Are there any "timeless" basses?

[AK Bass Guy]

OK, I had to do it.
If any bass was truly timeless, it would be this.

It recognized by the entire world, played in many genres and has been visually recognizable for an entire century.
It also has more names than almost any other instrument. Double Bass, Contra Bass, Standup Bass, Doghouse Bass, Bass Fiddle, Orchestral Bass…….
And sometimes just called bass.

 

[Carl Hillman]

I've been debating with a friend about whether any basses can truly be considered "timeless." He argues that the Fender Precision and Jazz fit the bill, but I disagree for several reasons.

To me, "timeless" suggests consistent dominance, but while the Precision and Jazz have always been in use, they haven’t always been the go-to choices. In the '80s, bassists gravitated toward StingRays, Steinbergers and Spectors. The '90s saw Warwicks take centre stage. These shifts suggest that bass trends come and go. The Precision with flatwound strings defined the '60s, but by the '70s and '80s, it had largely faded. It has made a resurgence, but will it still be everywhere in 2035? I have my doubts.

Another factor is how much the Precision and Jazz have evolved over the years. Yes, the core designs remain similar, but countless changes have been made—pickups, neck profiles, fretboard radius, tuners, bridges, preamps and more. My friend noted that David Gilmour primarily played Strats throughout his career, but even he made significant modifications—like switching to EMG pickups in the '80s—which drastically changed the instrument's character. A heavily modified Strat is hardly the same as a '60s model with single-coil pickups.

In that sense, I struggle to call anything physical "timeless." Stories, art, and music? Maybe. But basses? I’m not so sure.

What do you think?

I’m not sure about timeless basses, but there are plenty of timeless drummers out there.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Those JC hollows seem pretty timeless to me, same as the Rickenbacker 4003, even though their application may not be as broad as Js and Ps.

 

[bassdude51]

P

 

[Just Wrong]

Iconic is probably a better term to use than “timeless” but that’s a semantics game. With that said I would agree that the P bass and J bass are iconic bass guitars. I would also add to the list the MM, Ric, Hofner Violin bass as well. Even non musical oriented people can recognize those instruments and their popularity in modern musical history.

Iconic or classic - yes! A much better word, IMO.

I don’t remember seeing a warwick on nirvana, green day, weezer, offspring, blink182, marilyn manson videos

Here's Kris Novoselic with a Warwick.

There has never been a time when showing up with a Fender was a problem or lost you a gig. That seems pretty timeless to me

So are Spectors, StringRays, Steinbergers, Wals, Warwicks, etc. all timeless since they've all been in used since they were invented?

 

[Swerve]

Iconic or classic - yes! A much better word, IMO.


Here's Kris Novoselic with a Warwick.

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People were still playing P basses in the late 70's. Jamerson just needed to ditch the flats and foam mute. His refusal to update his P with rounds, badass bridge, white dimarzio pickup, and a brass nut cost him the gig.

 

[MCS4]

I don't agree with the concept that the term "timeless" implies perpetual "dominance." To me it is more about perpetual "relevance." You could look at a photo of a bass player from any year from the 60s to the present with a P bass in it and it would scan totally normally for you as something that makes sense. Things that are timeless can have periods where they are more popular and periods where they are less popular, so long as they always fit in with the times one way or another. Ps and Js are definitely timeless when it comes specifically to musical instruments over that particular time period.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

Timeless - adjective
~ not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.

Any other descriptors could be added, but Fender absolutely does, and the Precision certainly and possibly the Jazz as well, fit the definition.

 

[Buck_BassMan94]

Love it or hate it, Fender will likely always be the standard, classic, timeless whatever you wanna call it, option just due to them beating everyone to the punch. I’m a MM guy at heart. But I’ll admit Fenders dominance. That being said, I think others can certainly compete with Fender for certain things. In particular Hofner, Ric, Gibson, Musicman, Spector and Warwick. These seem to me to be the most common non Fender options. But, let’s not fool ourselves on who is the heavy weight in the corner…P/J are the titans.

 

[sawzalot]

I'd say hands down the Precision and Jazz design is timeless. They've been in production since their inception and some aspect of their design has been copied in almost every other bass out there. Take your pick from the 34" scale length, the neck dimensions, the P and/or J pickup design, their sound, the concept of humcancelling pickups--those two basses have dramatically influenced bass guitar design since the beginning.

 

[RandomKaren]

Not only are the Precision and Jazz timeless, you can add the other instruments that came out of Fender - and Gibson - in the 50s to the timeless list. Tele, Strat, Les Paul, 335, all still here and with loads of clones.

 

[Five or Six]

My 3001 Rick has history. Made me laugh. "Timeless " is the name of my band...

 

[mikeoso]

You can prove or disprove ANYTHING if you control the definitions. If you don't, you always lose. If you havent defined "timeless", you can't answer the question of whether there is a timeless bass. Looks like your definition of timeless is something that most others dont buy.

 

[Just Wrong]

People were still playing P basses in the late 70's. Jamerson just needed to ditch the flats and foam mute. His refusal to update his P with rounds, badass bridge, white dimarzio pickup, and a brass nut cost him the gig.

Timeless - adjective
~ not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion.

Any other descriptors could be added, but Fender absolutely does, and the Precision certainly and possibly the Jazz as well, fit the definition.

But see, this is my second point. If the 1962 Precision was "timeless," why would it have needed a badass bridge, a Dimarzio pickup and a brass nut?

When you think of a piece of furniture being "timeless," you don't think about it needing upgrades over the years. We didn't need to change anything from The Tragedy of Macbeth to make it relevant in 2025...

 

[Fuzzbass]

while the Precision and Jazz have always been in use, they haven’t always been the go-to choices. In the '80s, bassists gravitated toward StingRays, Steinbergers and Spectors. The '90s saw Warwicks take centre stage.

In the 80's I played Jackson Concert Basses. These were nothing more than pointy-headed P-basses.

The Stingray is Leo Fender's Fender copy when he started Music Man. Electronics matter, but play a Stingray unplugged, it sounds no different than a P or J. True for many non-Fenders.

Alembic, Ric, Spector, Steinberger, Kubicki, Ritter, Bongo... we can disagree about the level of their Fender DNA, but while all have had moments, none became more popular than Fender, not even during their moments.

The argument that no electric bass has been timeless has some merit, but I'm gonna have to disagree, I don't think today's Fenders are meaningfully different than the originals.

 

[Swerve]

But see, this is my second point. If the 1962 Precision was "timeless," why would it have needed a badass bridge, a Dimarzio pickup and a brass nut?

When you think of a piece of furniture being "timeless," you don't think about it needing upgrades over the years. We didn't need to change anything from The Tragedy of Macbeth to make it relevant in 2025...

I was mostly being facetious. Just switching from old flats to new Roto's would have been enough to "modernize" his sound and fit in at that time.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

But see, this is my second point. If the 1962 Precision was "timeless," why would it have needed a badass bridge, a Dimarzio pickup and a brass nut?

When you think of a piece of furniture being "timeless," you don't think about it needing upgrades over the years. We didn't need to change anything from The Tragedy of Macbeth to make it relevant in 2025...

I was in professional theater for 30 years. Every time I worked on the Scottish play, probably half a dozen productions, it was edited, changed, rearranged, cut, stuff added, etc. Still a timeless show.

You can mod a timeless iconic classic and it will still be timeless, iconic, and classic.

 

[Peteyboy]

 

[Heiwa]

Here's Kris Novoselic with a Warwick.

In an obscure image that almost no one saw, you are trying to say that jazz and precision basses were unpopular after 1990 and that is totally ridiculous. Although Jamiroquai, 311 and Incubus (just to name a few bands) had great exposure, classic Fender basses were still seen everywhere and in all genres. You are assuming something that makes no sense at all.

 

[Cleezmo]

Timeless, Iconic, whatever, I think the Precision and Jazz are those words. They aren't dramatically different now than they were when designed/introduced, even non-players recognize them for what they are, they've been used on a gazillion recordings from the '50s to today, and you could show up with either one to pretty much any gig and they would work. You may not love them, personally I don't own a Fender, but that doesn't negate anything stated in the sentence prior.