What is this bridge? I've never seen it before. Looks like it's meant to keep the string break angle consistent with the saddle even when changing intonation by moving saddle. Is that the deal?
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Innovative bass technology
- Thread starter Ron Johnson
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What is this bridge? I've never seen it before. Looks like it's meant to keep the string break angle consistent with the saddle even when changing intonation by moving saddle. Is that the deal?
IMO the sum of Ned Steinberger's work is the top of the list when it comes to innovating on top of the existing bass platform with the finished product remaining a bass.
By the way, this fretless bridge is a very cool innovation!
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Phillip Kubicki worked on the Leo team and was quite the innovator himself. Particularly his Ex Factor 4 and 5 Bass Guitar designs. I'll point out the innovations tomorrow when I can get back to my iPad.
Usually people that have never owned one. They are just parroting what they have heard.
I'm a Fender guy (and by that I mean, I'm sold on the durability of the P and J bass designs), but I definitely appreciate the innovations made available to players over the past 40 years. Most have already been mentioned - active electronics, class D micro amps, spoke-wheel truss rod adjustments, fanned frets, fancy gig bags... the list goes on.
But, at the end of the day, it still comes down to laying down a tasty groove and playing from the heart, whatever tools we have at our disposal.
But, at the end of the day, it still comes down to laying down a tasty groove and playing from the heart, whatever tools we have at our disposal.
A lot of cool innovations have happened over the years, but there's also been a lot of reinventing the wheel and a lot of crap as well. Most of them have been named already and one can judge for one's self which is which. But FWIW, active electronics, Sperzel tuners, and the Kahler Bass Whammy have been the only major innovations post-Fender that I'm interested in on the bass side, and lightweight heads are about the only innovations on the amp/cab side that I'm interested in. Now effects...that's where the real innovation is these days. I'm always interested in new and wacky sounds.
- Jun 30, 2010
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I'm surprised it took 24 posts to get to Phil Kubicki. Aside from a few other things, his drop-D/capo hs design (yes the concept was derived from orchestral bass) is unparalleled in an electric bass arena - period.
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I'll post this thought for the heck of it... Maybe someone in the TB brotherhood will help with an apropos thought or comment...
IS there anywhere that leans more towards software development? I've been really pondering this for awhile... I have a degree in it, and obvious experience, but how in the heck do you find the avenues in order to utilize the skills? Hardware needs to be manipulated in ways other than by digits in the music world? It stirs the imagination... Sabemos lo que sabemos, clara...
Cheers,
D.
IS there anywhere that leans more towards software development? I've been really pondering this for awhile... I have a degree in it, and obvious experience, but how in the heck do you find the avenues in order to utilize the skills? Hardware needs to be manipulated in ways other than by digits in the music world? It stirs the imagination... Sabemos lo que sabemos, clara...
Cheers,
D.
Two really novel ideas come to mind. The Westone Rail bass was quite unique in the style of the sliding pickup assembly. Too bad they didn't catch on. Imagine today what sort of basses they'd be making. Class D amplification is remarkable in that the technology used is the same as in hearing aids. Brilliant.
There are a few features in my Togar basses that I find fairly innovative. For example the graphite rods in the neck,metal screw inserts in the neck so if you need to remove the neck no wood will strip out.He also has made the neck so that if the truss rod is ever damaged or seizes up you can replace the it without having to do any serious work to it.replacing a truss rod can be a lot of work otherwise.these are not exclusive features to my Togar basses but fairly innovative I recon.Another not so new innovation that I'm partial to are sidewider or bilateral coil pickups.not the Gibson mudbuckers so much as Lane Poor M3s or Bartolini CX pickups.Single coil clarity with the midrange of a series humbucker.Very hi fidelity which may not be desirable to some.Its not new by any means but its not too common.The first version of this style I recall ever hearing about that wasnt the mudbuckers was the pickups in Rick Danko's Ripper.I just got a set of sidewinders in an emg 35 shape from one of our pickup winding fellow TBers and I'm really enjoying them.Again,its not new but still a very innovative and underrated design IMHO.
As far as cabs go I think Bill Fitzmaurice's designs have really raised the bar especially the Jack.the Simplex cabs are also incredibly efficient.
As far as cabs go I think Bill Fitzmaurice's designs have really raised the bar especially the Jack.the Simplex cabs are also incredibly efficient.
Headless. Being able to throw a bass into a guitar gig bag is quite nice. Hopefully Hipshot's hardware catches on this time. I respect Steinberger and have a really nice Steinberger guitar, but I think a perceived drawback with headless was that it had a certain sound, which was more due to EMGs and a graphite neck. Throw a headless system on a wood guitar with desired electronics and the tonal impact of the headless hardware is minimal.
A good low B string. This is a combo of good construction and strings. I'm under the impression that part of the resistance to 5+ string basses is that the cheap/old ones don't sound very good. Ok, another part is that a lot of guys want to grip the neck like a baseball bat, which does not fly on slimmer and/or wider necks, not that anyone would admit to technique issues.
The stiffer necks can sometimes help the neck resist warping or as much movement with humidity swings.
Coated or synthetic fingerboards. They protect the neck against roundwound abuse and add a certain coolness to the sound.
Truss rod access without removing the neck. Anyone who lives in the Midwest could probably tell ya how fun it is to adjust all of your guitars twice a year due to the extreme shift in humidity.
A good low B string. This is a combo of good construction and strings. I'm under the impression that part of the resistance to 5+ string basses is that the cheap/old ones don't sound very good. Ok, another part is that a lot of guys want to grip the neck like a baseball bat, which does not fly on slimmer and/or wider necks, not that anyone would admit to technique issues.
The stiffer necks can sometimes help the neck resist warping or as much movement with humidity swings. Coated or synthetic fingerboards. They protect the neck against roundwound abuse and add a certain coolness to the sound.
Truss rod access without removing the neck. Anyone who lives in the Midwest could probably tell ya how fun it is to adjust all of your guitars twice a year due to the extreme shift in humidity.
I'm sure someone already mentioned it but those offset neck basses like the old Alvarez Dana basses.I can't recall the company that took off with the idea but it is another innovative design.Its just not my cup of ambergris.
EverTune Bridge | Keep Your Guitar in Tune Forever
If these guys ever manage to make a version that works on bass, I'll be all over that. Never going out of tune, all mechanical? That's such a cool piece of engineering.
I always thought Kramer/Electrical Guitar Company instruments with aluminium necks were cool. Super thin, and from what I've heard of the full aluminium bodied EGCs, they have a very unique tone.
Oh, and the Gibson RD Artist. Bob Moog electronics, those things are beasts.
If these guys ever manage to make a version that works on bass, I'll be all over that. Never going out of tune, all mechanical? That's such a cool piece of engineering.
I always thought Kramer/Electrical Guitar Company instruments with aluminium necks were cool. Super thin, and from what I've heard of the full aluminium bodied EGCs, they have a very unique tone.
Oh, and the Gibson RD Artist. Bob Moog electronics, those things are beasts.
Well this thread is over before it began since Leo got it right the first time and there can't be any improvements.
Of course that is bass guitars, now amps... well my old Fender BXR200 weighs a ton and the BXR300 model had four large wheels on it for reason. But leave it to Fender! Way back when I bought this 1U 800 watt amp from Fender and just bolted it to the back of a cab giving me a whole pants flapping kilowatt with of course all the weight still in the BXR 200. But what do you do when you are way ahead of the game? Well you discontinue all that cool stuff and wait for the world to catch up! So I got that Fender "booster" amp for a song as a closeout. Hey, nobody who is serious about music want's a light weight amp anymore than they'd want something other than a 4 string jazz or P bass!
Lucky I'm not serious. Still got the old Kilowatt rig and it still kills, but now I've also got two Carvin BX500 amps that you can just tuck under your arm. I need to finish my couple of Neo cabs to go with them and I can leave all that old grunt gear behind. Fender finally decided the world has caught up and now sell the Rumble 500 head very similar to my Carvins. So who needs "improvements"?
Everyone except you.
The Lightwave pickup system is pretty nifty in theory, but it reduces/eliminates certain factors, such as pickup placement and type (P,J,HB, MM) to pull different sounds. It seems like you just get one flavor with the Lightwave system. I wonder if it is possible to interfere with the interaction between the IR sensor and the string with a pick, your hand, etc. It's right on the bridge, so probably not an issue.
Aside from that, I think that LED side dots for playing dark stages/shows is a great innovation. The aftermarket options aren't great; it's basically a "do or don't" option when a bass is built. However, I think we'll see more LEDs on basses as time goes on.
I'm waiting to see what the next foray into composite design is going to be. There are a few around (Status, Moses, Modulus, etc.), but I think there is a lot more to be done in the field of composites as it applies to instruments. In the meantime, I have a Moses neck delivering in a couple of days.
OH...I almost forgot: that Roland V-Bass thing is a pretty wicked innovation. Far from new, but still unique and I think it spawned a lot of new thought about synth bass sounds. Mike Tobias created a sig bass for Andrew Gouche that has some built-in effects that are wild.
Aside from that, I think that LED side dots for playing dark stages/shows is a great innovation. The aftermarket options aren't great; it's basically a "do or don't" option when a bass is built. However, I think we'll see more LEDs on basses as time goes on.
I'm waiting to see what the next foray into composite design is going to be. There are a few around (Status, Moses, Modulus, etc.), but I think there is a lot more to be done in the field of composites as it applies to instruments. In the meantime, I have a Moses neck delivering in a couple of days.
OH...I almost forgot: that Roland V-Bass thing is a pretty wicked innovation. Far from new, but still unique and I think it spawned a lot of new thought about synth bass sounds. Mike Tobias created a sig bass for Andrew Gouche that has some built-in effects that are wild.
Well, it might be interesting to have a foot pedal that would raise or lower the frets so you could be fretless for couple of notes and then not, or vice-versa. Another foot pedal innovation might be something that affected the sustain, like a limiter or compressor.
Yes, Leo did get it right, and because of that the bass had a new voice or prominence in the music. This cannot be overstated, Leo is as important to the development of rock and pop music as any one other single person. Yet, as electric bassists we find that the parts that we play are not so much dictated by the style of the music, as they are by the limiting parameters of the instrument itself. Spend a little time sitting next to a cellist and then wonder what music of the late 20th century would have been like if Leo had just added the ability of using a bow to the bass that he did invent.
Yes, Leo did get it right, and because of that the bass had a new voice or prominence in the music. This cannot be overstated, Leo is as important to the development of rock and pop music as any one other single person. Yet, as electric bassists we find that the parts that we play are not so much dictated by the style of the music, as they are by the limiting parameters of the instrument itself. Spend a little time sitting next to a cellist and then wonder what music of the late 20th century would have been like if Leo had just added the ability of using a bow to the bass that he did invent.
