Perhaps I got the lemon, but to be fair I really tried to give it a chance and love it but it seemed like other Epi's and a few Gibson's I had the pleasure of trying fell into the same "not for me" category also.
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Most Disappointing purchase
- Thread starter Bill Murray
- Start date
I bought a Stingray in 1982. It was well made and very nice to play but it just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t enjoy the sound so it went.
Rickenbacker 4001/4003, Gibson SG Bass, Modulus...
All unique, idiosyncratic and polarizing. I'm glad they aren't for everyone. I'm glad nothing is for everyone. Would be boring as hell if we all played the same model or brand.
All unique, idiosyncratic and polarizing. I'm glad they aren't for everyone. I'm glad nothing is for everyone. Would be boring as hell if we all played the same model or brand.
I must have blocked this memory out, it was that bad. Most disappointing bit of gear ever.
TC Electronics RH 750 and footswitch. I actually broke my own rule and bought it new. I never buy new gear. Just this once buying new actually paid off....because Zzounds really does stand behind their return policy.
The footswitch didn’t work. The amp sounded horrible, no matter how I messed with it. I tried different cabs, combinations of cabs, 8 ohms, 4 ohms, it didn’t matter. I gave it the full 30-45 day return period and never got a sound I liked out of it. Back it went. I really wanted to like this thing.
Zzounds was great about the return. They even picked up return shipping because the footswitch was not working.
I’ll never touch another piece of TC gear.
TC Electronics RH 750 and footswitch. I actually broke my own rule and bought it new. I never buy new gear. Just this once buying new actually paid off....because Zzounds really does stand behind their return policy.
The footswitch didn’t work. The amp sounded horrible, no matter how I messed with it. I tried different cabs, combinations of cabs, 8 ohms, 4 ohms, it didn’t matter. I gave it the full 30-45 day return period and never got a sound I liked out of it. Back it went. I really wanted to like this thing.
Zzounds was great about the return. They even picked up return shipping because the footswitch was not working.
I’ll never touch another piece of TC gear.
No, not at all fake, I did experience this about 10 years ago. I had the first 2 issues repaired under warranty, which was not a smooth or easy process. The solder joints I addressed with a guitar tech as I got fed working with Ric. When I went to a different string at about 6-7 months of ownership, that’s when I had the intonation and tail lift issues with the bridge. I replaced the bridge with a drop in replacement from Hipshot as I knew that there were issues with the old design - the high mass version that I thought would provide better tone or more sustain - it solved the intonation and tail lift, but I observed no change in tone or sustain. When the paint started coming off, after owning the bass for about a year, I had had enough and sold it. Please do not be so dismissive of the experience of others. As I noted, when I first got the bass, I was duly impressed with it. Admittedly, I have an n of one, but this was my actual experience.
Probably not going to go over well here since his stuff seems to be so loved, but for me it's the couple Broughton pedals I've tried. Have been following the thread for a couple years and got plenty of gas built up, so I recently picked up an RFE off the Verb, which was what initially brought me to discover Broughton in the first place, and I couldn't get a tone I liked out of it. I have my Source Audio EQ2 setup basically as a RFE, and planned to replace it with the RFE, but found I like what I was getting out of the EQ2 much more than the RFE, so into the classifieds it went, where I got back what I paid for it at least.
Then I also picked up an SV-Pre in the classifieds, and I'm not sure I'm connecting with that either. Still giving it a little more time, but so far I like my Darkglass Harmonic Booster more in both my clean and dirty chain.
Really hoping the JoshWah I have arriving tomorrow breaks the streak and is a keeper-especially since its named after me!
Then I also picked up an SV-Pre in the classifieds, and I'm not sure I'm connecting with that either. Still giving it a little more time, but so far I like my Darkglass Harmonic Booster more in both my clean and dirty chain.
Really hoping the JoshWah I have arriving tomorrow breaks the streak and is a keeper-especially since its named after me!
D
So the Rick you just bought hasn't fallen apart yet and based on this you're calling another poster a liar? What is it with some Rickenbacker owners? Why do you seem to take criticism of Rickenbackers so personally?
The poster you're quoting said nothing about when he purchased the bass. It was clearly not "new old stock" but purchased sometimes during the 50+ years when Rickenbacker kept using an inherently flawed bridge and denied the existence of the dreaded tail lift which has ruined so many of these basses. At least Rickenbacker has finally improved the bridge, which means they finally kinda admitted that the instruments they've sold for half a century had a serious design flaw.
Btw, have they finally started using wood screws for the strap buttoms now too? Instead of the machine screws they used for 50+ years? It was a ticking time bomb! They were more or less designed to fail and send your Rick crashing to the floor sooner rather than later. I know they still used the machine screws a couple of years ago but someone told me they finally replaced them with proper screws. I strongly recommend that you check this on your new Rick or you risk finding it out the hard way, like I did when my almost new Rick crashed to the floor during a gig.
And no, the bass would not necessarily be covered under warranty. RIC warranty is infamously poor and brand new instruments can actually be out of warranty before they reach the buyer. Or maybe some of the issues were taken care of under warranty. That doesn't make the build quality/QC any better.
Anyway, I hope your Rick stands up to the test of time better than most but I wouldn't be surprised to see you join the "haterz" in 10-15 years when your Rick has started developing all the normal Rick "features".
Sterling RAY34 a few months and gone. A Squier VM jazz bass A few weeks and then traded for a SX pj and 300 cash. Still got the SX spent the cash. Both I thought I had to like according to what I read here. As others Have stated here , tried to bond but it was the body shape, and or size or weight But more importantly the sound was not me.
Just realised both purchased new and both sold quickly. Used purchases I still play. Now I only pay 1000 or less for new and used and much happier.
Just realised both purchased new and both sold quickly. Used purchases I still play. Now I only pay 1000 or less for new and used and much happier.
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This is definitely an uncommon piece of gear, but an SWR Mini Mo’ Preamp. The effects on it were excellent (and worthy of the purchase), but the clean preamp tone didn’t match well with most of my basses. It’s tone is distinct compared with other SWR amps.
Given that my other SWR amps were based on the SM lineage, I was disappointed.
Given that my other SWR amps were based on the SM lineage, I was disappointed.
Kala Ubass.
Bought it used, played it for a couple hours. Sold it.
Didn’t like the scale.
I play BG, DB, and EUB.
Bought it used, played it for a couple hours. Sold it.
Didn’t like the scale.
I play BG, DB, and EUB.
What is the 'dreaded tail lift'? I'm curious. No, I'm not thinking of buying a Ric bass. I think they look like sh!t and sound like sh!t. And, to quote another user in this thread, there isn't a single Ric bass player that has ever existed whose style and tone is something that I want to emulate. But I am curious.
My old 4001 had the tail lift, the rear end of it just starts bending. It was a mm for a while then lifted to over a 1/4”. Slugged a hipshot on it and all is good. New ones don’t have that problem, at least mine doesn’t
Back in the '90s, a new Trace Elliot Combo 715 was my most disappointing purchase.
Not loud enough, to slow 15'' speaker that got distorted just over 12 o'clock and heavy like hell.
Not loud enough, to slow 15'' speaker that got distorted just over 12 o'clock and heavy like hell.
Man... you guys are saving me a TON ‘O money. This is like the GAS-X thread!!
EBMM Stingray 5. I have had a bunch of them. I really tried to like them. The G string on almost all of them would slip off the side of the neck while you were playing. Some had uneven volume between strings. Some were stupid heavy....had a 5 that weighed over 11 pounds and that one sounded great but I could not handle the weight. I sold them all. I own no Fender basses and no EBMM basses. The only Fender basses I miss at times are a Roscoe Beck V and a Precision V. They were really good basses but never left the house since I would always take something else to gigs.
The OP hated his Modulus dream bass. I have a Quantum 6 with Bartolini electronics that is a fantastic bass. It along with my Gould ggi6 and ggi5 are wonderful basses. My Gould basses both have Geoff's tweaked EMG PU's and three band preamps. The sound lovely and play beautifully.
I owned and played Pedulla Buzz basses for many years until I got a Roscoe Century 6 fretless in a trade. I sold my Pentabuzz when I got the Roscoe.
The biggest surprise I had was when I bought a Peavey Cirrus 6 on a whim a few years ago and found that I loved it. I have owned a bunch of them and finally settled with a 5 and a 6 along with a GV and a Millennium Plus 5. They are great basses that used to be very inexpensive to buy but the word is out and prices are really climbing. I traded my last Stingray 5 for my Wenge top Cirrus 6 and that was a wonderful trade for me. I got that Stingray in a trade and only had about $600 in it.
I also had Bongo 5 and 6 string basses. I loved the electronics on those basses and hated the look. The 5 was fine ergonomically but the 6 had string spacing that was too wide at the nut. Those were my last and final attempts to love EBMM basses.
The OP hated his Modulus dream bass. I have a Quantum 6 with Bartolini electronics that is a fantastic bass. It along with my Gould ggi6 and ggi5 are wonderful basses. My Gould basses both have Geoff's tweaked EMG PU's and three band preamps. The sound lovely and play beautifully.
I owned and played Pedulla Buzz basses for many years until I got a Roscoe Century 6 fretless in a trade. I sold my Pentabuzz when I got the Roscoe.
The biggest surprise I had was when I bought a Peavey Cirrus 6 on a whim a few years ago and found that I loved it. I have owned a bunch of them and finally settled with a 5 and a 6 along with a GV and a Millennium Plus 5. They are great basses that used to be very inexpensive to buy but the word is out and prices are really climbing. I traded my last Stingray 5 for my Wenge top Cirrus 6 and that was a wonderful trade for me. I got that Stingray in a trade and only had about $600 in it.
I also had Bongo 5 and 6 string basses. I loved the electronics on those basses and hated the look. The 5 was fine ergonomically but the 6 had string spacing that was too wide at the nut. Those were my last and final attempts to love EBMM basses.
Kudos to OP for hitting the like button and issuing comments. I'm fairly new to TB and, while I think TB is great, I've just noticed that too many users put out posts, the user community contributes, and they sit back and don't comment or even so much as hit the like button. There's something very rude and narcissistic about that.
My most disappointing purchases were the refinish and EMG'S which I installed in a 1964 jazz bass which I purchased in the early 80's. Hindsight has kicked me in the @$$ innumerable times throughout the intervening years.
