Unique Bass to stand out

[mongo2]

My '85 Fender Performer stands out like no other bass I've ever had.

 

[mojomike001]

This Dean Stylist Cabbie stands out more than anything else I own.

 

[BassholeKI]

Either of these would stand out, especially if there was a black light aimed at you.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Funny you should ask.
This appeared in a FaceBook feed this morning.
It is unique...
View attachment 3073537

I own that bass. It is a one of a kind made by Michael Spalt in Vienna, Austria. He makes awesome basses. I play his 5 string Terminator regularly.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I like my Fernandes Mockingbird bass. Not too expensive, either.

 

[fishdreams]

Stumbled on this Linc years ago. And no I never get asked to play a Fender

 

[ThudThudThud]

And here's one before it has hatched:

 

[heartfield54]

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

Try a Heartfield Dr5. Manufactured for four years and there might be still a few out there. Great sound and action. Product made in Japan for Fender as a high en product. They were manufactured for about three to four years. There is a web page dedicated only to Heartfield basses and guitars. Check it out.

 

[GogglesPiasano]

Here's my Bass-O-Lin, kind of funky... along with the face I'm making. : )

 

[360 Modena]

I always got plenty of comments from people when i play om my Jazz 61 !

 

[1kayaker]

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[Bruce Boogie]

 

[Bruce Boogie]

Plumglo Rickenbacker ~ plays like a dream, sounds awesome, gets noticed by everyone ~ a special edition made for the Japanese market and imported into the UK, possibly the only one in the UK.

 

[GZboat]

If you are serious about a vintage bass that will sound awesome and look totally unique, the Micro Frets basses are hard to top. Here's a website with lots of pictures.
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Just keep scrolling down, you'll find quite a number of bass pictures. There is a secret to Micro Frets instruments (guitars and basses alike). The early one, with chrome and plastic pickups, use DeArmond pickups. The later ones, with the "white plastic box" pickups are license-built Rickenbackers. The DeArmonds are good, but I personally prefer the Ricks. I have a Micro Frets Rendezvous and it is for sale. I am just not comfortable with a 34" scale length, so I'm not playing it. It should go to someone who would play it and enjoy it. It will definitely get you out of the "P Bass/J Bass" rut!
Greg

 

[rholler]

Here's my contribution to this thread. In addition to my 3 Fender basses, here are a couple of my "oddball" guitars. The white one is actually a player, and a pretty darned good one -- it's plays and sounds just about as good as my '72 P-Bass! The one on the right, predictably, sounds absolutely horrible, so it's mostly used as a stage prop when someone wants to do a bluegrass number.

 

[stevieg]

I'm a little puzzled about this discussion.

Are people maybe sacrificing overall tonality for "stage appeal"?

I have a Jack Casady Signature, a Guild Starfire, a Gibson RD Artist, Gibson T-bird, and a '65 Danelectro Jazz-bass like entry. it's made of Formica with green lipstick tube pickups and a pick guard that looks like seaweed. Actually, in some ways this is my most versatile bass since I had the electronics modified.

I'm getting off track here. The point is, in my opinion, all these make statements in their own ways. I also have '64 candy apple red Jazz and a '56 blonde P-bass reissue, and two Carvins. I never bought any iof these based on looks. My total focus when purchasing a bass is sound, tonality and flexibility.

The only exception I can think of would be an Ampeg "devil horn" which makes a statement that has yet to be surpassed by the state of boutique or "lookist" instruments.

Your mileage may vary.
bye,

S

 

[stevieg]

I think Rob Allens are the very pinnacle of understatement and simplicity. Yet my fretless MB-2 five-string never fails to get comments. So who can say, really, what stands out.

Also, am I mistaken, or do guitarists seem to not have this issue. In my opinion a Les Paul is probably the premier guitar, yet I would not call its look striking.

stevieg

 

[DDXdesign]

View attachment 3077274 View attachment 3077275

Peptoglo?

 

[specialca]

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

I have found the G 3 Frettless Bass by Gus Guitars to be a very unique modern bass in a class on it's own!