Musicman20 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Hmm, now Ive no idea how far to stretch this back! What one piece of you bass or amp/cab do you think is just genius engineering? I think kudos to Fender for the new 08 onwards bridges. They dont look out of place, yet they are a fantastic upgrade. Musicman truss rod wheel of fortune. Speakons. Lightweight amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Status putting 2 strap buttons on the bottom of their basses so they don't fall over when you lean them against something. No need for a stand, just lean it against a wall..... simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I think the Peavey T-40 has a few bits of design which are inspired. For example, the way the pups work, and how the neck was created and constructed. Just don't ask me to explain [i]how[/i] the pups work - I get them in a practical sense, but writing that all down would end up sounding wrong. If pushed, ask FlatEric or maybe I can copy and paste the relevant text from somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='Musicman20' post='1033603' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:07 AM']Hmm, now Ive no idea how far to stretch this back! What one piece of you bass or amp/cab do you think is just genius engineering? [b]I think kudos to Fender for the new 08 onwards bridges. They dont look out of place, yet they are a fantastic upgrade.[/b] Musicman truss rod wheel of fortune. Speakons. Lightweight amps.[/quote] Hardly revolutionary though G Hipshot, Schaller, etc. have been making superb bridges for ages, Fender ignored them until a couple of years ago. I think the Hipshot Bass X-tender (D-Tuner) is a superb piece of engineering. It solves a big problem extremely well and has great design, engineering and usability foremost in mind. Briliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='Fat Rich' post='1033612' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:12 AM']Status putting 2 strap buttons on the bottom of their basses so they don't fall over when you lean them against something. No need for a stand, just lean it against a wall..... simple.[/quote] Yep, couldn't agree more, why don't all manufacturers do this?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 The MOSFET Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Actually putting two strap buttons on the bottom of the bass (or guitar) only works if you're not going to use a strap lock system. Otherwise the one with the strap attached is bigger and the instrument is unstable again. I don't know if it's urban myth but, I can remember reading that one of the reasons that the original Alembic bodies were shaped with the point and the omega was so you had to use a stand and couldn't just lean them against your amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 And to get back on topic. Use of alternative materials to wood in the construction of instruments such as aluminium , carbon fibre and other composite materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Music Mans 3 and 1 with a single tuner below is genius and as an advertising tool is brilliant (My missus can even spot them on the TV) its just a shame they never copyrighted the 4 and 1 to stop the five string brigade steeling it and while they were at it the headstock shape too to stop Sadowsky steeling it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Headlessness. Kubicki Factor's D-extension. Ned Steinberger's original curved body design for Spector. The chromatic tuner. Straplocks. Switched mode power supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='silddx' post='1033646' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:41 AM']Hardly revolutionary though G Hipshot, Schaller, etc. have been making superb bridges for ages, Fender ignored them until a couple of years ago.[/quote] Agreed, its about time they got it right. I do think its a nice design though. Im not keen on some of the other higher mass bridges, and its comfy to resr your little finger around if picking near the bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 The Fender Precision bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I'm surprised people love strap locks so much. I use Grolsch rings and they've never failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 The double bass. Can be used anywhere (doesn't need an amp). Burns longer than an electric bass guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 The Variax concept is quite the revolution, I reckon. They've overhauled the guitar to largely positive press, should they do the same to the bass it could be quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='cheddatom' post='1033860' date='Nov 23 2010, 01:40 PM']I'm surprised people love strap locks so much. I use Grolsch rings and they've never failed.[/quote] How could I possibly look like a pimp onstage with Grolsch rings?! Eh? I have gold Warwick straplocks, me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umph Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 SMPS, Class D amplifiers, neo magnets etc etc. are all things that have taken off recently. Can't really think of anything really revolutionary thats happened in guitar etc. recently thats taken off, most muscians seem to be sceptical of anything new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 You could have your Grolsh rings chromed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mog Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Active pups/pre's. Neodymium magnets. Major improvements in string quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='Rich' post='1033796' date='Nov 23 2010, 12:49 PM'][b][size=3]Headlessness[/size].[/b] Kubicki Factor's D-extension. Ned Steinberger's original curved body design for Spector. The chromatic tuner. Straplocks. Switched mode power supplies.[/quote] I know that esthetically headless basses aren't everybody's capaccino but who's ever owned a headless bass and had it go out of tune? From a purely functional point of view this is an excellent evolution on machine heads. I was very impressed with the Ritter set up where the headless tuners are set under the body in a cavity thus requiring the strings to go through the body..21st century evolution on the 70s/80s theme.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 My custom bass was built by the same guy who built all of these in the 70's. Ably assisted in most cases by John Diggins - JayDee. Though mine is just a bog standard long scale EB3 in maple with an active onboard overdrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 When thinking of this I usually think of Kubicki first, I'll elaborate on a few points: The neck is 34 laminates of maple, chosen by Phil because he wanted a super stiff neck but without the high cost of graphite. It's ultra stiff and stable and doesn't suffer from dead spots! The body shape is so comfortable but looks fantastic. The pickups are radiused to the fretboard and they have "popping" scoops out of the offside. The headless design is excellent, the 6 position preamp is also fantastic as it gives a wide range of active and passive options but is very user friendly and easy to pick up, unlike some of the more complex Alembic systems. And to think, that this was done in the 80's too, it's a bass that is still ahead of it's time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I've always thought the cascading dot pattern on my NS-Design CR5M is innovative The two magic tone shaping controls - the VPL & the other one on Mark Bass Amps are fantastic. Even if I can never remember what they're called, just how they sound when I twiddle them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='BigRedX' post='1033656' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:44 AM']Actually putting two strap buttons on the bottom of the bass (or guitar) only works if you're not going to use a strap lock system. Otherwise the one with the strap attached is bigger and the instrument is unstable again.[/quote] That's a slight exaggeration. Yes it does make the bass sit at a slight angle, but hardly unstable - Still way better than than a single button (bassed on the Dunlop style straplock). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 [quote name='cheddatom' post='1033891' date='Nov 23 2010, 01:59 PM']You could have your Grolsh rings chromed![/quote] That sounds painful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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