When I think of a bass having MOJO, the first bass that comes to mind is Billy Sheehan's bass known as the "wife". Over 3000 gigs with it. The finish was worn completely worn off from all the sweat.I remember reading in a Interview with Billy that when anyone else would attempt to play the wife it would feedback!
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I think mojo comes down to so many variables that it's certainly possible to have two exact basses that sound different. At least to us. I had this really nice MIA Jazz with an ash body and maple fretboard that sounded amazing. I played another that was almost exactly the same, the difference being the color and it was a year or two older. it didn't have the same punch or overall tone goodness that mine had. Too many variables to consider to attempt to account for the difference.
Yeah, now this mojo song is very positive as well. It was on my repertoire 30 years ago when i formed my second jazz trio.
I don't believe in mojo as something magical that gives a bass or another object a special aura or sound.
There are differences however between instruments, although they are made out of the same components.
I've noticed that with my first PJ fretless, after it got stolen I tried a couple of similar ones, none had the tone or vibe that my stolen one had.
I've also noticed that with Höfner violin basses, before I bought my Cavern I tried out about a dozen in several shops, 2 of them sounded significantly better than the others to me.
There are differences however between instruments, although they are made out of the same components.
I've noticed that with my first PJ fretless, after it got stolen I tried a couple of similar ones, none had the tone or vibe that my stolen one had.
I've also noticed that with Höfner violin basses, before I bought my Cavern I tried out about a dozen in several shops, 2 of them sounded significantly better than the others to me.
I have a friend who bought an Ampeg fretless scroll bass in the 60's. the bass by all accounts nowadays is not a particularly great sounding or playing bass. Good, unique, yes but not unusually great. of course some will argue its fantastic, I've played an awful lot of fretless basses over the years and I've owned one 4 string that was custom made for me about 25 years ago that is just about perfect for me. As great as this bass is for me I don't think it has any special mojo, it's just a really good fit for me. That said, when i play his Ampeg it does something in my hands that I do not understand. I play things that i just don't normally play. Somehow it seems to make me do things I wouldn't normally do, in a good way. Things I can't seem to replicate on my own bass. That to me is what "mojo" is all about.
I think its what Geddy and Cary are talking about. I don't think player wear, history or any of that other stuff has anything to do with what I personally would call mojo. when I think of mojo i DO think its a little bit of magic.
The word like many other words is both overused and inappropriately used as, for example very few things are truly awesome even though we hear the word used constantly. Hearing it does not make it so, the same as the repetition of the mojo mantra does not mean every other bass has mojo as we are led to believe.
Finding real Mojo in an instrument is a rarity but I believe it does happen, its happened to me more than once. if you play long enough and play enough different instruments I believe you will in fact come to believe it is real.
YMMV
I think its what Geddy and Cary are talking about. I don't think player wear, history or any of that other stuff has anything to do with what I personally would call mojo. when I think of mojo i DO think its a little bit of magic.
The word like many other words is both overused and inappropriately used as, for example very few things are truly awesome even though we hear the word used constantly. Hearing it does not make it so, the same as the repetition of the mojo mantra does not mean every other bass has mojo as we are led to believe.
Finding real Mojo in an instrument is a rarity but I believe it does happen, its happened to me more than once. if you play long enough and play enough different instruments I believe you will in fact come to believe it is real.
YMMV
Thanks but that's not me on the video. My double bass playing sucks!You sound amazing! Thanks for sharing!
This is my idea too. Mojo is like the whole history and personality of an instrument. It can have to do with an exceptionally playing or sounding instrument, but I sort of agree with others that such is something else. More like luthier skill or manufacturing luck. To me mojo is like the akashic record of the life of the instrument which has gone on long enough that it's history and personality becomes visible on it's exterior. I'm not a huge fan of relicing as an instrument finish, but real mojo is something more than just looks.
For example I was just watching Austin City Limits and Don Henley had this guest country singer on there with this huge dreadnaught guitar with all kind of dings and scratches and covered in signatures that you could imagine were all manner of famous country stars probably back before they were famous. And Next to him was Don Henley with his brand new or at least looking new Takimine guitar. The former just DRIPPING mojo, the latter, meh.
And musicians I have known had mojo instruments that were often the polar opposite of special "keeper" super players. They could have mile high action, dead spots, and all manner of defects that the owners had learned to deal with and even use to their advantage. hence part of the mojo of the instrument actually resides in it's owner!
My Hound Dog Taylor guitar has tons of mojo even though I wasn't there to put it on. But it's real mojo not just relic show biz. Not that show biz finishes are not valid. Hey when you go to a play and see a gold chair on stage, you know the chair isn't made of real gold, right? Play still works. So looks can be part of the act. But I'm saying history goes beyond looks.
To start a thread and then go back to it and make massive changes to the first starter post is the ultimate in TB flim flammery IMO.
I'm half tempted to start a thread about P basses being the ultimate groove machine and then, nearly 24 hours later, going in and changing "P basses" to "Brady Bunch" or something else that completely changes the vibe.
Bait and switch city, OP.
I'm half tempted to start a thread about P basses being the ultimate groove machine and then, nearly 24 hours later, going in and changing "P basses" to "Brady Bunch" or something else that completely changes the vibe.
Bait and switch city, OP.
I've never experienced the MOJO, because I have never played comparable vintage instruments. But if Geddy Lee believes, I believe
It doesn't have to be vintage. If you have a bass that you love and it sings for you, you have experienced mojo.
Edit: I told you so:
Actually, I retract my previous statement. I never like Warwicks AT ALL until I played mine, I fell in love the second I plugged it in and moped around for weeks until my wife secretly bought it for me!!! Been in love ever since
Mojo.....I guess there's a bunch of different ways to describe the word. I'm guessing it means a certain bass has some *magical* quality apart from other basses of the same brand or type(?) I've played older, used basses that sounded great right off, others, maybe not so much. I've played new basses that sounded awesome right out of the gate. There's too many variables in my opinion, ranging from how the instrument is setup, the strings or amp it's being played through, how the amp is eq'ed, etc, etc,.
I've bought basses that at first, that didn't seem to be very special to me, but as I continued to play them, over months, somehow transformed into great basses. Maybe I varied it's setup, or tried a different type or brand of strings, or quite possibly I learned where the best places to pluck the strings to get what I was after out of it. I've heard some guys who can make pretty much every bass, through a less than stellar amp setup sound great. So I guess it's more in their hands, their overall technique.
I know this isn't the Amp's Forum, but I've played through many of the newer SVT setups, and I made them sound like crap, really generic, whereas almost everyone else I've heard playing through them sound fantastic. Many years back, when I played in a Club Band, we had a really good Soundman, who was also a good Rock Guitarist. He was like our 4th member, and was at all of our gigs. We would often have friends show up at gigs and sit-in on songs, and when it was a bass player, I'd sit with him at the P.A. Board. I would often comment to him that my bass sounded weak in the mix, he would always tell me that I would give him more of a signal, because I play with a heavier touch than the person that was playing my bass.
I've also experienced what other folks have already posted here while trying out a few of the same models of a bass in a music store. There would be that one that just sounded better to me than the others. But I'm sure that someone else trying the same basses out might choose a different one of the same basses as their favorite.
There's my long winded thoughts.
I've bought basses that at first, that didn't seem to be very special to me, but as I continued to play them, over months, somehow transformed into great basses. Maybe I varied it's setup, or tried a different type or brand of strings, or quite possibly I learned where the best places to pluck the strings to get what I was after out of it. I've heard some guys who can make pretty much every bass, through a less than stellar amp setup sound great. So I guess it's more in their hands, their overall technique.
I know this isn't the Amp's Forum, but I've played through many of the newer SVT setups, and I made them sound like crap, really generic, whereas almost everyone else I've heard playing through them sound fantastic. Many years back, when I played in a Club Band, we had a really good Soundman, who was also a good Rock Guitarist. He was like our 4th member, and was at all of our gigs. We would often have friends show up at gigs and sit-in on songs, and when it was a bass player, I'd sit with him at the P.A. Board. I would often comment to him that my bass sounded weak in the mix, he would always tell me that I would give him more of a signal, because I play with a heavier touch than the person that was playing my bass.
I've also experienced what other folks have already posted here while trying out a few of the same models of a bass in a music store. There would be that one that just sounded better to me than the others. But I'm sure that someone else trying the same basses out might choose a different one of the same basses as their favorite.
There's my long winded thoughts.
What if mojo is in the hands of the beholder?! Say you put a junky ol' bass in the hands of a master, could they play life into that bass?
What if Victor Wooten was handed a beat down squire, bet that bass would sing.
But to answer the question, yes, mojo is REAL! Sometimes it's the instrument, sometimes it's the player.
What if Victor Wooten was handed a beat down squire, bet that bass would sing.
But to answer the question, yes, mojo is REAL! Sometimes it's the instrument, sometimes it's the player.
I like how Carey says "What ever bass Mo plays, it's sounds dark." And that has to do with Mo's hands. I've noticed the same effect from myself. Whenever I buy a new bass, it takes me some time to learn how to "voice" it. Once I get that sorted out, usually from eqing it, I'll typically sound like *me* playing it. Sure a P-Bass will still sound like a P-Bass, but it will sound like what I sound like playing a P-Bass.
