Bassnut62

I am amazed by how many basses some people have owned.
Here's my list anyway in more or less chronological order:

[list=1]
[*]Sakura Precision copy bought in 1979 for £65
[*]Westone Thunder 1A PX'd against the Sakura in about 1981
[*]Ibanez Ricky 4001 copy PX'd against the Westone in about 1982; sold in about 1983
[*]Baldwin semi-accoustic 1960s bass with Rezo-tube - very weird, bought in about 1982 for probably around £250 and quickly sold it
[*]Epiphone EB0 semi-accoustic from about 1963 bought fro £650 in 1983 - nice bass, but wasn't versatile enough; sold to a mate for £550
[*]Fender Jazz USA 1980-ish bought for £200 in about 1983
[*]Fender Precision fretless USA approx 1976 bought for £250 in about 1984
[*]MusicMan Stingray 1979 natural PX'd against the two Fenders in 1984. I still have this bass and can't imagine ever selling it - it is so good & now beautifully worn in by my own hand. I didn't own or use any other bass than the Stingray until about 1995
[*]Fender Telcaster USA 1974 blonde bought for £950 in 1995 - nice bass, but only one very phat bassy sound and too little definition
[*]Fender P USA 1979 swapped for Fender Tele in about 1996 - crap Precision that turned out to be 3 different basses, crap deal too. Sold for £550 in 1996
[*]Fender P Deluxe USA 1996 bought new for £750 and sold for £650 in 1997
[*]Fender P 1963 bought for £1250 in 1997 - all original P, very well refinned tho - great bass, bought with a small inheritance from my Granny - will never be sold, it's named after her too.
[*]G&L Asat Bass 1989 signature model, bought for £550 - great and very versatile bass. I still own this one.
[*]Sandberg California JM4 Deluxe 2008, bought new for £1050 in 2009 - awesome bass that carries on the Fender tradition very well - I don't expect to part with this.
[/list]

I reckon there are rubbish Fenders from all years and there are truly great ones from some periods, but not all periods.

As they get older, they often seem to me to get better.
I'm not sure why; but it could be the pups age well or maybe it's the resonance of the wood beds in better over time.
The neck profiles changed and I think the pup positions changed alot too; so maybe that has something to do with it.

As for value, clearly they can be a good investment - IF you get a good one; but it does have to be original. I reckon a refinish can be OK if done well; but even that will reduce value. Alien bridges, pups, machine heads, necks, pick guards are a total no-no IMO, if we're talking holding value. Collectors always want max originality in any market, just watch Antiques Roadshow!

Another trick is look out for non-Fender Fenders, i.e. original MM Stingrays or G&Ls. There is no question that Leo had the midas touch and was a true genius and it seems to me there was much better quality control when Leo owned the companies. After he left the bean-counters often seem to have taken over and reduced quality of parts. Also some of the magic seems to walk out the door with Leo. Early G&Ls seem like a great investment for the future and are seriously good basses.

Lastly, if you want a great 2010 Fender and a future classic, buy a Sandberg California. I got a California JM4 Deluxe a few years ago and it is a better guitar than any of the Fenders I've owned and it sounds great too; but it can't quite nail that old Leo sound. I reckon he would have been happy to see his DNA being carried on in the Sandberg 'Fenders'.

So here are the best periods as I see them:
Fenders pre 74
Musicmans pre 80
G&Ls pre 91

Fenders seem to have got better again from about 95; but that Leo magic isn't there IMHO.

+ yet another 1 re Sandberg
I have a beautiful California JM4 Deluxe, black with with off-white pearl block inlays and pickguard. Stunning looking, stunning sounding, stunning build, stunning price for such quality and custom build.
What's not to love?
Put it like this, having got the Sandberg a year ago, the following great basses are relegated to the cupboard - 63 Precision, 79 MM Stingray and 89 G&L Asat (all three are the real deal too).
I honestly think Leo Fender would have been full of admiration for what Henrik and co at Sandberg have done with his concepts.

IMO a very very good and under-rated valve head is the Fender Bassman 135. And they're not too dear either. Mine has been as reliable as anything else. I've not GASed for anything else for over 10 years now, so I guess that speaks for itself. I do now have a hybrid Hartke H350w to back it up and leave at rehearsal studio; but I only gig and record with the Bassman.

PM'd re 2U case

Hi
i used to have a Boss AW-2 auto wah and it dropped my bottom every time and a bit of volume. My cheap solution was to get a Bass EQ pedal and set it to compensate for the drop in bass & volume and set it up so I could activate both at same time, ideally through a blender.

The better solution is to get a better wah that is dedicated to bass - EHX QTron or Bassballs are both good. I am now using a 3Leaf Groove Regulator though as it has an FX loop, which is a lot of fun for adding fuzz, octave, delay, etc to the wah.

All these wahs are basscentric and retain volume and bottom. They work great for guitards too.


[quote name='Mog' post='760896' date='Mar 1 2010, 04:29 PM']Sup kids? My wah has given up the ghost . I have an original cry baby from my guitard days but when i use it with the bass there is a major volume drop when the effect is on. Anyone know of a clever way to sort this problem out?[/quote]