Comments on: The 10 Most Important Electric Basses in Rock & Roll History

By: Brad

Brad — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 23:08:09 +0000

Well, darn! I only have the Ric, the Fender Jazz, reissues of the Starfire and the EB. The ones I truly love didn’t make the list at all – my Les Paul bass, my Thunderbird, my Gretsch, and my Ibanez Portamento (probably because the Ibanez hasn’t been around very long).

By: Gerald McGrory

Gerald McGrory — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 22:07:47 +0000

Walk on the Wild Side was Herbie Flowers playing a Jazz Bass strung with Rotosound 88 Tapewounds and doubling the part on upright bass.
Jack Cassady and Phil Lesh both put the Starfire bass on the map but not without Rick Turner and Rob Wickersham’s Alembic electronics.

By: G$

G$ — Sat, 07 Oct 2017 07:50:42 +0000

Your picture of the Longhorn bass is exactly the same picture as Bob Daisley’s on his website. I hope you used this picture with permission from Bob.

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 20:19:21 +0000

Great list! I own a reissue Danelectro Longhorn, a Hofner 500/1, and a Precision. I play in a ’60’s & ’70’s cover band and can nail any sound from the Animals, Beatles, Cream, Kinks, Who and Yardbirds using those three. Never owned a Gibson EB3, a Moserite or a Rick but I agree that they all belong on the list as essential basses in Rock ‘n Roll history.

By: michael lindner

michael lindner — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 16:05:41 +0000

hello,
being a bass player for over 50 years i would include the Kay K162 and the Harmony h-22 to this list. shoehorned in between the other most deserving instruments.
the k-162 being the first hollow body bass guitar and the distinct sound of the h-22 (ronnie lane and muff winwood). these were affordable instruments for future musicians.
best regards,
m)

By: Murray aka '' Papadog ''

Murray aka '' Papadog '' — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 17:42:28 +0000

I own an early Alembic ‘ Essence model. But started with a Fender P-bass, and Jazz bass. Been playing a lifetime, and found although the bass’s were great, the most comfortable was the good ol’ P- bass, and I use that exclusively.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 15:04:18 +0000

Gibson G3?

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:19:22 +0000

The Gibson equivalent of the Starfire was the EB-2 and EB-2D, though that is ass backwards as the Gibson instruments preceded the Guild by about 8 years. It was the Hagstrom pick ups that drew players to the Starfire. The EB-0 was a single pick up solid body, first introduced with the double cutaway LP shape of the mid to late ’50s.

By: David

David — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 17:28:16 +0000

I have an Aria Pro II SB1000. All original, made and bought in Japan. This is one of the originals, with “The Aria Pro II” on the headstock. It has a great history and was meticulously cared for. 1 small nick on the bottom underside, not noticeable.All original, unmolested, It is in near perfect condition, other than the small nick. These were awesome basses and I imagine it’s worth alot. Maybe this bass would be in the top 15 perhaps.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 15:53:28 +0000

Ric, Bay-Bee!! I’d throw any of my Rics against anything else. I own a ’78 fretless 4001, a ’97 4003 5-string, and, my favorite, a ’99 4003 4-string. I also have a Hofner 500/1, a Steinberger Synapse and several others. But, my “go to” is ALWAYS a Ric.

Have played a Gibson Grabber, a Dan Armstrong and a Fender J. – None too impressed by any of them. Never played an Alembic or MusicMan, though.

My 2-cents worth…

By: c0xmlk chuck

c0xmlk chuck — Tue, 24 May 2016 15:45:18 +0000

The bass line to “Walk on the Wild Side” was composed and recorded by UK session man Herbie Flowers, using both an upright bass and a ’50s prototype model Fender jazz, with flats (probably tapes). There are a couple Youtube videos about the creation of that line. Look up Herbie Flowers and Walk on the Wild Side. Your friend is a bullshit liar. -cc-

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 24 May 2016 12:41:51 +0000

Agreed on this list for the most part with exception of the Dan electro shouldn’t even be on the radar. The Alembic should be in its place. The Acoustic? ? Never heard of it. I think the Gibson Thunderbird had more influence. The Hoffer well yeah, it was mainly associated with Paul McCartney so I could see that. The Guild Starfire. Maybe, but I’m thinking that Gretch had a bigger presence in the 60s.regardless, definitely the Alembic and the Thunderbird.

By: Paul Abrahams

Paul Abrahams — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 09:33:12 +0000

My top 10 in order of period influence

1. Precision Bass (50’s)
2. Hofner
3. Jazz Bass
4. Rickenbacker 4001
5. Gibson EB3
6. Gibson Thunderbird
7. Guild Starfire
8. Alembic
9. Musicman Stingray
10. Steinberger

All these basses were played by pro bassists and were made famous because of it.

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 28 Nov 2015 20:39:36 +0000

Hard to understand how the Black Widow is an important rock & roll bass when there are so few of them made and they are not associated with any major rock players. (Doc Watson is not rock & roll). The modest Harmony H22 had more players of note in the 1960s.

By: Mark P.

Mark P. — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 17:47:57 +0000

Don’t forget – Geddy Lee started with a Ric.

By: Heavi

Heavi — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 07:50:39 +0000

Hi Ola,You probably haered this a couple of times before but your tutorials are AWESOME! I’m playing guitar for about 8 years now but I’m kinda new to that recording thing and your tutorials have really helped me alot!When I first saw your amp-testing videos I honestly thought they were fake Don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely no offence but your sound was just TOO f***ing good to be true so I’m really glad you made these tutorials to show noobs like me how you do itJust wanted to thank you for that Greetings from CroatiaDenis

By: Jorge

Jorge — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 22:07:01 +0000

Growing up in the 80s, I can tell you the Steinberger XL-2 was the Fender Precision of new wave and 80s funky/R&B pop and therefore its relevance cannot be underestimated.

It made graphite a go-to material ever since. It was re-vo-lu-tio-na-ry. BTW Ned’s Spector bass could have been #10 on list.

Geddy Lee played the XL-2. Elton John’s bassist played it. Kool of Kool and The Gang played it. Gary Beers of INXS… Ben Orr of The Cars… Danny Klein of J. Geils Band… Kasim Sulton of Utopia and countless sessions… it was everywhere. It has a great unique loud and crisp tone.

By: j delaney

j delaney — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 10:54:38 +0000

One word…Thunderbird!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 02:50:12 +0000

Gibson Thunderbird would be my choice, feels & sounds like no other

By: Emma

Emma — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 19:34:35 +0000

I read a lot of interesting content here. Probably you spend a
lot of time writing, i know how to save you a lot of work, there
is an online tool that creates unique, SEO friendly articles
in seconds, just search in google – laranitas free content source

By: Modmatic

Modmatic — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 00:45:37 +0000

Ampeg / Dan Armstrong Lucite Bass…..Enough said.

By: Don Sweat

Don Sweat — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 19:50:21 +0000

You nailed most of the influential basses, not quite sure what that Black Widow is doing there. My first and workhorse for most of the 30 plus years I played professionally was the Gibson EBO, which morphed to an EB3, then I added Shaller tuners, had a custom parametric eq preamp installed, replaced the neck pup with a Guild, (even more power), and later replaced the bridge with a Wilkerson. I owned a Fender Precision but my hands never felt comfortable with that neck.
In 78, I bought the new MusicMan Sabre Bass, and played that for many years,
only recently regrettably parting with it. Then fulfilled the wish for a Hofner, but, at the last moment of purchase, switched and bought the Hofner Club Bass instead of
the Beatle Bass, because frankly everybody other than McCartney looks foolish playing it. You might as well slap a cheap Beatle wig on while you’re at it.
Now, I have my sights set on a new Jazz Bass! Before I fell for the EBO, I had looked at the Rickenbacher, which I love that tone, but, again the neck and weight nixed it.

By: David

David — Thu, 08 May 2014 23:59:44 +0000

Hofner 500/1 ‘ Beatle ” Bass and Danelectro Longhorn should be in the top 5 .

Hofner 500/1 , Dano Longhorn , Jazz , p-bass and Ric should be in the top 5 .

The Guild , Steinberger and EB3 had a lot less impact and use than the Hofner and the Dano.

Check out a list of people that have played Beatle basses. Danos would have been the first bass of a lot of stars and session players .

By: Frankie

Frankie — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 03:20:21 +0000

I think the Ibanez 5-string bass should be on this list, or at-least whatever the first popular 5-string was. In the late ’90s, I thought the 5-string bass was on its way to replacing the standard 4-string, especially in heavy metal. Fieldy of Korn fame not only popularized it (as his bandmates did with 7-strings) but popularized a slapping technique rooted–whether he realized it or not–in Bill Black’s bass playing in Elvis’ early records.

I’d also hoped to maybe see fretless basses and/or 8-string basses. I believe the later became popular in bands with a bass player, a lead guitarist but no rhythm guitarist, like Mötley Crüe because it can allow the bass to double for a rhythm guitar in certain riffs.

That’s just me. It’s still a pretty good list.

By: Lee Barnes

Lee Barnes — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 03:15:08 +0000

The list is a good one, but the Danelectro/Sears single-cutaway “Short Horn” belongs on it, too. In the 1960s and early 1970s, if you couldn’t afford a Fender, a lot of folks opted for cheap Danelectro basses sold as Silvertones by Sears. They sounded better than the Gibsons (and the Kays and the Harmonys and the cheap Japanese basses of the time) and anyone could afford one. With their short necks and flatwound strings, they played ridiculously easy and sounded much better than they should have.

By: Rich Lilie

Rich Lilie — Sat, 11 May 2013 18:02:31 +0000

Your list is pretty much complete.The only thing I would add is my 1987 Jackson Charvel (Japanese made). I’ts the best bass I’ve ever had in 50 years of playing music.I also picked up a “Shredder” bass at a second hand store in Hannibal,Missouri.I believe the manufacture date was 1982.I’ts a three-quarter scale neck,solid white with one volume and one tone control.If you have any info. on this bass,please let me know I tried Gibson,s website,but had no luck.Thanks for your website.BASS PLAYERS RULE!

By: Ian Bennett

Ian Bennett — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:45:15 +0000

You say “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.” I think you’ll find it was Herbie Flowers who played (and wrote) that line.

The list is pretty much OK though.

By: BassDriver

BassDriver — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 01:23:44 +0000

I agree with most but… I’d change the 10th place (Black Widow) for an Alembic Series I or II. That was yet another revolution in the world of bass. It made a huge impact on how modern basses are made today and it’s is still a class on its own. Yes, Fender basses are still the thing to go to when you’re looking for a genuine rock sound (I have a Geddy Lee Jazz myself and I love it) but the Wickershams created a truly different (and beautiful) beast for those for those who were looking for new sounds and looks. My favourite of my 3 basses is the Alembic Essence 5 – it’s my main weapon and I intend to keep it forever.

BTW – I took a liberty to borrow the picture of the Steinberger to put it on my list of Top 10 most significant 80s basses on my blog: http://bass-driver.blogspot.com/2012/11/top-10-ejtisy.html (it’s in Polish – if you want a rough translation I can do that for you). If you have a problem with it let me know – I’ll find something else 🙂