Have you ever played a bad-sounding bass?

[Lance Bunyon]

OLP Stingray. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, but the ones I tried were thin and tinny. Not Woody at all.

 

[winston]

I've been able to get a warm but clear, usable tone from any bass guitar I've ever picked up, except for Ernie Ball Music Man 3-band StingRay 4s (I had a '92 ash/rosewood that I bought without trying first). Whoever designed the preamp must have had serious hearing damage above 1K, just all kinds of harsh, screechy mids/highs on tap with boomy but not round, full bass on the bottom. I learned on TB more recently that the 3 band pre has a highpass filter, can't imagine why someone thought that was a good idea! Mine had a G string with the polepieces barely sensing the string so it was a poster child for "weak StingRay G" syndrome. Replaced the stock pickup with a Bartolini which took care of string balance issues but it didn't solve the unmusical preamp so I sold it. The sad thing is the bass had one of the most clear, sustaining, fantastic acoustic tones that the electronics just couldn't do justice to. The voicing of the pre was weird too, I feel like the bass and mids affected the tone up to about the 9th fret E on the G string, so when I cranked those the notes above that just sounded thinner in comparison.

Not a hater on EB/MM, and I've heard these sound great in the hands of others, just not a fit for me.

 

[Ggaa]

An EBO with a ski ramp neck and dead flats.
A short scale single pickup Rick with really dead flats(starting to unwrap). Both were someone elses but I had to play the Rick at a gig.

 

[pfschim]

Yes! I've tried plenty that did not work for me for various reasons. No big deal really, because I've also found plenty that did work for. I bought a few of those and am quite happy and gas free as far as basses.

I'll also pile on the poor EB-0. It was also my first bass ... I didn't own it, it was a school bass for the jazz band, but I was expected to use it and there was no fixing that thing to sound like anything other than a dull wet fart.

 

[DrBnz]

LOTS ....
G&L Fallout: Right out of the box it was hideous sounding. Hated it... Flats helped considerably - I still sold it.
G&L SB-2: I got it in a trade deal - I never enjoyed that sound - I had so many others that were better - sold it.
Fender Ultra Jazz 5: Hated the active circuit entirely - Even if I turned it passive it wasn't good (to me)

 

[Gervais Cote]

Too many ! But you know, when they are on the cheap, well you sometimes get what you deserve.
My biggest deception though was a super nice pro jazz bass from a well known manufacturer that was super nice but………..kind of dead sounding, no punch and no "vibrato" if may say.
Tried an American Performer jazz bass beside and oh my god, music was all over the place in the store and the sound was so lively, couldn't believe my ears.
I was so confused that both basses stayed at the store.

 

[Short4since64]

Can't say I've ever played a bass where I couldn't stand the sound, always found settings that will speak in my preferred voice (EB-0 into a B-15N, my first serious setup). I have, however, played, and quickly goten rid of, basses that just felt wrong in my hands.

 

[Gervais Cote]

OLP Stingray. I'm sure there are some good ones out there, but the ones I tried were thin and tinny. Not Woody at all.

That's the other thing : heard way too many basses that sounded thin, how can this be ? I play bass to get bass notes, don't you ?

 

[Lance Bunyon]

That's the other thing : heard way too many basses that sounded thin, how can this be ? I play bass to get bass notes, don't you ?

I'm looking for bass, mids, and some highs.

 

[chris_b]

Yep, my first "real" bass was an EB-0 that I never could stand the sound of at all.

Snap. My EB0 was everything I didn't want. It lasted 1 gig.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I was thinking today how I've played basses I didn't like for several reasons (neck shape, wouldn't stay in tune, sharp frets, etc.), but I can't recall ever deciding not buying a bass or selling one because of how it sounds. At one time, my only bass was a Warwick and I was really into Motown. It wasn't ideal in terms of sound, but I made it work with flats and the preamp.

Have you ever decided against buying bass or selling one primarily because of how it sounded?

Can't say I have, but I have sold basses that didn't produce sound for the music I was playing at the time, or had voicing I couldn't use.

 

[JRA]

Have you ever decided against buying bass or selling one primarily because of how it sounded?

i remember some tone chasing when i was younger, but at some point, it no longer mattered: it was all about the feel (the neck, mostly, balance, and accommodation for my arms and elbows...and later my belly = they all sounded fine, maybe i liked some more than others). i got into the POV that for tones, two pickups are better than one, and of course, one is better than none.... but in the final analysis, as much as i like the thought of tone options, i'm a set-it-and-forget-it player

i voted "no." if it sounds like an electric bass, i'm all in. instead, i've switched out axes over the years in a "quest for the perfect feel."

it's glorious when it happens and then the tone seems to come along naturally. i've changed pickups for the hell of it, experimenting, and i've changed a few back to what i had. but i'd be with those who feel they could find something useful-sounding in almost any EB.

 

[6-3-2]

I thought the Squier Paranormal Rascal was awful. I played it for a maybe 1 minute and put it back. Just totally undefined mud. I cannot get along with any bass that sounds like a congested James Earl Jones. I've played higher-end basses with the same sound and for the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would want them.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

To balance all the EBO hate, mine with a Di Marzio Model 1 pickup, Hipshot Supertone Bridge & GHS Precision Flats is one of my favorite & best sounding basses. A lot of fun to play.

 

[Snert]

You should be able to get a usable tone from any decent instrument.

Agreed. Some I like better than others, but in a band context, I haven't found one that wasn't good enough.
I have 2 basses with the much unloved Bart MK1s that I've been using a bit of late, and if I'm honest, they're fine when I'm not being a cork sniffer. Not that TB encourages that at all.

 

[Doug4321]

Ha ha. I've got a 1969 EB-0, the only vintage famous 60's bass I could afford! It sounds cool if you work with it a bit. See, Jack Bruce, and especially Glenn Cornick. Similar sounds to their EB-3s.

I've picked up a couple used basic Fenders in the shop that sounded strangely muffled, I think something wrong with electronics.

 

[skycruiser]

I don't know how to get a good sound out of humbuckers.

 

[Nightsprinter]

I find that for my ears, the vast majority of toan is in the electronics and pickups. And there have been some pickups/preamps I haven't liked. I also think that with careful EQ'ing, a decent sound can be coaxed out of just about anything.

I recently had the opportunity to play an Ibanez with the licensed Bartolini pickups they've been slapping in many of their basses and I didn't like the sound at all. Wasn't able to easily dial in what I thought was a solid sound. I thought they were kinda muffled/subdued/meh. I don't doubt I could make it sound good with a fat graphic/parametric EQ, but to go in raw on it I just wasn't into it. So that's my recent memory answer.

*edit- changed an autocorrect word

 

[DavidEdenAria]

To balance all the EBO hate, mine with a Di Marzio Model 1 pickup, Hipshot Supertone Bridge & GHS Precision Flats is one of my favorite & best sounding basses. A lot of fun to play.

Got a 65 Epi Newport here like EB0, its sounds way better than many EB0, same Newport on 'Johnny Cash - Live at San Quentin' sounds like a P bass... but a semi parametric EQ is the key...Some of the EB0 just are dead sounding, no sustain....not the case with the Newport at all but despite same electronics totally different body design.

Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser, Felix Pappalardi are legends on EB types.

 

[micguy]

Have you ever decided against buying bass or selling one primarily because of how it sounded?

The majority of basses in stores that I've played I would never consider buying - there are a lot of basses I would never gel with.