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I'm starting to hate my bass
- Thread starter mankybass
- Start date
I don't know. I love all my basses for different reasons. I also have a violin bass (Hofner 500/1) that I made some adjustments and changes on, but I love the thing. It is an extremely light-weight instrument, but definitely has some balls. It sounds great. It's looks limit it to certain genres, but I like to use it as a practice bass, and it looks awesome adorning the front of a Beatles' Shea Stadium poster in my living room.
drumvsbass
Commercial User
- Aug 20, 2011
- 1,985
- 4,325
- Disclosures
- I work for Long and McQuade Musical Instruments Canada in Sales.
I bought a Steve Harris Sig bass just for the look of it (Blue Sparkle) Found out, I don't like D shaped vintage necks. As much as I love Maiden, Pbasses, Flats, Quarter Pounders and Badass Bridges, that bass got sold to a dude in a Maiden cover band. Love P basses, just not baseball bat necks. It's tough when you have an idea in your head that doesn't jive with reality. Thinking about 'arris playing Phantom of the Opera on that neck gives me nightmares.
One thought... a used Yamaha RBX-170 can be had for about $100-$120 and they don't suck.
If you like the look and the feel, go for it. Heck, I am thinking of purchasing a cheap ass Chinese body, gutting the thing and installing electronics and hardware of my choice. A lot of times you are paying for the wood and the brand. The electronics and other elements are relatively inexpensive.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
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- I suck, but nobody really notices
Put it up for sale, search offer up and Craigslist for something the same price as you're selling it for.
That's heavy. Did you just come up with that?
I will second this. A great time to sell, a tricky time to buy new, but a great time for others to sell as well. At least recent budget instruments are far better than they’ve ever been.
It is only in recent years that I have had more than one bass , and in all my gigging years, I only had one. If you hate your bass - sell it , trade it whatever. I have two Hofners, I really like them but my Jbass is my favorite and if could only keep one, the fender gets the nod.
Scan craigslist or local facebook groups for an inexpensive MIM Fender or something. I mean I did get lucky but i used to have a MIM 60th Anniversary Jazz and still own an MIM Stratocaster. I paid $250 a piece. The jazz had some finish cracks and crappy eletronics but replacing the pots and output jacks was like $20.. and i put aluminum knobs on it.
Thing was fine and is probably still working fine for whoever owns it now.
I don't know where you live, but trades seem to be more popular than sales at the moment where I live, money's tight and used prices are so out of whack right now so trading seems to be the preferred method of switching out gear. My last few transactions have been trades.
Someone out there is looking for your bass and has a better suited bass for you to spare. Post it up in your local CL or FB Marketplace and see what happens. I usually put a FS/FT (for sale or trade) but usually ends up being a trade. There's a bassist in a Beatles tribute band just waiting for your bass.
I did an acoustic pop gig last night with a particularly fun song on the set list....That's heavy. Did you just come up with that?
Sell it or trade it. Life is short. If you don't like to play it you won't.
I’d sell or trade it. Sometimes the honeymoon ends and you realise you just plain chose wrong. Happens to most of us one time or another. Particularly if you can only have one bass, it better be one you love.
Now you can buy good playable basses for 200 new or less used. Pstyle, active electronics style etc.. in that pirce range. I hear ya on that tone...fun for a little while, I'll play my 60's hollowbody shortscale for a few mins.
Words of wisdom....not sure if it's wisdom, but the bass is but a tool, use the right one for the job.
I don't think you mentioned what kind of music you like to play, the violin type basses aren't the most versatile (I had one myself, a Rogue VB100), they're usable for some genres of music but in others, it's definitely not the right one. Can you imagine Marcus Miller slapping and popping on a violin bass? I'm sure he can make it sound amazing, but it isn't going to sound anything like how he sounds on his preferred bass.
You unfortunately picked your one and only bass to be one that is limited in it's versatility, if you're not happy with it, I'm pretty sure you're never going to be happy no matter how much time you give yourself to bond with it. Not bashing the bass, some do enjoy playing it, but it's not suitable for many as a primary bass. I wouldn't mind having it as one of my basses, but just not as a main bass.
As mentioned by others, life is too short to be playing the wrong bass, if you're not excited or inspired to play it, why play at all? Go to a music store, try some basses and get an idea of what works for you. Sell or trade your bass and get the right one.
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