I consider June 1986 the cut off point for "vintage" Fenders unless it has a tort guard. If it has a tort guard it's "vintage" regardless of year of manufacture. I think given enough time and thought anyone would come to that logical conclusion. Of course all white Fenders are brand spankin' new unless it has "yellowed". If it has "yellowed" it's a Squire(whatever that is).
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Vintage Old Fender - I don't get it.
- Thread starter darwin-bass
- Start date
I'm sorry. The sound of those instruments is no better than the sound from their current counterparts. Vintage pickups have been (over) analysed and perfectly reproduced...
Nostalgia is one justification for the vintage market. Another would be rarity. I can't buy into the 'Vintage tone' thing at all. I think, for some, just being able to mention having a 'vintage' instrument means a lot.
Don't get me wrong. I think old basses are cool. Sure. But they don't sound or play any better than the ones made today.
Simply put, the whole reason for this is rose-colored lenses.
The best bass I have ever played was a 1990-something mexican P-bass that looked like it had been dropped out of a moving car at 80 miles an hour and then used as a doorstop for a couple of decades. The neck had grooves and scratches in the back that for some reason matched my hand perfectly. Somewhere along the line an owner had put in a DiMarzio and that sounded as good as Jamerson's Bass of Doom. And even with half of the thick poly finish chipping off and the knobs and screwes rusted beyond repair, it looked pretty awesome.
The point? ANY bass can be great. The 90's MIM Fender I played could have left me with a tetanus and mild deafness but it actually was a religious experience. The $15000 1960 Jazz Bass I'll never buy might redefine playing bass or it might be a dud. YMMV
The best bass I have ever played was a 1990-something mexican P-bass that looked like it had been dropped out of a moving car at 80 miles an hour and then used as a doorstop for a couple of decades. The neck had grooves and scratches in the back that for some reason matched my hand perfectly. Somewhere along the line an owner had put in a DiMarzio and that sounded as good as Jamerson's Bass of Doom. And even with half of the thick poly finish chipping off and the knobs and screwes rusted beyond repair, it looked pretty awesome.
The point? ANY bass can be great. The 90's MIM Fender I played could have left me with a tetanus and mild deafness but it actually was a religious experience. The $15000 1960 Jazz Bass I'll never buy might redefine playing bass or it might be a dud. YMMV
22 years ago... i remember the 1954 fender that looked like it's body got shot by a bird shot firing squad, it was amazing, but it was 500 bones and the didn't want my 75 grabber in trade, no way i could earn that sweeping the floor of the sculpture studio and fixing their saws for minimum wage, but that was the one that i was fascinated by, i just didn't remember it until today when i was reading the zztop thread, so yeah i guess i lusted after one just like everybody else i just couldn't swing it
I have been fortunate enough to have owned a few Custom Shop basses and the real vintage basses from the same year they are emulating, at the same time. I've never heard a reissue that actually sounds like an original in person, when i play them back to back, one right after the other. Maybe not everyone hears the difference but not everyone has actually had the chance to compare a replica and an original like that. You can say they can recreate the tone, but there's a resonance that pre-CBS guitars have that the replicas don't. The real ones literally shake and vibrate in your hands like nothing else. I think its the aged, dry wood that isn't the same when its baked in an oven to simulate 50 or 60 years of aging. But YMMV.
I think there is truth to that. The way they made the pickups back then and their age too. I also think there is something to the argument that one reason the older pre-CBS stuff is good is only the good ones are still around; the not so great ones having been cast off at some point.
I know exactly what you mean. The basses that do that are loud acoustically. They're just resonant. That can be good or bad. Too much vibration in your hands, IME, means dead notes.
I have a silly thrown together parts Jazz Bass bass here that does that exact thing. It sounds pretty great, but the a D note on the G string almost immediately turns to a harmonic. Most of my basses are pretty resonant. That one feels like it's jumping in my hands, when I hit that note.
agreed
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,794
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
Here's what you do:
Take a brand new bass and use it for like, a year. Use it in the studio. Use it live. Use it at rehearsal.
Do the same thing with a pre- 1965 bass. Then you will understand.
That being said, I cannot afford a vintage bass, so I use a hand-made modern version and it nails the vintage vibe and then some.
Things are only worth what people pay for them, thus driving the vintage instrument market.
Take a brand new bass and use it for like, a year. Use it in the studio. Use it live. Use it at rehearsal.
Do the same thing with a pre- 1965 bass. Then you will understand.
That being said, I cannot afford a vintage bass, so I use a hand-made modern version and it nails the vintage vibe and then some.
Things are only worth what people pay for them, thus driving the vintage instrument market.
It's the baby boomers plain and simple that are driving up the cost of everything, including fenders, guitars and basses that remind of their youth. That said. I have played 70's fenders at GC Hollywood, along with a 50's p-bass and wasn't really impressed by either one, I suppose if they were some of the good ones, no one would let them go.
First bass I owned was a 70's p-bass with a pretzel neck, only way to not get it not to buzz was to have the strings really high off the board. A lot of the old ones you find for sale are unremarkable, which is why people let them go in the first place I suspect, when you find one you really like then that's IT! Like the fella up a few posts said, find one you really like and don't look back, doesn't have to be a fender (unless you are a baby boomer, or subscribe to their delusional self importance about their (apparently the whole generation gets credit here) generation and how they changed music,.........thank god someone invented punk rock to kill the overblown 20 minute drum solo that 60's rock turned into!
RANT OVER!
the moral of the story is find the one you love and it shouldn't really matter what it says on the headstock. By the way I have played newer fenders that sound and feel real good, like the 60th anniversary one, and an 80's bullet by squier. In case you are wondering I play a Reverend PJ. Goodluck!
First bass I owned was a 70's p-bass with a pretzel neck, only way to not get it not to buzz was to have the strings really high off the board. A lot of the old ones you find for sale are unremarkable, which is why people let them go in the first place I suspect, when you find one you really like then that's IT! Like the fella up a few posts said, find one you really like and don't look back, doesn't have to be a fender (unless you are a baby boomer, or subscribe to their delusional self importance about their (apparently the whole generation gets credit here) generation and how they changed music,.........thank god someone invented punk rock to kill the overblown 20 minute drum solo that 60's rock turned into!
RANT OVER!
the moral of the story is find the one you love and it shouldn't really matter what it says on the headstock. By the way I have played newer fenders that sound and feel real good, like the 60th anniversary one, and an 80's bullet by squier. In case you are wondering I play a Reverend PJ. Goodluck!
Insert any electric bass type/brand and you have arrived at - what is for many - an unwanted truth
The thing about Fenders is that they are inconsistent from bass to bass. One good P or Jazz will sell 10,000 others. I played a 58 P once that just killed, but I have played so many Fenders that were IMO total dogs. You just have to play and play and play them until you find one that works for you. The good ones are out there but watch out for the dogs.
Personally - I like the feel of a vintage bass. I prefer a 7.5" fretboard and like a worn in neck. There are not many modern instruments which do this. Rules out pretty much all boutiques, Lakland etc... I totally get why people would prefer modern basses but they don't feel or sound the way I like.
My favourite instruments to play are my 71 Jazz and my 89 MIJ 62Ri Precision.
My favourite instruments to play are my 71 Jazz and my 89 MIJ 62Ri Precision.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,794
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
Actually, the USA Lakland necks feel pretty broken in, IMO. Kinda why I love mine oh so much.
"dude"
you're comment can only be based on one of two things:
1: internet myths that are perpetuated on forums, especially this one.
2: you've played and evaluated "Most (not all) mid to late 70's fenders" personally and you have the reputation and expertise to come to that conclusion.
