Not being sure of the best place to put this, I put it here as I believe it mostly affects basses themselves.
So I've noticed (gee I'm observant
) that some people here believe a bass is a tool, nothing more, and while they may have their favorites or prefrences, they form no serious attachment to their instruments. Others swear by their (usually) vintage instruments, citing the tone, playability, etc. to be nigh unto magical. I've also seen some people scoff at 'mojo', saying that no instrument posses the power to magically channel bass greats of the past.
I don't want to start an argument, rather, just see what people define as 'mojo', and the extent to which they believe.
As for me, I believe that, while an innanimate object made of wood and metal, instruments develop 'souls' as well, kindof. I think this soul, this 'mojo' really originates from the player, but it's when something about that particular instrument, the feel, the sound, the look (espescially), even the knowledge that you are playing an instrument older than yourself, or seeing the scars of a long life and sympathizing with the abuse it may have recieved at the hands of others, strikes something in you, resonates with some part of what's inside, and helps bring that out. It brings out the emotion, inspiration, and soothes and uplifts. For me, when I look at, hold, and play my cheap, (monetarily) worthless, and battered old Hondo P bass, I feel the scars from the ripped out frets, the bandaging of the filling in said frets, I feel the new life of the new tuners, new pots and knobs, and I remember a 15 yr old, too poor to even afford strings, let alone the work this pos bass that was given to me needed to be playable, working with a soldering iron to try and repair the fubar'd wiring, tuning with a leatherman because two keys were missing, and trying to rig a practice amp from the remains of an old classroom record player, hoping to utilize the tube amp. Never worked, but hey, I joined the army, and payed to have the bass fixed. It's still got some work yet, mostly cosmetic in nature, but I feel a pride in the fact that, while my hands didn't actually fix it, I accomplished my goal of rescuing this much abused, unloved and mistreated bass. BTW- IMHO, it sounds absolutely amazing, if I can figure out how to rig my computer to record, I will try to post soundclips.
My sister swears her new Dean edge 5 has more 'mojo' than my hondo (she's wrong) but for her- it does.
Anyway, to sum up, I believe "MOJO" comes from the player, deep withing, and it's only 'unlocked' by the instrument. This is why I would never 'relic' a bass- too much like abuse, and, imo, who wants fake mojo? But whatever floats your boat. To those of you who have never felt this way, or think I'm nuts (well, that's prolly true) then cool. To each their own. But honestly, I think you are missing out. Or maybe you just haven't found the one that does it yet. Who knows. Yeah, a bass is just some wood and metal parts put together, some with much more skill and attention to details as others, but then, the same can be said about the chair I'm sitting in. And I have to say, the chair has never (at least not yet) inspired me to keep practicing that one excercise over and over, till I look at the clock and realize it's been two hours more than what I had planned on practicing.
Sorry it's so long, but if you made it this far, you deserve a pat on the back!
P.S. I think my poor Hondo is likely to become the most hated instrument on these forums, as often as I talk about it.
So I've noticed (gee I'm observant
) that some people here believe a bass is a tool, nothing more, and while they may have their favorites or prefrences, they form no serious attachment to their instruments. Others swear by their (usually) vintage instruments, citing the tone, playability, etc. to be nigh unto magical. I've also seen some people scoff at 'mojo', saying that no instrument posses the power to magically channel bass greats of the past.I don't want to start an argument, rather, just see what people define as 'mojo', and the extent to which they believe.
As for me, I believe that, while an innanimate object made of wood and metal, instruments develop 'souls' as well, kindof. I think this soul, this 'mojo' really originates from the player, but it's when something about that particular instrument, the feel, the sound, the look (espescially), even the knowledge that you are playing an instrument older than yourself, or seeing the scars of a long life and sympathizing with the abuse it may have recieved at the hands of others, strikes something in you, resonates with some part of what's inside, and helps bring that out. It brings out the emotion, inspiration, and soothes and uplifts. For me, when I look at, hold, and play my cheap, (monetarily) worthless, and battered old Hondo P bass, I feel the scars from the ripped out frets, the bandaging of the filling in said frets, I feel the new life of the new tuners, new pots and knobs, and I remember a 15 yr old, too poor to even afford strings, let alone the work this pos bass that was given to me needed to be playable, working with a soldering iron to try and repair the fubar'd wiring, tuning with a leatherman because two keys were missing, and trying to rig a practice amp from the remains of an old classroom record player, hoping to utilize the tube amp. Never worked, but hey, I joined the army, and payed to have the bass fixed. It's still got some work yet, mostly cosmetic in nature, but I feel a pride in the fact that, while my hands didn't actually fix it, I accomplished my goal of rescuing this much abused, unloved and mistreated bass. BTW- IMHO, it sounds absolutely amazing, if I can figure out how to rig my computer to record, I will try to post soundclips.
My sister swears her new Dean edge 5 has more 'mojo' than my hondo (she's wrong) but for her- it does.
Anyway, to sum up, I believe "MOJO" comes from the player, deep withing, and it's only 'unlocked' by the instrument. This is why I would never 'relic' a bass- too much like abuse, and, imo, who wants fake mojo? But whatever floats your boat. To those of you who have never felt this way, or think I'm nuts (well, that's prolly true) then cool. To each their own. But honestly, I think you are missing out. Or maybe you just haven't found the one that does it yet. Who knows. Yeah, a bass is just some wood and metal parts put together, some with much more skill and attention to details as others, but then, the same can be said about the chair I'm sitting in. And I have to say, the chair has never (at least not yet) inspired me to keep practicing that one excercise over and over, till I look at the clock and realize it's been two hours more than what I had planned on practicing.
Sorry it's so long, but if you made it this far, you deserve a pat on the back!
P.S. I think my poor Hondo is likely to become the most hated instrument on these forums, as often as I talk about it.
