• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Basses that disappointed you...

#141
Wow there are some killer basses getting blasted on here... I hated I discounted Warwick as a brand... I should have specified Corvette Standard 4.

I have since played several top level basses Corvette 6, Thumb 5, Streamer 5, Dolphin 4. I loved all these, but that dang Corvette.... I wanted that bass and they couldn't have picked a heavier piece of wood, had crappier pickups, etc.... That thing just didn't have anything going for it.....

Everyone in the shop played it and couldn't agree more.

Once again, I guess every company has their duds....

I met a guy last week with a Lakland Duck Dunn that weighed 13 pounds! It sounded good but I dig a bass that doesn't weigh a ton...
 
#143
MM Stingray. I bought a really nice looking blue burst in the mid 90's and it just never got the sound I was looking for. I'm sure it was a great bass but just didn't suit me for what I was looking for back then. I kind of regret selling it to some degree now because I have only seen 1 other like it since then. that bass was definitely the start to my evolution in finding the "right" bass for me.
 
#144
PriceQualityExpectationReality.gif


Some of this at work, maybe.
 
#145
Yamaha BB1024: it was a bass that was on my list for a long time, until i plugged one in...sound wasnt bad, neck felt a bit thin but i didnt like the whole brass nut thing. Maybe i gotta try it again see if i really hate it.
rickenbacker 4003 (x2): god awful thing. hate the neck, sound, weight. it's too thin. I love my copy WAAAAAAYYYYY better than the real thing. and it's 3times less pricy :)
 
#151
Muddslide said:
I should also say active basses. Active electronics of any kind. It's great what some people can do with them. Personally I absolutely cannot stand them and will never bother with them again.
Click to expand...

+1

Perhaps that is why many comments for this post about MM 'Rays is negative. Would love to hear a passive 'Ray (minus the active pre-amp.)

Seems the active pre-amps alter the sound of a bass even if it's played with flat settings.

Anyway, I also have been disappointed with basses with active pre-amps!
 
#153
about a decade ago I bought a new Fender USA p-bass. I don't see how anyone ever toured with those. Everyday the difference in temp/atmosphere would change the neck so tuning was obviously really off but the neck relief would always change as well. I would have to perform a minor setup before some shows just to get the strings setting where I wanted them,..... I always had a hard time getting good tone out of it also,...part of that was my lack of experience. I also think the older better made Fender basses were just better mated with old school tube amps and playing music from those days and not what I was playing and through the amps I was using. Spector basses and higher end Ibanez basses seem to fit my style these days,...to each their own is all I know
 
#154
Gibson EB-3
Fender Jazz
Carvin LB-70
Lakland 4402 Deluxe
Epiphone EB-1
Epiphone T-bird
Ric 4001

I own and play all these basses right now and I love/hate all of them for different reasons. Never really met a bass I totally hated as I can coax something out of any bass as long as its set up and theres a decent amp to plug into.
 
#156
stingraysvt said:
Warwick, they were the thing to have at the time and I had played a friends 6 string corvette sitting in at a gig thinking it was cool, just too many strings.... got a chance to check one out at the store and we all hated it. It was a four string and clunky, thin sounding, the bad thing about it we were looking at selling them and they sent us "this"?

On a redeeming note, played a thumb bass narrow spacing 5 string and was floored! Great price too if I remember right... Should have bought that bass!

Just shows everyone has their 5:00 on Friday sub parr builds...
Click to expand...

Sometimes the previous owners swap out the electronics which isn't a good idea. The MEC setup is a great one. Super clear and in my experience versatile. I played a corvette that someone tossed EMGs in and it sounded really bad.
 
#160
It has been mentioned here already. But, I think many don't really appreciate the value of a good or great set up.

95% of the time a music store's idea of setting up an instrument is unboxing it, putting a tag on it and hanging it on the wall..and then labeling and finding space in the back for the case. Finding a space in the back is always the most time consuming.

After that it is pretty much fine and dandy until a customer, or more likely several customers tell the staff that there is a problem with an instrument. At that point, it might be looked at by a sales person or a tech. If the issue is bad enough the guitar will be sent back, or more likely, a quick truss adjustment and throw it back up on the wall, unless somebody else complains.

A well set up $200 instrument can and generally does play and sound better than a 2k not set up or badly set up instrument.

So why doesn't every store have their instruments set up you ask?? Because customers don't see value. They want to buy the well set up instrument. But they are only willing to pay the mail order price.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back