Disappointing experiences with basses you thought you'd love

[40Hz]

There were two.

Warwick. I sooooo wanted to like a Warwick…

But every time I played one it just wasn't happening for me despite Warwick building some very fine instruments.

As my guitarist SO put it after listening to me play one for awhile: "Nope. Not your bass."

The other one was the Fender Bass VI. I've bought one twice. And sold one twice. Like m'lady said - not my bass.

 

[johnh89]

Epi Jack Cassady. I'd love to love that bass, but unfortunately, each time I Tried it I did not find a comfortable playing position.

Might try again if I enconter on though, since I lost some weight and what used to fit my body and I fin confortable has changed drastically.

Not the most comfortable but one of my favourites and a definate keeper . Always hangs on a hook behind my seat on the sofa and is played many times every evening /morning/afternoon/middle of the night depending on work . Mostly played unplugged which is a waste as it sounds lovely through any amp .

Disappointment for me was a Ric 4003 . Always wanted one and had a pocketful of cash and a free afternoon at the other end of the country while waiting to pick up a truck from the fitters . Went into shop with the express intention of a quick play and a rash purchase . Played for an hour through a selection of amps and found the tone I heard in my head but just did not like it . Hard to put my finger on why , but had to accept (for now ) it was not for me . Saved me a whole lot of explaining to her indoors as well . Spent a bit of cash in the shop as the owner was a real star and I felt a little guilty .
Still think I may be tempted one day ......

 

[dr doofie]

Sterling stingray
Being left handed narrows my choices considerably, both in availability and financially as well
The Rays with their curves and that single pickup looks so clean and uncluttered… like everyone's been saying, I wanted to want to love it, but my old Ibanez TMB 100 with the dysfunctional jazz pickup and chunky neck always drew me back…
Now I'm not even sure if the lefty TMBs are still around…

 

[Matt O]

I have bought and then sold probably 5 or 6 Jazz basses over the years. I get the itch, I buy, I meh, I sell.

I'm getting the itch again because I want to try series wiring.

Other than that, I think a 76 t-bird headstock falling off in the late 80s was my only other disappointment.

 

[johnh89]

Also always had the itch for a stingray but a lot of them are mentioned in this thread . I don't want to go and try one and shoot down another of my dreams .
I'll do it anyway at some point I'm sure

 

[P Cheen]

A Kiesel V59K. One of the priciest basses I ever got. It ended up being bulky, heavy, and I found out I did not like 5-stringers with 19mm spacing.

The Kiesel case that it came with was very very nice too. Shame.

 

[Katoosie]

Stingray specials.

Tried multiple of them at a store and they all sounded disappointing and felt worse than 3 times cheaper ray34.

Crazy imho!

 

[Lackey]

Wood & Tronics Zoid 6. Only heard great things about them, got one and the fit and finish was pretty pathetic, but worst of all, the custom machined bridge didn't let the action go down to a reasonable level with the neck adjusted properly....

 

[commonplayer]

Epi Jack Cassady. I'd love to love that bass, but unfortunately, each time I Tried it I did not find a comfortable playing position.

Same here ... had one for a minute, sounded amazing but there was something about the ergonomics I couldn't really get with.

 

[aprod]

My Spector Doug Wimbish model. The neck is not set far enough into the body so first position feels like its miles away, simply too much of a reach.

 

[logdrum]

Stingray 5

I really wanted to love it -- it was a stunner! -- especially since I put hundreds of gigs on an FNA, but the G-string being right up against the edge of the board didn't work for me, and the tone wasn't an immediate winner.

I had no trouble finding a good home for it, though. [edit: I'm having trouble attaching the image from my phone]

View attachment 4351569

I had this same model bass in 2006 - Mine had the piezo too. Many drummers complained that it was too boomy and engineers did not like it. Finally when I was hired in the band which was playing with Stan Ridgeway (Wall of Voodoo) who just said not that bass when I was taking it out of the case, I know that was a sign to just let it go. Either it was in your face like a bulldozer or wimpy when you cut things back and the bad G-String placement.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Stingrays seem to be the kids hopped up on Mt. Dew screaming "ANARCHY!" for this thread. I have always admired Ernie Ball basses for their build quality and playability but have never played one I actually liked.
The bass that has burned me twice now is an Ibanez ATK. I've owned two of them now and sold both of them within weeks of getting them. Turns out I just can't dig on a bass with just that one pickup.

 

[Wfrance3]

I bought a 5-string VM Jag once. Thought I would love it because I had A 4-String VM Special that I really liked. - Remember folks; the enemy of "good" is "better"...
Was a Chooch weighing in at more than 10 lbs. Neck was wide beyond my comfort zone. Who knew a couple mm would be that huge? I was actually getting used to the wider neck, but the overall weight was killing me. The sound wasn't that impressive, even with upgraded pickups. It was just too vanilla pudding + it was a boat anchor + the neck was awkward-ish...

 

[TTA]

Anyone ever had one of those?

I'll kick things off with one of mine.

I always liked the look of Stingrays. I'd played a few OLP's in the past but never an original MM. I quite enjoyed the tone and, from things I'd read in fora, I'd thought it would be just fantastic. Fast forward some time and I get to play a beautiful stealth black Stingray 5 HH.

Aaaaaand... nah. Disappointment. The neck was nicely chunky, it was finished semi-glossy which I don't like but it was set up great and despite that, it felt extremely uncomfortable for some reason and the tone... Well, it was a bit "meh", really and I played it through a very nice amp and a kemper!

Now ok, it wasn't BAD by any means but I just didn't quite see me spending that much money on... that. Really put me off MM basses.

So how about you?

Fender stu hamm urge bass II. Technically amazing and perfect bass… never spoke to my heart. Sold it an got an imperfect ric 4003 that i love to death.

Love at first play: ric 4003, dingwall ng2.

 

[JamesAG]

My dream was to own a Sandberg California. I love their look, and know that they are fantastic quality basses. I've played them in stores in the past, and always loved them, but the price tag (starting at about €1400) was always a hurdle.

After more than a year of lockdown, plus the fact that I started playing with a guitarist with the hope of starting a band, I decided it was time to make a proper investment.

I was out shopping last month and tried a bunch of different models. I did a head-to-head comparison between a Sandberg California (TM4) for €1799, and a Yamaha TRBX 504 for €499. After playing both, I had to admit that the Yamaha felt better in my hands.

I ended up buying a Yamaha TRBX 604 in Dark Red Burst for about €650 and am totally happy with this decision. The Yamaha looks, sounds and feels great, and I saved over €1000. (Plus, the TRBX neck has 24 frets ...)

I guess I wasn't really "disappointed" by the Sandberg, but more "pleasantly surprised" by the Yamaha.

 

[matt-o-]

A vintage Danelectro Shorthorn - looked for it for years - finally one showed up on eBay - I bought it, when it arrived and I took it in my hands, I immediately felt, that I do not like the shape of the neck. I contacted the seller and sold it to the second hi bidder on the same day.
Another unexplicable non-love was the Nordstrand Acinonyx. Specwise it should had been a perfect bass for me - short scale, lightweight, slightly skinny neck - but for any reason I could not connect to it sitting on my lap. It just didn't feel comfortable. And again I remarked, that I am a 1 pickup guy - the placement of the pickup on my musicmaster or bronco basses gives me the sound I like, with a neck and bridge pickup neither nor both work for my taste.

 

[sotua]

Ric 4001. Geddy/Cliff worship while learning to play, so always wanted one. Tried it, and it was the worst thing in my hands. It was uncomfortable, heavy, sharp in all the wrong places, and the tone was all clank and not at all what I needed.

 

[lbbc]

I ordered a Montezuma Brown Rickenbacker. Loved the way it sounded and looked. I could never bond with the ergonomics, so I sold it a few months after getting it. Biggest gear disappointment I ever experienced.

 

[pbass62]

Had a beautiful Warwick Katana
Fantastic build and feel but the PUs and pre sucked life out of the bass

 

[Liam Wald]

Two most disappointing basses that I ever bought (out of many dozen basses over a fifty year time span),
1) The Epiphone Zenith. 2) The Godin Shifter.
I really don't know what I must have been thinking when I bought those things. Both seemed really great in concept but were dreadful in reality.
Actually, in both cases I think that I had probably been drinking to the point of stupidity.
Anyway, I don't think that I owned either one of them for more that a week!