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Here comes the 80's...

Here's what my '80s looked like.......
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.....but I'm making up for it now...
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While we could talk about trends constantly being cyclical, the current state of the world and how music is presented lends itself well to the bright and often garish colors and patterns we thought we'd left behind in the 80s.

See, YouTube videos and livestreaming are where it's at in terms of presenting music to people, so instruments with striking finishes show up more vividly on camera. It's all about having the look that makes people say, "Wow, cool!" My main bass has a very striking swirl finish and even people with the attention span of a gnat can't help but look at it because, "it's such a cool guitar!"

So, yes, an instrument that shows up well or "pops" on camera is an important product feature. And something that may look garish in real life may present really well on camera. It follows the analogy of "bedroom tone" vs "band mix" tone. The tone that sounds great in a band mix probably sounds garishly honky when you're jamming by yourself.

Plus, popular music these days is very much about the spectacle show. If we look back to cyclical trends... back in the 70s and 80s with disco and glam rock/metal it was all about the spectacle show. Then in the 90s, grunge took over with the whole stripped down, "this glam stuff is bull dookie. Let's just be ourselves in our jeans and t-shirts." And for the past however many years, it's shifted back to the spectacle show where pop stars embrace being big stars.

So I say bring on the crazy colors!
 
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I was making like $1.85 an hour , purchased a $600 Rickenbacker bass. It was stolen 1 year later. With the insurance money I purchased a Musicman B00 bass. That was 1979, was my main bass till about 2005 when the money started coming in and I went to 5 string Musicman. FYI My 6 year old grand daughter is the owner of my 1979 B00 bass as soon as she is responsible enough she will get to keep it in her room. Peace