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Signature Instruments—-What Do We Think About Them?

#61
I got a Hadrien Feraud signature from Mayones - he has at least 3 different signature models, so not sure how much he cares about any particular one. I like him as a bass player, but he is not a guy I'm trying to copy or anything. I just thought he made some good design choices with this. And it was available (used) at a good price when I was looking for a bass like this one.
 
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#62
Like many, I couldn't care less about who's name is on the instrument. If I purchase something, it has to tick all the boxes on my list. If it doesn't do that, then I'm not buying it, anyway.

The only formal signature bass I own is a Jack Casady, and it has nothing to do with Jack. He's a very fine and influential player, and certainly worthy of his name on an instrument, but I bought it because of what the bass is and does, not whose name is on it.
 
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#63
Some signature basses by Fender are really cool, like the JMJ Mustang.

I don’t care for the signature on the back of the headstock though and would probably try to get rid of it.

They did it right with the Flea Jazz Bass, a neck plate is easily replaced.

In general, a bass being a signature bass rather keeps me from buying it. I will never be Jaco or Flea, so I rather find my own style of instrument.
 
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#66
I don't care about the signature aspect, all I want is a good instrument.

Having said that, my Geddy Lee Jazz Bass (Japanese) is one of the best basses I've ever owned... and I love Geddy, too!

On the other hand, I think that Sting signature bass with his signature on the 12th fret is a little... tacky?

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#68
lowfreqgeek said:
Like many, I couldn't care less about who's name is on the instrument. If I purchase something, it has to tick all the boxes on my list. If it doesn't do that, then I'm not buying it, anyway.

The only formal signature bass I own is a Jack Casady, and it has nothing to do with Jack. He's a very fine and influential player, and certainly worthy of his name on an instrument, but I bought it because of what the bass is and does, not whose name is on it.
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This exactly (but with a JMJ Mustang). I love that little Mustang, and I really love JMJ's playing, but I didn't get the Mustang because of JMJ. I just love that little Mustang.
Same goes for the Geddy signature I once had. Just a great bass. And for the two Lakland Joe Osborn signatures I have.

I think signature basses are a cool platform for manufacturers to do things they would otherwise not do on production models, like different pickup configurations (Mark Hoppus signature anyone?) or totally different models (like the Yamaha Attitude), or a reissue of an old model (like the Jack Casady or Flea). I am convinced those models wouldn't sell as much as they do now when the name of the famous artist wouldn't be on it.
 
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#73
I've got a few.

Lakland Daryl Jones... the slightly smaller body style appealed to me. Honestly, other than knowing that he played with the Stones, I didn't know much about him when purchased. I currently play it exclusively in my metal band. I'm sure many of my peers in that scene don't even know who D.J. is haha!

Lakland Geezer Butler... I wanted a PJ bass. I wanted a transparent purple finish. This had both. Also.....see point 1, I'm in a metal band so of course I love Geezer, one of my early bass heroes. I generally use it for top 40 stuff (LOL) when I don't need a 5 string which leads me to...

Sire P8 5 string... which, of course, all are prominently marketed with Marcus Miller (of whom I don't play anything like, but appreciate very much). This is my primary bass with top 40 bands, and my only 5er.

I don't know that I provided any insight but it was fun to give it some thought and type this out.
 
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#74
I don't have an issue with "signature" basses, as long as they have at least one modification that makes it different from what is typically offered. In my opinion, a special color or finish doesn't make a signature bass. It takes more than that. The Tony Franklin fretless is a good example of a bass that was modified by the artist making it unique from any other fretless Fender makes.

The Jeff Beck signature Stratocaster is another good example. The nut is a roller nut and tremolo bar setup is supposedly the same as what Jeff used not to mention the reverse headstock which according to Jeff was a tribute to Hendrix.

Nothing wrong with being a fan boy and there a few artist I'm a fan of. In my opinion, it takes more than just a name to make a signature bass or guitar something special.
 
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#77
I may be in the minority, and I have not read this whole thread, but when it comes to signature basses, or any signature instruments for that matter, I feel that they are targeted towards two different groups: collectors and tribute bands. For the collectors, you have people that love a particular artist and/or band so much that they will buy the instrument simply to hang on the wall as part of their 'shrine' to that artist or band. The tribute band buyer concept speaks for itself I think.

Personally, there is only one artist bass I would want, and I would definitely fall into the collector category on that, which is why I have never bought it, and that's the Geddy Lee bass from Fender. Ultimately, I satisfied my desires from the collector standpoint with a bunch of Axe Heaven instruments.

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I really believe that most vendors making signature instruments are marketing towards those two groups, at least primarily. A perfect example is the Mike Kerr signature bass from Fender. Talk about getting panned in the reviews! However, if you watch Mike's video that Fender released, he specifically addresses the gripe most people have with the bass: the bridge pickup. He says that it is primarily used to help with the 'guitar' sound when tracking in the studio (or something like that). Which brings up what the OP stated about a bass that was built around the ideas and needs of a specific player, and meshes with their style and whatever effects and amps they use to get their sound.

I personally think most of the signature basses are lame. They really aren't much more than lipstick on a stock model to mimic whatever changes the artist made to their bass for their own personal tastes and the company then slaps a decal of their signature on the instrument somewhere, jacks the price up by a few hundred more dollars and prays there are enough fans that want that model to justify the tooling and effort to make them in the factories. There are some that are released that I just can't wrap my head around at all, to be honest.

Again....just my opinion, and I'm sure I'm in the minority. 🤷‍♂️
 
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#80
I bought a Geddy Lee body with all of the trimmings because it came across my path affordably and I wanted to try the 70s spacing. It's great, but had nothing to do with Geddy Lee for me. I replaced the bridge only because I don't want anyone's signature on a bass I'm playing. The body+electronics turned into a great bass. As far as buying a signature bass I'm likely to intentionally avoid it. In the world of Fenders, if I wanted Jaco's bass, I would look at buying the parts I wanted to get close enough and realize I will never morph into Jaco.
 

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