If you had to choose... Modern or old school?

[BassDudeSA]

Hi guys, my loyalties are messing with me again. I started out in the late 70s playing the passive Fenders, and by the mid-90s and ever since I have indulged mostly in the fancy modern 5-strings with active electronics. But now my roots are calling me back. Now the old school Fenders are most appealing to me again and that's what I want to play.

So it made me wonder, if you could ONLY play either old school basses or the new modern basses, which would you choose and why? I am not asking which is "better", just what you prefer.

 

[baskruit]

Soundwise? New modern basses. However, my main bass and also testbed for electronics is my Warmoth/Squier jazz bass so I lean towards a more traditional look.

 

[LanOsb133]

Old school by far. They were (most were) american made, They have a nice light weight now of days, the wood is nice and dried out, The necks are nice and broken in. NOt much to hate about an old school bass. NOt to mention you dont have to sit for days on end figuring out what configuration you want. (example being the Big Al from MM, which a little off topic i want one really badly )

But at the end of the day, i would take a 77 Fender P bass Olympic White w/ black pickguard with a nice fretless Maple neck over ANY bass any day. (or in Antigua or "Puke burst" as some call it)

 

[tangentmusic]

I'm kinda an old school guy. Give me a Fender Jazz & a Precision and I'm set for anything

 

[stflbn]

Modern tone and electronics.

 

[jnuts1]

Modern, hands down. not really a fender or vintage guy

 

[billoetjen]

Ye Olde School!
Flats, strung on a Ric or P, and no more than four of them, please.

 

[LarryO]

modern equipment seems to be versitile enough to get the tones of both. Not so much with vintage gear. Some would argue that and be right in some cases but equipment is built today with more flexability and versatility in mind (or that's what the marketing departments would have us believe). But just like any line of product, the researh and development often comes to solve an issue...........so what will equipment be like 30 years from now? Everyone will be using tiny smart phones with insrtument apps and no amps fed into bluetooth headsets and the crowd will listen through their headsets while simutaneously preparing their quarterly spending reports........wait, that's not 30 years from now.....that's 2 years...LOL

 

[patton63]

Old school, without question. It fits with the type of music I play (rock and blues), and I have an unexplained attachment to these basses. For me, "old school" translates into a '97 MIA P, a Ric 4003, and a '94 Gibson Les Paul - each of which I love for a different reason.

 

[tdub0199]

Old School for me..... a P with Flats....

 

[Scobac]

I've gone full circle also!I'm back to playing passive Fenders through up to date heads and cabs.

 

[garmenteros]

I prefer old school basses. I consider the single pickup stingray 4 string an old school bass by the way. Despite being active, its been around for 35+ years now. The only bass I own that could be considered modern is a 5 string 20th stingray hh. I can make any of my basses work for any of the stuff I like to play.

 

[MODELL]

Old School for me. I play exclusively with an acoustic guitarist/singer and a hand percussionist and the tone of my Jazz Bass works best for our originals and the covers we do.

 

[Nedmundo]

Definitely old school. I play passive P and J variants exclusively. But they all have modern features. The Jazz basses have good noiseless pickups, and my favorite "P" is actually a G&L SB-2 with the Leo-designed MFD split-coil that was introduced in the mid-1980's. I'm not crazy about vintage spec basses, and would prefer something like a G&L L-2000 to, for example, a Fender '62 AVRI Precision.

 

[BobaFret]

Until more recently I would have said modern.

Tim Lefebvre and Owen Biddle are pushing me back to Old School with some twists.

 

[purfektstranger]

Both.......

Fender '70s Precision Bass | Sweetwater.com

 

[DWBass]

Old School! Fender Jazz! Funk for life! I also own a Lakland 55-01 that I plan to 'old school' mod! Gonna put in some Big Singles.

 

[buzzbass]

I can make a modern bass sound vintage. Making a vintage bass sound modern ? That I can't do.

 

[Josh Pelican]

Old school. I like basses that tell a story.

 

[YCBass]

Old school. But I like a mix of both... And fortunately, today's selection of boutique Jazz-style basses provide that.

My Alleva~Coppolo has old school looks and tone, but kickin' in the preamp is like adding NOS to your 70's muscle car!