so your saying if you get the body, neck, and various hardware from more than one source, i.e. several different manufactureres.... then its a parts bass?
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Custom? Frankenbass? PartsBass?
- Thread starter Snakeman1066
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I think it's a frankenbass. I built one kind of like that but turned it into a five string by adding a tuner, a nut and a 5 string bridge that fit the stock p bass neck width. I called it the Franken 5. I wasn't bad.
It's not a custom bass since I can't think of any American branded basses made with overseas parts (unless requested) that are considered custom basses... I worded that carefully 
IMHO Frankenbass and parts bass are the same thing... frankenbass is technically a slang word for parts bass, and not a real word. So you could do either.
But customized would be ok too. Because the SXs everyone does here are usually advertised as modified or customized when for sale.
IMHO Frankenbass and parts bass are the same thing... frankenbass is technically a slang word for parts bass, and not a real word. So you could do either.
But customized would be ok too. Because the SXs everyone does here are usually advertised as modified or customized when for sale.
It's funny how you could call it customized but not custom. I think it's because of how the word custom is perceived in the industry. It would seem unethical to use the word in a different sense than the current popular use, because it implies something greater. However customized as a word does not have that extra meaning, and would be much safer.
So Joe your saying if the body and neck were Warmoth, USCG, ALL Parts or Mighty Mite, with the hardware i have listed, then it would be considered a custom build?
this is starting to get very curious...
this is starting to get very curious...
snake, just call it a bass. if you're going to keep it and play it, it doesn't matter what you call it. if you're making a bass for someone and they have certain exacting specifications like neck width and shape, etc, color, pickups, etc, then you've made that person a custom bass. if you do that for yourself, i would say you made yourself a custom bass. i wouldn't say handmade unless you made the neck and the body from scratch. i think a customized bass is a stock bass that you changed, like putting a jazz pickup on a precision to make a pj out of it, or reshaping the neck profile on an already built bass, and you're beyond that. most bass makers use subcontractors for parts, so even a lakland or a sadowsky is a parts bass, but when he shapes things or finishes to the wants of a particular customer, and it's something not in his usual product line, it's a custom bass. just my opinion.
Well do you call Valenti a custom build? YES!!! The other thing to consider is that the customer can request what he wants done from Valenti. So if he says he wants redburst on alder (with a whole bunch of other choice) Valenti gets the parts and makes it happen. And if the customer wants solid grren over ash with jade inlays then he makes that happen.
btw, lakland will build you a custom bass with "overseas" parts. if a guy in japan builds you a bass from scratch, those would be "overseas" parts, too, but it would still be a custom bass since he made a bass according to what you want. i don't see the relevance of "overseas parts" and prohibition of the word "custom." and i don't see how customized means overseas parts are OK. i guess i'm not getting that connection. just my opinion. if you want to know how the industry sees it, you may want to talk to someone in the industry.
the SX basses that are customized are existing basses that were mod'ed, and, like i said before, you're beyond that.
on hand built vs. hand made: hand made is making the parts from scratch from wood stock. i think of hand built as something not made by a robot, a guy with a screwdriver at least.
so snake, i'm thinking you're making a custom, hand built bass.
the SX basses that are customized are existing basses that were mod'ed, and, like i said before, you're beyond that.
on hand built vs. hand made: hand made is making the parts from scratch from wood stock. i think of hand built as something not made by a robot, a guy with a screwdriver at least.
so snake, i'm thinking you're making a custom, hand built bass.
So in your case if you are your own customer I would call it custom. But if you were selling it to someone else, it is stock, becaus they had no choices.
i think it's still a custom bass. it's not in his regular product line and made to one person's specifications. example: i have a friend who has an 80's fender custom shop fretless pj bass he had them custom make for him. he is trading me one of my basses for it. it will still be a custom bass as it was made to his specifications and it was not in the regular fender product line. it doesn't stop being a custom bass just because it becomes mine. it will always be a custom fender.
a stock bass is something that IS in the regular product line. if someone takes one of my stock basses and modifies it, reshapes the neck, changes the bridge or refinishes it, it is a customized, not a custom bass. has nothing to do with whether the parts were made in India or Indiana. if they tell me they want one just like that stock bass, but they want it in pink with EMG pickups and Sperzel tuners, it is a custom bass because i don't stock that bass in my product line. if it is not built by robots or an assembly line, but rather just one or a few guys with hand tools, it is a custom hand built bass. if we make the parts from scratch from wood stock for that particular customer, then it is a custom handmade bass.
i think we've split enough hairs here. i just didn't want to see snake misled and get his panties in a knot over some falsely perceived technicalities.
snake, good luck on your bass. you're thinking right by starting out with some inexpensive parts so if you hurt something, you really haven't ruined anything. next, you'll be buying warmoth necks and whatnot and making some seriously hip basses. it's a lot of fun and very gratifying when people play and love something you made. just my opinion, but what sells more basses is how it's set-up, how the final product actually plays and feels. that will get you over like nothing else.
peace
i think we've split enough hairs here. i just didn't want to see snake misled and get his panties in a knot over some falsely perceived technicalities.
snake, good luck on your bass. you're thinking right by starting out with some inexpensive parts so if you hurt something, you really haven't ruined anything. next, you'll be buying warmoth necks and whatnot and making some seriously hip basses. it's a lot of fun and very gratifying when people play and love something you made. just my opinion, but what sells more basses is how it's set-up, how the final product actually plays and feels. that will get you over like nothing else.
peace
Wow, what a great answer!a stock bass is something that IS in the regular product line. if someone takes one of my stock basses and modifies it, reshapes the neck, changes the bridge or refinishes it, it is a customized, not a custom bass. has nothing to do with whether the parts were made in India or Indiana. if they tell me they want one just like that stock bass, but they want it in pink with EMG pickups and Sperzel tuners, it is a custom bass because i don't stock that bass in my product line. if it is not built by robots or an assembly line, but rather just one or a few guys with hand tools, it is a custom hand built bass. if we make the parts from scratch from wood stock for that particular customer, then it is a custom handmade bass.
i think we've split enough hairs here. i just didn't want to see snake misled and get his panties in a knot over some falsely perceived technicalities.
snake, good luck on your bass. you're thinking right by starting out with some inexpensive parts so if you hurt something, you really haven't ruined anything. next, you'll be buying warmoth necks and whatnot and making some seriously hip basses. it's a lot of fun and very gratifying when people play and love something you made. just my opinion, but what sells more basses is how it's set-up, how the final product actually plays and feels. that will get you over like nothing else.
peace
It's gonna be a parts bass. (Snakebass, if you wish) It would be a custom if you had done the R&D sweat work and execution. A Frankenbass is an instrument made up of parts from existing basses, like the Mary Shelley guy did. What you're doing is collecting "Parts" and assembling them . Hence? Parts Bass. No shame in that,especially if your'e of the mind that all that needs be done is put 'em together!, as some people are. There's alot to be learned from assembling a bass. Then you can go deeper and do a custom. Good luck wit it.
joe had mentioned something about what the industry regards as the proper terminology. as far as i can tell, joe is not in the industry in my opinion. he says he's never played a gig and he built a bass once; but i like him, he is a very nice gentleman. words like stock, customized, custom are industry terms. frankenbass, parts bass, mutt are laymen terms. snake, what terms you use pretty much defines how professional you want to be if you get serious about making and selling basses. there are no professional bass makers marketing parts basses, frankenbasses, muts and the like.
R&D does not differentiate a stock vs. custom bass vs. parts bass, either. R&D goes into stock basses even more so, and that R&D transfers to the custom bass, the bass the manufacturer makes for one particular customer according to his or her unique wishes. And, snake is doing the sweat it takes to make his custom bass; he's actually getting off his duff and making one, and i applaud that. R&D, or lack thereof, does not disqualify him.
i'm new to TB, but it seems like there are bassicially two type of posters on here: bass players and bass owners. bass players talk more about the music they play, bass owners tend to talk more about the basses and the gear they own because they really don't play. a bass to them is like a set of golf clubs or a skateboard. basses are not toys; many of us pay mortgages and feed babies with our basses. to tell the difference, just open someone's profile. if the bassist lists people they play with with, then most likely really a player. but too often i see huge lists of gear, and no mention of who they're playing with... bass owner. (jimmy is really a player, but i also have to say i covet his two B15N's). i didn't make the rules, but the resume or bio is what separates the men from the guys who should wear plaid skirts. can you call yourself a surgeon if you've never done a surgery?
there is also a difference between professional and amatuer bassists. i'm all for anyone who wants to play bass for whatever reason whether fun or profit. even as professionals, it should be fun or we're not doing our job, but any professional knows it's not always fun. i wish every human being would take the time to try to have fun playing music. being professional is not what it's all about. but if you want to be in the music industry, listen to those who are really in it. there is nothing like the advice from an amateur who knows little or nothing to squelch any professional aspirations you may have. we all start somewhere, but we never really "arrive." the brass ring is not for other people, it's for you. get after it if you want it badly enough and are willing to do the things it takes to get there.
not to be overly critical, but so far, we've gotten two nonsensical elements of what makes a bass custom, parts bass or whatever: whether the parts are "overseas" or not, and the level of R&D, both of which have nothing to do with the price of crack in alaska.
hopefully snake is not posting anymore because he got off the computer long enough to actually do something, and i wish him luck on his new custom, hand built bass.
just my opinion.
R&D does not differentiate a stock vs. custom bass vs. parts bass, either. R&D goes into stock basses even more so, and that R&D transfers to the custom bass, the bass the manufacturer makes for one particular customer according to his or her unique wishes. And, snake is doing the sweat it takes to make his custom bass; he's actually getting off his duff and making one, and i applaud that. R&D, or lack thereof, does not disqualify him.
i'm new to TB, but it seems like there are bassicially two type of posters on here: bass players and bass owners. bass players talk more about the music they play, bass owners tend to talk more about the basses and the gear they own because they really don't play. a bass to them is like a set of golf clubs or a skateboard. basses are not toys; many of us pay mortgages and feed babies with our basses. to tell the difference, just open someone's profile. if the bassist lists people they play with with, then most likely really a player. but too often i see huge lists of gear, and no mention of who they're playing with... bass owner. (jimmy is really a player, but i also have to say i covet his two B15N's). i didn't make the rules, but the resume or bio is what separates the men from the guys who should wear plaid skirts. can you call yourself a surgeon if you've never done a surgery?
there is also a difference between professional and amatuer bassists. i'm all for anyone who wants to play bass for whatever reason whether fun or profit. even as professionals, it should be fun or we're not doing our job, but any professional knows it's not always fun. i wish every human being would take the time to try to have fun playing music. being professional is not what it's all about. but if you want to be in the music industry, listen to those who are really in it. there is nothing like the advice from an amateur who knows little or nothing to squelch any professional aspirations you may have. we all start somewhere, but we never really "arrive." the brass ring is not for other people, it's for you. get after it if you want it badly enough and are willing to do the things it takes to get there.
not to be overly critical, but so far, we've gotten two nonsensical elements of what makes a bass custom, parts bass or whatever: whether the parts are "overseas" or not, and the level of R&D, both of which have nothing to do with the price of crack in alaska.
hopefully snake is not posting anymore because he got off the computer long enough to actually do something, and i wish him luck on his new custom, hand built bass.
just my opinion.
I don't know about you guys, but I prefer my cars to be "pre-owned" rather than "used," my basses to be "vintage" rather than "old" and my lamps to be "antique" rather than "crap." I just don't like paying those prices for them.
Then there are those of us who are both gearheads and players. In fact, I'm just now taking a break from learning 33 songs for a new project.
Rehearsal is tonight so I better stop explaining stuff to the noob and get cracking.
Interesting. Around here it's the exact opposite, the Frankenbass is made up of sundry collected parts no matter what the source and a "Parter" is specifically made up of a single maker's parts such as all Fender parts.
Parters also have a somewhat nefarious connotation 'round here when made of "vintage components" in that they are often seen as an attempt to pass off an instrument built up of components from several different basses (or even periods of construction) to give the impression of a factory built instrument.
- Feb 2, 2001
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