And THIS, boys and girls, NOT the exigencies of rock and roll, is why the Fender bass was such a hit when it came out.
"Wait, you mean instead of that big unwieldy fragile SOB that either has to go outside on the roof in the rain, or the scroll hits me on the side of the head for 8 hours straight in the car - I can get MORE sound out of this long flat rectangular case and this little square box? Sign me up, baby!"
It's not much talked about, but it's my impression that the big sales of the Fender bass at first were to those mid-level local and territory bands who ground it out four nights a week, playing anything and everything for people to dance to - country and western, polkas, waltzes, the businessman's bounce, etc., etc., etc. Getting rid of the doghouse and replacing it with the Fender must have been terribly advantageous to them. Next step would have been the electronic keyboard, but bands like that had largely disappeared by the time the moderately priced, lightweight keyboards became widely available.
"Wait, you mean instead of that big unwieldy fragile SOB that either has to go outside on the roof in the rain, or the scroll hits me on the side of the head for 8 hours straight in the car - I can get MORE sound out of this long flat rectangular case and this little square box? Sign me up, baby!"
It's not much talked about, but it's my impression that the big sales of the Fender bass at first were to those mid-level local and territory bands who ground it out four nights a week, playing anything and everything for people to dance to - country and western, polkas, waltzes, the businessman's bounce, etc., etc., etc. Getting rid of the doghouse and replacing it with the Fender must have been terribly advantageous to them. Next step would have been the electronic keyboard, but bands like that had largely disappeared by the time the moderately priced, lightweight keyboards became widely available.
