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What brand has all your loyalty?

#144
SADOWSKY BASSES & STRINGS
GENZLER AMPS & CABS
DARKGLASS ELECTRONICS
KIRLIN CABLE
TEMPLE AUDIO TEMPLEBOARDS
RIGHTON STRAPS
 
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#149
Sam Dingle said:
Fender has mine. An obvious choice. They have everything that I need. I'm at:

American Standard Jazz Bass with rounds
American Standard P Bass with flats
Elite 5 string with rounds
77 Music Master with tapewounds
Mexican fretless with flats

what company are you committed to?
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On guitar, I'm 100% committed to Kiesel. On bass, I'm a bit of a whore: it it's light, has good upper-mid response, and has narrow string spacing, it'll probably agree with me.

Currently:
- Rickenbacker 4003SW
- Ibanez GWB205

In terms of amplification, Mesa is my go-to on guitar - their Mark amps are phenomenal (very Fenderish, but without the treble spike in the head). For bass, it's currently Traynor. I can't wait to try the new YBA100 head when things return to "normal".
 
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#150
Especially regarding musical instruments and accessories, I find that I gravitate towards companies small enough where the owner has some secondary (if not primary) role in the manufacture of the item, and away from companies where there are public shareholders. My choices in instruments, amplifiers, cabinets, pedals etc. all reflect this.

Obviously this means that I'll pay more for these items, perhaps even for equivalent products. I'm more than OK with that. I want to see those people and their companies succeed, and I vote with my dollars.

And to pre-empt the train of thought that we saw in another thread, yes I own a cellphone made by a major telecommunications company, and no I don't believe that doing so makes me a moral hypocrite.
 
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#156
While I wouldn't call it loyalty, I certainly gravitate towards certain brands. I have two Lakland skylines, a 55-02 and a 55-60. Pretty much all of my aftermarket pickups are Nordstrand, and I usually dont consider other manufacturers. Pedals have no theme, although I tend to choose smaller builders like Broughton, Meris, Morningstar, etc.
 
#157
31HZ said:
Especially regarding musical instruments and accessories, I find that I gravitate towards companies small enough where the owner has some secondary (if not primary) role in the manufacture of the item, and away from companies where there are public shareholders. My choices in instruments, amplifiers, cabinets, pedals etc. all reflect this.
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Same here. I have or have had face to face relationships with all the luthiers directly involved in making the four basses I currently own. My primary cab, same thing. I build my own amps, onboard electronics, etc.

But none of those other guys demand or expect "all my loyalty." All have encouraged me to just get whatever suits me best, whether it's from them or not. OTOH, one luthier who is a very close friend essentially gave me a bass last year (more like barter really) because he said it bugged him that my primary instrument wasn't one of his. Sometimes loyalty cuts both ways, eh?
 
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#159
Rip Van Dan said:
For a bass, I would have to say Made in the USA Fender Jazz Bass.

I've only had three 4-string basses since I started playing bass in 1965. The first one was a piece of :poop: green Japanese bass. Within a year, in 1966, I bought a 1965 Fender Jazz Bass. I played that bass through high school and some college; toured with it for 3 years in a nightclub group playing 5-nights a week, 50-weeks a year; then played it on weekend gigs until it was stolen in 1976 (house was burglarized). Here's a shot of it when I was touring with "The Young Century's".
View attachment 3752537

I bought another Jazz Bass in 1985. Took me almost 10-years to find another MIA Jazz bass that had the same 60's shallow C-shape neck with 7.25" radius. It has a maple neck and the pickup spacing is different than it was on my '65 Jazz, but it feels the same when playing it. It has a little more growl than my '65 did and significantly more sustain. Bought it in '85 but didn't get a chance to gig with it until 1997. It's a late1982/early 1983 Olympic White bass with white pickguard, white pickups, white binding on the neck, white strat-type controls, and semi-opaque white LaBella Tape-wound strings. I also put a white strap on it for good measure.

Here's a shot of me playing it at a Wings and Wheels Fundraiser Festival for the Special Olympics in 2018:
View attachment 3752540

The only non-Fender bass I have is my 5-string. It's an older Rogue LX405-Pro, when they were made in Korea. I needed a 5-string because the group I was playing in back then did a few songs that needed one. It's actually a very nice bass. Looks great, build quality and finish is superb, it's lightweight, and it cost me all of about $200 when I bought it. It is switchable from active to passive using a push-pull volume knob. It sounds decent in both passive and active, but it just doesn't have the sound my Jazz Bass does.

View attachment 3752546

So, for basses for me, it's not just Fender but MIA Fender Jazz Bass with a 60's shallow-C neck and 7.25" radius.
Click to expand...

If you ever wanna shop and drop some $$ the fender elites (you gotta find them used) has an incredible 5 string jazz, the passive basically feels like my American 4 string jazz. Just a thought.
 
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