Are Signature Basses Special?

[Doctor Intrepid]

A follow up to my question last week.

Every signature bass started as a off the rack bass. Some standard bass that a no one bought and played the crap out of. So was it the bass or the player? What makes the bass special?

I know the signature Geddy is popular, as is some others. Are they special basses found by the right person or is it nostalgia or some type of hype?

Let me know!

 

[hbabels]

I have a Dingwall NG-2 which is the Nolly GetGood signature bass and it is an excellent instrument with one of the best feeling necks I’ve ever played.

 

[lowphatbass]

If a signature model bass has features I want and like then it could be special to me, or at least a bass that I would want to own/play. Beyond that there’s really nothing “special” IMO.
Chances are if you were to play Geddy’s/Nolly’s/Sting’s actual basses and they were to play yours you’d sound more like you and they’d sound more like them then the other way around. This type of phenomenon is part of the reason that there’s so much good, “slightly used” gear on the market all the time.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Some signature basses are simply production models in a certain color with a certain pickguard and perhaps different pickups, at least when put out by Fender.

On the other hand, a signature bass like the Epiphone Jack Casady was designed as a unique instrument from the ground up, even though it was based on an earlier Gibson model.

Then, take the Frank Prestia signature model made by ESP.
Pretty much a PJ model, but with the pickups in unusual positions.

I think a signature model has more of a chance of being noticeably different if it's not made by Fender.

Mike

 

[JTE]

Your premise is wrong. Not all signature basses started as regular models. Fender's first signature instrument wasn't- it was the Eric Clapton Strat. Their Stu Hamm, Roscoe Beck, and Steve Bailey basses weren't either.

But it doesn't matter. Some people buy them because they're signature instruments, some disdain them for the same reason, some like them for the functionality, some for mere cosmetics. I bought a Sting because I wanted a good '54 - '57 style SCP Precision, and it's an excellent instrument with those features. Lots of people have Geddy Lee because of the impossibly skinny neck and factory BA

 

[Paulabass]

Alembic signature basses were designed from the ground up for the artist. It wasn't an off the rack model that got played to hell. The Epi Allen Woody was not a production bass before Allen Woody. I believe there are many many more like that.

 

[malthumb]

Just like with instruments in general, there are no rules that say “signature instruments must....”

Some are the same as anything else on the shelf with a different color and/or pickguard. Some have a completely unique controls setup or different wood selections. Some are a unique combination of readily available options and can be further customized (my Alembic Mark King) and some are configurations that only exist for the signature model and come as is, no modifications or options available (Music Man Joe Dart)

 

[luciens]

The signatures that I've bought all had a feature set added by the artist that I was interested in:
- Carvin Bunny Brunel 4 and 6 string (R.I.P.): long upper horn for good balance, Bunny tone, no hassle unlined fretless option
- Carvin Brian Bromberg 5 string (R.I.P.): unbelievably comfortable ergonomic design, radiused pickups, no hassle unlined fretless option
- Fender Jaco: Fretless on a '62 jazz bass
- Fender Tony Franklin: unlined Fretless on a 70's P bass, P/J pickup configuration

I've never been interested in sig models that simply had a cosmetic feature to them; in those cases I'd just get the regular bass and save a little money. But if the artist adds something they found desirable in their experience as a player, I've tended to also value it as a player, plus or minus what the feature is....

L

 

[NKBassman]

I have several signature basses in my collection: A Fender Geddy Lee Jazz, a Yamaha Attitude LTD-II, and most recently a Fender JMJ Mustang. It wasn't really intentional, and as much as I like Geddy and Billy Sheehan (and JMJ, but he's a little lesser known than the other two), my decision to buy them really had very little to do with the players behind the instruments. I just liked the specs and playability of each one better than anything else on the rack at the time. They're all great instruments, and each one is a keeper.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Only if it's a "Special" Signature...... Sorry I had too.

All signature instruments, are either some modification or multiple modifications of an existing model, typically.
A few are a "from the Ground Up" design, but that is rarer in the market.

I.E. A Spector Doug Wimbish NS2 is a regular NS2 USA Spector, that has a 1.5" nut and a little slimmer neck profile. In fact the construction of it, had DW sitting in a car at the Woodstock shop, and they would plane down and shape the neck, and bring out for him to feel. Once he liked it, that became his Signature DW model.

I remember hearing that Eric Johnson even specified an older type of Pots and older style of wire to be used in his signature Strat.

 

[BarfanyShart]

It's like a trim package on a car; if it comes stock with the options you want, then you may as well get it. The sig basses are mostly just upgraded electronics and maybe a wood combo that isn't otherwise available. The ones I think are special are basses like the Reverend Wattplower- that's legitimately a whole new instrument that you couldn't just mod an equivalent to very easily.

 

[JoeDaddio]

I know that the Wattplower, Mike Watt's Reverend signature bass is a pretty unique instrument that was created with years of input from Watt. There's an interview I read a while back where Mike said that Reverend gave him a bass to play and asked for his feedback and he basically told them it was crap and he hated it. He didn't think they'd do it but they took all he said in to account and made the changes. After a few years of doing that they came up with his signature bass.

I think that's a great way to do it in order to create a really unique instrument that will stand out. One of these days I'll get myself a MkII Wattplower!


joe

 

[sleddogn]

yeah, i love the wattplower also. they look like they are built like tanks

 

[Volker Kirstein]

... Every signature bass started as a off the rack bass. ...

Your premise is flawed.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

I’m glad someone brought up the JMJ Mustang. That’s a signature bass that was brought to life by a great player/producer who saw a gap in Fender’s line. There are some very specific things about that model, like the headstock thickness, that make it a unique bass. When Fender released that it was their only “real” Mustang, IMHO.

 

[Indiana Mike]

I’ve got the current rendition of the Steve Harris P

It’s a nice piece of work.
Fit and finish are spectacular ( maybe I got lucky)
Everything else as far as hardware appears to be top notch.
Yes , it’s heavy, that’s by design because of wood choice. 13# on the nose. It came with roundwounds installed , but had a pack of his signature strings in the gig bag, which I put on.

I bought it sight unseen brand new and was blown away.

 

[two fingers]

A follow up to my question last week.

Every signature bass started as a off the rack bass. Some standard bass that a no one bought and played the crap out of. So was it the bass or the player? What makes the bass special?

I know the signature Geddy is popular, as is some others. Are they special basses found by the right person or is it nostalgia or some type of hype?

Let me know!

Actually, no. Most signature basses aren't exactly like off-the-rack basses. Fender does that a lot. But many others don't. Even Fender changes things up for some signature models.

The Roscoe Beck had all kinds of electronics that no other Fender did, and am asymmetrical neck profile.

There was a Flea Fender with a Music Man style pickup.

The Stu Hamm (Urge) was originally 32" scale (something Fender had never offered) and had crazy electronics options.

Yes, the Geddy is pretty much a 70s reissue.

The Sting is a 50s reissue.


But...


Warwick Bootsy?

Fodera YinYang (Victor Wooten)

All of the Steve Bailey variants (AriaPro II, Fender, Warwick)

Music Man Joe Dart

Kiesel Amos Williams

Reverend Mike Watt

Yamaha Attitude (Billy Sheehan)

Any of the Jeff Berlin variants (Dean, Peavey, Cort, etc.)

Carvin/Kiesel or ESP Bunny Brunel

Ibanez Gary Willis

Schecter Nikki Sixx

All of these (and dozens of others) are examples of signature models that offer electronics and/or aesthetics options not available anywhere else in their respective companies' lines.

In fact, I would argue there are more truly different signature models out there than there are reissues with somebody's name on them.

 

[JRA]

Are Signature Basses Special?
IME: some are, some aren't, but none of them are special because of the signature attached. even if an artist does influence a design: you have to play the thing to know whether the ax is really "special" and then make an assessment of the artist's influences --- do those influences float your boat? OTOH: if a buyer wants to 'hero-worship' it's always going to be "special"....for that buyer!

i voted "no."

 

[Jaycephas]

Roscoe Beck 5. I was a huge fan of RB with Eric Johnson, started following him after. His work with Robyn Ford is some of the best.

There was nothing like that bass before he collaborated with Fender. And having Bill Lawrence design the pickups, well, brilliant.

My ‘97 RB5 is still my most unique both shape, style and tone.

 

[JW56789]

They run the gamut:

Some are very, very specialist pieces where the artist or player had significant input and resulted in a different than production axe: The terrifying Alain Caron 6-string fretless signature axe, or the Anthony Jackson Fodera come to mind and there are certainly more along those lines.

Others are, indeed, basically a production axe with a few tweaks the player preferred, or was modeled after their favorite axe. The Geddy Jazz or Steve Harris Precision Bass come to mind in that end of the pool.

And at times, some float around from one manufacturer to another: The Brombergs, the Bunny B's, Jeff Berlin's axes come to mind in more than a few versions from different builders over the years. My favorite is how Susan Wickersham said NO to John Entwistle regarding his 'buzzard' shape instruments . . . . she put her foot down and said Alembic would never build a bass that looked like that, regardless of WHO wanted it ! They later reached an approachment and collaborated on the Dragon Wings.