Which endorsed players are big enough to sell (large quantities of) equipment...?

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1452613954' post='2951668']
I suppose if endorsements didn't sell gear then manufacturers wouldn't bother producing them. A friend of the current mrs discreet's teenage daughter asked me to recommend a bass for her to begin playing on, I recommended a Squier VM. The girl demanded (and got) a sparkly silver Mikey Way signature, so there you go.
[/quote]

Choosing a bass is so much easier when you first start out...

Is it made of a quality tonewood, is it a respectable brand?, decent pickups / preamp? The weight, any neck dive, high action etc?

Who cares about any of that crap? ...It is Sparkly Silver? Yes it is... job done... Mikey who?

[linear]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1452614301' post='2951677']
But does Marcus actually use it? I know there's the video suggesting that he does.... but he's certainly remembered for his Fender bass over a Sire...?
[/quote]

That endorsement seems to be of a less common kind, where it's not so much that he plays the bass himself. The idea that he would happily use the basses professionally is there, but the main selling point is the idea that he was personally involved in the design of the bass; that it's the kind of instrument at a particular price point that he wishes was available when he was starting out. It's more 'Miller approved' than 'as played by Miller'.

[EBS_freak]

There's only one string advert that has made me sit up and take note... but mostly because I started thinking about how that practices like this can't be good for your teeth!



Still... it sticks in memory so the advert working on that front... and I can also remember that it was for Elites. And it was Cass Lewis.

Would it make me want to buy the strings? Not really.

And floss is a much more sensible choice for the application shown in the picture.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='linear' timestamp='1452615181' post='2951692']
That endorsement seems to be of a less common kind, where it's not so much that he plays the bass himself. The idea that he would happily use the basses professionally is there, but the main selling point is the idea that he was personally involved in the design of the bass; that it's the kind of instrument at a particular price point that he wishes was available when he was starting out. It's more 'Miller approved' than 'as played by Miller'.
[/quote]

Like the Flea bass I guess.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1452615001' post='2951689']
Choosing a bass is so much easier when you first start out...

Is it made of a quality tonewood, is it a respectable brand?, decent pickups / preamp? The weight, any neck dive, high action etc?

Who cares about any of that crap? ...It is Sparkly Silver? Yes it is... job done... Mikey who?
[/quote]

I had to look him up too. My Chemical Romance it would seem.

[Luulox]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1452614301' post='2951677']


But does Marcus actually use it? I know there's the video suggesting that he does.... but he's certainly remembered for his Fender bass over a Sire...?
[/quote]

I suppose he would have played one during the ad campaign but whether he carried on playing one after it had all died down I don't know.

[Subbeh]

I'd be surprised if Fender haven't done well on the Mark Hoppus basses, bound to be a lot of kids influenced by his band that would buy one.
Never mind the fact that it's a good looking, great sounding bass in its own right and being a Mex model means its a bit more affordable too.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Subbeh

[LewisK1975]

I think the Yamaha Attitude deserves a shout as a prime example of this - It's been manufactured for 25 years now and as far as I'd imagine would only be on the radar for Sheehan fans, if he stopped playing them, I'd imagine sales of it would plummet, if not actually stop...

For the record, I'm a sucker for a signature Bass.

[Marvin]

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1452617292' post='2951726']
I think the Yamaha Attitude deserves a shout as a prime example of this - It's been manufactured for 25 years now and as far as I'd imagine would only be on the radar for Sheehan fans, if he stopped playing them, I'd imagine sales of it would plummet, if not actually stop...

For the record, I'm a sucker for a signature Bass.
[/quote]

I think the only Attitude Yamaha make now is Sheehan's sig bass. Similar thing for the TRB range, I think only the JP and Nathan East sigs are made. Everything else is TRBX and BBs

[LiamPodmore]

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1452610856' post='2951621']
Sometimes a signature model outgrows its original intended market demographic, the ultimate example being the Gibson Les Paul.

The Nate Mendel's were gathering a pretty good reputation for themselves even before the Scott Devine association. I've heard a couple of conversations along the lines of 'I'm not really sure who Nate Mendel is, the relicing is so subtle it seems almost completely pointless but these are damn good precisions..'
[/quote]

Another fine example of that is the PRS SE Zach Myers. Most of the people who own one don't know who he is, but it quickly became the best selling PRS SE guitars in over a decade.

Liam

[Lozz196]

I doubt I`d go for a bit of kit based on one musician using it, but since most of my fave bassists play Fender Precisions strung with Rotosound Steel Roundwounds it made sense for me to try this combination out, and it`s worked very well for me.

[Si600]

I like the Duff Mckagan signature bass, but only because it's a PJ P-bass without a scratch plate and I think it looks really neat. I it was a 5er I'd seriously consider it. I also like the Steve Harris one, as he's a bit of a bass hero of mine, but it's got to be the blue sparkle one for me.

[Muzz]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452610961' post='2951624']
I quickly came to realise that a Rickenbacker 4001 was not for me, not before owning two of them though.....

Players that gained my interest were the standard Rick playing ones really, Squire, Geddy Lee, Hawkwind era Lemmy, Ashley Hutchings from Fairport too. Also a lot of people were using them in the late 70s in punk & new wave bands & I just thought they sounded great & looked cool as f***.
Found out pretty quickly that Ricks weren't for me though, but that's all part of the fun of learning about gear when you first start playing, isn't it?
[/quote]

This was my experience (pretty much word for word) the last time I bought a bass influenced by the player. It wasn't an actual sig, but it was Geddy (plus some other fellas) and a Jetglo 4001.

I was 16.

Same experience with getting on with it, too...

Nowadays a signature on a bass would actively discourage me from buying it...

Edited January 12, 2016 by Muzz

[spectoremg]

I'd be interested to see what the age range is of people buying endorsed basses. I suspect a lot more teenage boys have bought Flea products than adults.

[Bassjon]

I believe the Mike Dirnt bass has sold very well. He's the bassist from Green Day btw

[BrunoBass]

A good friend of mine plays a Nate Mendell Precision Bass. He's not a fan particularly, he just wanted a P Bass and that was the one that suited his needs the best; he actually plays in a '50s Rock n Roll wedding band. On the other hand a mates teenage daughter bought a Pete Wentz Squier bass a few years ago, because she was a fan and as a collector she wanted it. She doesn't actually play bass. Then again im not sure Pete Wentz does either.

By the way it always amuses me that Pete Townsend plays an Eric Clapton signature Strat, despite Rickenbacker building a Pete Townsend signature model...

[discreet]

[quote name='Bassjon' timestamp='1452621434' post='2951782']
I believe the Mike Dirnt bass has sold very well. He's the bassist from Green Day btw
[/quote]

Yes, we know... ...but it's a good-looking bass. A 50s-style P but with a split pickup is always popular. The roadworn is good by all accounts, but I haven't played one.

[Roger2611]

I guess a lot of us brought basses because our heroes used them on tv (not necessarily on the records though!) I was certainly influenced by Dee Dee Ramone in the bass I so wanted to own....would I buy a signature bass, probably not because it was a signature bass but in the case of the Nate Mendal Precision then yes but because it has such excellent reviews on here.

[jezzaboy]

I know that when PRS made the Bernie Marsden SE sig (he used to play in Whitesnake among other things ), initially it was to be a UK only product but it turns out to be one of the best selling PRS models ever. Next step is a US model sig. He admits that it`s more to do with the fact that it is just a great guitar rather than his name. He does play one when gigging, doing clinics etc.

I own a Nate Mendel P bass because it is a great P bass with a nice spec, nothing to do with the player. I would imagine that Fender sells quite a few of these and Geddys Jazz model.

[Marvin]

Considering the Nate Mendel P bass seems to sell quite well perhaps Fender might twig there's a market for P basses with a Jazz like neck

[White Cloud]

Geddy Lee must surely have been responsible for the sale of [b]very [/b]large quantities of his signature model world wide.

[Muppet]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1452627117' post='2951853']
Considering the Nate Mendel P bass seems to sell quite well perhaps Fender might twig there's a market for P basses with a Jazz like neck
[/quote]

It was keenly priced too so in value for money terms was excellent. Price has gone up a fair bit now though. It's a good example of an understated signature model that appeals to fans and non-fans alike.

[RhysP]

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1452620105' post='2951762']
I suspect a lot more teenage boys have bought Flea products than adults.
[/quote]

I'm 51 & I've bought plenty of flea products.

They were from the vet to use on my cats.

[taunton-hobbit]

Peeps like Marshall & Orange obviously think it pays.............

[Graham]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1452608118' post='2951558']
Just another thought - the power of endorsements...

I guess it's not all about the individual themselves being able to shift gear - but the suggestion that a brand is good when a punter opens a catalogue and sees a load of pro players in there... Generates the "well, it must be good if all these guys are using it" thought pattern...
[/quote]

I'd agree with that, for example Hartke, I always thought of them as cheap but cheerful - good sounding kit, but aimed at the the lower end of the market.

However, I probably gave them more interest when I saw Victor Wooten, Geezer Butler and bunch of other big name players were using them.