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

#41
mrbell321 said:
But, here's my take:
There is probably not a significant different in the average "quality" of all vintage vs new instruments, or if there is, it favors new. However, given enough time, bad examples or abused instruments will be discarded/destroyed. It's a bit of natural selection that leaves the "best" genes to the next generation for those that we consider "vintage". New basses may be good, or bad, but there's a lot of them still around, some are bound to be removed from the gene pool before too long, and that's more likely if they're bad.
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I don't know about the bad ones being discarded. They may have been stored in closets or under beds and wound up reasonably well preserved.
 
#44
Not better quality, in some cases the quality is worse and is why companies have developed newer, lighter, better engineered hardware alternatives. But they have a particular sound or mojo that people like. That's really all there is to it.
 
#46
Low End Bottom said:
Pro violinists fail to spot Stradivarius in blind test | New Scientist

Take what you will, I believe this applies to bass too
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IMHO there is not enough information to determine if there is a correlation with electric basses. We don't know anything about the new violins.

To clarify - If you did a double blind study with 6 vintage electric basses and 6 new electric basses, if the 6 new basses were Squiers, I don't think there is any doubt that you could tell old from new. However, if the 6 new basses were repos from Nash, Bluesman, or Lindsey, then I think it would be much harder to tell the difference.
 
#47
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#50
I have one vintage Fender that I bought because it looks cool and producers seem to be mesmerized by it. I don't consider it any better or worse than anything else, myself. My first Sadowsky, bought in 1990, is now "vintage" but doesn't seem to have the same mystique. Most of my workhorses are about 2-10 years old. Aside from that, how other guys want to spend their money isn't much of my business.
 
#52
lfmn16 said:
The way the question is worded, it's pretty apparent the OP already has his mind made up, IMHO.
;)
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Actually, no. I may have posted a few times my dream of owning a lefty 1966 Sunburst and tortie Jazz bass with the block inlays and lollipop tuners. I also lust (albeit with less fervour) after a modern MiA P or J. Or if someone would give me a choice between a modern fireglo 4003 or a vintage 4001 I would probably die of indecision.

So, it might be apparent to you, but it's not to me, the OP -- and I suspect, a few other posters on here. Maybe Nobody finds it apparent.

Clearly, at least some people in this thread understood my OP. I used tuners as an obvious example, because on the Fenders at least, they've switched manufacturers a few times. We can talk about bridges. We can talk about nut material, paints, lacquer, durability, etc...

I genuinely want to know how the old Klusons stack up against the Gotohs or Hipshots that people use now, if there is a significant difference. Muddslide's post is the kind that interests me. There have been others as well.

I worded the preamble in that way because I'm not interested in the mojo/vintage vibe aspects of a bass -- I think it clouds an instrument's inherent value. I have little experience owning or even playing what's considered a vintage instrument, but I love how some of them look, especially those that have been well taken care of, their decals, etc... I also want to know if there are others out there like me who really don't care about the vintage label, just that the age is incidental.

But since you mentioned you have a '66 Fender bass, they probably came with in-house machine heads. You say they hold tune... how do they compare to any other tuners on your basses?

I don't know if my vintage basses are better quality, but I prefer the ones I own ('66 Tele Bass, '75 P Bass) to most of the modern ones I've played. To me they look, sound and feel better, to my eyes, ears and hands. It doesn't mean that someone who prefers modern basses is wrong, it just means they have different criteria.
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It's not about 'right' or 'wrong'. See, this except is filled with the exact kind of information and experience I was hoping we'd discuss. Thank you.
 
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#54
Ritchie_Darling said:
It's six of one and a half dozen of the other.

I'm not a fan of vintage gear. My best friend is.

We both have some great stuff, and some not so great stuff.

It's all subjective.
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Absolutely.

I just finished practicing for a bit and used my 1974 P and my 2014 Fodera. The Precision is a great 70's Fender but the Fodera just kills it buildwise and tonally for MOST music I play. Live it cuts better and I find it much more ergonomic.the Fodera is much more valuable but I prefer newer active basses to any of the 60/70's basses I have played/owned.

I wouldn't play the Fodera on my blues gigs though as it wouldn't fit as well as my old P or Jazz basses.

Play what makes you happy but personally I would take a $10k boutique over a $10k vintage bass almost always.

My neighbour would disagree completely as he greatly prefers his pre-CBS Fenders to any of the modern active basses I have owned over the years.
 
#58
I think that aside from the aged wood everything about newer basses is better .. from electronics to hardware. Maybe I would think differently if I ever played a pre CBS Fender but my 78 J as good as it was in it's day and as good as it still sounds ... I prefer my 55-01, my Brute, my Peavey or my Heir over it...
 
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#59
nerkoids said:
But since you mentioned you have a '66 Fender bass, they probably came with in-house machine heads. You say they hold tune... how do they compare to any other tuners on your basses?
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I'm not being facetious when I say they tune the bass and keep it in tune. That's all I look for in a tuner; anything beyond that is unnecessary for me. I've had many modern basses and I guess I just don't think about those things. If I reach up and can tune the bass, and it stays in tune all night, I'm happy.
 
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#60
I like my Fender CS59 better than any vintage Fender I've played. I find most of the ones I've seen have been modded, lots of wear and tear, generally not super playable, rough frets, etc. I'm sure there are some magical ones that command the prices they're going for. I just haven't found them. My CS59 doesn't have any of those quality issues and has plenty of mojo. Have to get past the concept of it being a "re-issue" and not an original - but once I was over that, I was happy. I feel I had a better all around bass for less $$$.
 
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