I dunno - I don't mean anything negative when I speak of a bass as a BG thumper. To me, a good thumper requires both how the bass feels to play, and how it sounds. Not all that common to find a plywood box - new or old - that excels at both. You can play a heck of a lot of pricey carved basses with all manner of setups which can't thump like a well setup ply. I've got an Englehardt that cost a grand. I've got it set up exactly the way I like it, and I get all manner of compliments about the sound. I was at one pro's home, looking at possibly buying one of his many old basses. He gave mine a try and said simply, "You don't need a new bass!" Of course, mine is a challenge to bow...
I looked at many many Kays, Epis, Kings, as well as old carved/hybrids. My wife is a luthier and, in her opinion, what you are looking for is little more than a solid box. And she sees no reason to believe the older boxes are constructed more solidly than the new ones. So she has never been keen on my spending $$$ on some old plywood, just to give her a potential project. Just one opinion.
Plus, there is the undeniable benefit of not worrying about every little dent and ding as you haul it around...
Re: the comments about not playing just 1-4-5. I play in a weekly 4-5 hour jam. Every once in a while, I'll intentionally keep the bassline as simple as possible. Just trying to be as steady as possible. I mean really taking it to the extreme. And an embarrassing amount of the time I'm convinced that that is what is best for the music. Often when I start adding something extra in, a friend of mine will jokingly ask me if I was getting bored or something!
But that is in a jam of 6-12 pickers. I play in a small string band. There are 4 of us, but sometimes we play w/ just 3 or even 2 of us. I find it wonderfully challenging to adjust my playing to the different personnel. W/ 4 players, you want to stay out of each others' way. And you want to make sure you are not just copying what someone else is already doing - unless intentionally for dynamics/emphasis. But when there are only 2-3 of you, the opposite is true, and you may need to fill space. Last Sat it was just me an a fiddler. On one song she sang to my solo bass accompaniment. That was fun!
But now, as I'm trying to do more than just backup jams, I'm looking into the possibility of a different bass... I COULD have my wife try to set my Engle up differently, but I don't want to mess with what it does so strongly.
And one more thing. I often think that I'm almost getting away w/ a scam in being able to play w/ talented pickers. Because TO ME, keeping the solid beat is so natural. And since it is so natural to me, it seems simpler than all the fancy stuff the other pickers are doing. Sometimes when they compliment me, it is almost embarrassing - but I have to realize that I do not appreciate how my contribution seems TO THEM. But then, you hear a group w/o a bass - or w/ a timid/unsteady bass - and you realize how much you DO contribute.
I often think it would be fun if we could all hear each others' instruments - and the overall music - the way the other pickers hear it. And know what is simple/difficult for the other pickers in different songs/styles.
(Full disclosure - tho BG is my wheelhouse, I play just as much oldtime/Americana/etc.)
Just the ramblings of one old thumper!
I gig with my Kay but I play my carved bass when rehearsals are at my house. It's a different sound that does different things, I wouldn't put a higher or lower value on the sound until the bow comes out, ha! In fact I tend to prefer the dark bloom of the Kay for grass, though the pitch is not ambiguous with spirocores..
