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Vintage Instrument Owners.

#61
PluckyThump said:
I'm not talking just about Fenders, but in general:

1. Better wood. This is not always the case but many older instruments are made with woods that are hard to get and very expensive today, like mahogany or wenge for example. The quality of the maple also seems better in the older ones.
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Which older instruments used wenge? By the way, I love my Warmoth wenge neck and it’s only a few years old.

2. Feel. An old instrument that has been played has a broken-in feel that can't be duplicated by a new instrument. The back of a broken-in neck feels better than anything new.
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Ever played an oiled or bare wood neck?

3. Refinement. If the instrument has been cared for by the previous owner(s), the flaws in it have been worked out. It's had a fret dressing and leveling, a better nut installed, shielding added, etc. All of which makes if play better than new.
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Big if. Not everyone takes care of their instrument. You should see my used Peavey Fury! Yikes!

4. Sound. Nobody seems to know why but an older instrument just sounds better, all other things being equal. I remember an interview with Steve Harris and he talked about how Fender took his favorite P ("The Blue Bass") into their shop and examined every last detail of it. They built an exact copy, it was even the same weight, and gave it to Steve. He said the new bass looked the same and felt the same but it didn't sound as good.
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Besides the fact that good sound is subjective, we have no way of knowing if the tonal difference is due to age or simply that it’s 2 different pieces of wood.

5. Experience. What M.R. Ogle said! An old instrument brings out feelings in the player that a new one can't.
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Can’t argue that.
 
#62
i own a 69' jazz and there are a few features that are pretty awesome about it, for a start being 41 years old if feels like your best friend, i cant explain how comfortable that thing is to play. the sound is amazing, what ive always to hear when i play but couldnt get on a new bass. the weight is amazing so light!!!! and it does look awesome

Dave
 
#64
Name five features of your vintage instrument that really make it stand out and that can't be found in a modern manufactured instrument.
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1) Feel
2) Feel
3) Feel
4) Feel
5) Feel + Sound!

:D I know it's only one feature, but on a gig last night, there were three Jazz basses in the house. A mim, a 75' and my 62'. MHO.... mine was best by far. I did play the 75'. It was nice, but I'd take mine any day.
 
#65
The few "Vintage" Fender's I've spent any real time with had this in common:

The neck finish was worn off, replaced by... well, hand grease. And they felt great.

The neck feel was very comfortable and shallow - a very wide "C" shape. This applies, in my experience, to both basses AND guitars.

They were light. Why? I don't know, but they all seemed to be very light. I know Fender was more fond of basswood than ash at one time. Perhaps that's it.

They were, to an instrument, 3 tone sunburst. Okay, one wasn't - it was a beat-to-heck, butt-ugly '57 P bass in cream that played and sounded *insane*. I wish I had been smart enough to plunk down the $600 they were asking for it back in 1980...
 
#66
Bass Viking said:
Which older instruments used wenge?
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I'm thinking of pre-1990 Warwicks (considered vintage by 'wick fans), which are wenge with maple stringers. When wenge got too expensive, they first switched to maple with wenge stringers, then ovangkol. Most players consider the old wenge necks to be superior.

Bass Viking said:
Ever played an oiled or bare wood neck?
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Yes and they're very nice, but not the same as a finished neck that has been smoothed out by decades of a thumb sliding up and down it.
 
#67
PluckyThump said:
I'm thinking of pre-1990 Warwicks (considered vintage by 'wick fans), which are wenge with maple stringers. When wenge got too expensive, they first switched to maple with wenge stringers, then ovangkol. Most players consider the old wenge necks to be superior.
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I've heard that (bolded part) but I thought it had more to do with the shape of the neck. But wenge is a great neck wood.
 
#68
I'm probably going to get flamed....

I own a bunch of guitars from the vintage era.. I have a love/hate with them.. love how they're a place to store cash.. hate that new import basses often play better.

Better
Cash holder (basses aren't a good investment)
Snob appeal on my gear list
Knowing who owned them before
Arrogance when I play them out (if I ever do) I have the real dog others are copying.


Seriously.. the newer stuff many times is better.. so are many of the copies.
 
#70
I've got a '65 Pbass that I love
1) imperfect cutaway
2) the plugged holes where they use to drill into the body to cut the body
3) the neck plays like butter
4) coolness
5) sound
Actually the drawback for me is how much it's worth...I play it less, and worry about it at gigs
 
#72
my phantom bass (hofner knock off) is from the late 60's or early 70's.
what i like about it is 1) it dont look like like most basses built today 2) its hollow body design has a great sound too it with flatwounds 3) its a converstion starter 4) even though its a off brand its still worth more then i paid for it 5) i think its cool to think about all history that bass has over the last 40 odd years
 
#73
The only difference between new and old is....age. And with age and use comes some wear. The parts get older, but I've never been convinced this makes a bit of difference.

You can supply the wear.

Aside from that, if you have something that's no longer made, it will probably be different from what you see most places. Some times that will be good, others it will be bad, especially with instruments that were cheap to begin with. There were some pretty odd and marginal instruments made in years gone by.
 
#74
New Vintage Bass Day: '76 P, all original except pick guard (was broken), came with original case (in great shape), both chrome covers and thumb rest.
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Family...05 J, 71 P, 76 P
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