Gravitating towards traditional basses as we get older. Is this a thing?

#41
The only genres where I'm not surprised to see a modern bass design these days are jazz/fusion and modern metal. We are all a bunch of trend followers and want to fit in. TBH I respect the sort of person who shows up to the classic rock/country gig with a modern designed active bass. It's not like the audience could hear the difference in a mix.
 
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#43
Nope. At 51 my taste in basses has always varied and I love lots of different bass tones, especially heavy crushing tone. "Traditional" tone doesn't fit the kind of the music I prefer when doing originals. I like pushing my tonal boundaries even doing covers.

Put me in the column of "I can finally afford everything I've wanted". I have both my vintage mid 60s Jazzes and my Wals, sprinkled-in with a dash of preEB Musicman.
 

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#46
Dincrest said:
I recently noticed something... I seem to be desiring more traditional basses as I get older.

I love both my basses. They're modern-spec, 24-fret, 4-string, beauties that are wonderful to play. My heavily modded LTD is coming with me to the afterlife. Anyway, I sometimes took solos with my old punk band (I played with from 2010- 2012) that took me up to the 22nd fret, which is why I've been all-in on 24-fret basses for over a decade and mostly snubbed traditional Fender-esque basses because 20 frets wasn't enough for me, and part of me's always had that mentality of "play something unique, modern, that not everyone else is playing." (And over the decades I've played 4, 5, and 6-string basses; passive, active... never owned a Fender or FSO, though).

Yet recently, I've been preferring to play those solo riffs in and around the 12th fret. It seems to sound better to me. Maybe because my hearing is changing (I'm 46 and I know as we age, our hearing degenerates and certain frequencies aren't as crisp as they used to be). And along with everything else, the thought of a "bigger body, shorter neck with fewer frets, but still 34" scale) putting first position within closer reach has appeal as well.

So now, my GAS (in accordance) with my playing preferences is now veering more towards more traditional (or traditional-with-a-twist) P-style instruments. For example, something like a G&L SB-1 (sleeker P-bass with a hot pickup) is seeming like the kind of bass I'd really want.

I guess I'm starting to veer more toward traditional/traditional-esque instruments as I get older. Has that happened to anyone else? Like were you an anti-FSO rebel in your youth only to be an FSO aficionado as you got older?
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I have six basses, all for a specific purpose. That is, I have a four string acoustic electric, a five string fretted, five string fretless, two four string Jazz basses (rednundancy there, but one is old school jazz with the chrome plates over the pickups and bridge. Tobacco burst) and a six string jazz. Yet I never ended up with a P bass. That's just weird. I need to get one. :)

I have not bought a piece of gear in 15 years, except for a vocalizer and a temp bass rig that I bought when I moved to Kentucky 13 years ago. It's a cheapo Acoustic amp and 4x10, but it's my practice rig. I've also gone to flatwounds on all my performance basses except the six string. I haven't had GAS for a very long time.

And I'm with you on the middle of the neck solos. BTW, I'm 70. I didn't start playing until I was 44, which is a good thing because if I'd started young, I'd never have pursued a good career. 🤣
 
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#47
pingvuiini said:
As I have aged I have gravitated to uke basses of various oddball shapes. But perhaps the Kala would qualify as a FSO??? In any case, they're all tons of fun to play!
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I've gotta get one of those (with the thick "rubber" strings). They are the closest thing to an upright sound I've ever heard without going to the commitment of one of those gargantuan double bass monsters.
 
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#48
Not Insane said:
I've gotta get one of those (with the thick "rubber" strings). They are the closest thing to an upright sound I've ever heard without going to the commitment of one of those gargantuan double bass monsters.
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The rubber strings certainly do have a big 'blooming' sound and have very low tension making them easy to play despite having very high action. However, they are a real PITA to install and tend to be very sticky when playing, necessitating a variety of remedies with varying degrees of success. Now that Kala has bought out Road Toad Pahoehoe strings, I am wondering if they might be able to make a 'matte' or rough textured Pahoehoe string to reduce the stickiness?? That would be a great improvement.
 
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#49
pingvuiini said:
The rubber strings certainly do have a big 'blooming' sound and have very low tension making them easy to play despite having very high action. However, they are a real PITA to install and tend to be very sticky when playing, necessitating a variety of remedies with varying degrees of success. Now that Kala has bought out Road Toad Pahoehoe strings, I am wondering if they might be able to make a 'matte' or rough textured Pahoehoe string to reduce the stickiness?? That would be a great improvement.
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I seem to remember the stickyness when I tried a couple out. I just assumed I could dip my fingers in a bowl of 30 weight motor oil between songs. 🤣
 
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#50
DuluthDank said:
The only genres where I'm not surprised to see a modern bass design these days are jazz/fusion and modern metal. We are all a bunch of trend followers and want to fit in. TBH I respect the sort of person who shows up to the classic rock/country gig with a modern designed active bass. It's not like the audience could hear the difference in a mix.
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Funny you should mention that, because James "Cap'n" Cook (an elite level Nashville session player and longtime bassist for Luke Bryan; he played and recorded with Bryan from 2010- 2022) was often seen with active 5-strings when playing with Luke Bryan.

And since folks were asking (and it was kinda hidden in my original post) about age/generation for reference... I'm 46. I started playing bass (taking lessons) circa 1994 when I was a sophomore in high school. If I'm any good at bass, I credit my old bass teacher.
 
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#52
Dincrest said:
I guess I'm starting to veer more toward traditional/traditional-esque instruments as I get older. Has that happened to anyone else? Like were you an anti-FSO rebel in your youth only to be an FSO aficionado as you got older?
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i've always wanted axes with nice feeling necks* --- axes that felt good to play. but i've been around the circuit in terms of what i've owned and operated to have decent axes: i started with fender/FSOs and it looks like i'll finish with the same (although there were lots of diversions in between).

i'm really not "anti" anything when it comes to EBs, "i like 'em all!" however, playing parts basses keeps me in the FSO universe because it's just too easy (to score parts).

my weakness would be lightweight axes. in my younger days, weight wasn't even a thought. these days it's the second box to check --- right after "feel!"


* those prefs (i.e., what is "nice feeling?") have changed a little over the years.
 
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#54
Just depends on who the "we" is, I suppose. In my case? The answer would be "not exactly". In trying to fill all the spots in my herd, it did sometimes require buying "traditional basses" - whatever the Hell that means. If the spot needed a Fender P-Bass; or a Rick 4003; or a Gibson Thunderbird? Then, yeah; that's what filled the spot. But, other spots? Sometimes they got filled by a "traditional Bass" - sometimes, they didn't. The "headless" spot got filled by an '82 Kramer "The Duke" Special. It's "vintage", now, but... hardly "traditional". The "Active" spot was originally filled by a '95 Alembic Epic; is any Alembic really "traditional"? It later got moved, to fill a different spot; and it's place was taken by a G&L ASAT bass. "Traditional"? Yeah... maybe. But, that bass got replaced recently, by a Schecter Stiletto Studio Lined Fretless. Which doesn't seem very 'traditional" to me... The last 2 basses I bought - and that finally completed my herd - were 2 that I had to have built. A Serek Sacramento ("short scale neck-thru") and a Birdsong Fusion lined fretless ("short scale lined fretless"). The Serek looks like a baby Rick 4003 - sorta; is it really "traditional"? The Birdsong, OTOH, is definitely not...
So, in the end? My basses just... are what they are. For the ones that are not particular makes and models? Well, lefty basses often take a lot of looking for; except for the few I had to have made, they simply came to me as - and when - I happened to find them. I prefer to think of myself as someone who started out very traditional (my '78 Fender P-Bass was my first bass - in 1988), but ended up being fairly.... shall we say, "cosmopolitan"...? :whistle:
 
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#56
Dincrest said:
I recently noticed something... I seem to be desiring more traditional basses as I get older.

I love both my basses. They're modern-spec, 24-fret, 4-string, beauties that are wonderful to play. My heavily modded LTD is coming with me to the afterlife. Anyway, I sometimes took solos with my old punk band (I played with from 2010- 2012) that took me up to the 22nd fret, which is why I've been all-in on 24-fret basses for over a decade and mostly snubbed traditional Fender-esque basses because 20 frets wasn't enough for me, and part of me's always had that mentality of "play something unique, modern, that not everyone else is playing." (And over the decades I've played 4, 5, and 6-string basses; passive, active... never owned a Fender or FSO, though).

Yet recently, I've been preferring to play those solo riffs in and around the 12th fret. It seems to sound better to me. Maybe because my hearing is changing (I'm 46 and I know as we age, our hearing degenerates and certain frequencies aren't as crisp as they used to be). And along with everything else, the thought of a "bigger body, shorter neck with fewer frets, but still 34" scale) putting first position within closer reach has appeal as well.

So now, my GAS (in accordance) with my playing preferences is now veering more towards more traditional (or traditional-with-a-twist) P-style instruments. For example, something like a G&L SB-1 (sleeker P-bass with a hot pickup) is seeming like the kind of bass I'd really want.

I guess I'm starting to veer more toward traditional/traditional-esque instruments as I get older. Has that happened to anyone else? Like were you an anti-FSO rebel in your youth only to be an FSO aficionado as you got older?
Click to expand...
Not really for me that is. I started on a Precision. Now I play 5 string FSOs I built myself.
 
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#57
My trend, maybe unusual, is that every bass I’ve bought the past 2-3 years cost less than the previous one did. Bought a Tobias Killer B here on TB for ~$2000. Then a custom-order Tobias Killer B fretless from Reverb for $1300, followed a couple of months ago by an Ibanez BTB fretless for $900. Today I’m pulling the trigger on a vintage Heartfield DR5 for $480. Don’t think I can go much further in that direction...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Ecclesia: Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Official Tobias Club #133
Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly
My Basses
 
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#59
I spent a dozen years with no 4-string even in the house. Then I took in a friend’s bass to modify it for him and discovered how many more modding possibilities one has with FSOs. I eventually took that modded 4-string Squier Jazz back from him in a trade, which started my migration back to ‘traditional’ basses. It cut like a chainsaw. I haven’t had a fiver in more than ten years now. I really don’t miss those five extra notes at all. If it’s a ‘thing’, I came by it honestly. Besides, that extra string adds weight.
 
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