Biggest surprise, Bass-wise

[kellyrojo]

I bought this on closeout. I was shocked at what a great instrument it is. In fact, even now - months later, I'm still amazed at how nice it is.

What is it? It looks cool.

Also, the ATK I bought in 96 is a steal in my opinion. The hardware on that bass and its feel are worth way more than the 300+ I payed for it. Even after all these years I still love the feel of it...although the sound isn't my thing at all anymore.

 

[TolerancEJ]

Ready for this? My biggest surprise was the Bassfish from Goldfish Guitars. Money was tight this past Christmas so I asked my wife for the Bassfish, as it was less than $200. I was basically expecting a novelty bass but everything seems to work together alright. It's actually a nice travel size jazz bass.

 

[smcd]

What is it? It looks cool.

It's a Peavey Zodiac DE Scorpio bass. They were blowing them out for $299 shipped a few months ago. They must have been losing money on every one, because there's no way a bass like this could be made for that price.

 

[bassist4dalord]

Bump! Keep the cool stories coming!

 

[dannylectro]

My 90's-something Jerry Jones Longhorn. A bottom-feeding monster. Bought off eBay on a whim for $450 in 2002.

 

[jamminjh]

My first fender bass was a mex jazz. After tweaking the truss rod to bring the strings down a little closer to the board, I found I could pull off riffs that I never thought I would be able to attempt. Later on, I ended up smashing it and replaced it with a Highway one jazz. I gotta say, If I were to put on a blind fold and play both, I don't think I could tell the difference. That is how good that mex jazz was.

FYI, never smash something to prove to a woman that you love her more than the thing you are smashing. Women come and go, but basses can be more fun. You can finger them without having to buy them dinner.

 

[xXColaXx]

And doesn't mine if you slap or pop the G string.

 

[yuujin]

biggest surprise?
yamaha bb415.

not that cheap from where i am but wow. that thing sounds phat.

 

[Marty Forrer]

Bought a Wal back in early 90s.... it was bland.
Played a Sadowsky at a trade show... it was clanky and sterile.
Played a 64 L series Jazz bass.... fantastic.
Bought a Roadworn Jazz.. almost as good for a fraction of the price.

 

[Lowbrow]

Also - Danelectro "Rumor"

$199 basses that with $250 in upgrades (tuners, bridge, pickup) are two of my favorite-ever instruments.

 

[erigod23]

I was never really into Fender basses (more of a G&L guy). One day I played a Jazz bass with a maple neck (MIM)and I absolutely loved it! So I bought it, and now play both. I now have a Am. Standard on the way.
Oddly enough when I play a Jazz with a RW neck, I don't like it. My G&L has a RW neck and I like it. So, my biggest surprise is that I love Fenders with maple necks!

 

[Laredo]

I purchased one Classic Vibe Squier just as an everyday player, and now have all of the models, including two of the 60s P-Basses!!

The EBMM Bongo..........Every time I play one of mine, it just amazes me!! I keep wondering where all that wonderful sound is coming from??

 

[martyman5000]

Wrote to F bass that I would like to come to their shop and try some bass guitars, they never wrote back. I went to a shop a town over and found they had two to try and was disappointed...maybe if I tried one at their shop it might have been different properly set up and tuned right?

 

[TolerancEJ]

@martyman5000 Does F Bass keep a stock of already completed models? I could be wrong but I was under the impression they build to order.

 

[Chuck King]

Back in the mid-90s I went to a local store to try out some basses. I was looking for something interesting, but to use as a benchmark, I played a regular old MIM Precision they had there. Well, after side-by-siding it against a number of other (more expensive and "cooler") basses, my biggest surprise was that that MIM Precision blew them all away. (Although, from a financial perspective, I sometimes wish I'd bought the Fender Performer they also had---it would have appreciated a lot by now! But the P-bass played and sounded better.)

I've still got that bass, and it still surprises me with how good it sounds---I've had some pretty good aftermarket pickups in other basses, but that one sounds as good or better than any of the others with the stock '92 MIM pickup in it. I've since found some other basses I like even better, but nothing has amazed me with great feel and tone in an unexpected place for a relatively low price like that old MIM.

Here it is from a gig last year:

Link Removed

 

[Achtane]

Yamaha SBV-500, I bought it sight-unseen apart from a picture that was so blurry it may as well have been a silhouette. The sound and feel blew me away.

 

[abarson]

I consider myself an "anything-but-Fender" player. That said, my buddy has a Fender Jazz with Seymour Duncan's that is super comfy and sounds awesome!

I've yet to touch a Warwick that I could stand. But that's just me.

 

[Laredo]

Yamaha SBV-500, I bought it sight-unseen apart from a picture that was so blurry it may as well have been a silhouette. The sound and feel blew me away.

..............I have two (blue and yellow), but they don't get much play time. When I do take them out they always amaze me with their sound and playability!

 

[malthumb]

Biggest surprise has to be either the first time I picked up a Bongo or how insanely wonderful the neck was on my first 6-string Hanewinckel.

 

[philtoler]

So far the biggest shocker I've found is the new Squier basses. I am more of an Ibanez guy, but I've tried some of the new CV and VM Squiers. The Jazz and P models I've tried played very well and the tone was much better then I was expecting for the price they go for. I think the tone could be better, so I plan on getting a VM Jazz to mod now

same for me - I use Ibanez SR500 as my main bass but I just love my Squier Jazz Deluxe Active 5 - it's a joy to use both for playability and killer sound. Best of all it's almost totally noise free - great for recording.