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How can they make a signature series ?

crispygoat

crispygoat

Aug 22, 2006
1,172
3
London, Ontario
#1
Hey,

I was wondering the other day, how can a company make a signature bass / guitar ?

I mean for example.. The Jaco bass by Fender was made after his death.. in other words, Jaco used a plain other Fender Jazz ... but then how can Fender make a Signature Bass... If Jaco used a plain one, why would someone pay an extra 2k for a bass the exact same bass with "Jaco" on it ?

Anyone has anything to say about this or possible answers?
 
#2
If you look at the number of players who have taken a pickguard off a sunburst Jazz bass and ripped the frets out, like Jaco did, you'll understand why. Not many Js nowadays can be pickguardless without a big route under the pickguard. As for the relic series Jaco tribute, it's definitely overpriced but everyone who's played one has said it felt incredible and worth every penny.

The Geddy Lee... well, the neck is bound with black blocks. I'm sure a bunch of players thought, "I wish I could have a Fender like that" but didn't have the money to buy one from the 70s. Marcus Miller - a lot of players define his slap tone the "Marcus" sound. That's generally an ash-maple 70s style J with a preamp. And so forth.

Others like Mark Hoppus and Reggie Hamilton have true signature series basses, since they helped design them.

All I know is, the more choices out there the better!
 
#9
The Jaco isn't a signature model. It's part of the artist series and is called the Fender Jaco Pastorius Tribute Fretless Jazz Bass, and yes it does have a Pao Ferro fingerboard. It's made to reproduce the image and approximate sound and feel of Jaco's bass.

The Custom shop version is nearly identical in every aspect, including the woods used.

The Marcus Miller Jazz is a Jazz Bass on steroids, with a huge pickguard, Badass II bridge, and preamp just like his. Once again, drop the money on a Custom Shop and you could probably get something identical. However, Fender artist instruments are generally a bit stripped down to be more consumer friendly.

Certain models like the Stu Hamm and Roscoe Beck basses are straight up, no questions asked signature instruments played by their respective namesakes... even though theirs are generally Custom Shop Masterbuilt instead off off the shelf models.
 
#10
Waitasec...the preamp in the Fender Marcus Miller is not the same as the preamp in his actual bass. The production model has a run of the mill preamp which I believe is made by Fender, and Marcus' personal bass has one of the first preamps that Roger Sadowsky made. Marcus has stated many times that he's not as happy with the preamp in his signature model as his own bass, but recognizes the need to keep his bass at a certain price point in order to sell more of them. Nothing wrong with that...at least he's honest about it, and it really is a good bass otherwise.
 
#14
crispygoat said:
Hey,

I was wondering the other day, how can a company make a signature bass / guitar ?

I mean for example.. The Jaco bass by Fender was made after his death.. in other words, Jaco used a plain other Fender Jazz ... but then how can Fender make a Signature Bass... If Jaco used a plain one, why would someone pay an extra 2k for a bass the exact same bass with "Jaco" on it ?

Anyone has anything to say about this or possible answers?
Click to expand...

Just like buying any ReIssue bass the company Fender in this case recreates a instrument as close as possible to the ones they did in that year. Then for signature series they add the tweaks and in some cases the looks to match. Some of these are really great instruments because of the combination of features. I love my Fender Marcus Miller and got to compare mine to Marcus' original and know how close they are in sound. Other signature model are just a tribute to the player they are named for. I would love to have a Victor Wooten model Fodera, but my pockets aren't deep enough for one.
 
#15
JimmyM said:
Waitasec...the preamp in the Fender Marcus Miller is not the same as the preamp in his actual bass. The production model has a run of the mill preamp which I believe is made by Fender, and Marcus' personal bass has one of the first preamps that Roger Sadowsky made. Marcus has stated many times that he's not as happy with the preamp in his signature model as his own bass, but recognizes the need to keep his bass at a certain price point in order to sell more of them. Nothing wrong with that...at least he's honest about it, and it really is a good bass otherwise.
Click to expand...

The company that made the pre-amp in Marcus' original bass is gone, Star Guitars. The pre-amp in the Fender MM4 some say is a Bart' design. Marcus stopped taking his original bass with him on the road this year. Fender Custom Shop built him a couple copies using their 70's reissues and installed Bart' pre-amps from what I have heard. It took people awhile to realize he wasn't playing his original bass anymore. Shows most of his sound is his hands.
 
#17
steveb98 said:
The company that made the pre-amp in Marcus' original bass is gone, Star Guitars.
Click to expand...

I like what Jaquo said: :D

But I'll actually say it. The preamps used in his REAL basses, the ones he uses on the road, particularly the 76 Jazz that started it all, use Bartolini preamps. The first one was installed by Rodger Sadowsky. No, its not a Sadowsky preamp, and no, he didn't modify the preamp. Its just a stock Bart 2 Band preamp.

His Artist series basses that we buy have a Fender preamp. Perhaps it is modeled after the Bart, or maybe its just a stock Fender active preamp. That I can't say for sure.
 
#18
SnakeAnthony said:
But I'll actually say it. The preamps used in his REAL basses, the ones he uses on the road, particularly the 76 Jazz that started it all, use Bartolini preamps. The first one was installed by Rodger Sadowsky. No, its not a Sadowsky preamp, and no, he didn't modify the preamp. Its just a stock Bart 2 Band preamp.
Click to expand...

:)

The original pre that is in his famous Jazz is in deed a Stars guitar pre amp.
 
#20
Personally not a fan of some of the relic/tribute models, but Fender goes into extreme detail to create these instruments. Most of the guitar series, such as the Stevie Ray Vaughan model were created by getting the actual instrument in their hands and making sure that everything was copied...of course it was a $10,000 strat.

Some artist models such as the marcus miller and roscoe beck are great instruments that would standup as great instruments without anybodys name attached to it
 

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