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THICC BODIES!

Gare Boo

Gare Boo

Jun 16, 2019
313
143
#1
Hey guys do y'all know any basses like the Andrew Jackson' Fodera and Thunder cat's Ibanez signature models? They both have THICK bodies that make that very resonant sound. Thank you!

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Washburn AB40VSK Cutaway acoustic bass - Vintage Sunburst

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https://fodera.com/collections/signature-instrument-deposit/products/anthony-jackson-presentation-ii
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I found some other ones that are in this vibe but they're thinner and more on the acoustic side rather than an electric with a thick body:
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#5
I have a 5 string version of that same year Washburn AB model that the OP posted strung with flats. It’s as close to the Thundercat sound as I have gotten, but I need to install a magnetic pickup in it one day. Note, that you would be limited in terms of number of pickups that you can install. It’s one of my basses that’s never going up for sale. It’s about the cheapest route that you take to get that sound, effectively and with an intonable bridge.
 
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#8
Tom Clement can build you bass similar to the Fodera you mentioned in your post. He's built several heavily chambered and semi-acoustic basses.

Harvey Citron builds such basses (for Steve Swallow, amongst others), and I'm sure there are other makers as well.
 
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#10
You are correct, @Ed Goode, that is my Dean Stylist [w/ TV Jones pickups], seen below w/ my Gretsch 6072 reissue.
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As @mongo2 stated above, the thicker the body, the more susceptible the feedback, hence the F hole covers. The thinner hollow bodied Gretsch has no feedback at all playing live.
 
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#14
Gare Boo said:
Does the Ibby sound louder acousticly than the Hofner since it's got a f hole? Thanks!
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The Hofner HCT 500/5 and the Ibanez AFB200 both have f holes. It seems to me the Hofner is a bit louder acoustically and has more fundamental than the Ibanez, perhaps that's due to the larger size of the Hofner body or maybe it's just the characteristics of the two specific basses.
 
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#15
Gare Boo said:
I've heard those don't sound much different than solid bodied ones and the f hole doesn't actually do anything, is that true? Thank you!
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I’ve only played around with them in stores, so it’s not much of a sample size, but I found the combination of a semi-hollow construction and having only a piezo made them sound quite distinct and different from a typical solid body electric bass. The only ones I’ve played were fretless, so that adds another wrinkle as well. I think there is (or was?) a fretted version too.
 
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#16
thisheregiraffe said:
I’ve only played around with them in stores, so it’s not much of a sample size, but I found the combination of a semi-hollow construction and having only a piezo made them sound quite distinct and different from a typical solid body electric bass. The only ones I’ve played were fretless, so that adds another wrinkle as well. I think there is (or was?) a fretted version too.
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I have been gasing on the fretless 5 string version of that bass for a while actually, do you recommend it based on your in-store experience? Thank you!
 
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#17
MrWalker said:
Tom Clement can build you bass similar to the Fodera you mentioned in your post. He's built several heavily chambered and semi-acoustic basses.

Harvey Citron builds such basses (for Steve Swallow, amongst others), and I'm sure there are other makers as well.
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Wow just checked Harvey Citron's website, they are not more affordable than Fodera LOL.
 
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#18
The Vintera is Ash/Maple/Pau Ferro Fretboard and the Ibanez is Spruce/Rosewood/Purpleheart Fretboard/Purpleheart Bridge. The Ibanez plugged in and unplugged provides an amazingly deep low-end that I'd probably need more if my ash Vintera didn't have such an amazing gritty upper low-mid presence. The Fischmann pickup is more than adequate - for a $400 beach beater it certainly has won the hearts over of many of my friends. I plugged in during a live set with a band that had a really lack-luster bass player with a p-bass once, dropped some of the lows and pushed the mids on the Acoustic Ibanez and I definitely was able to fit into a awesomely weird little pocket in the mix. I stayed in the upper register a lot just to stay outta the way of the P-bass that night.
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They're very different instruments, but the Ibanez is absolutely essential for me to keep around. I feel like I can get really close to Jamerson on the Vintera, but I don't use foam mutes and have a crazy three fingered right hand mute technique. It's very effective and sounds great for playing "Aint no Mountain High" a couple of times, but if we're working a song like that into take five or six I'm pulling out the acoustic and adjusting the amp because it's just so much less work to get a dry, woody, upright-ish/50's P-bass mix of a tone.

I love thiccc basses, especially thick Ibanez basses.
 

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