Disposable Bass

[SteveBassJr]

I travel to schools teaching Bass and guitar. These days it's way to cold to bring my beloved Carvin lb75 out for a ride.
I work a day job at a manufacturing joint and do my favorite job at night. Sometimes I have to leave my gear in my truck. So I decided to pick up a beater Bass. I found an Ibanez Ergodyne EDB 690 on CL for $50. It has a small crack up by the head stock. Nothing super major but I don't ever plan on using it live. Nothing feels or sounds like my Carvin. Which is my poor man's Fodera. I added Nordstrand pups and a Sadowsky pre-amp
The Ibanez just goes in my truck, no case and I don't worry about it at all. It does its job at the schools, ( no one cares about the sound there ) and I'm worry free.
If anyone has a " disposable Bass!" Share a picture. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

 

[2cooltoolz]

Well, this was supposed to be a "disposable bass", a Squier Precision Standard "Special", purchased on eBay for $75. At the time our drummer was hosting an "open mike" at a dive bar, and I wanted something I wouldn't mind sharing with strangers.

But the neck was too warped to use, the electronics sounded like crap, I had some parts left over from other projects (kinda ), bought an MIM Fender neck, and now have a pretty great P bass. Fortunately, my friend gave up on the open mike, because I would have to buy another "disposable bass" .

eBay ad:

"Fixing" the neck:

Prep:

Complete:

Not quite "disposable", but I still don't have over about $275 in it. Wouldn't break my heart if something happened.

 

[The Mouse]

Another Ibanez. lol
I bought it for a gig I had in France. The travel budget was tight and instruments were going in the hold. It's an Ibanez RB620, early 1980's. The neck is bowed and twisted and the volume and tone pots are seized fully open. The action is high and the intonation is surprisingly excellent. I strung it with TI jazz flats. Great pickups.

The gig in France was great, the bass sounded great, and the band had a great trip. I'd never sell this bass. It's amazing how you can become attached to a cheap, neglected, beat-up old bass.

Ibanez made great basses in the 80's. I was so taken with the RB620 that I bought a 1980 Ibanez RS924.. Now that bass deserves a thread all of its own.. Your bass looks great by the way..

 

[SteveBassJr]

Well, this was supposed to be a "disposable bass", a Squier Precision Standard "Special", purchased on eBay for $75. At the time our drummer was hosting an "open mike" at a dive bar, and I wanted something I wouldn't mind sharing with strangers.

But the neck was too warped to use, the electronics sounded like crap, I had some parts left over from other projects (kinda ), bought an MIM Fender neck, and now have a pretty great P bass. Fortunately, my friend gave up on the open mike, because I would have to buy another "disposable bass" .

eBay ad:
View attachment 2866020

"Fixing" the neck:

View attachment 2866026

Prep:
View attachment 2866022

Complete:

View attachment 2866041


Not quite "disposable", but I still don't have over about $275 in it. Wouldn't break my heart if something happened.

The finished product looks fantastic!

 

[Marko 1]

Got this Rogue... long story short... for under $10. Great beater, played and sounded fine, it got used in the music room, lent out, eventually sold it for $50.

 

[Malak the Mad]

While not technically "disposable", I call this one my "No-Guilt Jazz V". I'm not very good at wielding fivers, so I put this one together from a pair of incredibly underpriced Squiers…specifically, an Affinity and a VM '70s…just to keep around should the mood strike. Even if it doesn't get a lot of playing time, it's low-low cost, combined with the minimal work I put into it, doesn't stick in my craw.

Unveiling IV: Squier "No-Guilt Jazz V" Parts-Bass

 

[Warpeg]

The purpose of my MIM Jazz Bass was to be my disposable/beater when I didn’t want to bring my AVRI P-Bass out. After shielding, new Super 55’s, new pickguard, new bridge, and edge rolling; this bass is now competing well against my P for main player.

 

[Malak the Mad]

The purpose of my MIM Jazz Bass was to be my disposable/beater when I didn’t want to bring my AVRI P-Bass out. After shielding, new Super 55’s, new pickguard, new bridge, and edge rolling; this bass is now competing well against my P for main player.

View attachment 2866194

Yay, Super 55's!

 

[Warpeg]

Yay, Super 55's!

Easily, hands-down the best Jazz Bass pickups I’ve ever heard!

 

[Standalone]

View attachment 2866037 Another Ibanez. lol
I bought it for a gig I had in France. The travel budget was tight and instruments were going in the hold. It's an Ibanez RB620, early 1980's. The neck is bowed and twisted and the volume and tone pots are seized fully open. The action is high and the intonation is surprisingly excellent. I strung it with TI jazz flats. Great pickups.

The gig in France was great, the bass sounded great, and the band had a great trip. I'd never sell this bass. It's amazing how you can become attached to a cheap, neglected, beat-up old bass.

Ibanez made great basses in the 80's. I was so taken with the RB620 that I bought a 1980 Ibanez RS924.. Now that bass deserves a thread all of its own.. Your bass looks great by the way..

Hello from a fellow RS924 owner. It's worth doing some clamping on that neck to get it into better shape. The Matsumoku and Fugigen Ibanez basses from the late '70's through the mid '80's were awesome.

My 850 is often my leave-at-church bass, but I wouldn't call it "disposable!"

 

[Malak the Mad]

Apologies to the OP for the aside, but…

Easily, hands-down the best Jazz Bass pickups I’ve ever heard!

To my ear, they sound like solid, Jazz pickups, but with a bit more "beef" or "oomph". Does that track with your experience?

 

[Maxdusty]

I've had a few beater basses but only one close to being a disposable bass (a Dr. Tech bass I bought from Amazon a while back- it was a blemish second and was super cheap- more a curiosity than anything but was surprised it was at least playable). I don't have it now because I disposed of it - I gave it to a kid who didn't have a bass.

 

[two fingers]

I travel to schools teaching Bass and guitar. These days it's way to cold to bring my beloved Carvin lb75 out for a ride.
I work a day job at a manufacturing joint and do my favorite job at night. Sometimes I have to leave my gear in my truck. So I decided to pick up a beater Bass. I found an Ibanez Ergodyne EDB 690 on CL for $50. It has a small crack up by the head stock. Nothing super major but I don't ever plan on using it live. Nothing feels or sounds like my Carvin. Which is my poor man's Fodera. I added Nordstrand pups and a Sadowsky pre-amp
The Ibanez just goes in my truck, no case and I don't worry about it at all. It does its job at the schools, ( no one cares about the sound there ) and I'm worry free.
If anyone has a " disposable Bass!" Share a picture. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
View attachment 2865991

The neck doesn't give you a headache taking it out of a cold truck and into a warm building with no case? What about condensation? It doesn't "get wet" when you take it into a warm building?

 

[SteveBassJr]

The neck doesn't give you a headache taking it out of a cold truck and into a warm building with no case? What about condensation? It doesn't "get wet" when you take it into a warm building?

So far no. I will probably have to tweak it come the warm weather.

 

[Warpeg]

Apologies to the OP for the aside, but…



To my ear, they sound like solid, Jazz pickups, but with a bit more "beef" or "oomph". Does that track with your experience?

That’s exactly how I would describe them. The true Jazz Bass tone is 100% there, but with a bit more output (not excessively), punch, and mids. As a bonus, they are completely noise-free. Honestly, what more could someone want in a Jazz pickup?

Edit: I’ll add that I still can’t understand why Fender discontinued the Super 55 pickups. They have a great reputation here on TB and everywhere else. If I were a betting man, I would bet that these pickups would progressively go up in value as they get harder and harder to find.

 

[dab12ax7ef]

This is my Hondo beater. It’s story: bought for $80 around 15 years ago. I attempted a de-fretting, which didn’t turn out to well. I used epoxy glue instead of the thin stuff and didn’t know how to sand it smooth. It’s been beat up and lit on fire etc.
Recently I routed out the body and put in a PJ set, changed out hardware to some MIM stuff. Sanded the finger board which improved the playing but is still not good. Rattle can touch up. It’s been fun to toy around with mods I’d never try on anything else.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Edit: I’ll add that I still can’t understand why Fender discontinued the Super 55 pickups. They have a great reputation here on TB and everywhere else. If I were a betting man, I would bet that these pickups would progressively go up in value as they get harder and harder to find.

A. Neither can I.

B. Then you win the bet. They already have!

I got one for a P/J parts-bass project, and a full set later for a mod project. That was 2-4 years ago. When I looked up their prices last year, they'd gone up considerably…as in, "just about as much as a set of Custom Shop '60s" up! Now, they're just damn-hard to find.

 

[The Mouse]

Hello from a fellow RS924 owner. It's worth doing some clamping on that neck to get it into better shape. The Matsumoku and Fugigen Ibanez basses from the late '70's through the mid '80's were awesome.

My 850 is often my leave-at-church bass, but I wouldn't call it "disposable!"

Hello there. I did straighten the neck a bit on the RB620 but couldn't get the twist out. It's certainly a playable bass. I think all of its quirks are part of its charm. Considering what I paid for it, and the condition of it, it would have to be considered disposable. But if anything happened to it, I probably wouldn't be happy about it..

 

[Paulabass]

I don't have a disposable bass, but when I was playing clubs I had a 'dive-bar bass'. My G&L has been used as a shield, had stuff bounce off it, and was my go to for tiny stages when I knew it would get knocked into a cymbal. It has legit war wounds. All this being said- I would never own a bass I was afraid of playing out with, they are tools after all.

 

[twinjet]

I travel to schools teaching Bass and guitar. These days it's way to cold to bring my beloved Carvin lb75 out for a ride.
I work a day job at a manufacturing joint and do my favorite job at night. Sometimes I have to leave my gear in my truck. So I decided to pick up a beater Bass. I found an Ibanez Ergodyne EDB 690 on CL for $50. It has a small crack up by the head stock. Nothing super major but I don't ever plan on using it live. Nothing feels or sounds like my Carvin. Which is my poor man's Fodera. I added Nordstrand pups and a Sadowsky pre-amp
The Ibanez just goes in my truck, no case and I don't worry about it at all. It does its job at the schools, ( no one cares about the sound there ) and I'm worry free.
If anyone has a " disposable Bass!" Share a picture. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
View attachment 2865991

Smart fellow.

A high school band teacher I know bought an '08 American Standard Jazz Bass brand new for his jazz band. For whatever reason he thought it would escape the school year unscathed. Boy was he wrong. Glad you didn't make that mistake!