Waste of money

I don't think I've ever bought a bass that I thought would make me play better. I've bought a bass to get a different sound, or to try something new, or to just be a "project bass" so I could replace the pickups and whatnot. I've never been wholly dissatisfied with a bass purchase, either. In retrospect, I could've saved the money that I spent on a bass and new pickups and put it towards something else, but it did help show me that that particular pickup setup didn't really work for me.

 

I had a 5-string OLP bass (cheaper version of MusicMan) for like 2 weeks. I wanted a 5-string for a long time, I tried this one in GC and it sounded good, so I got it. After 2 weeks I realised that I was using the low B string more as a thumb rest then actually playing it. I returned it to GC and got my Schecter Stilleto with the store credit. I don't regret it at all, but now that I've been playing longer I do kinda want a 5-string again.

 

Bought a Fender short scale something-or-other a long time ago when I was young and ignorant. (Now I'm just ignorant!) Couldn't get any presence out of it; traded it and a Gibson G-3 ( :scowl: shoulda' kept that one!), for a Rick. Best move I could have made at that time and was very pleased with the result.

 

Fender MIM jazz V, i cant satand a bass that has no pickup replacements other than fender's MIM p-ups (the pickups size is longer than any other 5 string jazz p-up). It is not a bad bass, but the electronics worth nothing...

 

Warwick Corvette fretless. Didn't think it'd make me play better, just help me play without frets. Sounded lame.

Also a bunch of cheap basses that didn't hold up over time.

 

Any bass bought to make you play better is a waste of money.

 

My SX.

Worst bass I've played.

 

I've never bought a bass that I thought would make me play better, but I've certainly thrown money at projects that I had no hope of getting back. IME, you can take a cheap bass and do all the work you want... new pickups, fretwork, better hardware, etc., and you'll get an improvement if you do a good job. But you'll almost never get your money's worth, nor will your bass ever play like a high end custom.

 

Carvin B4.

It's going out the door in a couple days.

 

Aria Pro II Explorer style.

Dunno what I was thinking.

 

Ibanez 6 string.

I was looking for a travelling bass... something I wouldn't worry about getting dinged up - dropped from an airplane, hit by a train, etc, etc.

Hated the tone... I spent $200 installing new pups and a pre, and still didn't like it. I ended up selling it for what I paid, and took the bite on the $200 upgrade.

Oh well... the strings it came with felt really good, if that's anything.

 

spector 5 string, im not a 5 string man

 

You may laugh with this one i recently played a ritter six string with a retail price a little lower than 8 grand.The damn thing didn't worth shoot i've heard better squiers for god's sake.Also i stumbled upon some lousy ken smiths(which i still regard as the holy grail of basses)with 2-3grand price tag that only thing keeping them talking was the electronics.Shame,shame,shame :scowl:

 

No bass will ever "make" you play better. You're fooling yourself if you think it will. Any money you spend thinking that gear will make you play better is wasted. The most good gear can do is *allow* you more possibilities. But it's still up to you to take advantage of them--the gear doesn't play itself. So don't blame the gear if you're not playing better.

 

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aria pro II ZZB bass. wanted a "cool" bass. a waste of $150...well $200, needed new tuners... awaiting new strings in this pic...

 

No, but I've wasted money trying to upgrade a mediocre bass with replacement parts. It didn't improve the bass' sound enough to satisfy my needs, and actually devalued the instrument.

Money would have been much better spent upgrading to a new bass (which I eventually did anyway).

 

not myself personally but i had a friend who ordered a custom LEFT HANDED tobias 6,totaly tricked out had it for a month or 2 took it to GC traded it for a mim fender five and lose literaly 1000's