10 best of all time list

#21
Plenty of room to argue some of those selections.

The Ampeg AUB-1 doesn't belong there, but I'd argue in favor of the Mosrite because it was the definitive bass (and guitar model) of the surf movement as played by Nokie Edwards and Bob Bogle of the Ventures. Not sure why they cited the Gibson EB3 without a pic of Jack Bruce playing it.

EDIT: and there is NO reason that the T-bird isn't there. BTW, I could easily vote for The Ox's Gibson Explorer as one of the most significant over the Ampeg.

1978_studio_explorerbird.jpg
 
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#22
Kmonk said:
Could also mention Steinberger. I've never been a fan of them but a lot bassists played them in the early 80's.
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My thought also, mostly because it was such a dramatic design shift and they were pretty widely adopted for a while.

I'd probably put Modulus ahead of a few of the "oddities" on that list. The graphite neck might not have been for everyone but was a significant innovation.

+1 on Alembic and Thunderbird; both of those go ahead of several of the listmakers.
 
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#24
The Danelectro was ubiquitous in late '50s-early '60s session playing, although it wasn't seen onstage much (unless you count The Trashmen). As for the Mosrite, I don't know that all that many "influential" players used one, but everyone from a certain period cites The Ventures as a reason they took up the guitar (and by extension, the bass). Also, The Ventures issued instructional records w/books for playing bass and guitar. Weirdly, the bass book's notation was in treble clef.
 
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#26
All of these "Top 10" "Best 15" etc. lists are just stupid clickbait. This one is no exception.

Legend has it that the bass part for “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” was recorded with a Longhorn by 60’s electronic wiz Dan Armstrong. (his son Kent told me).
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Nope, that was Herbie Flowers.

 
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#29
I’d remove the Ampeg AUB (which was always kind of a novelty bass that never really caught on) and add the granddaddy of all boutique active basses: the Alembic Series I. Those were truly innovative and influential.

Might be inclined to substitute the Gibson TBird for that Danelectro Longhorn for the same reason.
 
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#32
DigitalMan said:
About 5 of these make the most important list. Others are just interesting and happen to have been made at a certain point in time.
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Agreed. P-Bass, J-Bass, Stingray, Hofner, and 4001 are the undisputed game changers already on the list. I'd add: Alembic, Anthony Jackson's first Fodera 6, Steinberger, maybe another Steinberger-designed bass (Spector?), maybe Modulus (though the first carbon fiber neck was a joint venture with him and Alembic).
 
#33
Really I think The Fender Precision and Jazz Basses and the Rickenbacker 4001 are where it all started. The first generation. Everything that has come after, and there have been some wonderful basses created, came about because of those three basses. And bass number one will always be the Precision.
 
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#36
They really should have included the Thunderbird. I don’t play one, and I don’t necessarily like the look, but it is easy to recognize it as one of the top basses of rock. I love Rick Danko, but the Ampeg could have been left off, the Thunderbird put in its place.
 
#40
I think that the list can be reduced (in whatever order you want) but I will give it chronologically:

1951 Fender Precision

1957-81 Rickenbacker 4000 /4001 /4003

1960 Fender Jazz

1961 Gibson EB-0 / -3 / -4

1963 Gibson Thunderbird

1976 Musicman Stingray

Other basses are further down the list in influence. It's amazing that three of the six named basses were invented by the same guy.
 
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