charic Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Well currently there are a few 6'ers around Yamaha (Ibanez & ESP being two others that spring to mind) probably offering some of the best value for money ones but some variation would be nice without having to go custom. 7 string basses that are non-custom (again off the top of my head) are limited to Conklin and fairly low level Ebay brands. Like you say, just having them around at a reasonable value between the custom and the 'I really hope this is a bargain and not a crap bass' ranges would be quite nice. Of course we have the BC marketplace available to us though where things that are sold are reasonable value and near perfect condition most of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 Indeed! I think the difficulty with ebay brands and Conklin is that... well... the ebay brands are prone to being crap without a damn good setup, but ebay basses (Conklin and crap) you just don't get to try beforehand, which means people will be disincentivised from buying them relative to wandering into a store and getting to try them. Plus, the more these things are in the public domain, the greater amount of market stimulation and competition there should be... but sadly the musical instrument market is a bit rubbish at the moment and if these 'other non-4-string ideas' weren't seen as a worthy investment in the boom times, then they certainly are unlikely to be seen as worth the investment in these difficult times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 [quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1317626037' post='1392341'] Personally I think Musicman have taken onboard quite a lot of good opinions and directions on their instruments. They don't seem afraid to produce some natural progressions of their designs (e.g. the dual humbucker versions of their instruments) as well as create some funky looking (I have mixed opinions on them) but stellar sounding instruments (e.g. like the Bongo or Big Al). [b]However, I think they could do with lowering their prices to make them slightly more accessible. For something mass produced it shouldn't be THAT expensive to get a totally stock bass[/b].....[/quote] Musicman basses (and guitars) are indeed factory produced but I think you maybe overestimate the scale of their operation. The phrase "mass produced" could perhaps be applied to their range over the years but they are still very much a "hands on" operation with subsequently greater overheads than truly mass produces pieces like Fender for example, hence the price. Quality not quantity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 They should make Qualinty then. Makes lots of them well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1317632582' post='1392402'] Musicman basses (and guitars) are indeed factory produced but I think you maybe overestimate the scale of their operation. The phrase "mass produced" could perhaps be applied to their range over the years but they are still very much a "hands on" operation with subsequently greater overheads than truly mass produces pieces like Fender for example, hence the price. Quality not quantity. [/quote] Sure. Don't get me wrong, I'm not implying it's a soul-less factory per se, but... to put it into perspective... I got my totally custom Wood&tronics basses which have been praised over top-spec Alembic and Fodera basses for the same sort of coinage as a stock Ernie Ball bass, and W&T are genuinely a 2-3 man operation... if they can meet those sorts of price constraints and still churn out basses of that quality level then there are clearly ways to reduce the costs of basses produced to standard specs like Ernie Ball or Fender. Edited October 3, 2011 by mcgraham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keving Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I'd like to see phantom power on basses with active pickups. Would never have to worry about a battery going flat again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 You'd need a balanced DI jack on your bass to do that, and that sounds like a lot more hassle than it would be worth particularly in relation to connecting said bass to amps and pedals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 [quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1317638998' post='1392505'] You'd need a balanced DI jack on your bass to do that, and that sounds like a lot more hassle than it would be worth particularly in relation to connecting said bass to amps and pedals. [/quote] I actually agree it would be handy but would need an optional battery/+48v switch. You'd just need a pedal between your bass and your rig to supply the power. Although I suppose you could just put the pre-amp into that tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Affordable Rickenbackers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgraham Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 [quote name='Norris' timestamp='1317641298' post='1392526'] Affordable Rickenbackers... [/quote] I still wouldn't buy one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I'd join that queue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham56 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 More Lefty versions!! Although, as I don't have any money for new basses I wouldn't be much help to them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender73 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 ...a Status Kingbass styled bass for £500? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pods Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 [quote name='fender73' timestamp='1317647677' post='1392650'] ...a Status Kingbass styled bass for £500? [/quote] I'll have one of them too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 There really should be more basses that have the facility to connect Terry Wogan era Blankety Blank microphones to [IMG]http://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad111/Delberthot/LarryGraham.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Pop open battery compartments. Why people are still insisting I need to unscrew the control cavity is beyond me. I don't think we need major new guitars, just people nailing the basics down - at least from the majors. For everything else there's a wealth of smaller houses, custom shops and luthiers to meet specific needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 I'm only interested in bass as a gigging instrument and so long as gigging gear works well and doesn't break I'm generally happy. But - for the life of me I just cannot understand why amplifier manufacurers don't build a tuner iinto the amp. That would be brilliant to me - no more rack system just because I need a tuner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Sam Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 More headless basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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