I'm sure this has been brought up here before..but...I'm just curious as to how many people prefer old(vintage) basses to newer ones...I personally have owned several 70's Fender basses which played really nicely and had really nice sound but when it comes down to it ...I personally would take a brand new bass over an older one...I like the technology,better sound ,playability, and styling of modern guitars (obviously I mean a higher end bass, I'm not comparing a 75 jazz to a rogue bass and saying i like the rogue better) . I'm trying to start a war ...just curious...for me when people say"they don't make em like they used to"...I generally say thank god..
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new vs. old
- Thread starter ducaticarl
- Start date
Dollar for dollar I'll take a new bass.
Same price, I'll take a vintage piece.
Why? If the neck hasn't twisted in 30 years, I doubt it will in the next 20.
Same price, I'll take a vintage piece.
Why? If the neck hasn't twisted in 30 years, I doubt it will in the next 20.
You're comparing the worst period in Fender's history to the present day. CBS Fenders are nowhere near as good as other Fender eras. I won't say you won't find good basses from the CBS era (the closer to 1966 you get the easier it is, though), but the vast majority of CBS Fenders were absolute crap. That's why so many people modded 70's Fenders. The reissues of the 75 Jazz Bass blow away any real 75 I've ever played. And to those of you with 70's Fenders who are now offended, maybe you got lucky and managed to snag one of the good ones. But the 50's and 60's are by far more popular on the vintage market, and with good reason. There are basses Fender's shipping out today that are every bit as good as any bass ever made, so I think the vintage market is in part based on voodoo. But there were some mighty fine basses made in the 50's and 60's, so I can see why someone would pay for them.
JimmyM said:
I agree with Jimmy. We live in a great time as far as bass quality is concerned...why? because we live in the INFORMATION AGE...we are now armed with the TRUTH about literally 100s of makes and models of basses and if a product is junk, word will travel....fast!...globally!...
We have websites like talkbass to thank, as well as harmony-central, bizrate, and others...
it is no longer "build it and they will come"...it is now..."build it RIGHT, and for a reasonable price, and they will come".
thank you for your time...
now if you'll excuse me...I have a wishbass calling my name
JimmyM said:
Economies of scale might apply to a point (more CBS Fenders than 51-65 Fenders, so more bad ones), but percentage-wise, there are just as many crap pre-CBS Fenders as there are post (I've played and heard of both). Your comment on voodoo has merit, but the idea that people only modded their CBS Fenders because they sucked is just wrong. They modded their basses and guitars in that era because that was the thing to do. Lots of people hacked up pre 1965 built guitars and basses too without ever considering words like 'vintage' and 'mint'. All that B.S. came later... A bass (or guitar) can be great or crap irrespective of what year or manner in which it was built. As a player, collector, or just as a bass fanatic, the only thing that matters is how it feels, plays, and sounds in my hands. The rest is for others to argue about...
The nicest Fenders I've played were made prior to 1970. Post-1970 Fenders started to get very heavy (that whole "weight = sustain" mentality, perhaps) and I don't care for those as much... although I've played some very nice ones. But I agree that there were dogs in every era. So, while pre-CBS can be better, it isn't always. And even when pre-CBS is better, I wouldn't pay for it at today's prices. IMHO, YMMV, etc.
Absolutely true. The thing to do back then was personalize your Fender. I converted my P's to PJ's, replaced the bridges with Badass, the tuners with Schaller, the pups with many different flavors (cream DiMarzios, anyone?)69Vette said:
It really depends on each individual instrument. I've had vintage and modern good and bad.
The only bass that I seem to always come back to is an '82 G&L L-1000. Nothing can touch it in terms of feel and especially sound.
The only bass that I seem to always come back to is an '82 G&L L-1000. Nothing can touch it in terms of feel and especially sound.
Fuzzbass said:
I weighed my '78 P for the first time yesterday (I've had it since 1986). It never felt heavy ten years ago, but lately... 10.6 pounds. I've mostly been playing my 7- 8.5 pound Thunderbirds for a while, so that P feels like a bag of bricks to me now! Tell you what though, in a live situation it's the best sounding P I've ever owned. And that includes an 8 pound '66 I just sold. Solid, massive tone and yes, great sustain. Of course, being a 70's Fender, it was modded (with an added J pickup) long before I even bought it. I added a drop D Hipshot and EMGs at some point too so it's long past original (still have both '78 pickups though)!
