As a guitarist whose hands don't work anymore I am alternately fascinated and pissed by grestdexterity:
Here is a short take Bryan amazing young Japanese bassist: Ayumu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5z7PZX9Fhc
Reminds me of Eric Czar...only better I think.
https://bassmagazine.com/artists/bergantino-artist-interview-with-ayumu
Quite interesting, Dave. I'm curious.... how many years has it been since you have been able to play and what companies, in your opinion, make the best bass guitars?
That is a question that conjures more questions.
What musical genre for the application?
Acoustic?
Rock?
Blues?
Classical?
Pop?
There are a lot of good builders / manufacturers out there. Don't confuse a manufacturer (commercial numbers) with builders (small, targeted builds).
How big are your hands. I'm 5'7"-ish. I could palm a basketball when I was in 9th grade. The Alembics that Hal mentioned have necks too narrow for my paws.
For an all-around bass, I would prefer an early 60's Fender Precision Bass. The P-bass has been used on more #1 hits than any other in history. Since those are now going for ~ $10K these days, my suggestion would be either one of Roger Sadowsky's instruments (still bank$$$) or for great commercial guitars I'd probably get one of the many offerings from Ibanez. If they are good enough for Nathan East...
Back in the day, one of my bands had several multi-instrumentalists. We would trade instruments for a set. I switched drums for bass or guitar. Our bass player back then was Mike Goodroe, later the bassist for The Motels and studio work. He had a P-Bass and a Fender Jazz Bas. The Jazz' neck was a lot like an Alembic: too narrow at the nut.
Instruments are a lot like people. Sometimes we like/love ones we shouldn't and thereby miss out on the good ones.
Just sayin'...
