Single Cut basses, Just a fad?

[jamro217]

I don't know. I have never played a Ripper. The pickups are humbuckers. It's not a speaker blower like old mudbuckers were, but it gets pretty thick and powerful. Better to have the power and dial it back than want it and not have it. Lots of things are like that.

The Ripper has 'buckers, too, but it also has this Bill Lawrence designed tone circuit that features a handful of odd settings. I like the idea of strong humbucking pickups that don't have to run full blast.

One concern about single cuts would be in relation to a ski jump. I realize that this is a problem associated with bolt on necks, but assuming the truss rod runs the same length of the neck as it does in a double cut bolt neck, if there is a problem in the upper range, now what do you do? If you have to adjust the rod will the body counteract it? I understand most singles are extended range basses that require as much stability as possible, but how much does that rigidity effect adjustability?

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Asked and answered!

View attachment 3164509
Brubaker Brute MXJSC-4 in "Red Merlot"

Thanks.
That’s along the lines I was thinking.
More specifically I though of something like this...

Is this not a single cut?
And haven’t things like this been around for a long enough time to be past the “fad” stage?
What am I missing?

 

[Bob_Ross]

One concern about single cuts would be in relation to a ski jump. I realize that this is a problem associated with bolt on necks, but assuming the truss rod runs the same length of the neck as it does in a double cut bolt neck, if there is a problem in the upper range, now what do you do? If you have to adjust the rod will the body counteract it?

I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're describing, but wouldn't any neck-thru bass raise the same concerns?

 

[Solarmist]

I don't have one in my future, but they're most certainly not a fad.

 

[jamro217]

I'm not entirely sure I understand what you're describing, but wouldn't any neck-thru bass raise the same concerns?

I'm talking about the single cut basses that have the neck and body connected somewhere near the twelfth fret. If the neck is deformed for some reason at the seventeenth fret, it's tough enough to straighten it out on a double cut. The same scenario on the single means you not only have the neck to contend with, but the attached body as well. Wouldn't there be resistance from that extra material? Granted, if the neck was bad it wouldn't matter anyway. Using the truss rod for its intended purpose could be an issue if you had an extra few inches of neck held in the grip of the body where it normally would begin its curve.

 

[Skillet]

Asked and answered!

View attachment 3164509
Brubaker Brute MXJSC-4 in "Red Merlot"

That's one of the more aesthetically pleasing SCs I've seen. TO ME.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Is this not a single cut?

Yep, sure is!

I'm diggin' that color, by the way. There's a sad dearth of cool-ass'd green basses, especially the "earthier" tones. <sigh> It makes me miss my one and only MIA Fender Jazz. I got a great deal on a Jade Pearl Metallicdrool one, but my car needed more love than it did.

But, back to the topic at hand…

And haven’t things like this been around for a long enough time to be past the “fad” stage?
What am I missing?

I'm gonna take a wild stab and say the OP doesn't like them and was looking for some friendly "confirmation bias", as in…

• Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

 

[saabfender]

There are lots of single cut styles. Les Paul guitar or Hofner Club to an Elrick. What would a Hofner 500-1 be considered? Zero cut?

A Les Paul guitar is not a bass. A Hofner Viola is a Stradivarius cut?

 

[B-line]

This thread needs some pics!

Single-cut fan here. I love the aesthetics; I can certainly understand why others do not! No big deal to me!
Here's a few that really appeal to me:

ESP Japan Stream

Elrick

Alien Audio

Warwick Thumb SC

and last (but CERTAINLY not least); my ELLA SC 4-string:

Needless to say. there are many many more SC models/builders that float my boat.

And to answer the OP's ??-
I do not think that they are a fad.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

The first cut is the deepest.

 

[jd56hawk]

I believe these basses are destined for extinction. It seems like they were a big hit because a few great players were seen playing them.

Is there something I am missing? Do they offer anything that a Double-Cut bass does not?

I believe a nice long upper horn and light weight is the future of electric basses.

I’d rather not play bass at all than play one. Same for those uke basses.
(Yes, hyperbole, but...)

 

[EatS1stBassist]

This thread needs some pics!

Single-cut fan here. I love the aesthetics; I can certainly understand why others do not! No big deal to me!
Here's a few that really appeal to me:

View attachment 3164547
ESP Japan Stream

View attachment 3164548

Elrick

View attachment 3164549

Alien Audio

View attachment 3164550

Warwick Thumb SC

and last (but CERTAINLY not least); my ELLA SC 4-string:

View attachment 3164551

Needless to say. there are many many more SC models/builders that float my boat.

And to answer the OP's ??-
I do not think that they are a fad.

I’d rock the blue one and love the Red and Maple. Mmmmm mmmm. The rest? Not so much!!

 

[Fender_Bender]

I have seen a few where I felt that the lines were not particularly well thought out. I spent a lot of time with a clean sheet of paper coming up with a form that I thought flowed well from top to bottom with this unfinished build.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

View attachment 3164600 View attachment 3164601 I have seen a few where I felt that the lines were not particularly well thought out. I spent a lot of time with a clean sheet of paper coming up with a form that I thought flowed well from top to bottom with this unfinished build.

I love the back heel to neck!! Nice!!

 

[Snaxster]

My understanding is that the main advantages to neck-through basses are neck stability and a sonic impact owing to seamless contact between neck and body.

It's worth noting that not all single cut basses are neck through. For example:

Curly Walnut Imperial MG 5 Bolt-on

 

[Hambone70]

I'm sure SCs have certain superior sonic characteristics, but I just can't get over the 'Elephant Man' look.

Some are aesthetically more pleasing than others, though.

 

[jamro217]

A Les Paul guitar is not a bass. A Hofner Viola is a Stradivarius cut?

The single cut Les Paul guitar style four string bass. As we are discussing single cutaway basses and the various shapes of them, I thought it unnecessary to include the word bass in the middle of the list. I wanted to differentiate the particular model in mind from the Les Paul Signature model, which is similar to an Epiphone Jack Casady double cut.

 

[KohanMike]

When I first saw one, I thought that's odd, but over time they grew on me, so I decided to modify one of my bass ukes into a simulated single cut (I actually like the name whale hump, even though it has been derogatory). I bought some burlwood veneer and blank pickguard, then had Eric's Guitar put the veneer on the pickguard and shape it to be a single cut on my double cut bass. I really like how it came out. With the whale hump idea, I made a decal for the headstock, calling the bass a Narwhalele.

 

[Jscriv]

Single cut like the ASAT or the Ibanez talman?? Becuase I find those both look awesome. But if you mean that craziness I see on the boutique basses, I would personally pass

 

[Marley's Ghost]

I would eventually like to try a Kiesel Zeus 5.