I thought about mentioning my first bass, a Hondo All-Star. But I don't think they're supposed to be good.
It was an American Standard Fender Jazz V I bought in 1996. It was a beautiful bass to look at, but the B always had more "clank" and rattle than it did clear notes. The other strings sounded normal; however, I would always break strings at the bridge despite bringing the bass in for repair - hoping to resolve that mystery, which was never uncovered - no burrs, nothing unusual about the saddles. I did use it for 2 years before selling it. I wanted to like it, but I never did. Never had any issues with any other Fenders I've owned.
I wanted to mention Rickenbacker 4003 was ALMOST the most disappointing bass but after extensive research on Ric setups and problems and wrestling with it, learning how to set it up, learning what strings it likes, adjusting the nut, learning the truss rod system, leveling the frets, learning to intonate that crappy bridge - it's finally been tamed, it's now the nicest playing bass I own and has become my main. But it was a lot of work to get it there for the price I paid for it.