Fender Rascal Bass....in Production??

[OutToPlayJazz]

If I'm somewhere and see some little wanker roll of the bottom, turn up the highs and middle and start slapping and beating up the bass I just naturally dismiss them as a player. Might be wrong, but that's my feeling. Seems there are more Flea wannabes out there than actual players.

Rant aside, I do really like this bass and want to hear what it actually sounds like. Played by an actual player, proper tonal varieties, straight clean as in no distortion, no compression, no effects, just bass + fingers + amp. And with some flats or tapes on it. It's not wanting too much, is it?

You're on the right track there. A player's sound/eq needs to reveal every frequency the bass has to offer, from lows to highs and mids, and especially the natural harmonics and overtones. That's especially what helps brass/wind players and singers with their own pitching in a professional situation.

I too find that a lot of so-called reviewers play far too hard and massacre the instrument, somehow forgetting it is amplified, so why not let the amplification do the work and play in a tactile and musical manner? Or, am I asking too much?

We all need to mail Ed Friedland and ask him whether he's able to squeeze a Rascal review into his busy schedule.

 

[Stranger Danger]

You're on the right track there. A player's sound/eq needs to reveal every frequency the bass has to offer, from lows to highs and mids, and especially the natural harmonics and overtones. That's especially what helps brass/wind players and singers with their own pitching in a professional situation.

I too find that a lot of so-called reviewers play far too hard and massacre the instrument, somehow forgetting it is amplified, so why not let the amplification do the work and play in a tactile and musical manner? Or, am I asking too much?

We all need to mail Ed Friedland and ask him whether he's able to squeeze a Rascal review into his busy schedule.

Ed gets paid by Guitar World to do reviews of instruments that they ask him to review. Although I'm quite sure he gets tons of emails asking him to do reviews, you'd be better off asking Guitar World Magazine not Ed.

 

[OutToPlayJazz]

Ed gets paid by Guitar World to do reviews of instruments that they ask him to review. Although I'm quite sure he gets tons of emails asking him to do reviews, you'd be better off asking Guitar World Magazine not Ed.

Good plan, that man.

 

[BassHappy]

I didn't add it up but it seems to me like there are a lot more gassers than yawners on this one. After listening to it - I think this bass has legs and will be sticking around.

I am thrilled that Fender is continuing down the path of paying close attention to the needs of the pro short scale players. The Fender commitment is starting to shine by providing yet another short scale instrument which is obviously NOT geared towards the beginner/student market. Maybe some more medium scalers are coming down the pike as well.

Kudos to Fender and the Custom Shop for having a bold but not too radical design of a bass and putting it out there for a test run. Feedback was good so they wisely turned it into a production model - tapping what I consider to be a very fertile and growing market. Perhaps Leo is NOT the only one who got it right.

When the wear and tear of the long and extended scale 5-6-7 and gazzilion string beasts wreak their havoc on the shoulders, neck, back and spine - the serious players who have logged thousands of hours - will all be reaching for a shorter scaler. Maybe even a "roots" 4 stringer.

You can count on it. I think Fender already is.

BassHappy

 

[OutToPlayJazz]

I didn't add it up but it seems to me like there are a lot more gassers than yawners on this one. I think this bass has legs and will be sticking around.

I am thrilled that Fender is continuing down the path of paying close attention to the needs of the pro short scale players. The Fender commitment is starting to shine by providing yet another short scale instrument which is obviously NOT geared towards the beginner/student market Maybe some more medium scalers are coming down the pike as well.

Kudos to Fender and the Custom Shop for having a bold but not too radical of a bass and putting it out there for a test run. Feedback was good so they wisely turned it into a production model - tapping what I consider to be a very fertile and growing market.

Perhaps Leo is NOT the only one who got it right. When the wear and tear of the 5-6-7 and gazzilion string beasts wreak their havoc on the shoulders, neck, back and spine - the serious players who have logged thousands of hours - will all be reaching for a shorter scaler.

You can count on it. I think Fender already is.

BassHappy

Yes, I'm definitely thinking of the shorter scale for the softer string tension and less weight. As much as I love my Sabre, it really is like having a mill stone on board with you. That's why I'm using the much lighter Enfield more and more at the moment.

In the past I had a couple of 32" Status Kingbasses and lighter strings with a shorter scale really can be a joy to play. I don't think there's really any discernible loss in tone either, as long as it's a quality instrument.

So yes, I'm thinking about a Rascal for a lighter load on longer gigs and something vintagey, interesting and different with a lot of tonal options.

 

[Musicman20]

I imagine most reviews at the moment are shred guitarists thinking they 'know' bass because they can shred fast.

 

[nshuman]

Cool bass!

 

[shoegazebass]

I picked one of these up yesterday at Bananas At Large in Santa Rosa, CA. I went to see if they had any Squier SS Jags and was completely shocked to see that they had a Rascal just sitting there. I played in for about 30 mins and had to have it.

I had read through this thread before going and would have counted myself as a "yawner" about it based on what I read - as the name implies, I play shoegaze/dream pop and post-punk music and am not typically that interested in anything vintage-sounding (although if it sounds good...). Going in, I was especially unimpressed with the lipstick pickup idea since I never liked the sound of Danos or the like.

What I discovered through playing is that the Rascal is capable of a wider variety of tones than I would have imagined, all of them usable. The body of the bass is a bit big and the placement of the bridge makes the body seem bigger due to the "unused" space behind it, but the neck is fast and the thing really resonates. No dead spots or anything.

The bass was on sale for $799 but I got it for $715 after pointing out a barely noticeable scratch and one small spot.

I don't know when I'd have time to do sound samples but will try and answer any questions to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I picked one of these up yesterday at Bananas At Large in Santa Rosa, CA. I went to see if they had any Squier SS Jags and was completely shocked to see that they had a Rascal just sitting there. I played in for about 30 mins and had to have it.

I had read through this thread before going and would have counted myself as a "yawner" about it based on what I read - as the name implies, I play shoegaze/dream pop and post-punk music and am not typically that interested in anything vintage-sounding (although if it sounds good...). Going in, I was especially unimpressed with the lipstick pickup idea since I never liked the sound of Danos or the like.

What I discovered through playing is that the Rascal is capable of a wider variety of tones than I would have imagined, all of them usable. The body of the bass is a bit big and the placement of the bridge makes the body seem bigger due to the "unused" space behind it, but the neck is fast and the thing really resonates. No dead spots or anything.

The bass was on sale for $799 but I got it for $715 after pointing out a barely noticeable scratch and one small spot.

I don't know when I'd have time to do sound samples but will try and answer any questions to the best of my knowledge.

Any photos? I'd love to see some!

I sold off my last short scale bass, didn't really use it, but I'm very tempted by this. Waiting to see one in the store, I'm not sure the pups would suit my style.

 

[Ronbeast]

I'm also interested in photos!

About how much does it weigh? I know weight varies between each individual instrument, but it would be nice to know if it's manageable or if it's a complete boat anchor.

-Ron

 

[Joe Nerve]

I'm predicting that one of these is going to magically appear in my living room on December 24th or 25th, because my wife is awesome and she knows me very well.

 

[shoegazebass]

Ok - crappy iPhone pics attached! Using the scale method, this boy weighted in at 9lbs exactly.

 

[danosix]

okay, so I've expressed my opinion about Fender's never-ending silly varient of the same-stuff tricks... But the one design that is universally praised - the Roscoe Beck 5 - why don't they bring that back? Everyone loved that bass - didn't it sell enough UNITS to keep the bean counters happy? Do they expect this new thing to move more UNITS?

Funny, I was just wondering the other day why they haven't "re-issued" thhe roscoe beck. Probably their most successful (in terms of utility and execution) 5 string and nearly every one they've tried since (except P $ J Vs) has had some variation of the double Jazz pickups the RB introduced (at least within the Fender fold).

 

[danosix]

But do you really think this is another variation on a standard Fender theme? I mean any individual feature can be pointed to as derived from some other fender model (if you include weirdo Squiers and custom shops for the pickcups) but this is no more a conventional Fender (I'd say its a whole lot less) than the Roscoe Beck which was a double Jazz with a nifty new pickguard.

Follow up to my previous post - what killed the RB is they never made a mains stream one - they were EXPENSIVE. No Mexican version, no MIJ version, no Squier, just Custom Shop.

 

[Ronbeast]

After looking at the pictures, I think the old lollipop tuners would suit this bass well

 

[danosix]

After looking at the pictures, I think the old lollipop tuners would suit this bass well

Yeah, a couple of people have said that and totally true. But that would require essentially custom (ie not on Fender's shelves already) parts that would pump up the price - $100 cost at the manufacturer level (I'm guessing there aren't many people making the lollies) would make like $300 cost increase to the consumer and that makes a cool funky low-mid priced bass an expensive bass by most player's standards, especially those with an acquired taste for weirdo off-beat "pawn shop" guitars.

P.S. Why the hell is this NOT a pawn shop series? Can't Fender keep it's series straight?
The pawn shops in the bass line are MIM "deluxe" level instruments with off-beat somewhat non-fender attributes (ie classic series with a "twist")
whereas the deluxe series are fake vintage Fenders with modern tweaks (ie Classic Series with updates). Same price range.

Not that it matters in the least (I mean AT ALL), but Fender's half-assed marketing and inability to keep the lines between series straight has been a pet peeve of mine since I ran a store in the late 80s/early 90s.

 

[UK Philip]

there are far too many categories

so the Classic ones are cheaper than the Classic Player range, or is that the Closet Classic? no, that's the Modern Player...no wait, it's the Classic Vibe. argh!

it's just several subtle variations on the same thing, in the same old options; sunburst, white, black, etc. and half of them don't need to be there in my opinion.

 

[danosix]

there are far too many categories

so the Classic ones are cheaper than the Classic Player range, or is that the Closet Classic? no, that's the Modern Player...no wait, it's the Classic Vibe. argh!

it's just several subtle variations on the same thing, in the same old options; sunburst, white, black, etc. and half of them don't need to be there in my opinion.

Actually it's so messed up I got my rant wrong - it's a classic player - which it ain't cause that too is a Fender "vintage" with updates.

What you find the difference between American Vintage, Vintage Hot Rod, a Vintage Modified, Classic, Classic Player (which is not to be confused with Player's Classic), Classic Lacquer, and Closet Classic, confusing?
It's totally clear - especially if you bring in Modern Player, Pawn Shop, Standard, Squier Standard and American Standard (not to mention Deluxe and American Deluxe). And don't even think of trying to keep track if you bring the amps - vintage modified WAS squire and overseas, but not several of the amps in that series have been (or became) North American and hardly beginner amp prices.

I swear if anyone ever tried to rationalize the Fender line they'd find three of each model (and I mean at each price point and place of manufacture).

 

[Dogghouse]

I believe those are Seymour Duncan Strat style lipsticks in there. Same as Dano's with just a different mounting configuration. Love the sound in a bass. I play a Dano Longhorn with "dead" strings and get a great cut in a live mix. Can be noisy though.

 

[danosix]

I believe those are Seymour Duncan Strat style lipsticks in there. Same as Dano's with just a different mounting configuration. Love the sound in a bass. I play a Dano Longhorn with "dead" strings and get a great cut in a live mix. Can be noisy though.

Yeah, they're called "lipstick strat" pickups by Duncan, but other the only thing "strat" is the mount (and a slight difference in the size of the tube) (which is what ol' Seymour is saying with the name - he doesn't want to trick any Danelectro owners to buy them thinking they're drop-in replacements). But they are a very accurate Danelectro replacement in terms of specs and sound.

And they are indeed an awesome sound on bass. I wish I could get a pair for my Dano, but the mod to make it work is too much of a PIA when there are others nearly as good which are drop in (and even better ones if I'm willing to spend the twice as much).