Unpopular Basses - do you happen to like any Basses others on here seem to not like?

[Rip Topaz]

I've a big fan of Wishbasses. I know people like to rip on them but I've owned three of them (so far) and all three were a lot of fun and actually really great instruments.


The work that I've done on these basses inspired me, and I've since built almost 20 basses of my own.

[bootsox]

Originally Posted by Snakeman1066

When I ended up buying my Schecter about 5 years ago I tried out one of those (looked just like the one on the right, except was a 4 string) and immediately had to put it back. the screws holding the bridge in place were cutting into my wrist, the sound was downright awful, the appearance left quite a bit to be desired. But everything else about it is fantastic. if they'd ditch that stupid ugly bridge and replaced them with a badass or something and threw some dimarzio model ones in them I'd be willing to pay twice their current going price

[micgtr71]

I had a steinberger xl2 for years until the bridge fell apart. Everyone I encountered seemed to hate it. Some asked if it was an oar, my tech would scream "wood, not bowling ball material", and others would ask if it was real.

I also got to play a 68 Epiphone Rivoli with a 30" scale. Looked like a 335. Fantastic bass, though the guys I was with told me I was nuts. If I had the money I would have bought it.

Also, I like the bongo as well. My friend calls it Warhol's toilet seat.

[tmdazed]

judging from a lot of posts on here, if it doesnt say fender or musicman somewhere on the instrument , they will be unpopular

[Trayster2]

Originally Posted by tmdazed

judging from a lot of posts on here, if it doesnt say fender or musicman somewhere on the instrument , they will be unpopular

Agree.

[powmetalbassist]

I play classic Ibanez RD's (late 80's) I hear they are fairly unpopular around here. Whatever I like what I hear. I've also been looking at a white Dean Spire. Dean is like saying the N word on Martin Luther King Day......not a good idea (on any day). I've also been looking at G & L L2000. It is not unpopular, but it is not really very popular, just quality....which is fine by me.

[lbbc]

My 1980's Koa Peavey RSB is one I pick up and play most of the time. It has a great feel and sound (I DID replace the pickups w/EMG's 4 years ago).
I sold it on ebay a few years ago for $250, but the buyer sent it back because he thought it was the Rudy Sarzo...I'm lucky he did. Now, both of my youngest sons (18 & 19) have learned to play bass on this as well. Although they have their own basses....they still want to play this Peavey!

[Kevin aka Kebo]

Very good thread topic btw.... Its weird, Im an artist endorsee for Warrior. 3 of my very good friends are not fans of these things at all. Me, I love mine and other than my 58p or an old Tbird, this is my go to bass. I use it for every "classy" gig I do too...

[meatwad]

Originally Posted by powmetalbassist

I play classic Ibanez RD's (late 80's) I hear they are fairly unpopular around here

Same here. They've always been amongst my favorites, and I love how cheap they can be found. I'd love to have an RD727 in every color they produced..

[DwaynieAD]

I was always fond of my cort basses that weren't curbows..

Cort Action V - the pickups were very weak sounding and this was back before I knew you could mod basses, so I sold it. gorgeous to look at tho.
The other one I still have is a P-bass copy, tobacco burst. sounded pretty good, I sanded it down, repainted it white and put some Quarter pounders in it. still sounds great the paint job i did looks horrible close up but it looks great from a few feet away. white with black pickguard.

[DiabolicLow B]

A lot of people dislike the Bongo (for looks mainly) but I have owned a 4HH and a 5HH and they are among my favorite basses ever.

[DwaynieAD]

Originally Posted by DiabolicLow B

A lot of people dislike the Bongo (for looks mainly) but I have owned a 4HH and a 5HH and they are among my favorite basses ever.

they are butt ugly but holy crap one of the best sounding basses i've ever heard.

[TBird1958]

Being a devotee of Gibson basses ( not just Thunderbirds) I'm always shocked at the largely mis-informed, outright hate for them here on TB............

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by Mr. Lovejoy

This then got me thinking: do any of you have positive experiences with Basses people seem to froth at the mouth in disgust over?

My experience is overwhelmingly in the other direction. The most popular basses out there seem to:
- cost too much
- sound horrible with a thin, weak, muddy, clacky tone
- horrible ergos, usually neck dive and absolutely unreachable half position, especially on the strap
- cost too much (oops, already typed this one).
- horrifying ergos, neck dive, poor body design (oh.. already typed that too..)

But the two instances of good experiences with basses generally "Meh.."'d by other players are my L2K unlined and my carvin bunny 4 string unlined.

The L2K is the king of the I-love-it-but-noone-else-does crop. Even the thieves who broke into my apt. a few years ago didn't want it. They even took my crappy Gibson Tobias and lined L2500 rather than the L2K (presumably because, in the time allotted to them, they thought those were fretted instruments).

Nowadays, it's my main player. I've been cutting, grinding and pulling things out of it for 12 years now and I'm almost done with it. So ergonomically, it's now the best fit. But I couldn't give it away if I wanted to, even tho it's fully "relic'ed" from years of throwing it around and I still have the original receipts and docs from G&L in the case from when I bought it new.

The carvin bunny is the 2nd most hated by others, mainly because it's a carvin with the reputation of sounding too clean and calm. Mine is also unlined, so nobody will ever ask to borrow it or even touch it. But it's the best sounding bass I have and has reasonable ergos (though I've lately mildly found the neck to be a little too wide for me).

Those are mine...

LS

[96tbird]

Originally Posted by TBird1958

Being a devotee of Gibson bases ( not just Thunderbirds) I'm always shocked at the largely mis-informed, outright hate for them here on TB............

They probably never tried a G-3. I wonder if its that Gibson focused on gizmos to change tone instead of pickup blending. I've often thought that my G-3 versatility would be pumped up if you could blend pups a la Jazz instead of just a 3 position switch; seems to me the interaction of pups using volume pots adds versatility. Still, Gibson's are cool with me. Most aren't that 'mix forward' but they still deliver solid bass 'support' wherever used.

[Holdsg]

"Fools mock what they don't understand" a wise man once said.

[Joe Nerve]

Originally Posted by Holdsg

"Fools mock what they don't understand" a wise man once said.

I'm kinda surprised that the bongo is still getting ugly comments. My avatar's been rockin a bongo for about 10 years now I think.

[Psychbunny]

Count me as one of the Gibson lovers. I only have three basses and I have them because I enjoy each one. I will never understand the Gibson haters. What is even worse is my Gibson is a dreaded flting V, short scale! It is by far the easiest of my 3 basses to play. It gets about equal time with another bashed bass of mine, the Fender American Special Jazz. Rounding up my terrible Trio is my Godin Freeway four. I do not hear any one bash Godins because I never hear anyone acknowledge that they exsist.

[C.Linton]

I had an Gibson EB3L (Early 70's? Not sure) that was a teriffic bass. I liked it so much I tolerated the typical dead spot on the G string, the only real negative on this bass. My experience with it contradicts the majority of the typical complaints I've read about these. Easy to play, with the right strings and settings, not muddy at all,and, as far as I coulkd tell, no neck dive, and not heavy at all. If I could get another just like it (minus the dead spot, hopefully) at a decent price, I would jump on it.I also don't get all the Gibson bass hate. Sure, the basses aren't as well loved as Fenders, but I don't think it's because they're not decent basses, I think there might be a bit of an unfair bias involved.

[electracoyote]

Fenders and Rickenbackers. Two brands that seem to inspire a lot of venom here on TB that I play routinely.