Has anyone "switched" allegiance?

[yorks5stringer]

It was my 72 Telecaster Bass's 50th Birthday this year so I was going to use it all year for gigs. Then I got a Nordstrand Acinonyx shorty early in the year and left the Tele behind. However going to get the Tele back out for the Priston Festival this weekend.

[LeftyJ]

I've never pledged allegiance to any specific brand or model. I've owned lots of different types, and still do. Different tone and feel makes me want to play differently, and I like to switch. I do favour basses with a Jazz Bass pickup configuration, but I like to meddle with humbuckers, both longscale and shortscale basses, both 4- and 5-string, both headed and headless, wooden or graphite neck, active or passive, and I like them all equally much. My current favourite is an active shortscale  4-string with two J pickups and narrow 16.5 mm string spacing.

[Greg Edwards69]

In my youth I was dead set against FSO's (Fender shaped objects). I wanted to be different from everyone else I saw toting P and Jazz basses.  I was well aware that some artists and sound engineers stipulated fender basses, which I just put down to laziness. If a sound engineer can work with any guitar brand, then they should be able to work with any bass.  So I played Warwick for a number of years as well as a dalliance with Yamaha RBX basses.

 

Then I got into Billy Sheehan and realised the Attitude bass with it's dual outputs was the answer to my tonal prayers.  Whislt it's a beast of a bass when routed like that, my tastes and knowledge grew and I realised that just the P pickup on it's own was magical. It just slots into almost any mix and genre perfectly. That was my first, great FSO.  More recently I had the opportunity to try a Squier 50s P.  I fell in love with it. Real, simple  back to basics stuff. So I had to get one of them. Then last year or so I had a hankering for a jazz bass as my band has been expanding our repertoire into more pop, party and disco genres, and and I needed "that sound". After much research, as I'm very particular with certain specs such as neck and weight, I ended up getting a G&L Tribute JB-2 (essentially a jazz bass). It's fast become my number 1 bass, more so than the considerably more valuable Attitude.  So although I still don't own an actual Fender, I've really learnt to appreciate how much Leo Fender got right with his designs. They do "just work".

 

FWIW, I kept hold of the Warwicks for quite some time unplayed. I had a play shortly before selling them and I really didn't care for the sound of the Thumb at all. it just sounded totally wrong to my ears.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Greg Edwards69

[uk_lefty]

On 12/09/2022 at 11:51, Lozz196 said:

Just interested, my fave guitarist Mick Mars (of Motley Crue) switched allegiance from Gibson Les Pauls to Fender Strats some years back, citing weight/easier to play as reasons.

 

Now I`m obviously aware that this is a bass forum so the real point of this post is last night I picked up my Jazz for the first time in a while and I was amazed at how much easier I found it to play than my Precisions. Additionally I always seem to scoop a lot of the mids out of my Precisions tone, ending up with a sound nearer to the core tone of the Jazz, so I`m just wondering if it seems that the Jazz is calling out to me.

 

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar, where although they had a favoured type of bass they found that for whatever reasons another type ended up being more suitable?

I also love Mick Mars' style. There's so much feel in his playing. Anyhows...

 

I was saying just the other day how I don't have any Fenders anymore but somehow have a few "Gibson" instruments. At one point I had a Fender MIJ P Bass, MIM Jazz, Fender acoustic guitar and a Squier Tele. Now I have an Epiphone Casino guitar, Epiphone Jack Casady bass, and the old faithful Kramer (while owned by Gibson) fretless bass. I have a Sire jazz so that's Fender inspired but tbh I hardly play it, and my number 1 is my MM Stingray, made by Leo but he didn't put his name on it. 

 

I was thinking "am I a Gibson man now?" Then realised I never want a Thunderbird ever. I'm an Epiphone guy, that's it!

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

I also love Mick Mars' style. There's so much feel in his playing. Anyhows...

 

I was saying just the other day how I don't have any Fenders anymore but somehow have a few "Gibson" instruments. At one point I had a Fender MIJ P Bass, MIM Jazz, Fender acoustic guitar and a Squier Tele. Now I have an Epiphone Casino guitar, Epiphone Jack Casady bass, and the old faithful Kramer (while owned by Gibson) fretless bass. I have a Sire jazz so that's Fender inspired but tbh I hardly play it, and my number 1 is my MM Stingray, made by Leo but he didn't put his name on it. 

 

I was thinking "am I a Gibson man now?" Then realised I never want a Thunderbird ever. I'm an Epiphone guy, that's it!

 

Epiphone == Gibson.  ONE OF US

[Lfalex v1.1]

Every time I open a flight case.

Though a have had (and do have) quite a few Ibanezezezs.

[bnt]

A real vintage Fender P-bass is high on my wish list. Gibson, on the other hand ... their recent bass offerings do nothing for me. A vintage Ripper or Grabber, maybe, but they could win me over if they brought back the Victory Artist in a modern form, not a reissue. By modern I mean slimmer & hopefully lighter (esp, the headstock), and with modern electronics from e.g. Fishman or EMG.

[neepheid]

12 minutes ago, bnt said:

A real vintage Fender P-bass is high on my wish list. Gibson, on the other hand ... their recent bass offerings do nothing for me. A vintage Ripper or Grabber, maybe, but they could win me over if they brought back the Victory Artist in a modern form, not a reissue. By modern I mean slimmer & hopefully lighter (esp, the headstock), and with modern electronics from e.g. Fishman or EMG.

 

All they'd have to do is not make the body out of maple which was pretreated in a black hole

 

I disagree about messing with the electronics - the circuit in the Victory Artist is pretty clever - good range on the 2 band EQ in active mode, full passive mode (bass and treble cut only) and a notch filter for scoopy, slappy stuff if that's your thing.

[jezzaboy]

I have mostly gigged a P bass or version of. Earlier this year I bought a MM Sterling and am using this or a modified Ray 4 for gigs. I could never get on with MM`s in the past as I couldn`t anchor my thumb where I like it but I have added a wooden thumb rest to the body`s and this simple mod has made them usable. Also the neck on the Sterling is perfect for me. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by jezzaboy

[kodiakblair]

As some may know I had quite a thing for Peaveys.

 

 

That started to change after buying a Harley Benton PB-50, wasn't long before single coil P-basses became the new invasive species in my place 😃

[OliverBlackman]

My second bass was a P bass but when at uni I decided to experiment with different J basses and the and the P bass was left in the case. Luckily I never sold it because after owning lots of J basses of different types and eras, the P bass had the sound I had been trying to get.

[msb]

I started as a Pbass guy , for years it was the only thing I played. I played a lot of Jazz basses but never bought one , but I did try quite a number of basses with two single coil pickups. The first one to really turn me around was a 4001. After some years looking for one (pre internet days and nothing available locally) I found one in Toronto. Fell in love with it. 

And a Danelectro Longhorn. At first I had troubles dealing with the short scale and it sounded pretty twangy , but as I played it more the strings deadened and it developed a lovely old school thump , and I came to prefer short scales. Still my most frequent gigging electric. I wound up with several Dano short scale basses. Love them. And for giggles I picked up a Yamaha Samurai. I had always been intrigued by the shape , it’s been described by some as a Jazz bass on steroids , I can see that. 
Although I usually gig with a Dano , my favourite bass these days is a Gibson DC Jr. Shortscale , light weight , single humbucker in the sweet spot it sounds wonderful , despite generally being a flatwound guy I like fresh rounds on it.  Some have said they are like a miniature Pbass , but I find them to have a little more going on. I seem to be leaning towards Gibson/Epiphone these days and have an SG bass , and an Epi Flying V and Rumblekat. 
That little Jr is my favourite.

Edited September 18, 2022 by msb

[Stub Mandrel]

I enjoy variety.

[tauzero]

I moved to 5-strings some years ago from Warwick Thumb 4s, initially with an Antoniotsai (the most playable 5-string I'd found) and later got a couple of Seis. More recently I've bought two Ibanezeseses which will probably go into rotation with the Seis, and will also probably be the preferred recording basses.

[TrevorG]

For forty years I played everything but Fender. Alembics, Warwicks, Arias, Ibanezes, Spectors, Overwaters and Washburns but never Fender. In 2019 I walked into a shop and tried my first Precision. Bonded with it in about five minutes and haven't looked back. Got a Jazz later from then same range. Three other great basses still in the studio but those two get the practice time.

[Skybone]

I'd always had a thing for Ric's, but never owned one until after about 25 years of playing, where I'd had P-copies, J-copies, numerous MIJ and MIK basses, even a couple of StingRay's. One of the best sounding basses was a Westone Thunder 1A, and an MIM Jazz.

 

Had the cash and the chance of a 4003, and that was that. Had to sell it, but always hankered after another (though the Rickenfaker was a close second). Managed to pick one up for a good price a few years back, and that really was that.

 

Still GAS-ing for other things, a Thunderbird, Ripper/Grabber, Victory Custom (passive Artist), Dingwall D-Roc, etc. There are/will be others, but the 4003 feels like "home".

Edited September 19, 2022 by Skybone

[neepheid]

27 minutes ago, Skybone said:

Still GAS-ing for other things, a Thunderbird, Ripper/Grabber, Victory Custom (passive Artist), Dingwall D-Roc, etc. There are/will be others, but the 4003 feels like "home".

 

They're pretty rare, relative to Artists and Standards, so you'll have plenty of time to build up your strength in the gym before you find one

Edited September 19, 2022 by neepheid

[Skybone]

24 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

They're pretty rare, relative to Artists and Standards, so you'll have plenty of time to build up your strength in the gym before you find one

 

I would have said it'd be easier to find rocking horse doings than an Artist Custom.  I can dream. 

[kodiakblair]

1 hour ago, Skybone said:

 

I would have said it'd be easier to find rocking horse doings than an Artist Custom.  I can dream. 

Pretty sure I know a boy down south has one. He was making noises about selling it a few year back.

 

No idea if he did sell, could have a wee word in his ear if you want 👍 

[Skybone]

11 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

Pretty sure I know a boy down south has one. He was making noises about selling it a few year back.

 

No idea if he did sell, could have a wee word in his ear if you want 👍 

 

As much as I'd love to acquire one, but I think I'll stick with my Ric's for now. 👍

[dclaassen]

I started with a cheap semi-hollow body something…then a fretless P bass, then a Gibson RD Artist. Circled back to a Jazz. Fast forward 25 years where I only played school-owned basses. Finally bought a L2000 tribute…never bonded with it. Then I got the Pedulla 5…awesome bass with a great tone for jazz. Then I needed a fretless, and lucked out with a great guy on this site with a Spectracore 5…and I had a P bass I also didn’t bond with. Another great bass for a certain kind of music. Needing more punch, I found the J bass…circled back again and it’s now my main gigging bass with the rock covers band. Not sure I ever had a loyalty, but always ended up with a Jazz for rock.

[mattbass6]

Despite me love of Fender Precision basses, and still owning my first ever real Precision, I have never played it live. I love the look of them, the simplicity, and have owned numerous, and various versions, over the years, but for some reason they just don’t work for me. I love the Precision pickup, but for me, it just lacked that something which I later found out was a Jazz pickup. My Spector’s do all that I really want, and more. Can’t see me going anywhere else soon. I still look at Precision posts when they pop up though. Just something about that aesthetic. 

[grenadillabama]

A Jazz was my first bass. I like the big changes a Sting Ray eq can make. Now I like my Mustangs but I want an active eq to change the sound . On recordings my Warwick Corvette sounds better than anything else I've used.One of my friends said "all basses sound the same".  I told him all saxes sounded the same.

[BigRedX]

I use whatever is the best bass to suit the sound and looks of the band.

[MungoBass]

On 17/09/2022 at 21:15, kodiakblair said:

As some may know I had quite a thing for Peaveys.

 

 

That started to change after buying a Harley Benton PB-50, wasn't long before single coil P-basses became the new invasive species in my place 😃

 

What a display!

 

I’m showing this picture to my wife later whilst outlining my plans for my study!!! Well she did say we don’t need a desk in there since I retired!

 

Wish me luck!