Let's be completely honest here about vintage basses...

[chris_b]

It all depends. Do you think humans get worse at something with practice or better?

Depends on whether accountants are involved or not.

 

[theduke1]

I play G&L 2500s.
I have a good friend who is,a serious collector of all things vintage.
We were doing some recording at his house and I said that some day I would like to own a pre CBS Pbass.
He told me that my G&Ls record better than any other bass he has heard.
He also told of the time he interviewed Leo and Leo said if he still owned Fender the E& L series would be the industry standard.
I don't know if that is off topic but I have stopped lusting for a vintage P
Thanks
Duke

 

[Sharp5]

For me...each bass is individual. Old or new.

I haven't been around long but I can just imagine the post that have come from this! Having said that you guys don't hold a candle to saxophonists. I once sold a vintage mouthpiece for $1000! Yes, the little part that goes on the end of the instrument.

 

[lfmn16]

Of course not. It's just some good click bait

I especially like the tuner discussion. Well, my '66 original tuners tune the bass and it stays in tune. They work as they should; what's better than that?

 

[GretschWretch]

I would say that modern basses are more consistent than vintage ones, which could translate into better, given computer-assisted manufacture. And to think that, over the course of a half-century, bass manufacturers could not have learned how to improve product is just not realistic.

These things being said, I suspect that improved strings has made more of a difference than improved tuning machines.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Well, your experience is really anecdotal evidence rather than scientific evidence. However, what I said barely counts as a hypothesis, which is an educated guess. The key word there being educated, and mine is only a wild potential rationale for why people pay so much for a beat up hunk of wood.

I of course realize my "evidence" is anecdotal. But if there are plenty of mediocre-playing vintage Fenders around, then the skew toward players favoring them cannot be entirely due to their superior playability, as your premise implies (if I in fact understand you correctly).
In fact, a lot of people who idealize pre-cbs basses have not even ever seen one. Which is to say, it is my own wild guess that the general fervor is down to sentimentality and romanticism (neither of which I have issue with).

 

[pedroims]

I like basses that sound and feel great Right after they have been built, if you need to wait 40 years then the quality is probably not good.

 

[Son of Wobble]

I hope this goes well.
FF

LOL!
Talk Bass is like Housewives of New York, where every week the same cast of eccentrics square off
to have the same mud-slinging event!

I'm just glad I have somewhere to discuss this stuff with similar obsessives. Otherwise, I'd be talking to

 

[RED J]

Older is always better.

Man that's a relief. I'll tell myself that when I look in the mirror tomorrow morning.

 

[Sputnik Monroe]

Seems obvious in 99.2 % of any thread that starts with a new vs old premise, where the bias is ... So be it, makes no difference one way or the other to 99.3 % of the people reading the post.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Basses that are still around from the old days are still around because they are well made instruments, the cream of the crop. They were played and cared for because they were and are good specimens. There are modern basses that are wonderful and will be cared for and preserved 50 years if society is still intact. I love my new Ric 4003 and think the electronics have improved since the 4001. But i played my uncles old Hofner and it sounded like an old sixties bass in a way that is somehow lost on modern basses so the argument can really go both ways.

 

[TBird1958]

Let's put aside mojo, collectability, value, colour, quality of tort, etc...

Regardless if it's a Fender, Gibson, or a Rickenbacker... are the vintage basses inherently better quality than newer stuff?

Allow me to narrow down to this example (just to get things started, obviously we can talk about anything that's on a bass) Pre-CBS Kluson tuners, better, worse, equal to the Gotoh/Hipshot replacements?

How about Pre-CBS Klusons vs. In-house Fender tuners?

Discuss.

In the case of Thunderbirds there is considerable difference in the design of the pickups depending on the year of production, yes the older '60s era ones are considered better largely because of the pickups - Low production numbers don't the value here either tho. Today you can get "that" vintage Thunderbird tone using any of several high quality reproductions that drop in modern basses. Otherwise quality has always been a bit iffy with Gibson, tho I'm sure it was better in the past (before Henry J).

 

[SirMjac28]

 

[Gilmourisgod]

All other "mojo" discussions aside, new instruments are at least a hell of a lot more consistent from bass to bass in the CNC era. Age alone doesn't make a bass exceptional, Fender and Gibson turned out their share of dogs over the years. The high end of any brand is usually pretty good. What's really changed is how good the "budget" lines like Squire have become. I highly suspect that in a true blind sound test, very few players could hear a qualitative difference between a well set up Squire and a high dollar "vintage" bass, and virtually nobody in the average audience. I have great affection for old basses as time travelers and cultural artifacts, but I don't think they inherently play or sound better as a class. IMHO, etc.

 

[GregT]

I ordered a 2015 Fender American Standard Precision today. Black with rosewood.
Very vintage!!!
If I live long enough.....

 

[mapleglo]

For me...each bass is individual. Old or new.

...

I agree with this.

On the other hand, I've been playing bass since 1969, and I've played a lot of basses over the years. Generally speaking, I'll take a new bass over an old one any day. I'll take either of my Ric 4003's over any of the 4001's I've owned over the years. I'll take my 2011 P bass over the early 70's P bass I had for a few years (and traded in for a 4001). Of course, there are some wonderful old basses out there, and some lemons, just like new basses.

Your milage may vary.

 

[Bass Viking]

It all depends. Do you think humans get worse at something with practice or better?

Exactly! Very rarely is there a step backwards in production methods.

 

[mongo2]

I especially like the tuner discussion. Well, my '66 original tuners tune the bass and it stays in tune. They work as they should; what's better than that?

For my Goths I have to say the smoothness of their action is unparalleled, other things...Much lighter weight that improves the balance and "comfort factor" of the instrument, gear ratio, lower maintenance, and better lubrication.

 

[dalkowski]

I don't care one way or the other, but I would like a Fender or Gibson from my birth year, just for poops 'n' giggles.

This would, of course, come after two bachelors degrees and a house are paid in full...

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Ric is a good example of a bass that's improved over time. They really institutionalized some bad design features like oversize pup routs right at high stress points, and dimensions and contours were all over the map. The current production are all CNC manufactured, and generally better made than the average older 4001.