Are there any bad basses anymore?

[tlite]

Aren’t those Amoon basses off Amazon made of MDF and fall completely apart after 3-4 months? I would call that “crap”...

Are they really MDF? Actually, aren't Danelectros also MDF?

 

[dkelley]

I can't imagine either are MDF. mdf would be heavy and hard to machine. I'm sure they just use cheap real wood, of which there is PLENTY for stupidly low prices in china.

 

[Scottgun]

Aren’t those Amoon basses off Amazon made of MDF and fall completely apart after 3-4 months? I would call that “crap”...

It is very soft wood and in my case the upper register the intonation is flat due to misaligned frets, but it's still going and I still pick it up now and again even though I have a Dingwall. It's nice to have a bass to kick around and not care what happens to it.

 

[JRA]

Is anyone making crap basses anymore like in the good old days?

it seems you can buy a good bass from any company making basses today

i agree. and, just like the old days: you can buy a dud from any company making basses today.

this is overall a positive statement on the gear we have available now.

i believe you're correct and i endorse your line of thinking from my own personal experience. the standard for 'acceptable' has been 'raised' regarding instruments in the "cheapie" and "affordable " markets: playability is a must --- and all the manufacturers seem to be facilitating.

 

[SBassman]

Are they really MDF? Actually, aren't Danelectros also MDF?

MDF for a body is absolutely not a problem. It's the neck you have to worry about. A body can be made out of just about anything.

Danelectros have aweseome, unique tone.

 

[The Bass Clef]

aliexpress can hook you up with a POS.

 

[Bass V]

if they stopped making the Squier Dimension then you're safe, or at least changed the electronics. sadly, an otherwise nice stick was spoiled by the worst 1 dimensional treble-obsessed mess ever.

 

[thehindteet]

I never played a bad bass. some of them are harder to make sound good than others, but its the thought that counts. they could all have a home with me.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Squier is good. SX is good. Epiphone is good. People are even digging Rogues.

What the heck? Is anyone making crap basses anymore like in the good old days?

I'm talking horrible action, intonation issues, sharp frets, terrible or misaligned parts and woods, electronics shorting out, parts breaking, etc. Something that really makes your fretting hand hurt, that kind of thing.

Action and intonation can be adjusted with a couple of allen wrenches. Even expensive basses over $1000 will have sharp frets if there is not enough humidity.

Warwick and Ibanez still use barrel jacks which are trash and always fail eventually.

The majority of production basses are not shielded properly or at all.

Terrible wood gets painted over so you can't see how crappy it is

 

[CryingBass]

Haha, this is too funny! Truth is, this is a horrible time to be a bassist at least for those of us who have been doing this long enough to remember. When I was young, you could play 7 nights week to packed clubs, in a lot of cases you could play the same club multiple nights in a row and BTW, actually make money doing it!

But, I know what you mean, it is a great time to be buying basses. My first bass cost like $200 in 1978, the equivalent of about $775 today (for that amount you can buy a fairly decent bass today). And that bass was a horrible pile of garbage, but I played the hell out of it until I bought a 69 black Jazz that I paid $400 for in 1979 or 1980. An awesome bass that saw a lot of work until I decided foolishly that there must be something better and sold it. Truth be told, I don't even remember what that something better was or for how much I sold the jazz. Ya, sometimes I just need to remind myself that I am an idiot and have done some really stupid things!!

"Idiot" is in the ears of the beholder.

In so many ways gear, gigs, and the music that "sells" these days is a far-cry from the golden olden days.

One of the very few reasons I am old!

 

[Ghook]

I have two cheapies ...a $55 eBay P and a Rogue Fretless. I set up both and put LaBella Tapewounds on both. They sound amazing considering I have a $160.. in both, not counting strings. The are both very playable. Would they go head to head with an Ibanez SRF700 or an American Player P?...of course not. But could an audience tell the difference? I doubt it. Personally, being an old guy, I think we are in the Golden era of guitars, keyboards and home recording equipment. Even the low end is better then just useable.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Between overseas and auto mated manufacturing, the bar for cheap basses been raised.

 

[SgtHulka]

Staying with the established high quality, low cost brands like LTD, Squier, Ibanez, and others, I'm inclined to believe that you have a better chance of getting a poorly made and playing bass (despite specs and name brand parts) from a boutique outfit rather than one of the brands named above.

 

[JIO]

Those 60's Teisco basses and those soviet era Tonika basses from Russia.
Soviet-era Eastern Bloc Basses (Orfeus, Tonika, Jolana, Cremona, Ural, etc)
Soviet Guitar - No, Comrade, No!

IYO

'66 Teisco Del Rey

 

[mbell75]

Not sure. The two Squiers I have bought recently have been great, including the $199 Affinity PJ. Even that $69 Glarry I got online only needed a slight truss rod tweak. No sharp frets, no intonation issues, nothing. The Affinity Squiers used to be terrible up until recently. Now the new Indonesian made ones are a steal for $199 IMO. Ironically I’ve returned 3 new MIM Players Series Fenders over the past month for fret and neck issues. Go figure.

 

[Davbassdude]

I literally work less than 5 minutes from our local GC and spend at least 2 to 3 lunch hours per week playing their guitars and basses (kid in a candy shop)! I can tell you that as long as the setup is decent, Some of the $250 instruments sound and play as good or better than the $1500 instruments!!!

 

[Lardass5000]

There are some super crappy basses if you know where to look. For example I bought a used F****a M*****h directlyfrom the builder for $5600 in NYC. It had a POS bridge a finish that bubbled, a FL "ebony" fingerboard that twisted [maybe should have used cured wood] and a cobbed up circuit that was redundant and less than inspired. Anyway I struggled with it for a year finally sold it for parts.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I had to play a Soviet era violin bass for almost 7 hours on NYE '04 when I was in the army. I still have nightmares..

Good for us I don't see anybody making anything like those anymore.

 

[Indiana Mike]

Yes ,yes there are .

 

[tlite]

I literally work less than 5 minutes from our local GC... Some of the $250 instruments sound and play as good or better than the $1500 instruments!!!

One of the best players I know went with me to GC the other day. He swears by American P's and American J's.

He nearly walked out of GC with a new fluorescent green Chinese Dean bass that he initially picked up as a joke figuring it would be awful. He is still talking about it.