The signature has nothing to do with it. It still comes down to the characteristics of each instrument. Ex. I had a USA Geddy - hated it cause it was light weight with wicked neck dive. Sold it - years later I found another one (much older model) with great weight / balance. It's in my top 3 favorites now. Same w the Adam Clayton. Its was perfect in looks / feel but them pups were too mellow for me. On the contrast there's the Nate Mendel which is fantastic in all regards.... EXCEPT them pups are hideous / hot. Change the pups out and you have a fantastic P bass. So the name has nothing to do with it. In the end my #1 is my no signature Vintage II '66 Jazz bass
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Signature Basses / Instruments...yes or no
- Thread starter Ajsweet
- Start date
to the best of my knowledge, i've never owned a signature ax, but i would have, maybe, if it had what i needed/wanted at the time. in general, i think the concept is good marketing for 'beginnerish' players, but, the fact that so many experienced players (e.g., in this thread) can endorse some models suggests that many of these instruments are not just 'worthy', but that they excel. like we're always fond of saying: every ax should be judged on its own merits. 
why is that? TIA
if you can wait until you're older, there'll be a whole sky full of clouds that you can yell at --- endless possibilities, and it's way fun! 
why is that? TIAnot judging any ax on its own individual merits might also be considered 'beginnerish'.
if you can wait until you're older, there'll be a whole sky full of clouds that you can yell at --- endless possibilities, and it's way fun! 
I was very impressed with the Tony Franklin fretless P Bass. I wold love to try the Pino Pallidino fretless Stingray.
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Sure… IF it’s just got the look/feel/sound/features you like.
If it just fits you and how you like to play, it shouldn’t matter whether it’s a “signature” instrument.
I play my YY out all the time, and not at all in the same style of music Vic plays. It just fits me and it’s ridiculously versatile. I feel like if it’s a musician you REALLY don’t like, either musically or philosophically then maybe avoid their instrument, but if it’s somebody you respect, literally no one cares or even notices but you lol. If I happened to gel with Flea’s jazz bass, Steve Harris’s P, Stanley’s Alembic, Joe Dart’s SBMM, I’d be just as happy playing any of those - or none of em. (Actually Joe’s bass is so rad and affordable I should get that regardless lol.)
Btw to say the YY plays like a $1k instrument… ok buddy
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If it just fits you and how you like to play, it shouldn’t matter whether it’s a “signature” instrument.
I play my YY out all the time, and not at all in the same style of music Vic plays. It just fits me and it’s ridiculously versatile. I feel like if it’s a musician you REALLY don’t like, either musically or philosophically then maybe avoid their instrument, but if it’s somebody you respect, literally no one cares or even notices but you lol. If I happened to gel with Flea’s jazz bass, Steve Harris’s P, Stanley’s Alembic, Joe Dart’s SBMM, I’d be just as happy playing any of those - or none of em. (Actually Joe’s bass is so rad and affordable I should get that regardless lol.)
Btw to say the YY plays like a $1k instrument… ok buddy
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It depends, on a fair few factors. Broadly speaking, if a signature edition offers a bass that I would otherwise want to buy, without a price bump just for the name, then sure.
Thus far, I just have Dingwall NG3s, as signature basses go, and I chose those Nolly Getgood signatures over the similar Combustion model because of the preamp and because I liked the color selection (and the matching headstocks were part of that), but I did have to make one compromise to my aesthetic preferences, because the NGs all have maple fretboards.
I did NOT get a Rob Van der Loo signature Dingwall D-Roc, in spite of liking the idea of the built in distortion circuit, because I’m just not into the Hellboy comics, which are splashed all over the paint job. I AM tempted by his new signature version of the D-Roc custom, because it still has the same electronics AND that top contour with the metallic paint looks VERY sexy.
The John Taylor signature Dingwall is tempting, the Neve preamp is intriguing and I don’t have a problem with the aesthetics of the bass. Maybe one of these days.
Now, the Jacob Umansky signature that was just officially announced, THAT one checks almost all of the boxes for being a bass that is right up my alley. I’m not normally a white or white-predominant bass fan, but the ceruse is sexy as hell, and the bass looks super-elegant, like it’s been dressed in a tuxedo. The electronics and pickups I already know I love, they’re the same as my Z3 has, the described neck profile and the wenge fretboard are perfect, the body shaping and contouring are also very much like my beloved Z3, I just don’t see any reason I wouldn’t want it, and want it a lot.
Apart from Dingwall, the Ibanez Steve DiGiorgio is very appealing, I love the color, love the BTBs I already have, and it looks like a damn nice fretless, and the only gripe I have is that I wish they had a six-string version.
About the only bass I can think of that the name DOES matter is any or all of the Steve Harris basses. What can I say, I’m an old school Iron Maiden fan, going back to the first CD I ever bought, the Somewhere in Time album, when I was in high school in the 80s.
Thus far, I just have Dingwall NG3s, as signature basses go, and I chose those Nolly Getgood signatures over the similar Combustion model because of the preamp and because I liked the color selection (and the matching headstocks were part of that), but I did have to make one compromise to my aesthetic preferences, because the NGs all have maple fretboards.
I did NOT get a Rob Van der Loo signature Dingwall D-Roc, in spite of liking the idea of the built in distortion circuit, because I’m just not into the Hellboy comics, which are splashed all over the paint job. I AM tempted by his new signature version of the D-Roc custom, because it still has the same electronics AND that top contour with the metallic paint looks VERY sexy.
The John Taylor signature Dingwall is tempting, the Neve preamp is intriguing and I don’t have a problem with the aesthetics of the bass. Maybe one of these days.
Now, the Jacob Umansky signature that was just officially announced, THAT one checks almost all of the boxes for being a bass that is right up my alley. I’m not normally a white or white-predominant bass fan, but the ceruse is sexy as hell, and the bass looks super-elegant, like it’s been dressed in a tuxedo. The electronics and pickups I already know I love, they’re the same as my Z3 has, the described neck profile and the wenge fretboard are perfect, the body shaping and contouring are also very much like my beloved Z3, I just don’t see any reason I wouldn’t want it, and want it a lot.
Apart from Dingwall, the Ibanez Steve DiGiorgio is very appealing, I love the color, love the BTBs I already have, and it looks like a damn nice fretless, and the only gripe I have is that I wish they had a six-string version.
About the only bass I can think of that the name DOES matter is any or all of the Steve Harris basses. What can I say, I’m an old school Iron Maiden fan, going back to the first CD I ever bought, the Somewhere in Time album, when I was in high school in the 80s.
this topic has been done a million times of course,
but there are two signature basses i really like. yamaha's billy sheehan bass (i've owned three!) and the carvin era bunny brunel basses.
both are cool instruments on their own, and I like the instruments/would buy them regardless of whether it was associated with that player or not.
but there are two signature basses i really like. yamaha's billy sheehan bass (i've owned three!) and the carvin era bunny brunel basses.
both are cool instruments on their own, and I like the instruments/would buy them regardless of whether it was associated with that player or not.
MonoNeons Mexican fender crushes. I like to favor the neck pickup and just goose the preamp a little on all eq. It slays!! THICC jazz bass
Do you get many people asking you to do either of these things?
I love my fretless Pino sig Stingray. Worth every penny.I was very empressed with the Tony Franklin fretless P Bass. I wold love to try the Pino Pallidino fretless Stingray.
i'm a West Ham fan and even i wouldn't buy that bass because of the club badge on it!
Yes, I have one too. A really nice P Bass. But to be honest, I didn't know who Nate Mendel was.
A "Signature instrument" is one where the player has employed a manufacturer to make... exactly what they want. As I'm....particular (picky also fits), I'm very unlikely to like exactly what some famous bassist likes, but I do know what I want, and....hey, I make my own basses! After making a bunch of instruments (the number is a bit humbling), I have figured out exactly what I want/like, and the few basses I have are all...exactly what I want - being the manufacturer AND the player means that communication goes very well.
I also sign the headstock with my initials (I don't go out of my way to make it look too "professional", in part because....I figure it makes them less likely to be stolen. So, technically, I play only signature basses, but I don't play any with someone else's name on them.
I also sign the headstock with my initials (I don't go out of my way to make it look too "professional", in part because....I figure it makes them less likely to be stolen. So, technically, I play only signature basses, but I don't play any with someone else's name on them.
Yeah, there is. Develop your own damn sound, instead of being a secondhand, ersatz whoever.
A while back I bought an OLP Tony Levin signature Stingray because it was the probably the best Stingray I could afford. I am a huge fan of Tony but I wasn't that crazy about having his face and name on my bass. If it made him some money I'm glad and I really appreciate that he wanted his signature model to be affordable for regular folks. It was a great bass, my first 5 string.
That is very cool. Which one out of 12 is yours? Does that one have his SD pickups in them?I’ve had an Alex Webster Zombie Blood Euro for almost a decade. If I wanted a PJ I might be tempted by the ESP/LTD Frank Bello. I’d probably have bought a Steven Harris Fender at some point if not for the team logo painted on it. I do have the Steve Harris Duncan pickup in my P bass and that’s good enough for me.
I’ve seen other signature instruments I’d like to try. I could go on, but I’ve made my point, and I don’t think this thread is going to change anybody’s mind. Signatures instruments can seem almost as polarizing as relics, though the mods haven’t had to make a rule about discussing signatures yet
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