I can't tell you how much I love the neck on mine! Smooth as butter...
Sounds fantastic, too.
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Basses that suprised you (In a good way)
- Thread starter Naxeez
- Start date
I can't tell you how much I love the neck on mine! Smooth as butter...
Sounds fantastic, too.
my old carvin LB76 was a pleasant surprise. purple finish, 34" scale, great jazz bass kind of vibe.
The one that still gets me right here (places palm of hand on heart) is my mid 90's MIM Fender Jazz. I think I paid $125 in a pawn shop...put some Fender '62 reissue p'ups in it and it smokes.
Four have surprised in a good way.
Galveston USA flag bass. Bought used off of eBay for cheap, setup took the better part of 2 hours(had to clean it as the previous owner only had it hanging on his wall for years). Sounds great, easy to play, very light.
Greco LP clone with 3 of their chrome T-Bird pickups, the ones that sound like Gibson's 60's pickup. Again, very easy to play(fast neck) but had to change to a lighter gauge of Rotosounds because the neck cannot take "normal" Roto's. Neck pickup sounds like a Gibson EB mudbucker but with a bit of that TBird growl and the middle and rear pickup help give definition.
No-name Musicman clone of the $1400+ sunburst model got for $140. After setup and Rotos it is very easy to play, has the MM sound(vs the MM tried in GC Houston), and is very light.
Greco solid body violin bass(VB-xxx??) with two humbuckers, shortscale. The pickups seem to be their T-Bird pickups with no chrome covers. The main surprise is how much low end and sustain this one has for being a bolt-on and short scale. IF you get one of these and it sounds BLAH at first, raise the pickups so the output is similar to your other basses....they come alive after that. The lightest bass I own.
Galveston USA flag bass. Bought used off of eBay for cheap, setup took the better part of 2 hours(had to clean it as the previous owner only had it hanging on his wall for years). Sounds great, easy to play, very light.
Greco LP clone with 3 of their chrome T-Bird pickups, the ones that sound like Gibson's 60's pickup. Again, very easy to play(fast neck) but had to change to a lighter gauge of Rotosounds because the neck cannot take "normal" Roto's. Neck pickup sounds like a Gibson EB mudbucker but with a bit of that TBird growl and the middle and rear pickup help give definition.
No-name Musicman clone of the $1400+ sunburst model got for $140. After setup and Rotos it is very easy to play, has the MM sound(vs the MM tried in GC Houston), and is very light.
Greco solid body violin bass(VB-xxx??) with two humbuckers, shortscale. The pickups seem to be their T-Bird pickups with no chrome covers. The main surprise is how much low end and sustain this one has for being a bolt-on and short scale. IF you get one of these and it sounds BLAH at first, raise the pickups so the output is similar to your other basses....they come alive after that. The lightest bass I own.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
For me it's my 1983 Peavey T-40...it's at the studio so I can't take a picture. It's all black with a rosewood fingerboard. Looks great, sounds great, and has my favorite neck of any bass I've ever owned. $350 with OHSC 
The "versatility" of a stingray, when i first tested a stingray I really thought you couldnt get a dark/smooth sound out of it but when i tested it i just rolled the treble down and got what i wanted.
pablomigraine
Commercial User
Squier Affinity Jazz 5.
My other 5'ers have included 2 x MIA Jazz 5's (2000 5 inline + 2005 4+1 headstocks), a Warwick Corvette and an Alembic Essence and the Squier is one of the best of them. The neck is thin, smooth and well profiled, the pick ups growl with wonderful note clarity and separation so you can play fast or just savour the sustain of a B string note.
My other 5'ers have included 2 x MIA Jazz 5's (2000 5 inline + 2005 4+1 headstocks), a Warwick Corvette and an Alembic Essence and the Squier is one of the best of them. The neck is thin, smooth and well profiled, the pick ups growl with wonderful note clarity and separation so you can play fast or just savour the sustain of a B string note.
My recently acquired Hofner Icon.
I figured of course that it would be great for Beatles stuff, and it is, but I was pleasantly surprised by how versatile it is. Definitely not a one-trick-pony.
Also, never having had a hollow body bass before, I am diggin' those tones - because it sounds totally different than my solid body basses. Gives me a completely different sound palette to work with.
Well, I was going to post about my Hofner Icon, but you beat me to it! I love my Icon, like you said it's a very versatile bass, and I'm amazed at what you can do with it. Lately I've been on a bit of a "purist" kick, and I play my Icon straight through my amp without any pedals. Love the tone I get out of it!
I noticed you did the same thing that I did, replace the knobs with teacup knobs and painted the switches white. I even have the same strap as you, got to keep it original!
Which Squier natural jazz bass is that? The Squier Vintage Modified, with the Soft Maple body?
Surprised in a good way?
- Korean Danelectro Longhorn. Had the normal knobs (not concentric) and a pickup switcher. Surprisingly loud and punchy bass.
- Ibanez SR530. Normally I would have thought "oh okay, nice bass" but for whatever reason I really connected with it. Probably because it made a huge difference compared to the SRX650 which I tried and absolutely hated.
- Dingwall AB-X. Incredibly easy to play.
- Squier CV Tele. Blew away the Sting Signature I was testing along with that. Played awesome and sounded great.
- Korean Danelectro Longhorn. Had the normal knobs (not concentric) and a pickup switcher. Surprisingly loud and punchy bass.
- Ibanez SR530. Normally I would have thought "oh okay, nice bass" but for whatever reason I really connected with it. Probably because it made a huge difference compared to the SRX650 which I tried and absolutely hated.
- Dingwall AB-X. Incredibly easy to play.
- Squier CV Tele. Blew away the Sting Signature I was testing along with that. Played awesome and sounded great.
Engine207
Losing faith in humanity...one call at a time.
I never expected my son's Brice (Rondo, I believe) HXB-405 to sound as good as it does. I got it for him a couple of years ago from TBer iamdenialNJ. If I remember right, it was only $150, with a Schaller bridge and some unknown 3-band preamp. I prefer 34" scale and more traditional tones, but it sounds great in a mix.
Here's some of the seller's photos.
Here's some of the seller's photos.
I grew up thinking that Fender P's or J's were the be all end all in the known universe. So after playing a bunch of 'other' basses, I finally picked up a Fender Jazz, and it was my main bass for about 10 yearsbut the whole time I struggled with my soundit just didn't sound 'right' to me (and I did get some pretty negative comments from various band members along the way too).
So I started looking around for something new when a salesman in my local music store asked me if I'd ever checked out Musicman basses. For some reason or other, I'd never given them a second thought up to that pointbut thought, what the hell, I'll give them a try. Being as I was a Jazz bass player at the time, he gives me a Sterling to check out. I was floored. This was what I'd always thought a bass should sound like in my head, and here it was in my hands! And just looking at the quality of the instrumentwhich is light years beyond what you get from Fendermade me decide on the spot that I was going to buy one of these gems.
So I did. I picked up a Sterling a little while later, and after about a year (during which the Fender never left it's case) I traded the Jazz for a Stingray... and another love affair began...
Since then I've had nothing but positive comments on my sound.
Pleasantly surprised, and then some.
So I started looking around for something new when a salesman in my local music store asked me if I'd ever checked out Musicman basses. For some reason or other, I'd never given them a second thought up to that pointbut thought, what the hell, I'll give them a try. Being as I was a Jazz bass player at the time, he gives me a Sterling to check out. I was floored. This was what I'd always thought a bass should sound like in my head, and here it was in my hands! And just looking at the quality of the instrumentwhich is light years beyond what you get from Fendermade me decide on the spot that I was going to buy one of these gems.
So I did. I picked up a Sterling a little while later, and after about a year (during which the Fender never left it's case) I traded the Jazz for a Stingray... and another love affair began...
Since then I've had nothing but positive comments on my sound.
Pleasantly surprised, and then some.
Being a notoriously cheap b*st*rd, I'm always pleased, and suprised, to find a MIK/MIT/etc bass that sings.
I've got a Lakie MIK Skyline that kills! Man, it's a great piece of wood with a terrific neck. I've played a lot of USA Lakie's, but for me, my Skyline blows them all away!
Also, Yamaha BB basses are great deals. I've got a BB300 that also is the cat's meow. Great neck, balances well, and the stock pickup has that P GROOOWWWWL!
I've got a Lakie MIK Skyline that kills! Man, it's a great piece of wood with a terrific neck. I've played a lot of USA Lakie's, but for me, my Skyline blows them all away!
Also, Yamaha BB basses are great deals. I've got a BB300 that also is the cat's meow. Great neck, balances well, and the stock pickup has that P GROOOWWWWL!
- Jul 30, 2006
- 2,315
- 453
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- Endorsing artist:Regenerate Guitar Works Carvin, Micheal Kelly Guitars
This one blew my mind. The Kay 162 Reissue. Simply the biggest bottom end EVER. 30.5" scale w/flats. It has a treble cut toggle switch which changes it from a Hofner type woody tone to a dub monster. I use it on almost every studio session unless the guy insists on a Fender or I need a 5 string for that particular track. OMG what a huge sound! Like a mountain walkin' down the street.
Attachments
Thanks, Parms. Yeah, I love playing this Hofner Icon. Sounds great, light as a feather.
The Icon and CT series basses have black switches, did you paint yours? and what color did you use if you did?
My Fender Sting P! It pretty blew my doors off the moment I took it out the box. I liked it so much it became, and still is, my main bass. I was amazed at how easy it was play despite how fat the neck is. It turned out to be really comfortable. Out of all of my basses its the only one that's pushed me to play finger style, as all of my other basses are generally pickers basses.
Probably the two basses I've owned...
Firstly, Yamaha RBX360. I should have expected it to be good as I know Yamaha stuff to be good quality, but it only cost me £50. I was ready to swap the stock pickups out even before I'd tried them but that bass sounded great amplified. Really good P-J pickups.
Secondly, my current MTD Kingston Heir 5. Surprised because I hadn't specifically gone looking for a 5-string. And given that I've got small hands, I certainly wasn't looking for one with 19mm spacing. But this thing is just so comfortable - amybe it's the asymmetric neck - and feels like it was made for my hands.
Firstly, Yamaha RBX360. I should have expected it to be good as I know Yamaha stuff to be good quality, but it only cost me £50. I was ready to swap the stock pickups out even before I'd tried them but that bass sounded great amplified. Really good P-J pickups.
Secondly, my current MTD Kingston Heir 5. Surprised because I hadn't specifically gone looking for a 5-string. And given that I've got small hands, I certainly wasn't looking for one with 19mm spacing. But this thing is just so comfortable - amybe it's the asymmetric neck - and feels like it was made for my hands.
A TI strung Zon 5/1 and my Sunbeam strung Fender RW P (I know, no photo's, no bass, I'll get some next practice).
