Does it matter if something has a better pedigree or birth right, very bourgeois isn't it?
If something was so perfect from the start, there would be no need for other choices. Sure, bassists play bass ( that's in the name in it), but every different player needs their different touch hence you have the different brands or it could even be a home made banjo, if that's what works for the player, that's what works.
You can't quite divorce the makes of the bass from the players who use them.
Sweeping statements like above don;t always carry the point across my friend, especially in a flame bait thread like this where I am sure Lordie ( and know that I know he's a drunk =p) meant it to be irreverent fun.
what you said is true, but it shows a bit of misunderstanding in reference to what i wrote
firstly, never did i make a link of causality between their pedigree and their quality. i was merely highlighting the pedigree of the brand. i didn't say "fender has to be the best,
because so many famous guys use it"
furthermore, what i wrote was not meant to be a sweeping statement, but rather a response to some of the previous statements. it was not meant to be read regardless of what was previously mentioned.
rather than trying to say that they were perfect from the start and there isn't a need for other choices, i was trying to point out the opposite; just because better instruments have since been made, that doesn't make the good 'ol fender any less of a bass.
now, to explain further on my 2 points:
fender was the first, and decades after it was created, there have been so many incarnations that, in many aspects, have improved on the original design. heck, even the musicman stingray in a way can be considered an improvement on the design. despite this, many well respected bassists still go back to this classic as their instrument of choice. ever ask yourself "why fender?" when they had so many other options? i refuse to believe it is entirely a matter of artist endorsement.
there was something in the tone which appealed to all these players, despite all the imperfections which were improved upon in later basses. in a way, there was something perfect about all its imperfections. perhaps, they are the ghosts of early pioneers of electric bass playing that were evident in the tone, from which later artists drew so much inspiration from.
this further illustrates the point that sound is really a matter of personal preference.
no doubt, lordie probably started a thread born of
alcohol-induced GAS :twisted: but it is food for thought nonetheless