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Lane Poor Bass!! What the FFFFFUUUUUDGE???

#42
I like the funky design - I'd play it in a heartbeat. But those frets -meh, they scare me. I'm doing a build right now that "started" as a Steinberger Synapse. I like the idea of the staggered tuners - it works. Unfortunately, it adds on about the length of a conventional head-stock, so you are nothing ahead if saving length was a goal.
 
#45
About twenty years ago I met Lane Poor and did some legal work for him. At that time I was a guitarist and had no idea what the Minima was about, other than appreciating the technology and design. Lane is a wonderful engineer, luthier and designer, but not a great businessman (think Steve Jobs without the sharp teeth) and despite some real acclaim for his bass and acoustic guitar pickups he closed down his shop in the late 90's. He got some really good attention from Jack Cassady, Will Lee, and Allen Woody, but the Minima may just have been too far out there.
Fast forward to 2010. I auditioned as a bassist for a cover band in Fall River, MA. I am introduced to the guitarist, who says "Bruce, remember me from Lane Poor?" Turns out that George was one of Lane's builders. I have since seen his initials on a bass pickup that someone took apart to reverse engineer. This is my first real gig as a bassist and I've gone through a number of instruments trying to find what I like the best (Schecter, Fender, Yamaha). When I saw the Minima for sale at LowEnd bass in Tennessee I decided that I had to grab that piece of my personal history.
I love it. The action is smooth and low, the intonation is perfect, the pickup is the balls, and it is super-light and comfortable. Downside is that the bottom of the bass extends out a few inches farther than my Fender P-Bass, so I have to be careful not to bump stuff or people onstage. I needed a taller stage stand and bought a rifle case from WalMart to carry the bass. No tone controls, no problem -- I dial in the sound on my pre-amp/DI. Honestly, it doesn't need much EQ tweaking -- it just sounds great.
 
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#46
+1 on Jack Casady using one. I saw Jack with the Paul Kantner version of Jefferson Starship in early 1992. He was mostly playing his Gibson hollowbody but he pulled out a 5 string version of this bass for a few songs. Sounded huge,but so did the Gibson. Jim
 
#49
bdtesq said:
About twenty years ago I met Lane Poor and did some legal work for him. At that time I was a guitarist and had no idea what the Minima was about, other than appreciating the technology and design. Lane is a wonderful engineer, luthier and designer, but not a great businessman (think Steve Jobs without the sharp teeth) and despite some real acclaim for his bass and acoustic guitar pickups he closed down his shop in the late 90's. He got some really good attention from Jack Cassady, Will Lee, and Allen Woody, but the Minima may just have been too far out there.
Fast forward to 2010. I auditioned as a bassist for a cover band in Fall River, MA. I am introduced to the guitarist, who says "Bruce, remember me from Lane Poor?" Turns out that George was one of Lane's builders. I have since seen his initials on a bass pickup that someone took apart to reverse engineer. This is my first real gig as a bassist and I've gone through a number of instruments trying to find what I like the best (Schecter, Fender, Yamaha). When I saw the Minima for sale at LowEnd bass in Tennessee I decided that I had to grab that piece of my personal history.
I love it. The action is smooth and low, the intonation is perfect, the pickup is the balls, and it is super-light and comfortable. Downside is that the bottom of the bass extends out a few inches farther than my Fender P-Bass, so I have to be careful not to bump stuff or people onstage. I needed a taller stage stand and bought a rifle case from WalMart to carry the bass. No tone controls, no problem -- I dial in the sound on my pre-amp/DI. Honestly, it doesn't need much EQ tweaking -- it just sounds great.
Click to expand...

Very cool story.
 
#52
I once played one and though it has a very odd shape (not my cup of tea whatsoever), it sounded good. In an upright position it would actually look OK.

As for how odd it is, take a look. Back in the day, it had a cameo appearance.
 

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#55
Revolver said:
I once played one and though it has a very odd shape (not my cup of tea whatsoever), it sounded good. In an upright position it would actually look OK.

As for how odd it is, take a look. Back in the day, it had a cameo appearance.
Click to expand...

I have that same SWR poster and never had a clue what that bass was! Crazy design - seems like if all the good working parts/designs were built into a slightly less jagged package, it would get some real attention from players.
 
#58
Duuuuuuuuuude said:
There's a few things I don't get about that bass. Are there volume and tone controls?

Volume control is the black cylinder by the pickup on the G string side.

What's that black thing on the front above the logo and between the D and G strings?

Haven't seen that in pictures of other Minima.

What's that thing on the top side right in front of the E tuner?

Strap button

How do you intonate the bridge?

The saddles slide and there is access from the back for adjustment.

And is that a built in strap lock at the very back?

No, it's a cable retainer that can be rotated to hold the cable in the groove at the tail end.
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Replies in bold above.
 

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