A few of us know what that means. I have been megged!
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Vintage Fenders. Why??
- Thread starter tb-player
- Start date
A few of us know what that means. I have been megged!
OP here. Based on that statement alone, I will keep the faith and continue my search.
I about 4 years old in the 50's Fender basses became the definitive electric bass sound. Through out that period, records were primarily mastered to be played on AM radio, and there in lies a fair amount of the romance. Fender basses, in particular the PB worked very well in that format. Couple that with the heavy compression radio stations used, it became kismet.
Fast forward to today, while I love my PB's, they are not the only bass in town. I'm pretty sure I haven't played every series of Fender basses. But I've played enough of Fender basses to know there are good ones and ones that are not so great, and you will not know which one you have until you get your hands on it.
I really have no problem with paying an alpha for a great bass. Paying an alpha for a bass that was not relatively expensive in the first place and not playing it first, starts to get in the grey area. Paying an alpha for a bass because of it's age and it's recent increase in market value for speculative purposes is as financially insane as filling a wheelbarrow with $20s, rolling it to a dock, then dumping it into a swift river expecting the investment to grow.
JMO.
Lovely collection. I always like it the first Precision, more than the new ones.
That 57 was once owned by the bassist for Gene Audrey and The Melody Ranch Boys. I got to spend the day with him and his wife. He was original owner. It's a great bass.
At the end of my first gigging career in 1979 I ended up with an aluminum neck Kramer with a single pickup . I had traded in a 75 Jazz that was really a good one for the time . I was getting squealing feedback from my amp once in a while when facing back towards the drummer so I wanted something different and the Travis Beans and Kramers seemed like the new thing . I struggled to get a good sound with that bass . One of my best friends played guitar in that band and had a 64 p bass . He let me use it on a pig roast gig and I used that bass from then on , it was light , played easy and it sounded better than the Kramer . I'm definitely not a P bass guy tone wise but that was a great bass . Got to play it for about a year .
Nowadays I like the basses in my signature better than any I owned back then . The 67 Guild Starfire II and my 71 Ric 4001 that I had in the early 70's were great basses too and the 75 Jazz was also very good . I wouldn't trade my basses now for a vintage bass unless it was just for the money .
Nowadays I like the basses in my signature better than any I owned back then . The 67 Guild Starfire II and my 71 Ric 4001 that I had in the early 70's were great basses too and the 75 Jazz was also very good . I wouldn't trade my basses now for a vintage bass unless it was just for the money .
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You're saying that your Sadowsky and Fodera were of lesser quality than the Fenders?
[QUOTE View attachment 1107903 '78 P-Bass with "A"width neck [/QUOTE] Here's mine. There are several reasons why I "love" it.
1. It's the first bass I ever owned - after learning to play bass in 1968. Because of what I did in the military, I didn't own a bass because I rarely got the opportunity to play. I bought this bass from a fellow lefty I was stationed with, in 1988. I still have it, but I don't play it much anymore. It weighs 11-something pounds; my worn out, abused 70+ y/o back can't deal with that for very long, any more. But, it still comes out once or twice a year, for a month of attention and playing.
2. I really like the optional-at-the-time "A-spec" neck. Jazz neck width, with a... 9" radius ?... fretboard, and a fairly shallow "C" contour. Could I get a new P-Bass with a neck like this one? Maybe... but, I don't really see any need to find out...
3. For reasons I can't explain, this bass has no "dead spots" in the neck. Why? I have a theory, but... all I know is; if there are dead spots? I certainly can't hear them...
4. When I bought this bass, it was just a 10 year old, left handed Fender Precision Bass. I probably paid my friend a little more than it was really worth, but... he really needed the money; I had it to spare; and that's what friends do. It wasn't a "Vintage" bass when I bought it. It just... morphed... into one, while I wasn't looking...
In any case; I've owned it for going on 35 years now. I still like it - a lot. I still play it - but, not as much as I'd like to. I certainly have no intention of getting rid of it, regardless of how much it might be "worth" now...
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I would absolutely go for a "bro" deal on a local player's axe with known magical properties.
On the open internet market, I would not be inclined to compete with better-monied collectors for specimens of unknown character.
On the open internet market, I would not be inclined to compete with better-monied collectors for specimens of unknown character.
Everyone please buy new Olintos and sell your old unwanted Fenders to me. Beings that the olintos are obviously better and the classic fenders that made all those records now suck, I will only pay up to original retail prices! No nostalgia premiums please. I feel sorry for the owner of james jamersons bass and jaco's bass of doom buyer. They could have just bought Olito's.(sarc)
It's funny that THAT sound is so desirable that everyone keeps trying to copy it! So old Fenders must rule.
It's funny that THAT sound is so desirable that everyone keeps trying to copy it! So old Fenders must rule.
I owned a beautiful '78 Jazz for a handful of years and it played and sounded great but I would rarely play it. I ended up trading it for a Serek bass and they gave me a bit of cash as well. I'm much happier with the Serek! That being said, I would buy another vintage bass if I felt it would be an improvement to my arsenal.
No, but when something is made consistently to high standards it's going to be harder to find random duds.
So the consistency of modern manufacturing results a greater % of quality instruments
Simple mechanics that you can still work on yourself. You don't feel like the robots have taken over the world. You get to make your own decisions and test the limits of your vehicle. All focus remains on driving.
It still does what it's supposed to do, and every time you use it you remember him.
I like to hear classical performances in the order that they are intended and not in alphabetical order.
To keep track of time?
That's a bit rich from somebody claiming they can tell vintage basses are better because they have a 'high level of mechanical sense'.
Teach us your ways, Sensei.
Thiss.
The craftsman does his own QC, the machine doesn't.
The craftsman works to a standard. The machine tolerates deviations.
Do you know for a fact that early Fenders were made with carefully selected pieces of wood with the proper grain tightness and orientation? Some say Leo was a cheapskate, some say he just used whatever was available at the time, some say he selected the best of the best.
I find it suspicious that everything before 19xx is considered the best. Often we're talking about inferior production processes or, like in the case of guitar effects, inferior tech for the components, yet everything made before a certain year is perceived to be better.
Did manufacturing take a global hit at one point in history? Is it because in the 70s currencies were disconnected from gold reserves and capitalism was freed form any constraint and companies abandoned pride in their work to chase profits exclusively? Or is it just a case of "they don't make 'em like they used to" nostalgia?
The above has nothing to do with whether or not vintage Fenders objectively sound better.
