Will there be another classic bass/brand?

[Just Wrong]

It seems like every decade has had their classic brand/bass -- basses that go up in value over the years. Fender, Ken Smith, WAL, etc. etc. or just "must have" "classic" basses like Stingray, Spector, Rickenbacker, MTD.

But it hasn't been so in a bit. Why is that? Do you think we'll see another classic bass or brand in our time?

 

[groooooove]

this depends on the person, not the brand.

to me, carvin was an iconic brand. I was a kid in their hayday (early 2000s) who bought them, followed them, read their catalogs, etc.

i doubt more than a few others view my brand of choice this way.

truthfully in electric guitars and basses we have fender and gibson. then we can expend to rickenbacker and musicman.

outside of that, there really are not many "classics," unless you are someone who looks closer and closer at the market.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

It seems like every decade has had their classic brand/bass -- basses that go up in value over the years. Fender, Ken Smith, WAL, etc. etc. or just "must have" "classic" basses like Stingray, Spector, Rickenbacker, MTD.

But it hasn't been so in a bit. Why is that? Do you think we'll see another classic bass or brand in our time?

Probably not. Playing live music using physical instruments that you pluck and blow seem to be on its way out. Creating and performing music on a laptop is in. Generative AI is already being used to create music -- if you can call it "music" in the classic sense -- without requiring instruments or humans (that it stole the concepts from). So, I suspect the likelihood of a new "classic brand/bass" is low.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

This is the era of EBMM. The colors. The options. The quality.
In 15 years a 2020s Stingray or Bongo will hold its value.

 

[Obese Chess]

It seems like every decade has had their classic brand/bass -- basses that go up in value over the years. Fender, Ken Smith, WAL, etc. etc. or just "must have" "classic" basses like Stingray, Spector, Rickenbacker, MTD.

But it hasn't been so in a bit. Why is that? Do you think we'll see another classic bass or brand in our time?

I guess it depends on how we define "Classic." When I think "Classic," I don't necessarily thing "will go up in value in the future," but I would agree that there have been brands that were synonymous with specific moments and time and movements in music. To that end, I'd argue that the 2010s/2020s thus far have been very centered around Dingwall, but whether they will "go up in value in the future" as a result remains to be seen, especially since they're already boutique and still being built.

 

[Johnny Fingers]

Merge Gibson with Fender and what do you get? Fibson!

 

[CaptainHume]

Probably, there may or may not be another company that reaches the success of Fender in it's heyday, but it's possible. We're (probably) not living at the end of history or anything, who knows what the future will bring. I do know that the bass guitar and its dad, the Double Bass have been around a long time, so I'd bet they'll be around for awhile yet. Tastes change, but people will always want bass in their music.

 

[bmusic]

There are only seven must-have electric basses. They are the seven that I have.

 

[Swizzledoop]

Whatever the AI driven cyborgs come up with is sure to be a hit.

 

[MattZilla]

Wilcock

 

[Snert]

Classic is just a nebulous word like cool that really means nothing beyond what the person using it thinks.
To many non motorcyclists a Harley is cool, but to me it's a far, poor handling pig of a bike.

 

[Wood and Wire]

The kind of music that is fundamentally made with electric guitars & basses, had all of its major stylistic developments over the span of about 30 years.

Every development that followed, was essentially happening in subgenres of those primary, defining styles.

That era ended at least 15 years ago.

So, looked at in those terms, it's an incredibly short window to establish a truly classic brand, or even instrument.

For sure, there are many great brands, and instruments offering refinements of established classics (much like those musical subgenres, refining, and hybridizing the established classics), but until primarily guitar based music becomes the prevailing mainstream style again, I think it's going to prove very difficult to launch a new brand, or a radical new instrument that can truly be considered a classic - in many ways that ship has sailed, and I don't really see much appetite for a retro revolution (thank goodness).

I don't doubt that there will be new, bold, exciting developments, along with highly regarded refinements - but it's a pretty niche concern nowadays, compared to what it once was, and even if we were to have another "Grunge" moment, that lasted a decade, that's a tiny window of opportunity to establish something that can be truly considered a classic, that can go toe to toe with the Fender Precision, the Fender Jazz, the Rickenbacker 4001, The Music Man StingRay, Gibson, Wal, and a handful of others.

 

[ardgedee]

Classics are defined in hindsight.

The Precision Bass wasn't a classic in 1957. It took a few years.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Whatever the AI driven cyborgs come up with is sure to be a hit.

You need to have six, to eight manky fingers to play AI designed instruments.

 

[ravelax]

I don't really see MTD as classic in the same sense as a Fender or Rickenbacker or Stingray or so. Too niche or something... However, the Ibanez Soundgears definitely are getting there, they've been around for close to 40 years now! Several other Ibanez models are getting there too, a more recent line than the Soundgears would be the BTB.

 

[Heiwa]

No, with so many builders all over the world doing anything you could ask for in shapes and specs we don’t need all the classic brands or any big brand

 

[micguy]

The news just hit that the Chucky Cheese animatronic bands are going to break up/be dismantled. I wonder if that means that music isn't a big draw to kids, or that the future of fake music will be AI driven? Although people on here seem to think that things like Fenders will always go up in value, if live music ceases to be a growing business, their value will certainly plummet if participation in music drops.

 

[cataract]

Probably not. Playing live music using physical instruments that you pluck and blow seem to be on its way out. Creating and performing music on a laptop is in. Generative AI is already being used to create music -- if you can call it "music" in the classic sense -- without requiring instruments or humans (that it stole the concepts from). So, I suspect the likelihood of a new "classic brand/bass" is low.

Are you kidding me? Rock & Roll ain’t dyin’ anytime soon lol

 

[sutarappa]

I been anticipatin for scr0tum, the outdoors, and most other tactile talents to go right outta style. No, not per your assumptions.

 

[retslock]

It seems like every decade has had their classic brand/bass -- basses that go up in value over the years. Fender, Ken Smith, WAL, etc. etc. or just "must have" "classic" basses like Stingray, Spector, Rickenbacker, MTD.

But it hasn't been so in a bit. Why is that? Do you think we'll see another classic bass or brand in our time?

There may or may not be a clue in my answer. All of the ‘classic’ basses you mentioned except for the Stingray that I bought and found out I didn’t love, never had any appeal at all to me. I’ve just never wanted any of them. I’m guessing I’m not alone in that. What makes a classic? A very strong and very broad desirability would be my answer.
I’m still seeing young kids on TV music shows and gigs playing Fender & Gibson and the odd Rickenbacker sometimes. They are still being bought by younger players. Ok price has something to do with that I’ll concede but for me, the classics are the ones that are finding their way into the hands of players.
Strat, Tele, 335, Precision, Jazz, Mustang, Les Paul etc.