Re: suhr bass

jeffb <jeffbonnyREM@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

So what?
None of those are serious "design" flaws. As for the strings and foam
mutes you're loosing sight of that moment in history...those basses
were targeted at upright players who _still_ use flatwound strings
today. I'm an upright player and I'm much more comfortable with
flatwounds on any bass big or little.

Serious? Did I say serious? No, but there were many design flaws.

It's the "Leo Fender" design guru aspect that I'm arguing with. He
wasn't a terribly good designer even by the standards of the day and he
made lots of mistakes - not show stopping ones, but mistakes
nevertheless.

I personally find it astonishing that some of the design flaws have
continued to this day - for example, the lack of internal shielding
combined with the single coil pickups in strats and jazz basses mean
that the instruments hum in certain combinations. This can be easily
solved with a little (or more correctly a little more) metal foil inside
the instrument. I can't think of many other products where this kind of
fundamental yet easily fixed problem would have been tolerated (even
venerated) for so long.

"So much *wrong*" like an easy removed useless bridge cover and
failing to anticipate that ten years down the road someone would want
a roundwound bass string? Seriously Derek, in 1956 how could anyone
have anticipated John Entwhistle?

How many other products do you have to remove 'functional' parts of, to
be able to use them?

What it a company was selling a car and everyone who bought it had to
remove, say, a chrome strip because stopped the door from opening? Or a
heavy weight chained to the rear? Would those be considered good
design?

The basses were targetted at guitar players as much as upright bass
players - which is why he used frets and a relatively short scale length
- guitar players were quite used to round wound strings.

As for anticipating John Entwhistle, it seemed Danelectro did.

What he did get right was a good feeling body and neck that were
cheaply manufactured, decent sounding pickups, tuners that stayed in
tune and a look that for the day was highly futuristic.

Er, the uncomfortable slab body was one of the first things he changed.
The tuners stayed in tune, but didn't the early ones turn the 'wrong
way'?

The important thing was that it was cheaply manufactured and able to be
mass produced.

Chances are good that if ol' Leo hadn't built the
basses he did you wouldn't be playing whatever bass guitar you've
chosen to play.

Well, yes. For that one has to be grateful to Leo. He wasn't the first
bass guitar manufacturer,

I never claimed he was the 1st manufacturer...he clearly was not. He
was the first to treat them as more than a novelty though.

I don't think it's fair to suggest that Paul Tutmarc considered it a
novelty. He was a musician and bandleader as well as instrument
manufacturer. He (or maybe his son) continued to use one of these
basses for decades. The fact that he wasn't as succesful a businessman
as Leo Fender does not mean he didn't take his products seriously.

What is "best"?

Best as in 'producing a consistent high quality product'. If you look
back at the history of Fender you'll find, if you're honest, that the
company has been dogged by quality control issues for most of its
history - including the period when Leo was in charge. The good ones
are really good, but they've produced a lot of monday morning and friday
afternoon basses too.

However, his was the spark that caught, and there's no
guarantee anyone else would have got the fire started.

He built a simply designed, easily manufactured, affordable product
that worked. Again you're loosing sight of that moment in history; the
main thing that Leo did though that noone else had is to take the bass
guitar seriously and make a commitment to it. THAT is his contribution
to all of us who play the instrument. Whether or not you like his
instruments is purely a matter of opinion and personal taste.

And that, dear reader, is my entire point in a nutshell. He built a
simply designed, easily manufactured, affordable product.

The moment in history, and one I'm not losing sight of, is that his
affordable product was the catalyst for change, in the same way that
Henry Ford transformed the automotive industry.

Note, at no point in this thread have I stated a position on whether or
not I *like* his instruments.

--- Derek

--
Derek Tearne - derek@xxxxxxxxx
Many Hands - Trans Cultural Music from Aotearoa/New Zealand
http://www.manyhands.co.nz/

.

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