitars got depressed and sat comfort eating for a couple of years.

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

7 minutes ago, Angel said:

I don't like most singlecuts. They just look ugly to me.

 

However, I can pick one bass that I HATE the look of, the Parker Fly bass. The original Parker fly guitars I think looked brilliant, so original. The Bass version just looks like a whopping great a r s e.  Horrible horrible. It looks like one of the guitars got depressed and sat comfort eating for a couple of years.

 

Looks like a deformed solid body Longhorn bass (which I by the way love the looks of).

 

That said I can think of much worse looking basses.

 

And yes, definitely single cut basses also looks wrong to me, especially the "whale hump" ones, butt ugly, though I have actually seen a couple of single cut basses that looked genuinely great.

 

Edited April 26 by Baloney Balderdash

[Kiwi]

4 hours ago, Angel said:

I don't like most singlecuts. They just look ugly to me.

 

However, I can pick one bass that I HATE the look of, the Parker Fly bass. The original Parker fly guitars I think looked brilliant, so original. The Bass version just looks like a whopping great a r s e.  Horrible horrible. It looks like one of the guitars got depressed and sat comfort eating for a couple of years.

 

I tried one in the Bass Gallery and didn't like it either.  It was too stiff,  really glassy sounding and that top horn dig into my ribs.  Still, it was more playable than a ricky.

[Leonard Smalls]

4 hours ago, Angel said:

Parker Fly bass

Funnily enough, I'm loving mine! It looks far more interesting than yer Fenders, and I find it doesn't dig in at all, though I strap it on good and high... Great sound too from the EMGs.

 

[Angel]

2 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Funnily enough, I'm loving mine! It looks far more interesting than yer Fenders, and I find it doesn't dig in at all, though I strap it on good and high... Great sound too from the EMGs.

 

 

Fair enough! OK, so I was a bit rude with my post (no-one is interested beige replies!), but the bottom line is that I think they could have come up with a more elegant shape. Still, what one guy hates another likes so who am I to say.

[Leonard Smalls]

10 minutes ago, Angel said:

a more elegant shape

Strictly speaking, mine isn't a Flybass anyway, it's the cheaper PB51. Same shape though but mine only cos me £500 new (no doubt some will say "U wuz robbd! U shoulda bought a 1961 Fender wot only makes one noise for £6k instead!"  😁)