Artist/Signature basses?

[TrevorG]

13 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

 

Either way using your link or mine instruments have still fallen in price relative to wages.

 

 

I see your point. It wasn't the point I was making but I see it all the same.

[drTStingray]

12 hours ago, TheGreek said:

 

Similar to the Sterling Mini

I think the controls work in a similar way but otherwise it’s a very different bass - large Musicman bridge with adjustable mutes for each string and strings through body; neodymium pick up; adjustable ramp; long scale roasted maple neck; ebony fretboard; stainless steel frets; figured ash body with clear varnish; lightweight tuners; black hardware. 
 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by drTStingray

[BigRedX]

I've had two signature basses.

 

Firstly a Yamaha BJ5B which is the Terry & The Blue Jeans (well known Japanese surf band) signature bass. It was a limited edition of 50 instruments and the only way to get a 5-string bass with the SBV body shape without having something custom made. Unfortunately for me, other than the shape it had nothing in common with the SBV as everything else was taken from the TRB2. And combined with the fact that it was by far the heaviest bass I have ever owned, it was sold on when I had my big clear out of unused instruments.

 

I currently own an Eastwood Hooky Bass 6. I have to admit that I'm a big fan of Peter Hook's bass playing, but I wouldn't have this bass if it wasn't for the fact that it's the only Bass VI with a suitably wide neck for my playing style. This is now my main bass with one of the bands I pay in and I can see myself keeping this until I can either get a Gus Bass VI made with the same neck width, or I no longer have a need for a bass VI of any type.

 

I don't have a problem with signature instruments, apart from the Eastwood Hooky, the signature instruments that I have been interested in have been down the specifications of the instrument itself, and most of the time I have zero musical appreciation for the musician with whom they are associated.

 

[remizik]

A few months ago, I got a brand new Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) Precision Bass for 1500 € new (Made in Mexico).

It was horrible. Sent it back instantly.

 

The nut was so bad :

 

 

Truss rod was not centered :

 

 

 

The finish was pretty bad too (even though there's a factory light relic job, this isn't part of it), frets were also a disaster :

 

 

I found a used MIJ Precision Bass from 2012, which is 1000x better :

 

[Lozz196]

Def a Friday Afternoon Fender - the NM I mean.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Lozz196

[jd56hawk]

If someone doesn't like them, fine, but I've yet to see anyone even attempt to explain what's wrong with buying something like this, for example.

[Rayman]

I’ve had few… for no particular reason, just fancied them at the time. MIJ Fender Marcus miller Jazz was a stunner, so good I had 3! Why… no idea.

 

Now, I have one…. A Squier Frank Bello jazz…. and I don’t even like Anthrax…. I just fancied butchering it and modding it to death, so it doesn’t bare any resemblance to the original sig version at all now. 
 

Great bass, I play it most days actually.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Rayman

[three]

I own an Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe.  I had absolutely no concerns that my playing would start to emulate that of Stanley, and it genuinely hasn't.

[AndyTravis]

1 hour ago, three said:

I own an Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe.  I had absolutely no concerns that my playing would start to emulate that of Stanley, and it genuinely hasn't.

I gave it a good go on the LED one you had a while ago!

[garyt]

I love Sandberg basses, love Rammstein, my favourite colour is black, so I had to get the Oli Riedel signature.   I don’t have any opinions either way, and don’t own any other signature gear, but I do love this bass. 

[jazzyvee]

15 hours ago, three said:

I own an Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe.  I had absolutely no concerns that my playing would start to emulate that of Stanley, and it genuinely hasn't.

Same here, though when i first got mine i did use his sound as reference material so i could explore the controls with a tonal aim in mind. The only time i try to emulate him is if i am covering one of his tracks on a gig. Superb bass though.

[Sparky Mark]

3 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Same here, though when i first got mine i did use his sound as reference material so i could explore the controls with a tonal aim in mind. The only time i try to emulate him is if i am covering one of his tracks on a gig. Superb bass though.

Reminded me of this brilliant performance. 

 

[jimmyb625]

My main bass is a signature model, the Warwick Lee Sklar. I bought it because I loved the look of it.

You'd be hard pushed to tell it was a signature model if you didn't already know it, as the marking is tiny, just the plate civering the truss rod.

I think this is the same for a lot of signature basses, certainly P bass signature models seem to look pretty much the same (to me at least)

[jazzyvee]

On 16/06/2023 at 11:18, Sparky Mark said:

Reminded me of this brilliant performance. 

 

Seems so long ago now.   Shame they didn't let us keep the suits.  😎🥳🤩🧐

[LeftyJ]

15 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

My main bass is a signature model, the Warwick Lee Sklar. I bought it because I loved the look of it.

You'd be hard pushed to tell it was a signature model if you didn't already know it, as the marking is tiny, just the plate civering the truss rod.

I think this is the same for a lot of signature basses, certainly P bass signature models seem to look pretty much the same (to me at least)

It looks different enough from the regular Star Bass, with its offset waist and cutaways compared to the symmetrical design of the regular Star Bass, and it has a proper forearm contour. Those are some major improvements over the standard model, and really set it apart. Very nice! 

 

I don't like the contrasting forearm area on the German custom shop models (or the 10k price tag), but the regular model and the Rockbass version look sweet. 

Edited June 18, 2023 by LeftyJ

[Gramski]

Yamaha BBPH because it felt so comfortable and playable and delivered the tone I want.
 

And it still makes me want to play it every day. 

[BassAgent]

I really don't understand people who categorically refuse to own a signature bass. If it has the sound, feel and looks you look for, who cares? Maybe you dislike that specific player's way of playing, but you're not them, right? I have a JMJ Mustang which I bought because I wanted a very very good Mustang, and this is one. I saw a fellow Dutch bass player doing a regular pop music gig with her Troy Sanders signature PJ. I have no clue if she's a big Mastodon fan, but my guess is she just likes a silverburst Fender PJ.

So basically my point is: a signature model isn't different from any other model. There's just a signature on the headstock.