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Unique Bass to stand out

L

Luke S Mouse

Guest
Jun 5, 2009
552
186
#1
As of late, I've been creeping on reverb and trying to find another four string that is unique and sticks out, while still doing the job (which is obviously the most important thing.) Since at times basses tend to be a very homogeneous with the same sort of designs (the P, the J, etc) I've found myself kind of looking at the vintage section, and am kind of debating taking a chance on an older instrument.

What have been your experiences with older basses like that and have they helped you stand out from the endless horde of P and J's out there and has there been any experiences where you've been told "hey, could you get a P Bass or a J?"

As always, pics are appreciated. Cause I love me some bass porn. lol
 
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#5
My two "atypical" basses are my Fender VI (currently a Squier VI to hold me over till CS completes the VI I've always wanted), and a Gibson ES Les Paul bass. The ES was a sort of white elephant thing due to another Gibson failing under warranty and that's what they had to offer - that specific model would probably be pretty silly to get but a semi-hollow with a 2x2 headstock is going to give you a real different look than the Fender basses you're guaranteed to see everywhere. That thing deserves its own thread...

Take a look around and see if anything in a semi-hollow style grabs you. There's options in both long and short scales, and I've discovered that a short scale isn't that big of a deal. After a couple weeks, I'm bouncing between my shorty fretted and my long scale stingray fretless and it's not even close to a problem. I would have imagined that would trip me up all over the place but it hasn't.
 
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#6
Funny you should ask.
This appeared in a FaceBook feed this morning.
It is unique...
bassUnusual.jpg
 
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#8
Jonithen said:
My two "atypical" basses are my Fender VI (currently a Squier VI to hold me over till CS completes the VI I've always wanted), and a Gibson ES Les Paul bass. The ES was a sort of white elephant thing due to another Gibson failing under warranty and that's what they had to offer - that specific model would probably be pretty silly to get but a semi-hollow with a 2x2 headstock is going to give you a real different look than the Fender basses you're guaranteed to see everywhere. That thing deserves its own thread...

Take a look around and see if anything in a semi-hollow style grabs you. There's options in both long and short scales, and I've discovered that a short scale isn't that big of a deal. After a couple weeks, I'm bouncing between my shorty fretted and my long scale stingray fretless and it's not even close to a problem. I would have imagined that would trip me up all over the place but it hasn't.
Click to expand...

Yeah there are a lot of those in the vintage section. And I love me some hollowbodies myself, always wanted to try one and see how the sound is different from a solidbody. And yeah. I would love to grab a baritone as well, have GASed for a Squier 6 for a while, but the price is a bit much.

As it stands I'm looking kind of at this. Price is cheap and it's just different enough to separate from the P and J horde.

Gem Bass Guitar, 1960's, Japan, Short Scale, Sunburst, Clean

I could just say "screw it" and try to find a band with my Krappy 1 string fretless, but I am kind of skeptical the reaction that would get lol
 
#10
I guess I am just having a hard time understanding what the issue really is. Is it that you want something that looks different than typical Fender J/P styling? Tons of stuff out there from low cost Ibanez and Yamaha to high end Alembic and Fodera with MTD, Ken Smith and Roscoe in between.

If you want to be “noticeable” but at a mid range price there’s always a Music Man Bongo or pretty much anything Warwick or Spector, and MTD’s Kingston line.
 
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#11
malthumb said:
I guess I am just having a hard time understanding what the issue really is. Is it that you want something that looks different than typical Fender J/P styling? Tons of stuff out there from low cost Ibanez and Yamaha to high end Alembic and Fodera with MTD, Ken Smith and Roscoe in between.

If you want to be “noticeable” but at a mid range price there’s always a Music Man Bongo or pretty much anything Warwick or Spector.
Click to expand...

Yeah sorry about that, the post was kind of a ramble. Yeah, that's kind of it. Although the more low cost something is, I would assume the more people have it due to the friendly price point. So I guess it's the matter of "sticking out without having to break open my student loan piggybank"
 
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#12
Luke S Mouse said:
Yeah sorry about that, the post was kind of a ramble. Yeah, that's kind of it. Although the more low cost something is, I would assume the more people have it due to the friendly price point. So I guess it's the matter of "sticking out without having to break open my student loan piggybank"
Click to expand...

Go to TB Classifieds, look for Ibanez, Yamaha, Warwick Rockbass, MTD Kingston, and Schector basses. You should have no trouble finding something that fits your needs and sounds great.
 
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#19
I always got plenty of comments from the peanut gallery on mine.
Not a Hoffner or any other commercial brand, it was built by a luthier (Robert Pascoe) who specialized in Lutes, and Gambas
It also sounded unique, unlike any other standard bass, being fretless, and fretted
duane-2.jpg

some sound bites from random studio work
She's Good For Me / Welcome To My Island CD
Riding the tide by Oceans ( Mermaid Fantasy Edition ) Jazz Musician Warren Wiegratz on Saxaphone
"Paul D'Adamo: Something To Tell" Documentary Promo
The Pascoe bass was stolen shorty after the recording, I finger synced in the video with another, but the Pascoe is the true sound
I played 3 songs on the above album, other played by Leland Sklar.
and live
Janet Planet - Live At Cactus Jacks - Touch Of Your Love
 
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