2005 Gibson Les Paul Bass and my 90's Warwick Fortress One 5 String....Love them both (and yes I have and still do own some Fenders)
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Basses you love that don't get enough recognition
- Thread starter birminghambass
- Start date
One of my basses doesn’t seem to get enough recognition, but I prefer it that way. This makes the bass more valuable to me. Even on TB the brand isn’t discussed all that often. And I wasn't surprised by how great it plays and sounds. Yes, it’s a bass that I love. Not as much as I love Mrs. 'blue...but close. 
M. M.
M. M.
+1 on the Tune. I have both a Korean TWX and a newer Japanese PH-5and they are fantastic instruments. The PH-5 especially sounds killer through distortion.
Another one of my favs is the ESP Surveyor. The LTD Version is great, as it gets both a good P Bass sound and a good Musicman sound, and it's built like a tank. I can only imagine what the actual ESP variant is like.
Most of my little collection are a bit off the mainstream.
I love Rickenbacker 4004 models, which were never super popular. I have 4 (Cheyennes and Laredos).
I also have a 46 year old 4000 i love.
My GL JB2, again not one of their more popular models,but it’s the best Jazz bass I’ve found, for me.
Even more rare, I have an ‘81 Veillette-Citron 2pickup bass, and a Fernandes Gravity 8-string. (Both are great).
I’m not one for most Gibson basses, but i have a reissue Epiphone Embassy that sounds fantastic.
That just leaves the GL LB100, (nice P bass variant),and my most recent purchase ,a used Spector NS2J.
I gather that model Spector is not nearly as popular as the neck-through NS2 w/PJ pickups.
I love Rickenbacker 4004 models, which were never super popular. I have 4 (Cheyennes and Laredos).
I also have a 46 year old 4000 i love.
My GL JB2, again not one of their more popular models,but it’s the best Jazz bass I’ve found, for me.
Even more rare, I have an ‘81 Veillette-Citron 2pickup bass, and a Fernandes Gravity 8-string. (Both are great).
I’m not one for most Gibson basses, but i have a reissue Epiphone Embassy that sounds fantastic.
That just leaves the GL LB100, (nice P bass variant),and my most recent purchase ,a used Spector NS2J.
I gather that model Spector is not nearly as popular as the neck-through NS2 w/PJ pickups.
MW, if you read the tag line above the ATLANSIA tag at the top of the page, Hayashi-san also identifies his anglicized-version name, 'H. Noble' . . . . . the name you'll find in the small decal on the head of the Aria SB basses, which he designed for them back in the 80's.
Obviously, Fender did NOT invent the 'parallel universe', Hayashi-san did with Atlansia. Brilliantly outside-the-box, and I'd LOVE to see what a box he designed would look like !
Like most real life stories, the Tobias - Gibson episode has shades of grey.
First, both Fender and Gibson are primarily guitar companies; meaning that they make MOST of their corporate income from guitar sales. As such, each has struggled in their different ways with maintaining bass lines. Fender has a leg up, because their basses were the early standard. But, both companies continue to have issues with resourcing bass guitar production.
When Mike became over-extended with orders for handmade instruments, Gibson’s buyout offer appeared really attractive. And, the initial phase, involving a shop upgrade from Hollywood to Burbank and more support staff was a welcome boost. Indeed, the instruments produced in the Burbank shop are actually POST-Gibson; though we tend to gloss over that, since they were made by Mike and his staff. This production included the early Killer B models, which seemed the result of Rawn Randall’s input to Mike; and which design formed the basis for the later Growlers etc; and actually for Mike’s later move to bolt on MTD basses.
Production then moved to a larger shop in Nashville; and that’s where things headed in the wrong direction. Gibson Corporate was non too kind towards Mike, who was put in a difficult position of being a target for some of the new shop management. And, Gibson, while trying to reduce costs and increase profits, ended up short cutting some of the QC check offs. The result was a pretty unfriendly parting of the ways between Mike and Gibson; and that a bunch of instruments appeared in show rooms sporting heftier price tags and poor fretwork and setup.
All of which ENRAGED the bass playing community. Thus, the “firewood” reputation; and you don’t have to search very hard here on TB to find multiple previous threads vilifying Gibson and the “Gibson era” instruments. It is what it is.
Still, the basses were mainly faithful to Mike’s designs. The worker bees in Nashville were actually a bunch of dedicated and knowledgeable cats; at least those with whom I had the fortune to interact. They helped me sort out the electronics package in a very nice Burbank Signature 5, while Mike was out of bounds. And, it’s not like ALL of their instruments were complete fails. In fact, I suspect that they produced more good instruments than Mike did, purely based on production numbers and statistics. The problem was they also produced some clunkers.
So, the used market responded with appropriate devaluation; which matters if you are a collector, but not so much if you are a player willing to sort through the firewood for the gems. Which, I was used to from previous experience with Fender. No big deal.
Ultimately, I found my 6 string for sale on the cheap by a cat who was at Berklee at the time. It is by far the sweetest 6 string bass I’ve ever played. And, since it is a player, I don’t worry much about the (non) collector market for it. I do keep my eye out for pre-Nashville 6 strings, purely out of respect for Mike. But, every time one comes up, it is either too heavy or has some other (ouch) issue. Anyhow, I’m perfectly happy with my Nashville Tobias. It is simply a spectacular instrument.
Guild B301 and B302.....and Tokai 'Original Series' basses from the 1980s...I had one for about 2 years and regret selling it.
The Rick 4000 is often overlooked as well.....they sound excellent!
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Ken Lawrence basses aren't exactly under-rated but being luthier built and accordingly expensive few know of them. Unlike many luthiers, Ken's bass chops are exceptional. Combined with flawless craftsmanship this makes for the finest bass I've ever laid hands on.
For me it's my go to bass...a '76 Gibson Ripper. This bass has diverse tone, great neck (long) to play on, and has guts that punch through anything. The super humbucker pickups just plain rock. It has a large body and is heavy, but it's worth it if you can get one. I prefer to play half-wound strings on it for the best compromise in string sound.
For those in-the-know, what are your feelings about the Kubicki Factor Bass?
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I first heard about them by way of Stu Hamm's "Kings Of Sleep" album. (Damn, I love that album to pieces! It's probably one of the factorsthat pushed me towards picking up my first bass.) Back when I was a drummer in the mid-'80s/early-'90s, I came across one at the Sam Ash in Edison, NJ. I saw one hanging on the wall, pulled it off to get a feel for it. I can't say why, but it felt super-nice in my unexperienced hands.
Ha!! What a great record that is. It really showcased his talent. It also led me to 2 Kubickis They are excellent basses. I drifted away from them only because I was gigging a lot and going through a lot of gear, so they got flipped. I'd love to have one back but they have gotten a bit out of reach at this point.
My G&L El Toro and Peavey Patriot are great, but somewhat picked last on the playground.
There is always a bunch of people saying that the El Toro is their favorite G&L, or that it's on their short list to find, but G&L never reissues it.
There is always a bunch of people saying that the El Toro is their favorite G&L, or that it's on their short list to find, but G&L never reissues it.
Martin Keith. I learned about him here on TalkBass. Took a chance on an Elfin Plus (solidbody bolt-on), and I'm so glad I did: it's an amazing instrument. Highly customized order, but turnaround was less than four months! Martin's a class act and a true gentleman... not to mention an amazing luthier who also builds semi-hollow and hollow basses, and acoustic guitars. He's also a helluva musician.
I own some basses from better-known builders and love those too. Just giving a shout-out to a builder who deserves a lot more notoriety than he gets.
I own some basses from better-known builders and love those too. Just giving a shout-out to a builder who deserves a lot more notoriety than he gets.
Any American made Peavey from the 80s or 90s, especially the Peavey Fury p bass clone from the 1990s.
They are really good and are only $150-300.
They are really good and are only $150-300.
I'm kind-of a Fender guy... does that make me unique? (jk)
I do love my Fenders... I've only owned a P-Bass since 2018 -- No kidding! I've mostly been a J-Bass guy, though (a '96 American, and a 2019 Elite).
Basses that I think are GREAT...
Yamaha makes amazing instruments for the money... There cheap stuff can be made to play great.
Ibanez has been at this game forever. There recent crop of instruments are so impressive
Anyone for Sire basses? They work for Marcus Miller
I started playing when you could by a P-Bass for $400 and they were only made in USA. My first bass was a no-name POS that cost $50. It's a wonder that I kept going. My first "real" bass was a short scale Fender Music Master that I bought used for $100. It seems that a kid starting out now, for a couple of hundred bucks, can buy a brand new, beautiful instrument off the rack and that can be set up to play about 75% as well as a $2,000 American Ultra Fender.
I do love my Fenders... I've only owned a P-Bass since 2018 -- No kidding! I've mostly been a J-Bass guy, though (a '96 American, and a 2019 Elite).
Basses that I think are GREAT...
- '95 Yamaha TRB6 -- I own it and I love it! If I could have only one, this would be it, hands-down.
- '84 Ricky 4003 I so regret selling this. One of the best playing basses EVER. I could never get it to sound the way I wanted it to. What did I know?
- '94 MusicMan Stingray 5 It played great. Another case like my old Ricky -- I couldn't figure out how to get my tone right... clearly I hadn't learned much yet.
- '96 Modulus Graphite Quantum SS - East Coast Music in CT didn't have a P-bass in stock -- another insanely high quality instrument that played super smooth, but once again, no one told me that it's not the amp or the bass, it's my technique that sounds like crap.
- '99 Carvin LB76F 6-string fretless. I think, for the money, Carvin (now Kiesel) is probably underrated compared to what you'd pay for a Sadowsky or a Fedora or other boutique / custom instruments. Mine has Koa body wings and a 5-piece Maple/Koa neck with an ebony fretboard. A beautiful and well-made instrument.
Yamaha makes amazing instruments for the money... There cheap stuff can be made to play great.
Ibanez has been at this game forever. There recent crop of instruments are so impressive
Anyone for Sire basses? They work for Marcus Miller
I started playing when you could by a P-Bass for $400 and they were only made in USA. My first bass was a no-name POS that cost $50. It's a wonder that I kept going. My first "real" bass was a short scale Fender Music Master that I bought used for $100. It seems that a kid starting out now, for a couple of hundred bucks, can buy a brand new, beautiful instrument off the rack and that can be set up to play about 75% as well as a $2,000 American Ultra Fender.
And I still don't know what brand or model it is.One of my basses doesn’t seem to get enough recognition, but I prefer it that way. This makes the bass more valuable to me. Even on TB the brand isn’t discussed all that often. And I wasn't surprised by how great it plays and sounds. Yes, it’s a bass that I love. Not as much as I love Mrs. 'blue...but close.
View attachment 3719558 View attachment 3719560
M. M.
Epi Thunderbirds, although that may be changing. Some other Epis and Gibsons, as others have mentioned.
- Jun 30, 2010
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Late '70's and early '80's Ibanez basses. They're starting to get a bit more love these days. Also Yamaha BB's from the same period.
