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Basses you wanted to love, but couldn't.
- Thread starter jd56hawk
- Start date
For me it was a German made Warwick corvette doublebuck 5 string. Wanted one from the day they were released but after getting a brilliant deal on one,I found I just couldn't get on with the sounds and the neck, I'm not for one minute knocking Warwick but horses for courses and all that.
Spector Euro 4lx and the Lakland Decade. Ergos ruin otherwise great basses. Inset bridges are no longer allowed in my house under any circumstances. 
Thunderbird. Loved the sound, loved the look, but didnt fit me ergonomically.
Peavey T20. Had a fretted and fretless and let them both go. I found the necks too wide and flat feeling and my hand fatigued easily on them. They sounded incredible though.
Peavey T20. Had a fretted and fretless and let them both go. I found the necks too wide and flat feeling and my hand fatigued easily on them. They sounded incredible though.
Yamaha TRBX-505. I got a really great deal on a used one in good condition. Loved the way it sounded, and under 9 pounds was great on my broken back! But I really just couldn't get comfortable with 18mm spacing. 19 is my ride-or-die I guess for 5ers.
I got a 60s Vintera Mustang a couple years back and slapped some flats on it. It plays nice and sounds like it should, but I just couldn't really bond with it. Perhaps it's true-to-the-original-vintage-sound is too vintagey for me. Perhaps a pickup upgrade would make me like it more. But the deal breaker might be having to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. Dry winters and humid summers mean I have to adjust things at least a couple times a year to keep things where they need to be.
I got a 60s Vintera Mustang a couple years back and slapped some flats on it. It plays nice and sounds like it should, but I just couldn't really bond with it. Perhaps it's true-to-the-original-vintage-sound is too vintagey for me. Perhaps a pickup upgrade would make me like it more. But the deal breaker might be having to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod. Dry winters and humid summers mean I have to adjust things at least a couple times a year to keep things where they need to be.
This thread kind of devolved into a "why I hate Rickenbackers" thing.
I will concur. [Caveat: I have never tried a 4004.]
Just can't get comfortable enough to stop thinking how about how uncomfortable I am, and just start playing.
Wanted to love them, but not for me. Wayyy too much stuff on the front of the body.
G&L necks (at least the ones I've tried) don't sit right with my hands.
Can't do the vintage style Fender "Louisville Slugger" necks either.
Reverse Thunderbirds I've always wanted to like, but they just sit weirdly with me.
I will concur. [Caveat: I have never tried a 4004.]
Just can't get comfortable enough to stop thinking how about how uncomfortable I am, and just start playing.
Wanted to love them, but not for me. Wayyy too much stuff on the front of the body.
G&L necks (at least the ones I've tried) don't sit right with my hands.
Can't do the vintage style Fender "Louisville Slugger" necks either.
Reverse Thunderbirds I've always wanted to like, but they just sit weirdly with me.
1968 Guild Starfire I. It was a case queen I found at my local GC around 2007 - I was into Alembic, Dark Stars were all the rage, and this had an original Bi-Sonic. BUT, I found that with my right hand playing style, the E string would hit the pickup pole. I tried lowering it, but then it would short out! I perhaps could have adjusted my playing technique, but I'm stubborn. There were also probably fixes that could have been done, but this was a beautiful vintage instrument in great condition and I felt it would be better going to someone else.
I have owned 5 Rickenbackers and still have 3 - they are idiosyncratic but they work for me!
I have owned 5 Rickenbackers and still have 3 - they are idiosyncratic but they work for me!
No issues with Rickenbacker. They are fine instruments.
As for the thread question. I've never really been a fan of signature basses. From the Geddy Lee, Nate Mendel, etc. I don't want to copy what they did and having an instrument with their signature just feels like they should be sitting on display at home.
As for the thread question. I've never really been a fan of signature basses. From the Geddy Lee, Nate Mendel, etc. I don't want to copy what they did and having an instrument with their signature just feels like they should be sitting on display at home.
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BC Rich Mockingbird - coolest styling, but how on earth do you deal with those ergonomics? Neck dive and a reach that makes it feel two inches longer. I have a homemade Fenderbird now that somewhat satisfies my desire for the styling. Its 32" scale helps with the neck dive, and the reach is as much as I can manage.
- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
It doesn't. I traded mine for one of those crappy, Kramer Steinberger knock offs (hangs head in shame).
A lot of this has to do with the physicality, or lack thereof, of my hands.
Jazz bass: nut too narrow; heel too wide; scale too long; single coils too noisy.
Precision bass: heel too wide; scale too long; don't like the dichotomy of tone between the two segments of the pickup with modern round wound strings.
Hofner 500/1: neck heavy; strange control layout; not amenable to finger picking.
Gibson EB-3: strange tones due to the Vari-tone circuit, neck heavy.
Jazz bass: nut too narrow; heel too wide; scale too long; single coils too noisy.
Precision bass: heel too wide; scale too long; don't like the dichotomy of tone between the two segments of the pickup with modern round wound strings.
Hofner 500/1: neck heavy; strange control layout; not amenable to finger picking.
Gibson EB-3: strange tones due to the Vari-tone circuit, neck heavy.
Ken Smith 5 - Beautiful and the second Ken Smith I have owned, but could not get the tone I wanted
Alembic Essence 5 - Beautiful bass, heavy as a boat anchor.
Alembic Essence 5 - Beautiful bass, heavy as a boat anchor.
For me it was the Fender Mustang PJ bass.
I wanted to love it. I tried it in the store and it seemed good and sounded good so I bought it. I had it for a week before returning it and buying a Danelectro Longhorn.
The only basses I'd ever owned were Hofners and the Fender just never felt right.
I liked the versatility of the P and J pickups but ergonomically, something just wasn't right for me and my wrist on my fretting hand started hurting the more I played.
The 19 frets threw me off too. After three decades I don't need to look at the neck that often but with three fewer frets than I was used to I kept missing the note when I played up the neck.
I wanted to love it. I tried it in the store and it seemed good and sounded good so I bought it. I had it for a week before returning it and buying a Danelectro Longhorn.
The only basses I'd ever owned were Hofners and the Fender just never felt right.
I liked the versatility of the P and J pickups but ergonomically, something just wasn't right for me and my wrist on my fretting hand started hurting the more I played.
The 19 frets threw me off too. After three decades I don't need to look at the neck that often but with three fewer frets than I was used to I kept missing the note when I played up the neck.
Stingray Special - Loved the look, searched for one in black with the HH config and roasted maple neck forever. Finally got it and A/B'd it with a 2015 Stealth and it just felt and sounded...cheap...in comparison. While the neck was really comfortable, the super lightweight body had no resonance and it sounded thin next to the Stealth.
I called Ernie Ball to inquire about the differences and they told me the magnets in the Special pickups were different than what the Stealth (which was almost perfect) and of course the 18v system. It just didn't do it for me at all.
I called Ernie Ball to inquire about the differences and they told me the magnets in the Special pickups were different than what the Stealth (which was almost perfect) and of course the 18v system. It just didn't do it for me at all.
Music Man Sabre.
I bought a '96... new... black... neck and fretboard loaded with birdseyes... thing looked great.
But the pickup options with the 5-way switching didn't produce any pleasing tonal options for me.
I happily turned it loose via the local classifieds. No regrets.
However, my Stingray 5 was a great bass... loved the switching options on that one.
I bought a '96... new... black... neck and fretboard loaded with birdseyes... thing looked great.
But the pickup options with the 5-way switching didn't produce any pleasing tonal options for me.
I happily turned it loose via the local classifieds. No regrets.
However, my Stingray 5 was a great bass... loved the switching options on that one.
I wanted to love my Schecter Stilleto 5 - I bought it to tour with... It was replacing a dirt-crappy Laguna that "someone" recommended... (You *someone* you...) That Laguna lasted one practice and one pre-tour, dive-bar throwaway show. Which after the show, I threw it at someone and told them to keep it. (*Sorry Shaun.*)
It was too bad to even consider loving...
(Note: Look how fat and happy "pretour-crappy-practice-gig" Me is compared to lean and mean "need-to-bring-the-A-Game in front of 6000+" Me at a pavilion a few months into the tour... no pressure... damn.)
But I digress....
The Schecter, however, looked like something I wanted to love...
It looked promising... EMG Active, Neck through, nice fit and finish...
There were several issues with it though - and after touring with it for 8 months... It hasn't been played much in more than 12 years...
Neck is a baseball bat compared to what I'm used to - My upright has a more comfortable neck.
Something about it was just not right... not sure if it was the scale, or the balance... I always felt like I was fighting it to stay in the right position.
Sound was MEH-ish - it was fine live, but cutting tracks screamed of its lacklusternessitude (not a word - don't care..)
It just didn't have "it" (Whatever "it" is...) and I would generally have to pull out the Warrior 7 string for tracking.
In review... Laguna... Crap... bad bad bad bad... didn't last a week.
Schecter Stiletto - Wanted to love it. Lasted for 8 month tour - then mothballed.
It was never what I would call "bad" - it's "fine"...
not "FINE" like "Fine Wine"...
More like...
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Let's get this over with..."
It was too bad to even consider loving...
(Note: Look how fat and happy "pretour-crappy-practice-gig" Me is compared to lean and mean "need-to-bring-the-A-Game in front of 6000+" Me at a pavilion a few months into the tour... no pressure... damn.)
But I digress....
The Schecter, however, looked like something I wanted to love...
It looked promising... EMG Active, Neck through, nice fit and finish...
There were several issues with it though - and after touring with it for 8 months... It hasn't been played much in more than 12 years...
Neck is a baseball bat compared to what I'm used to - My upright has a more comfortable neck.
Something about it was just not right... not sure if it was the scale, or the balance... I always felt like I was fighting it to stay in the right position.
Sound was MEH-ish - it was fine live, but cutting tracks screamed of its lacklusternessitude (not a word - don't care..)
It just didn't have "it" (Whatever "it" is...) and I would generally have to pull out the Warrior 7 string for tracking.
In review... Laguna... Crap... bad bad bad bad... didn't last a week.
Schecter Stiletto - Wanted to love it. Lasted for 8 month tour - then mothballed.
It was never what I would call "bad" - it's "fine"...
not "FINE" like "Fine Wine"...
More like...
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Let's get this over with..."
A had a Tobias Growler I never bonded with. The neck was too narrow for me. I was a lovely bass, but I just didn't get along with it. I had it for awhile and then sold it. The buyer was very happy with it.
