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Make A Popular Bass

grace & groove

grace & groove

Nov 30, 2005
1,237
6
philly
Disclosures
Self-Appointed Ambassador to the Dragonfly
#1
You've a won a contest, and now you get to design a bass and have any manufacturer you want make it. The catch is that it has to make a lot of money:

Ok so you pick the manufacturer and the specs of your bass to be released to the public. Remember, it should be able to make money too. ;)

The game is to rate the person above's choice of manufacturer, overall quality of bass, and ability to appeal to a wide amount of people on a 0-10 scale.

Here's a sample rating form to copy/paste:

Choice of Manufacturer:
Why that rating?:
Overall Bass:
Why that rating?:
Potential Popularity:
Why that rating?:

Here's a sample specification form to copy/paste:

Manufacturer:
Model Name:
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?:
# of Strings:
Body wood(s):
Body shape:
Neck wood(s):
Neck shape:
# of Frets/Stops:
Pickups:
Preamp (or passive controls):
Hardware:
Other specifics:
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner):

I'll start it off for you guys to get an idea.

Manufacturer: Status-Graphite
Model Name: Status Zeus
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Graphite neck
# of Strings: 4/5
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: P-bass
Neck wood(s): Graphite
Neck shape: J-bass
Neck joint: Bolt-on
# of Frets/Stops: 24
Pickups: Status P/J
Preamp (or passive controls): Passive VVT, Deluxe is 3-band
Hardware: Black
Other specifics: Comes in fretless/lined fretless
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid



Have fun guys!!
 
#2
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: (something) Jazz
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?:
# of Strings: 4 or 5, both available
Body wood(s): Alder
Body shape: Jazz
Neck wood(s): Maple
Neck shape: Jazz
# of Frets/Stops: 20
Pickups: J/J
Preamp (or passive controls): V/V/B/T/Tone
Hardware: All Hipshot, Chrome, w/ Detuner
Other specifics: Nitrocellulose finish... basically a Highway 1 with a preamp and real hardware
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid level... $1000 range
 
#3
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Fender Ben Brown model
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Stiffening rods
# of Strings: 6 (4/2 headstock)
Body wood(s): Wenge Body
Body shape: Precision
Neck wood(s): Walnut, with an ebony board
Neck shape: flat and wide
# of Frets/Stops: 24
Pickups: P/MM
Preamp (or passive controls): Passive V V T, flipswitch, T knob does nothing and goes to 3-band preamp.
Hardware: Hipshot ultralite tuners, badass bridge
Other specifics: olympic white, tort shell guard, jack on the side, peghead same color
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): High-end
 
#4
Wootsticks said:
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Fender Ben Brown model
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Stiffening rods
# of Strings: 6 (4/2 headstock)
Body wood(s): Wenge Body
Body shape: Precision
Neck wood(s): Walnut, with an ebony board
Neck shape: flat and wide
# of Frets/Stops: 24
Pickups: P/MM
Preamp (or passive controls): Passive V V T, flipswitch, T knob does nothing and goes to 3-band preamp.
Hardware: Hipshot ultralite tuners, badass bridge
Other specifics: olympic white, tort shell guard, jack on the side, peghead same color
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): High-end
Click to expand...

Ooh, make this another:

Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Jazz VI
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: 6 String
# of Strings: 6 (4+2 headstock)
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: Jazz
Neck wood(s): Maple/Rosewood board
Neck shape: Wide Jazz
# of Frets/Stops: 20
Pickups: 6 String Fender Designed (or something else passive)
Preamp (or passive controls): V/V/T
Hardware: Chrome, Hipshot Ultralite Tuners
Other specifics: Available in black, oly white, sunburst, etc.
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid/High... American Standard Series
 
#5
Manufacturer: Yamaha
Model Name: Mulecaster (?)
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Graphite or aluminum reinforced neck, six bolt attachment if possible, contoured heel.
# of Strings: 4
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: Slab P, black pickguard, translucent white
Neck wood(s): Maple/Maple
Neck shape: Telecaster baseball bat
# of Frets/Stops: 20
Pickups: Dimarzio X2N-B bridge, Rio Grande Pitbull neck (or Dimarzio Willpower neck or Model 1)
Preamp (or passive controls): vol/tone stacked for each pup, passive
Hardware: Hipshot tuners, Detuner on E. Badass or Schaller bridge.
Other specifics: dual outputs, DPDT switch series/parallel for each pup
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Hope to God it costs under a grand.
 
#7
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Heartbeat
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Removeable frets (they slide in from the bass side, held in place by a binding). Bass comes with two sets of frets, one stainless steel the other hard rubber. You get two different sounds that way, or leave them out for fretless.
# of Strings: 4/5 Bass has five tuners and a replaceable nut (you get two, one for 4 one for 5) held in by string preasure. Bass also comes with two bridges.
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: P style with smaller waist
Neck wood(s): Maple/mahogany laminate
Neck shape: P bass C
# of Frets/Stops: 22
Pickups: DiMarzio soapbar (big enough for 5 strings)
Preamp (or passive controls): Passive
Hardware: Chrome
Other specifics: Comes with Gig bag, lots of handles and pockets
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Keep it under $700
 
#8
BassChuck said:
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Heartbeat
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Removeable frets (they slide in from the bass side, held in place by a binding). Bass comes with two sets of frets, one stainless steel the other hard rubber. You get two different sounds that way, or leave them out for fretless.
# of Strings: 4/5 Bass has five tuners and a replaceable nut (you get two, one for 4 one for 5) held in by string preasure. Bass also comes with two bridges.
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: P style with smaller waist
Neck wood(s): Maple/mahogany laminate
Neck shape: P bass C
# of Frets/Stops: 22
Pickups: DiMarzio soapbar (big enough for 5 strings)
Preamp (or passive controls): Passive
Hardware: Chrome
Other specifics: Comes with Gig bag, lots of handles and pockets
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Keep it under $700
Click to expand...

Um when you slide out the frets, wouldn't there just be big holes where the frets were? Doubt you could play it like a fretless then
 
#9
Manufacturer:Lakland
Model Name:Geezer butler signature
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?:cream binding around top part (if right handed) of body.
# of Strings:4-5
Body wood(s):Swamp Ash
Body shape: P shape
Neck wood(s): Birdseye Maple
Neck shape: J but just a little bit chunkier
# of Frets/Stops: 22
Pickups: 2 dark star pickups
Preamp (or passive controls): push pull vol pot as pup selector, and tone plus passive mid boost.
Hardware:
Other specifics: Sunburst and black and nat with tort pickguard stock. Cross inlay at 12th fret made of silver.
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): high-end, $3,490
 
#10
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: PB&J
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?:
# of Strings: 4
Body wood(s): Alder or Ash
Body shape: Precision style
Neck wood(s): All maple with rods, light finish so it is not "grippy"
Neck shape: Geddy Lee size specs with a Tele headstock, normal black dot inlays and no black on the edges.
# of Frets/Stops: 20/21
Pickups: P and a J
Preamp (or passive controls): passive with tone control, and volumes
Hardware: black or smoked chrome
Other specifics: Strat style jack
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): mid/high end
 
#12
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Custom Precision
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Fretted or fretless
# of Strings: 4/5
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: P-bass
Neck wood(s): maple
Neck shape: P-bass
Neck joint: Bolt-on
# of Frets/Stops: 20
Pickups: Precision/StingRay
Preamp (or passive controls): Active
Hardware: Chrome
Other specifics: Comes in fretted/fretless/lined fretless maple fingerboard
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid

Finishes: natural ash w tort pickguard, oly white w tort, black w tort
 
#13
Manufacturer: EBMM
Model Name: Satan
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Normal headstock
# of Strings: 4 or 5 string models available
Body wood(s): ash
Body shape: Cross between Sterling & Fender Jazz (thinner, lighter, slightly larger, and much more contoured than a sterling)
Neck wood(s): maple
Neck shape: Jazz/Sterling (shallow, thin, and fast)
# of Frets/Stops: 21
Fretboard: Ebonol - offered in fretted or fretless lined
Pickups: single darkstar
Preamp (or passive controls): Passive w/just 2 controls - volume & tone
Hardware: Hipshot ultralite tuners with a d-tuner, badass bridge - cable jack placed on face of instrument, not bottom edge (I like the idea of a strat style jack)
Finishes: offered in a variety of "factory fresh" designs with shiny chrome hardware & poly finishes or "reliced" designs with vintage nickel hardware and nitro finishes.
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid to high (about $1500)

Should look something like this (pardon the photoshop hack job)...

satanbass1.jpg
 
#15
Manufacturer: fender, ibanez, music man group project (OH YEAH)
Model Name: the MMIF omega series hybrid bass
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: music man style headstock
# of Strings: 4, 5 also avalible
Body wood(s): any way you want it (special order) standard is maple body, lamintate koa top
Body shape: fender p, with arm countour of the atk for slap
Neck wood(s): maple (duh), fretboard is custumers choice, maple standard
Neck shape: fender modern jazz C, optional scalloping on last couple of frets
# of Frets/Stops: 20 (hate fretboard overhang), fretted
Pickups: atk 3 coil pickup in its usual postition (nordstrand also avalible), seymour duncan 1/4 pounder p pickup
Preamp (or passive controls): able to go from passive/active, series/paralel, like a fender jaguar bass
Hardware: badassII bridge (optional colors), hipshot tuners with colors matching the bridge, pickup switches and pre amps, ernie ball super slinky strings,
Other specifics: certified awsome by the worlds top bassists, satin neck finish
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): $1,200-$1500
 
#16
lpdeluxe said:
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Custom Precision
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Fretted or fretless
# of Strings: 4/5
Body wood(s): Ash
Body shape: P-bass
Neck wood(s): maple
Neck shape: P-bass
Neck joint: Bolt-on
# of Frets/Stops: 20
Pickups: Precision/StingRay
Preamp (or passive controls): Active
Hardware: Chrome
Other specifics: Comes in fretted/fretless/lined fretless maple fingerboard
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid

Finishes: natural ash w tort pickguard, oly white w tort, black w tort
Click to expand...

love it. bridge?
 
#18
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Progressive Jazz
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?: Full body bevels, a la Stingray5
# of Strings: 4/5
Body wood(s): Cherry
Body shape: Jazz with body bevels
Neck wood(s): Wenge
Neck shape: Jazz
Neck joint: Bolt-on with sculpted heel
# of Frets/Stops: 24
Pickups: MM/S, MM/MM, MM
Preamp (or passive controls): Active/Passive
Hardware: High mass bridge, a la Baddass II
Other specifics: Side dots only, MusicMan style Truss rod adjuster
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): Mid/High ($1300)

Finishes: Natural, Black, Burst colors with Exotic tops
 
#19
Manufacturer: Fender
Model Name: Steve Harris Resignature
Headless/Fanned/Something Different?:
# of Strings: 4
Body wood(s): Alder
Body shape:Precision
Neck wood(s): Maple
Neck shape: Fender Precision
# of Frets/Stops: 20
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder
Preamp (or passive controls): None
Hardware: Bad Ass bridge
Other specifics:
Price level (Boutique/High-end/Mid/Beginner): 750.00


Lake placid blue with red mirror pickguard. Fender would sell a ton of them overnight.
 
#20
MrSexy said:
Um when you slide out the frets, wouldn't there just be big holes where the frets were? Doubt you could play it like a fretless then
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the frets would be more or less "I" shaped, so the opening on the fretboard would be no more than a defretted bass. Why would that be a problem to playing? It might be that one would have to clean out the slots if they were empty for a long period of time.
 

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