Rickenbacker 4001. It wasn't the first by a long shot, but it's unique and unmistakable at even a great distance. The tone is unique too, pops right out on many famous recordings.
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Your opion on the most iconic bass ever
- Thread starter hopsbb
- Start date
Ah-haaa! I KNEW you Rick guys were up to something! I hereby decree that all members of your cult must henceforth wear, at all times, a matching white patent leather belt n' shoes combo (also known as "The Full Cleveland") so you can be readily identified.One of the definitions of an icon is of an image religious in nature,i vote the original Rickenbacker 4000 based on that idea.
Yes ,i am a member of the Rickenbackerology cult......
To 90% of bass players? Probably the P-bass. To the rest of the world? Definitely the Hofner violin.
To me? A fretless Jazz. Nothing else sounds the same.
To me? A fretless Jazz. Nothing else sounds the same.
Ric should have at least got a mention in the poll, but it's Precision all the way. Those of you insisting on Hofner have to consider not everyone grew up (or was even alive at all) during Beatlemania.
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I take "iconic" to mean "evokes a strong association." While the P Bass probably evokes the strongest association with the general idea of an electric bass guitar, the Hofner takes the prize in evoking a particular artist, era and style. It's kind of like asking whether Coca Cola is more "iconic" than a "martini, shaken, not stirred."
For bass players - the Fender Precision.
For the rest of the world - what's this "bass" you're talking about?
For the rest of the world - what's this "bass" you're talking about?
Since you asked for opinions----- this is a silly question.
Sunburst P with tort.
Please close thread
Sunburst P with tort.
Please close thread
Probably several ways to skin the proverbial iconic bass cat.
There's something about the visual -- e.g., McCartney and his Hofner. However, does the general fan look at a Hofner violin and think, "yeah, man, electric bass!" I'm not sure. If enough folks have McCartney playing his Hofner as their reference point for bass playing, then yeah, the Hofner gets it. Lots of people are used to seeing Fender Ps and Fender Js on stages at gin joints and honky-tonks and summer stages and whatever else in their local area (if they actually go to those places on the nights when the DJs aren't spinning...). Maybe the Fender bass is the most iconic...P or J.
There's also something about the sonic -- e.g., the sound of the P bass may be the most prevalent among electric bass recordings.
However, it does make me think about the iconic nature of player plus instrument -- visually and sonically. Macca w/ a Hofner, Jamerson w/ a P bass, Babbitt w/ a P bass, Squire w/ a Rick, Jaco w/ a fretless J, Anthony Jackson w/ a 6-string Fodera "contrabass guitar" (after prior excursions w/ Ken Smith), Will Lee slinging a Sadowsky J w/ the CBS Orchestra (or w/ Oz Noy on Monday nights at The Bitter End...), Tony Levin w/ a StingRay5, Justin Chancellor w/ a Wal (see associated thread w/ fascination about Justin w/ a P), Louis Johnson w/ a StingRay, Ndgeocello w/ a J, and so on and so forth. We all know that these folks play other models of basses (Jackson on a Fender, for example, w/ the O'Jays or Will Lee on a Pedulla fretless), but some of what's iconic about their playing and their sound is about the link between them and a particular bass (and strings and amplification and fingers or pick or quarter and more).
But, I'm just rambling now...
There's something about the visual -- e.g., McCartney and his Hofner. However, does the general fan look at a Hofner violin and think, "yeah, man, electric bass!" I'm not sure. If enough folks have McCartney playing his Hofner as their reference point for bass playing, then yeah, the Hofner gets it. Lots of people are used to seeing Fender Ps and Fender Js on stages at gin joints and honky-tonks and summer stages and whatever else in their local area (if they actually go to those places on the nights when the DJs aren't spinning...). Maybe the Fender bass is the most iconic...P or J.
There's also something about the sonic -- e.g., the sound of the P bass may be the most prevalent among electric bass recordings.
However, it does make me think about the iconic nature of player plus instrument -- visually and sonically. Macca w/ a Hofner, Jamerson w/ a P bass, Babbitt w/ a P bass, Squire w/ a Rick, Jaco w/ a fretless J, Anthony Jackson w/ a 6-string Fodera "contrabass guitar" (after prior excursions w/ Ken Smith), Will Lee slinging a Sadowsky J w/ the CBS Orchestra (or w/ Oz Noy on Monday nights at The Bitter End...), Tony Levin w/ a StingRay5, Justin Chancellor w/ a Wal (see associated thread w/ fascination about Justin w/ a P), Louis Johnson w/ a StingRay, Ndgeocello w/ a J, and so on and so forth. We all know that these folks play other models of basses (Jackson on a Fender, for example, w/ the O'Jays or Will Lee on a Pedulla fretless), but some of what's iconic about their playing and their sound is about the link between them and a particular bass (and strings and amplification and fingers or pick or quarter and more).
But, I'm just rambling now...
If you ask a person, player or non-player, to draw a bass guitar, what you will get in >90% of cases will resemble a P-bass more than anything else.
Did a scientific study come up with that percentage, or is it just your "opion".
If you ask a non-player, don't you get something that resembles a Strat w/ three strings?!
If you ask a non-player, don't you get something that resembles a Strat w/ three strings?!
Yes, you do. But it still resembels a P-bass more than anything else.
I can't wait until the word "icon" goes out of fashion. It is so over used; everything is "iconic." Harrumph, grumble, grumble.
Anyway, somebody said it already: The general public doesn't know the difference between a bass guitar and guitar-guitar. If they do, they probably think of the Hofner Beatle Bass. Does that make it "iconic?" I would say it is just "recognized" by many people. And as so many have said already, for most musically informed people, the Fender Precision Bass is probably what they think of as the "standard" electric bass guitar.
Anyway, somebody said it already: The general public doesn't know the difference between a bass guitar and guitar-guitar. If they do, they probably think of the Hofner Beatle Bass. Does that make it "iconic?" I would say it is just "recognized" by many people. And as so many have said already, for most musically informed people, the Fender Precision Bass is probably what they think of as the "standard" electric bass guitar.
