Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Less Weird, Familiar Style Basses


JanSpeeltBas
 Share

Recommended Posts

Since not all of you seem interested in the weird and wonderful (why not???) I'll post a
Less Weird Familiar Style Bass in here for every Wonderful & Weird Bass I'm putting in BigRedX' revived
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5525&st=480&p=570533&#entry570533"]"Wonderful & Weird Basses" - thread.[/url]
The first one is to be found in aforementioned sister thread(post #483) being Warwick's first bass - a J-bass with double P-pickups.
This here is the Abalone - a J-style made by Atlansia whose instruments usually fit the Wonderful & Weird category...[attachment=30962:Abalone_...Atlansia.jpg]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Basone looks almost 60ish in style to me
I think then manufacturers wanted to use the fender shape cos it was the ideal shape really but tried to do a twist on it, so to speak, so that
A ) their bass wouldn't be just a 'copy' but an original instrument without being too outlandish and
B ) they wouldn't leave themselves open to lawsuits

So there was a lot of the 'same but different' type bodys that didnt always work visually.

Did Fender actually have copyright over the precision and jazz bass shape?

BB

Edited by BarnacleBob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='571863' date='Aug 17 2009, 06:09 PM']Did Fender actually have copyright over the precision and jazz bass shape?

BB[/quote]

nope, only the headstock shape. thats why, unless its licensed by fender like squier and mighty mite are for instance, copies can't use the fender headstock shape.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='571863' date='Aug 17 2009, 07:09 PM']The Basone looks almost 60ish in style to me
I think then manufacturers wanted to use the fender shape cos it was the ideal shape really but tried to do a twist on it, so to speak, so that
A ) their bass wouldn't be just a 'copy' but an original instrument without being too outlandish and
B ) they wouldn't leave themselves open to lawsuits

So there was a lot of the 'same but different' type bodys that didnt always work visually.

Did Fender actually have copyright over the precision and jazz bass shape?

BB[/quote]
Early electrics from the '50s and '60s mostly aren't copies, sometimes inspired by...copying started out in the late sixties (as the president of Aria (Shiro Arai) pointed out: In '68 Gibson started to make replicas of their older models - we figured we could do this too...), at first not very accurate (like all early Rick and Gibson copies having bolt-on necks) but as Japanese technology and quality improved indeed very good copies appeared that started making the American companies sweat. At this stage the copyists were actually keen on capturing every detail of the originals the two best known being Aria (related to the Matsumoku factory) and Ibanez (mostly coming out of the Fujigen factory). Around '77 Gibson decided to start legal action against Ibanez (they didn't sue Aria as they provided them with Japanese Epiphones since the early '70s!!!) - in this lawsuit it was determined that the only really distinct (and thus subjected to copyright) feature of a guitar is its headstock. Fender didn't act on this 'till the '80s, I remember a story about impounded Fernandes guitars and Blade was forced to change their headstock design as many other Fender-inspired companies. This is however one side of the story.
Japanese copyright is very different from American. That's why current MIJ (officially only for the Japanese market) basses like Greco and ESP (Edwards, Seymour Duncan etc etc) to this day are very exact copies.

By the way: congrats on the Zoot, BB! Now if I only I could get you to trade my Overwater for your Wal... :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='JanSpeeltBas' post='572123' date='Aug 17 2009, 09:17 PM']By the way: congrats on the Zoot, BB! Now if I only I could get you to trade my Overwater for your Wal... :rolleyes:[/quote]


No problem Jan, that'll be fin.........oh no! wait a minute! I'm not falling for that old one! :)

I think two Overwater is quite enough, thank you. And I really need the cash anyway as my dream bass is on eBay right now - a graphite necked Status t-bass - and i get the feeling i aint gonna get it.
I have 4 great basses up for sale and not a sniff!!!

Anyway, you haven't gone off the old girl already have you?

BB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, BB -I just always wanted a Wal!
[attachment=31059:Crews_Ma...ackson_5.jpg]
As for the familiar, here's my choice for C:
Crews Maniac Sound from Japan, this is the Jackson 4 model. The neck is bolt-on with a normal size fretboard,
the extension of the fretboard is on top of the body. It reminds of an old "A Basses" fretless Darryl Jones used to play, I think it was the "World Bass".
That one had only piezo pickups, this one hasn't. For those interested: this Crews costs 300.000 Yen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And parallel to the Weird & Wonderful thread here's a familiair-styled German FMW Precious with neckthrough construction and acryl bodywings...[attachment=31215:FMW_Prec...le_acryl.jpg] with a full acryl P-style bass in our [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5525&st=480&p=573773&#entry573773"]sister thread![/url]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

E for Extravaganza! Today a J-style totally made out of wenge and equipped with Bartolini's + the optical Lightwave pickups (with added piezo's, onboard switchable EQ and rechargeable powersupply) made by [url="http://www.bas-extravaganza.nl"]Bas Wittenberg[/url]: [attachment=31380:Bas_Extr...wave_pus.jpg]. For more on optical pickups: [url="http://www.lightwave-systems.com/"]Lightwave.[/url]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After missing a couple of days here's F: [attachment=31520:Fodera_N...re__4100.jpg] Fodera NYC, the ultimate modern J-style IMO. I almost bought one many years ago when they were made (by Fodera) under the NYC brand (and had fourstring versions) - nowadays there are only Fodera branded fivestrings.
G: Gerold Mayr from Austria:[attachment=31521:GM_Class...stenrijk.jpg] and
H: German made Hot Wire Funky Flash[attachment=31522:Hot_Wire...ky_Flash.jpg]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

O = Optomik from France. These instruments are based on Optomik's optical pickup system and marketed by a French piano company called Colmann.[attachment=31972:Optomik_pu.jpg] This is the pickup (actually an older version of it - the latest model has seperate units per string much like Lightwave's Monolith construction) - the bass (a black P-model) can be seen on the [url="http://www.colmann.com/colmann-optomik_b1-ang.html"]Colmann Optomik[/url] website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, haven't heard the Optomik - the guys at Colmann mailed me today the "the production is on stand by"....the only chance to hear it is in the basses of DNG or Roadrunner who have made protoypes with the Optomik bridge. Since I'm very interested in this technology I'm going to contact Roadrunner.
I've only briefly experienced Lightwave and don't know about the flaws - I do think there's too much technology behind it. I actually have someone work on a system based on Hoag's design which is much more basic. Hoag was the first to patent optical pickups in '70 but never really sold anything - he officialy retired in '07 but still works on promoting his system - he mailed me last week about finishing another videoperformance for his youtube channel.
I'll keep you optically informed... :) Your Lightwave is the one that Tune made? I remember it used to be called Audio Optics.

Now for P: Prose, british basses by Paul Rose:[attachment=32074:Prose_J_..._H_H_pus.JPG] For the record: he now makes original style basses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Q is a hard letter but what about the Swiss-made Q Basses Mythos?[attachment=32147:Qbasses_Mythos.jpg]
Not enough F for you?
R = R.Baudry with a neckthrough J-style [attachment=32149:R_Baudry...zBass_nt.jpg]
S = Schecter USA [attachment=32150:Schecter..._PJ___79.jpg]
T = Thorndal (Germany) [attachment=32151:Thorndal_JB.jpg]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Work got in the way of completing the alphabet - here they are now...
U, the vintage japanese Univox Precisely[attachment=32797:Univox_P...y_p_copy.jpg]
V, the Vincent Jazzforce from Germany [attachment=32798:Vincent_...uitsland.jpg]
W - Witkowsky [attachment=32799:Witkowsk...s_j_copy.jpg]
X - Xavier Petit [attachment=32800:Xavier_P..._copy_g5.jpg]
Y, Yamaha PB and JB-series sold only in Japan this catalogue is from '85 [attachment=32801:Yamaha_P...00R___85.jpg]
and Z: can't help putting up this one...Zoolander [attachment=32802:Zoolander.jpg]

After all these F-style instruments we'll continue with G-styles soon - which will mean a fair amount of japcrap basses!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...