Funniest beginner mistake/blunder?

**TheFantod** · #1 03-04-2010, 01:05 PM

I picked up the bass for the first time in the summer of 1988. That year, my senior year in high school, I landed the spot as the bass player for the school jazz band.

The school's rig was a really nice Fender tube head with a big 15" cab. The thing was old, and grounding issues, but played great.

Anyway, I'm sitting there one morning looking at the back of the head at the tubes. I wonder to myself, "Gee, I wonder if these things get hot?" So, like a genius, I reach out and touch a tube with my index finger, and immediately yelp like a scalded dog.

Once the band director stopped laughing, he said, "What is that smell? Is that the smell of your flesh burning?"

Live and learn!

Randall · #2 03-04-2010, 01:19 PM

I took my $101 gibson ebo copy bass and defretted it, stripped it and painted it white with house paint. I also cut a hole right through the entire body about 4" by 4" for what reason I cannot remember. I never did put it back together and looking at it the other day went

Of course I was 18 at the time if that is any excuse.

NickInMesa · #3 03-04-2010, 11:03 PM

Mine was the day I changed my strings for the first time and over-tightened an E string to the point that it popped.

wshines1892 · #4 03-05-2010, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randall

I took my $101 gibson ebo copy bass and defretted it, stripped it and painted it white with house paint. I also cut a hole right through the entire body about 4" by 4" for what reason I cannot remember. I never did put it back together and looking at it the other day went

Of course I was 18 at the time if that is any excuse.

Did you do it so you could call it your woman?

greencow · #5 03-05-2010, 05:27 AM

My first time changing strings ended with a new nut. Not knowing the thickness of the strings I walked in to the store and asked for medium gauge flatwound strings. The store keeper sold me the only set of flats they had. Ernie Ball .50-.105 and said that he is 100% sure that the strings will suit the bass. Unfortunately the Yamaha RBX comes with some light strings and when tightening my E string the nut whent klick and a small piece of it fell off...

I supose i's learn as you go

JoZac21 · #6 03-05-2010, 05:41 AM

The first bass I ever owned was a Squire P Bass I got for my 12th birthday. A few months into owning it I went to go change the strings, and accidently bought a 5 string set.

Knowing absolutely nothing at the time I assumed, for whatever reason, that the extra string must be the high one... warped my neck beyond recognition.

Ah, to be young...

brekfustuvluzer · #7 03-05-2010, 05:51 AM

i when i got my first bass, i accidentally bought a guitar instead!

thwump64 · #8 03-05-2010, 07:16 AM

I figured that since I was good at Guitar Hero I could play bass no problem.

El Raro · #9 03-05-2010, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

Mine was the day I changed my strings for the first time and over-tightened an E string to the point that it popped.

Yup, this is mine too. It was so awkward going into a music shop and asking for a lone bass E string. The shame!

I ended up replacing the entire string set eventually (considering they were charging me $20 AUD for the single E string...I know!).

EDIT: OH! I also just remembered two more.

1. When I was 13 or so, I wasn't sure what a bass was exactly. At the time I wanted to learn electric guitar. So I went into my first ever music shop and asked the saleman what the difference between a bass and an electric guitar were. His response was simply "one has 4 strings, the other has 6. Guess which one is which".

2. I used to think the sound came from amp heads. So I'd always wonder to myself "why would anyone want to buy more speakers if the amp makes enough sound?"

MrTAteMyBalls · #10 03-05-2010, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFantod

I picked up the bass for the first time in the summer of 1988. That year, my senior year in high school, I landed the spot as the bass player for the school jazz band.

The school's rig was a really nice Fender tube head with a big 15" cab. The thing was old, and grounding issues, but played great.

Anyway, I'm sitting there one morning looking at the back of the head at the tubes. I wonder to myself, "Gee, I wonder if these things get hot?" So, like a genius, I reach out and touch a tube with my index finger, and immediately yelp like a scalded dog.

Once the band director stopped laughing, he said, "What is that smell? Is that the smell of your flesh burning?"

Live and learn!

it's awesome that you got burned by both the tube...AND your teacher!

lousybassplayer · #11 03-05-2010, 07:32 AM

I have done some dumb stuff. The first big rookie mistake I made was to buy a P pickguard for my squier that was some kind of generic no namer. the screw holes wouldn't line up worth a damn, so I made them fit, punching holes in both the PG and the bass body. Not that bad, but I could have chosen one or the other to make new holes instead of a combination of both. I also tightened a string to the point that it broke and chewed the hell out of the base of the neck/fingerboard becasue I hadn't realized the string had slipped off the saddle.

davidgoldman · #12 03-05-2010, 07:37 AM

I thought you tuned a base one step down from a guitar, not one octive.

NickInMesa · #13 03-05-2010, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lousybassplayer

I have done some dumb stuff. The first big rookie mistake I made was to buy a P pickguard for my squier that was some kind of generic no namer. the screw holes wouldn't line up worth a damn, so I made them fit, punching holes in both the PG and the bass body. Not that bad, but I could have chosen one or the other to make new holes instead of a combination of both. I also tightened a string to the point that it broke and chewed the hell out of the base of the neck/fingerboard becasue I hadn't realized the string had slipped off the saddle.

LOL man I have made a pickguard fit on my CIJ 62 RI Jazz by drilling new holes.

Could not find a pickguard that fit, so after two weeks I said "to hell with it".

I believe the overtightening of the string happens a lot.

Once I bought a string set, not too long ago, where the E popped as soon as I put a bit of tension in it.

I took it back to GC when they refused to replace it. The guy ended believing me, because I look like I've been around a bit, but he told me that a lot of kids do that and they stopped replacing popped strings.

I never will buy this brand again (name withheld).

pasta4lnch · #14 03-05-2010, 07:44 AM

when I was a younger schmuck (and guitard) I tried lighting my pick on fire and playing. . . thus snapping all the strings on my Dean flying Z

FuzzBoxVoodoo · #15 03-05-2010, 08:22 AM

Hooking a Carvin R-1000 Bass amp into the speaker jack of a York 200watt/15 combo without unplugging it from the combo amp and sending power from the Carvin directly into the amp portion of the York,this resulted in a funny smell and a $75 repair.

ysand · #16 03-05-2010, 08:34 AM

I used to wear my bass very low.
After a while i learned

Seidell · #17 03-05-2010, 08:39 AM

Before I played bass (pre 16) I had an ascoutic guitar my father gave me.....So I stickered....marker-ed....and stuck bout 200 thumb tacks through the body....plus wrote the note names on the fret board with whiteout.....safe to say when i saw it again when i was 19......I died a little inside

NickInMesa · #18 03-05-2010, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasta4lnch

when I was a younger schmuck (and guitard) I tried lighting my pick on fire and playing. . . thus snapping all the strings on my Dean flying Z

Winner, so far.

whitespike · #19 03-05-2010, 09:42 AM

My first amp was some weird little combo. I don't even know what instrument it was for. It was a little round-cornered plywood thing. After I got a Peavy 15" speaker and pulled out my Dad's Peavy mixer head I somehow hooked them all up which resulted in the little combos speaker shooting out and the amp catching fire.

The other terrible thing is when I bought a 72 P bass fretless. I decided I hated the fretless and sold it instead of simply fretting it. I bought it for like 6-700 bucks in early 90s.

whitespike · #20 03-05-2010, 09:45 AM

And the other thing is I traded my first bass, a Japanese 60s RI P, for a Gibson Grabber just because I was 13 and liked Green Day. I regretted getting rid of my first for years, especially since it was an awesome bass. Luckily I found it in a shop nearly 10 years later!!! I even retrieved the original receipt printout and the serial numbers matched!!! I rebought it on the spot for same exact amount I bought it for when I was 12!