Retro style basses - What do you like about them?

Some of it may be pushback from the predominance -- near tyranny -- of Fender-ish basses, which by now have surpassed ubiquity. But that largely would be based on looks. The new Retros that are patterned after actual vintage models do not have the same pickups or electronics as the originals. But they will sound different from Fenders.

I don't need a Retro bass of choice; I have the originals.

 

The new Nordstrand Acinonyx is pretty cool ... short scale, sounds great, and not something you’d see every day

In the Workshop: The Birth of Acinonyx

 

An approximate knock-off of the Goya Panther, but the electronics are all wrong.

 

Well, I'm sure part of it is Boomer nostalgia, being able to afford the basses I could not afford as a kid because the bands I was in were gig-starved. But the main thing, I believe, is their infinite variety.

1960s electric basses - بحث Google

 

That was their intention. An updated version of the Panther

Thus the name ...
Acinonyx - Wikipedia

 

Wow! Thanks for the link; I had no idea. If pressed, I would have said Acinonyx was a king of ancient Gaul.

 

The most i like at retro basses is tha vintage finish look. Like Jaco bass of doom.

 

Fender and all other legacy brand still sell so ... are they really retro ?

personally I don’t like them, too old and we have moved on to more modern design for modern playing

 

I'm not thrilled with the retro reissues I've tried, they mostly miss the most salient charming details of the originals. Speaking of which, I'd love to have an original oddball orphan or two of the sixties persuasion, (Eko, Hagstrom, Framus come to mind) but the fact that they are mostly priced about ten times what they are worth "as a bass" tends to put the damper on my nostalgic enthusiasm...

 

Yes. I feel very, very lucky. In the very earliest part of this millenium I was in a band which was successful enough to provide me a fair amount of discretionary income, which I proceeded to spend indiscreetly. Online auction prices had not ballooned crazy high like they did once the 2008 recession hit, and I have a very good memory and know how to research, to boot. I snagged a lot of good deals because I was the only bidder. No one else had any idea what they were looking at. Now, of course, anything that is old is priceless just because it is old.

 

As far as retro, I'm mainly interested in MIM Fender P & J basses, also Strats. I like the classic looks which are pretty much unchanged. I like Fender's recreating the original pickups and updating the electronics. My Classic 50s Strat w/SSS is sweet. I'm not into the road worn look.

 

Things go in cycles.

 

I think to some degree there is an interest in seldom seen basses that have modern build qualities and better pickups than some of the oddball examples (particularly early Japanese stuff)

 

The general push behind this style of axe or that style comes and goes with the seasons, as it's fashion, what's hip right now, far more than any particular relevance or tone or style of construction.