Swed_bass Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 For the curious ones, who want to know all the basses-makes on the planet. Here´s one from up my country: Unicorn Bass I´m personally not more familiar with these basses, but found them very neat. Would probably buy me one if I won on a lottery What ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted October 25, 2006 Share Posted October 25, 2006 Ken Smith called...he's like his silhouette back. They look nice, but at an average price of $4,000-$4,500 US, they better be! "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 That Unicorn is beautiful and I'm sure very well made like most Swedish products. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted October 26, 2006 Share Posted October 26, 2006 Nice stuff. Pickups remind me of the Jaydee Supernatural basses from the '80's- and I mean that as a compliment. And that one Ozellman model- a 13-piece neck?!?!?! "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Just barely enough variation in the body shape to perhaps miss the KenSmith infringement. And of course, I can't see the neck profile. The photos/color-stain and use of body woods is so similar. They do look lovely. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swed_bass Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Originally posted by Tom Capasso: Just barely enough variation in the body shape to perhaps miss the KenSmith infringement. And of course, I can't see the neck profile.Fender must be making a fortune on lawsuits of J-bass and P-bass copies... I just checked the Ken Smith basses and can´t honestly see a cloning on the body. Open both pages and compare yourself. Ok, they do have two horns each and some models have similar wood. Duh? How much variation can you have on a bass guitar, anyway? Pick randomly five hunderd different ones and find the innovative defferences. I think that this whole criticism is just taking the forum back to the "Behringer-Euro" all time low level. I guess the evolution up here just seized when some superior people got aboard the boats to cross the big sea, and left us in the dark, a few generations back... I´m sorry and regretful for showing you this local pirate lutherian. What ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 i think they mostly just get companies to cease and desists or license the design. licensing is where they make a lot of money. the pickups look like q-tuners to me. thoughts? robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swed_bass Posted October 27, 2006 Author Share Posted October 27, 2006 Originally posted by Tom Capasso: use of body woods is so similar.Maybe using alder rather than ash would be more unique. Really, Tom... So far the only unique wood was that 35,000 years old swampwood on the Langcaster basses. What ever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Originally posted by Swed_bass: I think that this whole criticism is just taking the forum back to the "Behringer-Euro" all time low level. I guess the evolution up here just seized when some superior people got aboard the boats to cross the big sea, and left us in the dark, a few generations back... LMAO!!! If they sell those at IKEA I'll go and take a look; haven't been to the new local outlet since we bought the new curtain systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted October 27, 2006 Share Posted October 27, 2006 Originally posted by robb.: the pickups look like q-tuners to me. thoughts? Those the ones you and greenboy were raving about a while back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramer Ferrington III. Posted October 28, 2006 Share Posted October 28, 2006 Naah... if I gotta have a bass that looks like that, I'd rather have an Alembic. Band MySpace My snazzy t-shirt empire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by RicBassGuy: Originally posted by robb.: the pickups look like q-tuners to me. thoughts? Those the ones you and greenboy were raving about a while back? i've never heard them, so i can't take any credit. but they do look cool. i haven't had the energy to read a lot of the site -- it's very hippie-verbose. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 Swed_bass - you're right about the wood choices - these combinations show up in lot's of luthier pages. I think it's the tail that made me agree with an earlier comment. I still think they look similar, but I agree it's not such a clone. And given the location, Unicorn may have never seen a Ken Smith bass. After going to BP Live, I'm more attuned to the similarities that basses share. I strenuously disagree with the Behringer comments. Even if Unicorn used someone else's body shape, it's clear that they are building basses in their shop, putting their own crafts-person-ship into each instrument. Behringer's business practices (in my opinion) are quite different. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Olsson Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Thanks swed_bass for the nice words! If anyone out there want to know the truth about these basses, get the facts from me instead of taking educated guesses as facts. I´m´ in fact working at Unicornbass, Sweden and yes, i have seen the Ken Smith basses and the dual "seagull" cutout doesn´t´in fact come from the Ken Smith basses, they are a design-trick to get a compact look and at the same time have ample support for the right (or left if youre a lefthand player) forearm and as far as Alembic goes... anyone interested in a second-hand Series II 4-string?? will get one int the shop for sale soon as a part trade-in for a Classic masterclass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottomgottem Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 It is a very good looking bass. My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Originally posted by Swed_bass: I´m sorry and regretful for showing you this local pirate lutherian. Is that Wisconsin Synod or Missouri Synod? These are seriously beautiful basses, and the sound clips are outstanding. They seem very responsive & expressive, even, & full of sustain. Definitely worth a look, I'd think, for anyone in the market for a boutique bass. It would be good if they could get a few into this country, to someone like JPJ (Blueberry Hill), who caters to a boutique market. anyone interested in a second-hand Series II 4-string?? will get one int the shop for sale soon as a part trade-in for a Classic masterclass. Touche! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Right now the US seems to be very good value in terms of custom basses. Both Cliff Bordwell and Nordstrand bass guitars are quite a bit cheaper than the European basses. Just my observation. Christian, what's the Alembic selling for? Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Christian Olsson, Thanks for stepping up. What's new with your basses? Can you tell us more? Thanks Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yourlord Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Nice looking basses. I don't really see where anyone could say they were ripping off Ken Smith. I mean really, how much variation can there be in a natural finish bass? The bodies of these are different in shape. There are only so many tone woods out there, and every bass maker uses most of them. I own a Ken Smith, and I just don't see it. I would never look at one of those Unicorns and think it's a Smith. Feel free to visit my band's site Delusional Mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 You know, I DID use a smiley in my initial post, indicating that my dig was tongue in cheek. But since people are going to get pissy about it, I would like to formally retract my statement implying that these two basses may be similar. http://rhee.net/LDLD/ks.jpg You guys are right. I can't see how someone could mistake one for the other. I don't really see where anyone could say they were ripping off Ken Smith.Again, if you were referring to me, that was not my implication. I mean really, how much variation can there be in a natural finish bass?How high can you count? http://rhee.net/LDLD/nat.jpg "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 http://www.warwickbass.com/images/thumb5.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/otisband/09012007231.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 How much variation? Are any two trees the same? If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one to make it into a bass, does it still have a unique grain? Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Malone Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 The identifying variation in basses is the head stock design. There are so many companies making Jazz bass body styles but what makes each unique is normally the head stock. Wally I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yourlord Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I mean really, how much variation can there be in a natural finish bass? How high can you count? You know what I mean.. If you take the basic outline of a standard P-bass and superimpose it over any of those basses shown you'll see they all conform to that same basic body pattern. Even that really funky looking first one. (it looks dangerous!) I don't really see where anyone could say they were ripping off Ken Smith. Again, if you were referring to me, that was not my implication. I wasn't really meaning you.. I saw the smiley.. I was simply trying to derail the idea they were copying the Smith design. Any more than Ken Smith was "copying" the fender P-bass. Feel free to visit my band's site Delusional Mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I don't think any of those basses look like a Fender Precision Bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yourlord Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 never mind.. i'm at work right now and don't have any decent graphics tools here or I would draw you a picture. Feel free to visit my band's site Delusional Mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 There is not a picture in the universe that is going to convince me any of those basses look like a Precision Bass. That would be like saying a Jazz Bass looks like a Precision Bass. Similarities? Sure, they are both made of wood and both have a double cutaway and a plank-style body. They sure do look very different to me, though. Maybe I just have an eye for blaring details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basshappi Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Alright now everybody, let's play nice. I think that the topic does bring up an interesting point in that desipte the myriad of design variations,there are a limited numbers of designs that combine ergonomics with traditional esthetics. Let's be honest, while the Spalt Magma bass (the dangerous looking one in 09's post) might be quite ergonomic, I doubt that many of us would want to take it to a Blues or C&W gig! Guitarists and bassplayers tend to, by and large, stick to traditional(ish) designs. This must make it very difficult for instrument makers to come up with new designs that are also sellable. I imagine that Spalt sells very few of it radical designs compared to its more traditonal shaped "Viper" basses. To my eye, The Nordstrand NX has a profile very similar to the Fender Jazz. The Fodera Monarch and the Peavey Cirrus are just as obviously decendants of the Precision. I'm not saying there is a one-to-one correlation, I'm saying that you can see the "family lines". Amongst a sea of variables there are actually far fewer 'practical' combinations. Given the sheer number of manufacturers producing basses nowadays, I doubt very seriously that we are going to see anything radically different than the current major (i.e. double & single cutaway , no cutaway. Bolt-on, set-in and neckthrough) designs become a new standard. Let's face it, if those remain the basic parameters, how much significant design variation can there be? Especially if you are producing instruments as a means of making a living. So my Forum bothers and sisters, play what you like it's all good! Come on now, group hug! Nothing is as it seems but everything is exactly what it is - B. Banzai Life is what happens while you are busy playing in bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I was a NAMM one year talking to a semi-famous person friend of mine (who will remain nameless at this time ). The Spalt people came up to him and were begging him to give it a try and he said he didn't even want to touch something that looked like that. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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