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Here Today, Gone Later Today | innovations that failed

#62
Kenny Allyn said:
I remember when these came out ... haven't seen on in awhile


The "Fathead"

fathead.jpg



;) ...
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OH man, I had one of those. It was supposed to give you incredible sustain. ERR not so much. What it did do was give you incredible neck dive, and some bogus harmonics. Oh Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
 
#63
xgator4u said:
OH man, I had one of those. It was supposed to give you incredible sustain. ERR not so much. What it did do was give you incredible neck dive, and some bogus harmonics. Oh Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
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Well, if you are looking to relive the glory days, maybe you can, with FATHEAD'S companion product: Link Removed

Link Removed

...And while we're at it... How about the Link Removed for acoustic guitar and bass?

Link Removed

You know I think basses are heavy enough after about two sets, so I can't imagine wanting to add more mass. What would it be like after three sets of FATHEAD, FATFINGER and Power Pick??? :eek:
 
#64
humpy thumb said:
Just intonation fingerboards.
They really arent a tried & failed thing,but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_intonation
2 of the basses on Hanford's right are JI fretted.
Invalid Link Removed

btw,Hansford is in Gongzilla.Killer band,killer bass player & really cool guy.
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well rowe and the catler brothers have been using JI fretting (and they even sell the guitars) but it hasn't caught on. idk about a 'failed concept,' but they have been doing it since the 80s and hardly anyone else has jumped on the bandwagon. and no wonder, doing JI fretting is near impossible without special tools/equipment, and it's still a pain in the a** with it.
 
#65
Very interesting thread, considering that the fundamental technology behind the electric bass really hasn't changed all that much since the first Fender P-bass.

I hope inventive minds out there keep at it as it takes often many many tries before an innovation really sticks out and makes a difference for players.
 
#69
RAM said:
It's not dead yet...Epifani's new DIST cabs seem to employ similar technology. http://epifani.com/products/UUL_410BC.php
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Uh oh...well, maybe they figured out a way that actually works? I'm hesitant though- it doesn't help that they start off the write-up with "UL DIST cabinets are tonally superior to any other cabinet previously available." I like Epifani, but come on :D
 
#70
Bryan R. Tyler said:
Uh oh...well, maybe they figured out a way that actually works? I'm hesitant though- it doesn't help that they start off the write-up with "UL DIST cabinets are tonally superior to any other cabinet previously available." I like Epifani, but come on :D
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I guess we'll have to wait until someone can post a review...I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later. I like Epifani, too - my cab is a 4x10 UL Series I. Louder than heck!
 
#71
Another weird innovation was how Andy Schack used to attach his necks using a clamping mechanism, rather than bolt-on or set-neck. True, he had neck-throughs as well.

As far as I know he's not in business anymore, but they seemed to be nice basses from what I remember.
 
#72
FunkMetalBass said:
That luthier lives in AZ and is constantly trying to sell "SSS (sweet spot select)" bass and his "ergonomic" basses. I've told him that his basses wont sell very well at the prices he wants, but he wont drop them down to $500-600 to make them easily marketable. He also wont build a 6-string bass and he doesn't really use any cool finishes (I bet a trans stain would do wonders). It's no wonder he doesn't appear to have sold many.
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Well sir, it appears that you have no idea what it takes to build an SSS Bass or an Ergonomic Bass for that matter. The SSS Bass for example uses a high performance internally shielded gear motor and has a product cost to me of $150 ea. The sheet metal which is fabricated from drawing at a sheet metal shop is about $100 ea. The printed circuit board and micro controller along with support components cost me about $75.00. The EMG J/P pickup set is $150, bridge $75 and the tuning machines run around $50. That’s $600 without even turning on the band saw, or acquiring wood and other misc. materials. Labor on an SSS Bass is about 100 hours. I can’t even pay myself minimum wage and you tell the world that I should be asking $500-600!
You might as well tell Vinnie Fodera he needs to sell his custom basses for $300-400 to make them more marketable......
Furthermore, I used a black aniline dye on the SSS T-Bird and some of the Ergonomic basses that shows the beauty of the mahogany grain through the dye and is finished in several clear coats.
Research before you assume my friend. If you have contacted me in Phoenix you never asked why my price is what it is. The SSS Bass is a very labor intensive instrument and is by far the best studio bass available because of nothing else, its versatility. You are right with respect to the 6-string SSS build. The additional engineering to produce a 6 string version does not make business sense at this point in time. If you would like a 6-string version, you will also have to pay for the development cost.

Respectfully yours,

John Agapetus

PS Producer Scott Humphrey was quoted as saying "The SSS Bass has the best bass tone I've ever recorded"

http://www.thechopshop.com/
 
#73
SSSBass said:
Well sir, it appears that you have no idea what it takes to build an SSS Bass or an Ergonomic Bass for that matter. The SSS Bass for example uses a high performance internally shielded gear motor and has a product cost to me of $150 ea. The sheet metal which is fabricated from drawing at a sheet metal shop is about $100 ea. The printed circuit board and micro controller along with support components cost me about $75.00. The EMG J/P pickup set is $150, bridge $75 and the tuning machines run around $50. That’s $600 without even turning on the band saw, or acquiring wood and other misc. materials. Labor on an SSS Bass is about 100 hours. I can’t even pay myself minimum wage and you tell the world that I should be asking $500-600!
You might as well tell Vinnie Fodera he needs to sell his custom basses for $300-400 to make them more marketable......
Furthermore, I used a black aniline dye on the SSS T-Bird and some of the Ergonomic basses that shows the beauty of the mahogany grain through the dye and is finished in several clear coats.
Research before you assume my friend. If you have contacted me in Phoenix you never asked why my price is what it is. The SSS Bass is a very labor intensive instrument and is by far the best studio bass available because of nothing else, its versatility. You are right with respect to the 6-string SSS build. The additional engineering to produce a 6 string version does not make business sense at this point in time. If you would like a 6-string version, you will also have to pay for the development cost.

Respectfully yours,

John Agapetus

PS Producer Scott Humphrey was quoted as saying "The SSS Bass has the best bass tone I've ever recorded"

http://www.thechopshop.com/
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I'm going to get behind John on this one. If I were selling a product, any product, the last thing I would want is some uninformed person telling me what price I should be selling my product at.
 
#76
Jonny B said:
I'm going to get behind John on this one. If I were selling a product, any product, the last thing I would want is some uninformed person telling me what price I should be selling my product at.
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I expect that the only realistic options he could use to get his basses into the $500-$600 range would be to (a) take huge losses on every sale or (b) send his manufacturing overseas. But option (b) would be a massive expense and would have to be supported by massive sales. So that leaves him with option (a) which sort of defeats the purpose of selling basses in the first place. Building basses is expensive, even without the special pickup mount.
 
#79
Stevieb said:
Hey! Here's a vid of a different kind of freted/fretless- sorry if this is a repost:

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"Repost" would be beyond an understatement on that one- it's been linked to at least a hundred different times by now. General consensus is that dropping to fretless would leave you with pretty high action.
 

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