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Retro style basses - What do you like about them?
- Thread starter Sacha Lévesque
- Start date
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- mojo retro retro bass vintage
I kinda like “retro” basses that never were (but should have been) ... this one is a Ferner Aviator. Serek has some cool designs too.
Well evidently, Monsieur Levesque, retro basses according to the OP. Somebody forgot to tell me, plus I'm old enough to be 'post-hip' and hope not to become 'broken-hip' !
Haha fair enough! I guess I’m just trying to understand what people want out of “retro” style basses. I, myself, am looking for a certain feel, a je-ne-sais-quoi. Some might call it “mojo”, but I find it hard to give it a tangible/technical quality/feature.
I love 50s/60s retro styling. The only Fender bass that interests me is the Jaguar, which is a retro-style bass that never existed in the 50s but looks like it should have. I own a Rickenbacker, which is a living anachronism of 50s style. Eastwood Guitars make some cool retro style basses, some are reissues of fallen flag brands, and others are new designs in the 50s style. If I were a true TB'r I'd have a huge collection of them by now.
Last year I had the opportunity to buy an original Silvertone bass, I think it was the same model pictured below. I played it for a bit, pored over the details, asked the shop owner about its history and so on. I decided to sleep on it and the next morning decided to pass. It was in great shape, sounded cool, played fine, even still had the often-missing Silvertone badge on the headstock, but it had some things that old cheap instruments had that made me wonder if it would problematic in the future. I thought it would be cool for a collector but not for me. Anything I would use this bass for I can do better with my Ric. Part of me is kicking myself, though.
Last year I had the opportunity to buy an original Silvertone bass, I think it was the same model pictured below. I played it for a bit, pored over the details, asked the shop owner about its history and so on. I decided to sleep on it and the next morning decided to pass. It was in great shape, sounded cool, played fine, even still had the often-missing Silvertone badge on the headstock, but it had some things that old cheap instruments had that made me wonder if it would problematic in the future. I thought it would be cool for a collector but not for me. Anything I would use this bass for I can do better with my Ric. Part of me is kicking myself, though.
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Hi,
There seems to be a Retro style bass renaissance and I am curious to know what you guys like about them. Is it the look, the tone, the feel, the “mojo”, all of the above?
Also, what is your “Retro” bass of choice?
Pictures are welcomed
Thanks,
Sacha
You're a bit late to the party, but still welcome...
This Retro style bass renaissance started about 38 years ago, when Fender USA (Vintage Series) and Fender Japan (JV Series) started to create their Vintage Series with the 57 and 62 Precision and the 62 Jazz. It never stopped since then and it was the first time - to my best knowledge - a company that produced instruments praised their "new" instruments as being (more or less) exactly as good as the instruments they had built decades ago and they were the most expensive instruments they had to offer...
In a way the Retro style renaissance has become less obsessed with detail. In 2013 Fender USA started the American Vintage Series and invented the term "Pure Vintage". This series was replaced 2 or 3 years ago with the American Originals Series.
Since about 2 or 3 years Fender USA doesn't offer vintage correct production instruments anymore. You have to go Custom Shop, if you want an instrument with vintage correct specs.
So it seems the demand for retro instruments with attention to detail has dropped.
I started playing bass 35 years or so ago and back then, I could never even imagine to own a Fender. I was more into contemporary Yamaha basses back then. Now I own with 2 exceptions only Fender instruments. Not a single contemporary one.
Don't know. For me an E-bass is like a piano or a violin or an acoutic guitar. Just that looks and it has to be good. I don't see any advantage in fancy 5- or 6-string basses (besides the Fender VI) or active electronics or even roundwounds.
I couldn't name a single bass-player I'm listening to, who plays a fancy bass - or where I hear a sound that impresses me and that could only be produced with a "modern" bass.
Quite the opposite.
Besides being a bass player I listen a lot to electronic music and own some synths and MPCs and there was a time, where I didn't go to gigs anymore, just into clubs that played d&b or dub and reggae or house...
Maybe I'm wrong but I can't imagine that there will be a real convincing innovation regarding acoutic guitars or electric guitars or the electric bass.
And I like this "reductionism": just that traditional bass, just the 4 strings. And what I can make out of it. Instead of adding more strings, more electronics, down-tuners etc.
On the other hand: if I have a look at what happened to bicycles after mountainbikes were invented and how the bicycle back then was completly re-invented... Noone - esp. me - expected this to happen back then.
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me either!
in my pea brain: it's "retro" if it's hollow/semi-hollow and/or it has f-holes....even imitation f-holes. (all of which is a good look, IMO.)
i agree with 4 strings. After 53 years, I’m still working out all the possibilities with 2 volume and one tone control.
As for a retro look,,the Broadcaster Bass would be a good place to start. I will say this, some of the pics of “retro” Basses on this thread look really cool.
There aren't many basses that aren't basically a Fender. An SG or Les Paul style maybe, or a Firebird. But even then, a non-bass player is still going to see the basic configuration of the parts is the same. Like how every drum kit looks the same to me.
Leo basically took an electric guitar, stretched it out and put heavier strings on it to make a bass. He didn't compress an upright bass, which is the REAL retro bass.
Leo basically took an electric guitar, stretched it out and put heavier strings on it to make a bass. He didn't compress an upright bass, which is the REAL retro bass.
Cool bass! Funny that you would mention Serek basses as they are the ones I’ve seen the most these days:
wmhill
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I love the retro looks, but I want the modern appointments and sounds. Here is my take on the theme. It's a modern MTD Kingston, but with some 70s inspired mods and a few modern ones as well.
I think some people always have liked older looking stuff. But things go in cycles. When everyone got tired of sharp pointed basses they bought in the 80s they bought rounded ones. The trend for quite a while has been satin or flat finishes. Wait for glossy finishes to make a comeback soon. Everyone wants to get ahead of the new trend.
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