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Fender Design versus boutique - ever go back?

Fawkes007

Fawkes007

Sep 13, 2005
869
18
SF Bay Area
#1
I must admit that I am a Leo Fender design bass player. My first pro bass was a StingRay, and with few exception through the years I've stuck with 'Rays, P basses and J basses.

A couple of years ago I decided to try something different and have a bass built for me. It's beautiful, sounds good and plays really well. I played it exclusively for a couple of years.

Then I needed a P bass for a band I joined. Well sir, I gotta say...I'm really back to playing Fender stuff exclusively! My P bass and Ray get most of the playing time, followed by the J bass. The custom boutique number sits in the closet. I pulled it out today just to see if I still dug it, and I did, but not as much as the Fender offspring. I'm actually thinking of moving that item; the P bass and Ray just do it for me.

Ever have this experience?
 
#4
Fawkes007 said:
I must admit that I am a Leo Fender design bass player. My first pro bass was a StingRay, and with few exception through the years I've stuck with 'Rays, P basses and J basses.

A couple of years ago I decided to try something different and have a bass built for me. It's beautiful, sounds good and plays really well. I played it exclusively for a couple of years.

Then I needed a P bass for a band I joined. Well sir, I gotta say...I'm really back to playing Fender stuff exclusively! My P bass and Ray get most of the playing time, followed by the J bass. The custom boutique number sits in the closet. I pulled it out today just to see if I still dug it, and I did, but not as much as the Fender offspring. I'm actually thinking of moving that item; the P bass and Ray just do it for me.

Ever have this experience?
Click to expand...

My first bass was a Jazzbass in 1979!!!
After a lot of basses thru the decades I exclusively play P-Bass. (CS models like PINO and 59)
The best sound in the mix!!

Had a lot of Stingrays (B00's 4 and 5's) but I'm more of the passive club these day's. However I have a fretless Deluxe.

Let me remind you you always come home in the end!!!!
The best thing to do is let some luthier make a custom signature model of your favourite Fender bass.
Mine is a 55P model (just like Leo made) with a very nice figured hardrock maple top.

Cheers,

Theo


DSC_2873.jpg
 
#5
I'm in this camp as are a lot of players it seems. In fact, I'm requesting passive basses for the boutique models I will be testing. Add to this the fact that many boutique luthiers have added 'J' and 'P' models to their offerings, and we might be witnessing a large trend. I've been wondering what all the factors are in this turn of events. Is it that more classic music is being played live? Or that 'real playing and rigs' are back? Or is it that amps and cabinets are so good now that they don't need the assist of a boutique/active instrument? We'll be covering this trend in future issues no doubt...
 
#7
I'm in that boat too. When I started out my bass playing about 10 years ago, it was with whatever instrument I could get my hands on. In high school, i dropped my basses in favor of the school's MIM jazz. There was just something I felt in that bass that none of mine could get. My first "good" bass was a warwick thumb, which never really felt right to me. I got a 70's jazz, and since then it's been my main bass. A whole host of others have come and gone, and my interest have always shifted around even to some nice fancy boutique instruments, but I've always come back to the jazz. And especially lately, I've found that my biggest turn off has been active basses. I don't like having multiple layers of EQ, give me a passive tone control, or give me death! (or a bass I just won't play live).
 
#9
Now, that being said, a great active bass can sound great. But it often seems to remove me a bit from the sound of the instrument. This is not to be confused with active basses that have a passive 'switch'. To sound great passive requires the bass to be designed right for passive use.
 
#10
Fashions wax, wane and come full circle. The classic Fender vibe is clearly very in at the moment, like Harleys, Vespa scooters etc. The sound of Fenders is great, and many boutiques and other basses can sound the same, but only if you close your eyes:hiding:. I love Fenders (J type), but not exclusively.
 
#11
Pedulla, Modulus, Spector, Warwick, all have been in my playing roster at one time or another ... but always there was my old 68 P bass. It was only two years ago that a Jazz Bass (that I liked) found it's way into being my number ONE player.

That said I do have two LeComptes that Bud made for me, both with a retro theme and Dark Star pickups. These fall into the "vintage" that never were catagory, the VB being a take on a Gibson EB1 and the P4T kinda like a 51 P bass with a Dark Star.

As of today I only have one active bass that being a Jazz with an Audere pre-amp. It's used mainly for when I sit in or use someone elses amp and need the onboard control.

To me a passive bass just sounds more organic and that is the sound that works best for me.


:hmm: ... I don't see it as a "what's in syle" at the moment thing.
 
#13
it's kind of the same for me.

My first bass was a jazz bass ( a mim) then I bought a marcus miller jazz bass.
That marcus miller jazz used to be for a long time the only bass that I owned.
So i became so natural to me, and the sound just is just became natural to my ears.

Then I began to be interested in boutique basses.

I bought a fodera emperor 2 5 strings and a fbass bn6

these basses were great basses.
But something was missing for me.
So I traded them for a whole collection of fender basses.

so I came back home to the fender sound.

Now I tend to play most of the time a fodera monarch classic wooten 4 string and I wait another fodera.

But I'm must admit that I'm always happy to play fender basses and I wouldn't show up to an audition a a first gig without a fender.

Proof that you always come back home is that even though I have my fodera on order , I still want to buy the best pbass I've ever tried the pino palladino pbass from the fender custom shop.
and maybe another fender jazz bass from the custom shop or a reissue 75 mia
 
#15
FIrst of all, the trend back to basics is not universal. Gospel and Smooth Jazz seem to be very content with active/modern bass tones although a Jazz bass tends to sound really good in a traditional and modern context depending on whether or not it goes through a preamp.

I like Classic Fender and Music Man designs myself. They are what I grew up on, and as I have gotten older, I tend to look back on music more than I look forward, and getting a tone that is close to the ones I heard as boy really appeals to me.:)
 
#17
When I first got into bass I had to "be different", and I went through a zillion "different-looking" basses and a couple of custom builds. Eventually I discovered that some of the best-playing, best-sounding basses (for me at least) were production models whose look, feel, and sound are based on Fenders.
 
#18
I'm not against the look or sound of Fenders, but never been able to find one that can play with the ultra-low action and super light weight I prefer. Throw in my preferances of piezo, chambered, 6 string, etc, and Fender simply doesn't quite make what I need. I wouldn't mind trying the Steve Bailey 6 string, but I doubt any local shops would carry it and I picked up my 6 several years before Fender got one on the market.

There's always the idea that boutique basses won't sound as good as a Fender, but I quickly found that my CB was able to capture a wide range of Fender tones from Jamerson to Jaco. With experimentation with the Bartolini pickups, piezo, and EQ on my Conklin, I also got some pretty cool vintage tones. Then there are my Rob Allens....they may be a coffee table top boutique, but there aren't many basses out there that can get as deep of a vintage thump! :hyper:

For me, the comfort of my boutiques is amazing, as is the action. Despite active basses having a reputation for being sterile, I'm having no problem emulating plenty of other tones. Really, most of the opinions of active basses are based on limited experiences with cheap or old active systems.
 
#20
macmrkt said:
Oh what the heck would someone from Memphis know about legendary sound! :hiding:
Click to expand...



That's a good one ... :p

I dunno ask Vic he is writing the cab review!


Seriously we seem to have more MONSTER players per square inch than about anywhere. It's scary :eek:

From Joe Fick on upright Rock-a-billy slap bass to Dave Smith, Neal Jones, Leroy Hodges, "The Evil one", Leo Goff and so many more!

:eyebrow: ... It's a target rich enviroment for sure!
 

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