SHOW YOUR BLACK BASSES!!!

[Bassist Jay]

Is that 1994 black Ibanez a production bass or was it made all black and custom by you? It's awesome!!!

I want one!!!!

Thank you! That was actually Ibanez's factory SR 500 that year and I believe for a few years around it too.

 

[JRA]

I see a lot of threads started about bass color schemes.
My favorite style basses are typically all black basses. Rosewood or ebony fretboards, painted necks, painted headstocks, black hardware, etc. The more black the bass has on it, the better.

Posting pics of basses with black paint with metal flakes, transparent black finish, maple necks, natural headstocks and chrome/gold hardware is cool too.

****************PLEASE NO MAPLE FINGERBOARDS*****************

Join the dark side! Post your pics!

i've been checking back to this thread for a year or so just to see more black basses, but: nobody has posted for a long while. i'm figuring the thread is so old that black basses are no longer appreciated like they may have been, by some, when the thread was born. lurking on this thread, years ago, actually prompted me to eventually join TB!

so: i'm going to post a pic of one of my black basses just to see if the thread revives (only because i'd really like to see more black basses!).

one of mine:

 

[hieronymous]

I like the red around the pickguard on yours!

Re: kickstarting the thread - do new pics of a bass already posted here count? I have some new pics of my Ric 4003S/8:

 

[JRA]

I like the red around the pickguard on yours!

Re: kickstarting the thread - do new pics of a bass already posted here count? I have some new pics of my Ric 4003S/8:

really, really nice: although i play fretless: i've thought about an '8 string' like yours (not necessarily a rick --- probably too expensive for my budget!). but: how do you use it? only as an effect? soloing? certain tunes? do you have any sound clips posted anywhere?

also: have you made changes to the bass since you first posted? i don't usually care for rics these days (started with a red one, though), but yours is just beautiful: and for me; it's because it's black! --- it just looks great!

re: my black bass pickguard:
this TB member tipped me to the that particular pickguard mod:
Malak the Mad
he did several of his own pg's (really neat) and i really enjoyed that it's inexpensive, relatively easy, and very effective!

congrats on your black bass! and, thanks for contributing to this old thread: i hope we see more.

 

[JRA]

do you have any sound clips posted anywhere?

sorry: i just got it that you have plenty of sound clips --- listened to a few: all very nice (great playing)! i'll listen to more, but i'd really like to hear a clip with you using the bass you posted: can you steer me?

thanks.

 

[Thespis]

Nothing fancy, but they're black!

 

[fermata]

 

[OldSchool50]

THe Story of this bass, rescued
Garz Rescue

 

[Deleted member 264575]

About to be for sale, too.

 

[hieronymous]

really, really nice: although i play fretless: i've thought about an '8 string' like yours (not necessarily a rick --- probably too expensive for my budget!). but: how do you use it? only as an effect? soloing? certain tunes? do you have any sound clips posted anywhere?

also: have you made changes to the bass since you first posted? i don't usually care for rics these days (started with a red one, though), but yours is just beautiful: and for me; it's because it's black! --- it just looks great!

Jetglo is definitely cool! And Jetglo with black trim & hardware even more so. The only things cooler might be the Shadow & the Blackstar...

I'm pretty sure I haven't changed anything since I last posted - not even the strings! But I did mod it with the Pickguardian treble pickup surround (which I've been meaning to put back to original) and reversing the string order to octave on top (which is an absolute necessity for me).

It definitely takes up a lot of space in the mix - I personally only play 8-string with a pick, and I tend to play it differently than I would on a different bass. Unfortunately I don't get to play with other people much these days, but if I did I would probably only use it on certain songs - either that, or the band would have to be built around the sound. I also do a solo thing that I like to use it for (combination of vocals & instrumentals) but don't have any clips of that.

Anyway, here are some clips - the first one is in a band context, the next one it's more of an effect (and could be done without, the delay is more essential), and the third is more chordal:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

re: my black bass pickguard:
this TB member tipped me to the that particular pickguard mod:
Malak the Mad
he did several of his own pg's (really neat) and i really enjoyed that it's inexpensive, relatively easy, and very effective!

I definitely like simple, cheap and cool mods!

 

[JRA]

Anyway, here are some clips - the first one is in a band context, the next one it's more of an effect (and could be done without, the delay is more essential), and the third is more chordal:

all: really good, neat stuff: you play really well: i like all of the clips for showing the sound of that instrument, but i think the one with the delay is just real fun stuff!

thanks for taking the time to share those clips. and that black bass!

 

[JRA]

About to be for sale, too.

View attachment 865865
View attachment 865867

whoa! canadaneal: really cool --- don't tell me how much it weighs (?)

 

[JRA]

THe Story of this bass, rescued
Garz Rescue

View attachment 865846

just read your story from Garz Rescue: neat story, amazing circumstances: and the fact that it had history on TB.

and for this thread: that it's black!

i have one other black bass that i'll have to post to keep the thread going, but it looks like others have pics/instruments to share.
all neat, cool, black!

 

[JRA]

Nothing fancy, but they're black!
View attachment 865864

i think that was the original intent of the thread: they are cool just because they are black! and yours are right there!
i have basses that aren't black, and i like and play them all, but i find that i keep going back to the two black basses
just for (to me) the 'cool factor'. i guess all the posts represent that: at least a little bit.

thanks

 

[Deleted member 264575]

whoa! canadaneal: really cool --- don't tell me how much it weighs (?)

Thanks. I'm not sure what it weighs. I'd guess 14 or 15 lbs? It's surprisingly comfortable.

 

[JRA]

View attachment 865842

that's a real looker! thanks for sharing that.

never owned that style (but have always been drawn to them): but, i get the impression that some have a neck dive issue: yours?

 

[Malak the Mad]

Fairly black…

…pretty damn black…

…and none more black!

In order, they are…

1. …an MIM Fender Blacktop Jazz (cosmetically modded by yours truly)
2. …a CIJ Fender Aerodyne (export edition)
3. …and a limited edition, 2008 MIJ Fender-Japan JB-62 "All-Black".

 

[Deleted member 264575]

This one is not mine, but a man can dream....

 

[fermata]

that's a real looker! thanks for sharing that.
never owned that style (but have always been drawn to them): but, i get the impression that some have a neck dive issue: yours?

Thanks! Balance on a strap is perfect--this is the Contemporary/CT model; the sustain block adds enough weight to balance the neck. (My understanding is the fully hollow models (Ignition and German made) can have neck dive because of the lighter bodies.) It's a great instrument--my main player now.

To get back on topic, I think the black/tuxedo look is extra sharp on the Hofner. Here's a closeup:

 

[DigitalMan]