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My Fender ticked me off so...

Have you been disappointed with your "dream bass"?

  • Yes

    Votes: 46 33.1%

  • No

    Votes: 62 44.6%

  • I put carrots in strange places.

    Votes: 41 29.5%
  • Total voters
    139
#41
DiabolusInMusic said:
You could always buy the proper tool for adjusting the Fender, you wouldn't have to loosen the neck or remove the guard.

For what it's worth, I have found the opposite to be true. Cheaper basses tend to require more frequent adjustments for me. Mind you, if that Sterling has an oiled neck expect it to need adjustment is you fart in it's direction. EBMM necks are touchy in my experience, I adjust my Ray regularly when it is in the rotation.

That all being said, you may just prefer the Ray and there is nothing wrong with that. They are very different animals.
Click to expand...

What is this "proper tool" of which you speak?
 
#42
It could just be the angle of the photo, but the treble side of your neck pick up looks a bit lower than the bass side. If so, and subject to how you have your action set, that could be affecting the relative volume of these strings. Nice looking instrument, anyway.
Click to expand...

Good observation. I have adjusted since this image. I have not had the adequate time to re-evaluate how it sounds through the mix.
 
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#44
DiabolusInMusic said:
You could always buy the proper tool for adjusting the Fender, you wouldn't have to loosen the neck or remove the guard.

For what it's worth, I have found the opposite to be true. Cheaper basses tend to require more frequent adjustments for me. Mind you, if that Sterling has an oiled neck expect it to need adjustment is you fart in it's direction. EBMM necks are touchy in my experience, I adjust my Ray regularly when it is in the rotation.

That all being said, you may just prefer the Ray and there is nothing wrong with that. They are very different animals.
Click to expand...

That's how old and vintage reissue fenders work.
 
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#45
It happened to me in opposite direction. My Peavey Fury sounded and played "better" than my EBMM Stingray. The cheapo won over the "Royal" one. Does it say the Peavey was better instrument? Does it say my ears are wrong? IMHO you need to start re-thinking about how basses interact. Finding a bass of your liking or disliking doesn't have to do anything with the "quality" of an instruments or your ears. Only with what feels right or wrong to you. You may find instrument so badly put together but at the end of the day sounding more of your liking than the perfect build one.
 
#46
You may be pleasantly surprised with the SBMM bass. They make good stuff.

The only basses I've had that disappointed me are the ones that I bought before playing. If I fell in love with something after playing it, then I've never been let down by it.

My main bass right now is a Stringray HH that outplays any Fender I've ever touched. I've also got an Xotic 5 string that I've had for years and still kicks booty. Both were purchased after testing them against many other basses.
 
#51
I've owned 5 fenders, they've all done this and required constant tinkering with the exception of my most recently acquired Aerodyne. All others were Mex and American made and always fluctuated requiring routine truss adjusting. My dream bass, a Warwick Thumb, was great (sounding) but also required tweaking and ended up being a better boat anchor (due to the weight) than a reliable bass.

The nightmare stopped when I got a Zon. I could take the neck off of it, use it as a 1 wood, put it back on and still be straight as an arrow. Its never required an adjustment in 8 years! Long live the Zon!
 
#53
I owned a ton of Fenders ranging from American to Mexican.

The best one I had is a Japanese Geddy that I still own. It is my number one.

The worst one? A 2001 American P. The thing was basically a tree trunk with pickups and strings.

The best P I ever played was a 2001 Mexican Fender that had the perfect everything. I still can't believe I sold it.
 
#54
TuneIn said:
I've owned 5 fenders, they've all done this and required constant tinkering with the exception of my most recently acquired Aerodyne. All others were Mex and American made and always fluctuated requiring routine truss adjusting. My dream bass, a Warwick Thumb, was great (sounding) but also required tweaking and ended up being a better boat anchor (due to the weight) than a reliable bass.

The nightmare stopped when I got a Zon. I could take the neck off of it, use it as a 1 wood, put it back on and still be straight as an arrow. Its never required an adjustment in 8 years! Long live the Zon!
Click to expand...

I've honestly never had this much trouble with a Fender before. This is the first one that didn't like. It's not just the flippy floppy neck but I find the sound lacking something. Also the Lacquer finish is way too fragile. I've gone years without putting a scratch in an instrument, but this one seems to get a new scratch every time I pick it up. This thing is just a turd and not a good representation of what Fender offers. My next will be a Mexican.
 
#56
Carrots Gorilla.jpg
 
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#60
I was really disappointed when I went to go play a Ric for the first time. Then I played a different one that I loved, but didn't buy it. The one I have now I didn't like the first time I played it, but now it's the only bass I use.

As for stability, I've never adjusted it, and I recently moved from Illinois to Arizona.
 

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