Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

[dg27]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

With all due respect to those who apparently took a lot of time working on the design, to me this looks so wrong in so many ways.

[BlueTalon]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

As an automation engineer by trade, I think it looks like someone fat-fingered a wrong number into the CNC machine.

That made me laugh!

[Miles Dziak]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

FYI; I am a long time Seymour Duncan user, I was surfing the site for a wiring diagram and found this forum, so I registered just to post a comment. I have demoed these basses at a past NAMM show, these are by far the easiest playing instruments I have ever played. I bought one on the spot! Trying is believing! Check out their website, the only instruments they build, including their custom line has the “Angled Neck” so obviously they stand behind the innovation.
Where would our industry be if companies wouldn’t try to innovate? Or would you negative poster’s prefer another company building $300 Chinese made Jazz bass nock offs? I applaud this company for trying to improve on a design. Hey, Kind of like Seymour or Leo or Les. As musician we should show respect for people expressing themselves through their creativity or art, especially those trying to help our industry!! Check out their Facebook fan page 55,000 followers...they must be doing something right!!

[One Bad Monkey]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

FYI; I am a long time Seymour Duncan user, I was surfing the site for a wiring diagram and found this forum, so I registered just to post a comment. I have demoed these basses at a past NAMM show, these are by far the easiest playing instruments I have ever played. I bought one on the spot! Trying is believing! Check out their website, the only instruments they build, including their custom line has the “Angled Neck” so obviously they stand behind the innovation.

I don't think anyone is knocking them at all for trying something new; I even said it's nice that someone IS trying something new. But for me, as someone that's IN the music industry and knows how powerful marketing is, the design is not appealing to me. So, while it may be the easiest playing instrument I've ever used, I wouldn't try it based on aesthetics alone.

As musician we should show respect for people expressing themselves through their creativity or art, especially those trying to help our industry!! Check out their Facebook fan page 55,000 followers...they must be doing something right!!

Not gushing or disagreeing with someone's idea or innovation is NOT disrespect. We as a society need to remember that, as this whole "You're either with us or against us" BS is exactly that. Again, I like the fact that they're trying something new, but I don't like the design. That is not disrespect at all.

The number of Facebook followers is nothing more than social media, marketing and most of all, POPULARITY. People "like" things on FB almost like collecting baseball cards, without any thought as to what the company or group actually does. Justin Bieber has 65 million likes; is he doing something right?

[Miles Dziak]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

One Bad Monkey,
I totally agree with your point. As a player of 2 Artisan Basses, I guess I’m a bit biased towards their instruments. The funny thing is, at first, I was not a fan of the aesthetics nature of these instruments. But now they look and feel so natural to me, in fact my other basses feel clumsy and awkward.

[Bass_Medic_05]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

I would try one to test out, but I have way to many basses for my old lady to justify buying another lol!

[BloodRose]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

It's good to see a company that takes the time to explain their product to the market. Thanks for the comments and I look forward to trying an Artisan Bass Works bass at some point in the future.

I couldnt have said it better.
I appreciate the input Scott! To me, the interaction with the maker speaks volumes. One Major reason Im on this forum and mostly use Seymour Duncan pickups. Your basses score a big plus for your pickup selection alone.. ; )
I understand what some of the seasoned guys are saying as far as moving the neck up or down, but as a fairly new bassist, I play kind of neck high as my finger strength isnt as developed and I want to fret cleanly.

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

I couldnt have said it better.
I appreciate the input Scott! To me, the interaction with the maker speaks volumes. One Major reason Im on this forum and mostly use Seymour Duncan pickups. Your basses score a big plus for your pickup selection alone.. ; )
I understand what some of the seasoned guys are saying as far as moving the neck up or down, but as a fairly new bassist, I play kind of neck high as my finger strength isnt as developed and I want to fret cleanly.

This is actually true for me. I play my Stingray pretty high up as far as angles go. I play my guitars in the same way. Look at pretty much any photo of Brent Hinds playing and I play at the same angle. So I actually could understand playing one of those basses. The problem is I have yet to find a better neck than a Stingray.

[scott@artisanbass]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

Thanks for the comments everyone. We love Seymour Duncan prodcuts, our tone is excellent all around largely because of them.

It seems it comes down to aesthetics. I understand with our Classic Series basses (J style), which was in the OP, the neck being angled is just too much to take in for some. I get it, you have been looking at straight neck J and P basses forever and here we come along and angle the neck.

We offer several different body shapes, as well as custom designs, most of which don't appear so different as the shapes are designed to work with the angle. A fender style body was designed for a straight neck, so the two had to be married together, rather than be engineered from the start to accommodate the angle.

Here are some pics of various basses, the first few are the Classic Series we have been discussing, and the rest are designed for the angle, which I believe have a more easily acceptable aesthetic.

[beaubrummels]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

FWIW - that neck is actually at the correct angle, ergonomically, for the human body. When I studied classical guitar at the Conservatory, I was taught when you raise your hand to the neck, your knuckles should be parallel with the neck for maximum reach and least tension on muscles of the hand and arm, which typically results in the neck being at about 45 degrees. Problem is, then the contour of the body doesn't match your torso.

[dg27]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

Maybe newer players might be interested, but if one has been playing for several decades (as I have), the concept of the angle might be a dealbreaker in and of itself.

[BlueTalon]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

Hey Scott, thanks for posting the pictures.

I gotta say, they look less strange when someone is actually holding and playing them than they do in isolation. I think that is largely because the players hand and forearm obscure the enormous upper portion of the body. But even so, they look like someone set them on a slanted surface on a hot day and they melted a bit.

Am I correct in assuming the big upper body is necessary for the right balance and neck angle?

[scott@artisanbass]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

Maybe newer players might be interested, but if one has been playing for several decades (as I have), the concept of the angle might be a dealbreaker in and of itself.

If the player is close minded and resistant to anything different from what they are used to, which some are, I agree.

However, we have a customer who bought two basses this week who is 70yrs. old and describes what music he plays as 40's, 50's, and 60's with a touch of seventy's but no funk or slap bass. So, in the case you describe, the length of playing appears less important than one's personal makeup.

IMO, why be resistant to new innovations? We always seem to be embracing/clamoring for the newest latest this and or that, why in our bass guitars must we stop at a design from a generation ago? We give all due respect to Leo Fender, but do not accept that his designs are perfect immune from refinement. You may not like how it looks, we've been over that, but it is an improvement to the design regardless of whether or not you find it visually appealing.


Not directing at you dg27, just using your comment as an opportunity to speak on the topic.

[scott@artisanbass]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

Hey Scott, thanks for posting the pictures.

I gotta say, they look less strange when someone is actually holding and playing them than they do in isolation. I think that is largely because the players hand and forearm obscure the enormous upper portion of the body. But even so, they look like someone set them on a slanted surface on a hot day and they melted a bit.

Am I correct in assuming the big upper body is necessary for the right balance and neck angle?

You're welcome!

In answer to your question, When we angle the neck, it is also offset. This means the bridge/strings/controls are all lowered. If we make the body symmetrical, the angle is nullified. Thus, the body must be asymmetrical, meaning the top cannot be a mirror image of the bottom. Worded differently, the top necessarily has more mass as there must be some angle of incidence. It's also about giving your arm a place to rest and maintaining a shape in the case of the "F" style.

"They look melted," "CNC guy was stoned," "My eyes are burning," I've heard it all. My all time favorite internet comment was "Go home Jazz bass, you're drunk!"

[scott@artisanbass]

Re: Worlds Easiest Playing Basses?

FWIW - that neck is actually at the correct angle, ergonomically, for the human body. When I studied classical guitar at the Conservatory, I was taught when you raise your hand to the neck, your knuckles should be parallel with the neck for maximum reach and least tension on muscles of the hand and arm, which typically results in the neck being at about 45 degrees. Problem is, then the contour of the body doesn't match your torso.

Thank you for posting this!

This is exactly correct and why the original design, while OBV incredible, was not perfect. This is the root of the ergonomic benefits of the angled neck.