MOJO!! Myth, or MAGIC?

[Kenny Allyn]

Personally, I tend to see "mojo" as that je ne sais qoui feeling of not exactly being able to put your finger on it, but you know that there's something to it.

Pretty much says it ...

It's a term that has taken on a certain POP icon status.

In real terms it's not the object (instrument)... From Beale Street to Burbon Street is the cradle of the blues tradition so closely associated with MOJO. If you should be lucky enough to be on Beale and catch a street band fronted by drummer Big Jerry you will hear IT ... I mean the real deal ... and they use the cheapest instruments and amps you can imagine. So it's NOT the actual instrument, although it's true some instruments do have a cool vibe no doubt.


Now this bass "may" have something approaching MOJO ...
Painted by a the artist Dewsparkle, who spent many years in the New Orleans area before tranplanting to Memphis, it's covered in many Voodoo symbols and such and has a really cool vibe ... MOJO I dunno?


My Voodoo bass ...


... click thumbnail





... How much MOJO do you really want to know ... http://www.luckymojo.com/mojo.html

 

[cdef]

If you believe it, then it's real to you. Me? Like I said, I'm skeptical.

Well, so am I. What I posted was a conjecture. Until I see objective evidence, I'll think you're probably right, and "mojo" is not "magic", but subjective, and, in the words of the OP, a myth. However, the point of a myth is not that it's in fact untrue, but that it enables people to relate to things that they would otherwise have to grapple with alone. In this case, finding mojo in a bass encourages people to get into playing it on a level that would be beyond them otherwise. This goes for amateurs and experts alike.

When I croak I'll have been gigging my cheap P copy for 30+ years. They'll have to pry it from my cold and rigid hands. I've customized it extensively, and as I've come to know these two pieces of wood, the combo we make has only gotten more effective. To the people around me, this bass will have some major lmoh mojo when I'm gone, but if it's put up on a wall and sold for maybe $200 I doubt whether the buyer will be much aided by whatever I've put into it, unless he/she knows where it's been. That's where the myth comes in.

 

[UncleBalsamic]

The "mojo" could be the pickups etc being worn out giving the bass a distinct sound but if you're comfortable playing bass then that's the "mojo".

 

[Rumblin' Man]

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[A9X]

LMAO Rumblin'.

 

[bluerimedeyes]

So, yeah, instruments right out of the box can do it, as far as I'm concerned, & I've also played 30+ yr old instruments that didn't.

Now, *why* I connect with a given instrument... that's another thread entirely.

GT

Actually, it's not. I may not have phrased it well enough, but part of the purpose of this thread is to see what makes everyone connect with their instruments, what it is about them or how they know, when an instrument has unlocked the 'mojo' inside you.


P.S.- Ramblin that was one of the bright spots of my day, lol.