Except some of those basses are so common, you may never see one, ever.
Playing almost 55 years, on 2 continents, in a vibrant gigging circuit/area and never a single time have I ever seen a Spector, or a Smith or a WAL. Not even in a store.
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Will there be another classic bass/brand?
- Thread starter Just Wrong
- Start date
Playing almost 55 years, on 2 continents, in a vibrant gigging circuit/area and never a single time have I ever seen a Spector, or a Smith or a WAL. Not even in a store.
This the era of Carvin I was into.
Although, the only Carvin I ever owned was this one they built for me on '00.
Big part of being a classic is when people who have done well in the corporate world want to pay stupid money to hang one on their wall to remind them of their wild rebellious youth. Which don't concern me none.
If you're talking about instruments that become a staple of music production. I can't help but notice that the bass that has probably had the biggest influence on music since Fender gets no love at all round here. That's right. Sampled 808 kicks. Not even Ps sit in the mix and stay out the way like Roland's favourite son.
Sure, I'm being a tad facetious. But it does illustrate nicely how the very concept of a next classic bass is entirely dependent on what the punters choose to listen to. And only after that come the choices musicians make about how that music is produced.
If you're talking about instruments that become a staple of music production. I can't help but notice that the bass that has probably had the biggest influence on music since Fender gets no love at all round here. That's right. Sampled 808 kicks. Not even Ps sit in the mix and stay out the way like Roland's favourite son.
Sure, I'm being a tad facetious. But it does illustrate nicely how the very concept of a next classic bass is entirely dependent on what the punters choose to listen to. And only after that come the choices musicians make about how that music is produced.
Absolutely agree. The sensual physical act of playing an instrument will never die out. It may become less common but people will always want to do it with their own hands and the immediacy of live music will always seduce young kids to want to play.
Well the people who listen to it surely are. I'd like to say we'll see. But many of us probably won't.
Edit: can't rule out Stairway to heaven entering the symphonic repertoire and becoming the beneficiary of all manner of subsidies to go with the polite applause.
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I think Dingwall is the easy answer here.
I have played a few Wals at music shops or at one of the MARFs I attended years ago; I even almost bought a 5-string MK II in '00 but favored a Rick Turner RB5-FL over it (both at the same price of $1700).
The only Wal I've ever seen at a concert was a certain triple-neck one, in the hands of Roger Newell in the Winter of 1975.
The second half of the 20th century saw the advent and establishment of the electric bass guitar. It started a whole new world of instrument building that is now no longer a new idea. We’ve become accustomed to many and varied bass styles now. No single brand will ever stand out again like the early Fenders did. Even headless and carbon fibre has not had the same broad impact. We’re used to the whole idea now.
I think the market for bass guitars is broader than it has ever been, and you'd be hard-pressed to think up some instrument that somebody isn't building somewhere. Once bass guitars began to be thought of and built separately from electric guitars, things have changed a lot in my time. Same with bass amps, which when I started out were little more than guitar amps with different faceplates and crappy cabinets.
Having said that, most guys will unconsciously gravitate to the standbys (the Fenders, Gibsons, and Rickenbackers) as they always have in an almost unconscious, 'this is what I'm supposed to play' fashion, and that's fine for them.
One cold, gray day, my grizzled music store manager looked out into the gray, rainy morning over a half-full, cold cup of coffee and said he was always amazed that while rock and rollers (or musicians in general) killed themselves to be different, you'd go broke betting they'd play anything other than the same 5 or 6 classic designs their dads and grand-dads, played, and all these years later, I've yet to see that disproved.
Having said that, most guys will unconsciously gravitate to the standbys (the Fenders, Gibsons, and Rickenbackers) as they always have in an almost unconscious, 'this is what I'm supposed to play' fashion, and that's fine for them.
One cold, gray day, my grizzled music store manager looked out into the gray, rainy morning over a half-full, cold cup of coffee and said he was always amazed that while rock and rollers (or musicians in general) killed themselves to be different, you'd go broke betting they'd play anything other than the same 5 or 6 classic designs their dads and grand-dads, played, and all these years later, I've yet to see that disproved.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
I've never played one, but Dingwall seems positioned to achieve that status on the foreseeable future.
Fender, for all his genius as a guitar and amp designer, was very much in the right place at the right time (the American post-WWII boom in consumerism coupled with the rise of rock & roll and other electric guitar driven music) to have his ideas reach the level of prominence that they have.
We are now in an age of music making that is heavily influenced by computer technology. This is where the current hotbed of innovation seems to be, though not to say that there aren’t innovations still taking place in the domains of electric guitar and bass.
Along with the other stuff mentioned about "why we chose what we play", and "is that still a thing now" . . . I don't see anything like what MTV used to be.
You know, something showing the "Rock & Roll lifestyle" to make the younger, up and coming generations want to "be like them".
I'm not sure if I would or wouldn't have become a musician based on music alone, but once MTV and the like arrived on scene it was definitely "game on".
Are there any catalysts like that now?
You know, something showing the "Rock & Roll lifestyle" to make the younger, up and coming generations want to "be like them".
I'm not sure if I would or wouldn't have become a musician based on music alone, but once MTV and the like arrived on scene it was definitely "game on".
Are there any catalysts like that now?
The brand I'm seeing more and more people playing lately has got to be Sandberg. They make fantastic basses that look vintage, sound modern, and are really well built.
Serek, G&L, and Dingwall come to mind as future classics.
Rickenbacker, 7ender / Squier, EBMM, and Ibanez are my Big 4 of classic bass brands.
Rickenbacker, 7ender / Squier, EBMM, and Ibanez are my Big 4 of classic bass brands.
Most Wal players are in the UK, since that's where they were made, and their total production numbers since their debut in the '70s are low.
I think it's a reasonable guess that most Ken Smith instruments have been sold in the US, and they've tended to end up in the hands of session, jazz, and R&B players, and relatively few rockers.
The Musicians & Artists of Ken Smith Basses, Ltd.
A listing of several of the Musicians & Artists you may or may not know who play basses made by Ken Smith Basses.
www.kensmithbasses.com
Spectors have spread a lot further, and have been made in a lot greater numbers than Wal and Ken Smith. On the other hand their distribution has often been patchy.
Others obviously mentioned it, but if we take modern examples it certainly is Dingwall.
Hardly any new company had such an impact in the modern bass world the last 10 years.
Something like the Stringray is already a classic - and something like Carvin or Guild are too Fender inspired in my opinion.
Ibanez Soundgear are classics, but not really because they have so many different models.
Fodera is a classic as they are the ones that with ken smith, albemic popularized the ultra-high boutique instruments.
Sadowsky has great instruments, but for me they are not really classics as they borrow to much from Fender.
Serek and F Bass might be classics in the future from more boutique builders.
Hardly any new company had such an impact in the modern bass world the last 10 years.
Something like the Stringray is already a classic - and something like Carvin or Guild are too Fender inspired in my opinion.
Ibanez Soundgear are classics, but not really because they have so many different models.
Fodera is a classic as they are the ones that with ken smith, albemic popularized the ultra-high boutique instruments.
Sadowsky has great instruments, but for me they are not really classics as they borrow to much from Fender.
Serek and F Bass might be classics in the future from more boutique builders.
I think you get another Gender.Merge Gibson with Fender and what do you get? Fibson!
