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JPBasses to be built by Cliff Bordwell!
- Thread starter glen9
- Start date
ok, i got it...i just checked JP's myspace page...well, i'mglad that someone will carrying it on...good luck to JP and his future...and Cliff!
mark beem
Wait, how does this song start again??
Bryan R. Tyler
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Although that is cool news as JP's designs are really cool, isnt it a bit premature to assume that these basses will have the same "magic" as a real JP bass if they are not built by, or under the supervision of JP himself. I certainly don't mean this as a slight on Cliff's buidling ability because it looks like he makes some amazing basses, but clearly if an extremely competant building makes a MTD 535 copy, it doesn't make in an MTD.
I am sure I can list a lot of examples, but I just wonder whether a CB JP will be regarded the same as a JP JP? Will they be marketed under the JP name or the CB name? Will Cliff be able to change the design philopsphy etc?
I don't know...just food for thought.
Edit: just so people are clear that this is not a slam, I guess I would compare it to say, Fodera deciding to cease operations and letting Michael Tobias use thier bass designs. Whilst that would be really cool, I don't know if I would go as far as saying that the Fodera name lives on. FWIW
I am sure I can list a lot of examples, but I just wonder whether a CB JP will be regarded the same as a JP JP? Will they be marketed under the JP name or the CB name? Will Cliff be able to change the design philopsphy etc?
I don't know...just food for thought.
Edit: just so people are clear that this is not a slam, I guess I would compare it to say, Fodera deciding to cease operations and letting Michael Tobias use thier bass designs. Whilst that would be really cool, I don't know if I would go as far as saying that the Fodera name lives on. FWIW
I think they'll probably be very close. Cliff still makes everything by hand, so it's not like JP is selling his designs to Fender or Gibson.
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The designs are cool, especially the headless ones. Cliff Bordwell is a very respected and competent luthier, I'm sure the basses will carry the same great quality and magic. You know, I'd LOVE to see some collabs with great luthiers working on the same project, could be interesting...hmmm. This is great news
Ha! That's so funny. JP wouldn't tell me who it was but my first and only guess was Cliff. He denied it at the time, which I can completely understand. He wasn't ready to dislose the info then.Cliff was the only person I could see recreating JP's designs properly. Their asthetic vision is very similar. I've played one of Cliff's basses and I can assure you that JP's designs are in the best hands possible. Good news for Cliff and JP both.
Mark, have you ever played a JP or a CB? I do not believe anybody could execute JP's designs with more skill than Cliff.
No, but thats not the issue, its more a philosophical one as to whether a CB JP would be regarded as the same as a JP JP. For all I know, Cliff may build a "better" version of a JP than JP himself (in objective terms), but the question remains as to whether, if you wanted a JP, a CB JP would satisfy that.
I can only speak for myself, but yes yes and yes.
I believe JP is a great builder, solely from what I've seen of his work in pictures on TB. However, personally, I think JP's beautiful designs are what set the basses apart.
That is an interesting take on it. I am not sure that, philosophically, I am at the same place. To me, part of what makes a bass a [x] bass is, in the case of small luthieries, the name of the person on the headstock and their hand in the construction of the bass, selection of the woods etc. However, I can see how, if you thought the "essence" of the bass - or at least what made it great - was the design rather than the hand of the particular luthier per se, you could come to the opposite view. Particuarly when it is crafted by an equally good luthier.
I have absolutely no doubt that Cliff could build a phenomonel "copy" (for want of a better term - and I don't intend that in a negative way) of a JP bass, but I am not sure if I wanted a JP bass that it would ultimately satisfy me. In much the same way that if Vinnie Fodera sold his designs to Michael Tobias I would feel that I was buying a Fodera if it was made by Michael. IMO YMMV etc etc.
I will repeat again that I don't mean this to be a slam. I do find this to be a very interesting issue as I am not aware of it really coming up before in quite this context. Obviously there is the whole NS designed Spectors vs the Warwick Streamers and, for example, Fodera's vs early R Bass work etc, but the context is not really the same. That's why I am interested in other peoples thoughts / takes on it.
