While what you're saying can undoubtedly be true, I know builders who've made changes they don't particularly care for because of customer demand and they don't care for the results either
. I don't remember exactly when I got my first Elrick, it was probably around ten years ago and I'm not one of the guys who's saying he's getting better and better because I think he got it right back then
. I still have my first Elrick and it's still a great bass.
And I also don't necessarily agree that changes are improvements... sometimes they're just changes. Many bassists dwell in a laundry list kind of world and instead of taking a particular instrument as what it is, they need to have items checked off based on common misconceptions. Want a nice B string? Many will tell you that a 35" scale is a requirement... and that's not a given. But it's certainly what they believe and they'll dismiss a bass that doesn't have it based on what they hear on paper.
The horn digging into the leg complaint? Didn't bother me, I wear a strap. Apparently it didn't bother Rob either but that's an "improvement" that probably did help sell more basses. Offering other electronics probably does too and there are a couple of schools of thought there. Build basses for people who like your basses as they are, Ken Smith being an excellent example of that or build basses for folks who think they've got a better idea
. I've think I've already expressed my position on that. Maybe I'm jaded from knowing people who've ordered all sorts of stuff based mainly on ignorance and then not being blown away by the results.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Rob making his bass sound more like a Fender... I just never got the feeling that that was his goal as a luthier. I'm in the minority who happen to like the NJS basses just as they are, an alternative to a Jazz, that plays and sounds great in it's own way and won't scare the horse (people who need to see a J style bass). And no, everybody doesn't build a Jazz.
As far as the comment about producers and MDs being disappointed if we didn't try and expand our approach as performers without having to change the way we feel music... not in my experience. Most are happy if you can simply show up and do your job. Most don't have time to waste while you try to sort out the latest science project. Maybe I'm just not seeing your point.
And sorry but everything does not have to be complicated... some people just seem to make it that way.
. I don't remember exactly when I got my first Elrick, it was probably around ten years ago and I'm not one of the guys who's saying he's getting better and better because I think he got it right back then. I still have my first Elrick and it's still a great bass.And I also don't necessarily agree that changes are improvements... sometimes they're just changes. Many bassists dwell in a laundry list kind of world and instead of taking a particular instrument as what it is, they need to have items checked off based on common misconceptions. Want a nice B string? Many will tell you that a 35" scale is a requirement... and that's not a given. But it's certainly what they believe and they'll dismiss a bass that doesn't have it based on what they hear on paper.
The horn digging into the leg complaint? Didn't bother me, I wear a strap. Apparently it didn't bother Rob either but that's an "improvement" that probably did help sell more basses. Offering other electronics probably does too and there are a couple of schools of thought there. Build basses for people who like your basses as they are, Ken Smith being an excellent example of that or build basses for folks who think they've got a better idea
. I've think I've already expressed my position on that. Maybe I'm jaded from knowing people who've ordered all sorts of stuff based mainly on ignorance and then not being blown away by the results.I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Rob making his bass sound more like a Fender... I just never got the feeling that that was his goal as a luthier. I'm in the minority who happen to like the NJS basses just as they are, an alternative to a Jazz, that plays and sounds great in it's own way and won't scare the horse (people who need to see a J style bass). And no, everybody doesn't build a Jazz.
As far as the comment about producers and MDs being disappointed if we didn't try and expand our approach as performers without having to change the way we feel music... not in my experience. Most are happy if you can simply show up and do your job. Most don't have time to waste while you try to sort out the latest science project. Maybe I'm just not seeing your point.
And sorry but everything does not have to be complicated... some people just seem to make it that way.
