For me it was a 4003 Ric and a T Bird. I wanted to bond with both, but something about the end of the neck near the nut and the neck dive on the T-Bird just turned me off.
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What bass did you not bond with
- Thread starter Willie5String
- Start date
Every Stingray I've ever owned. I had a 2band US SUB and a Stingray Special 5.
Also most 5 strings until I found my Fender Elite Jazz V.
All of the 70's style jazz basses I've owned until I bought a US Geddy Lee.
Most Precision Basses until the Squier CV 60's .
What is all boils down to is I'm really particular about string spacing, rolled edges , neck thickness , fretboard radius , neck carve, ect. It really has to feel just right on my hands .
Sound and looks is also key.
Also most 5 strings until I found my Fender Elite Jazz V.
All of the 70's style jazz basses I've owned until I bought a US Geddy Lee.
Most Precision Basses until the Squier CV 60's .
What is all boils down to is I'm really particular about string spacing, rolled edges , neck thickness , fretboard radius , neck carve, ect. It really has to feel just right on my hands .
Sound and looks is also key.
If you still have them, be patient and pick them up once in a while.
"And love may grow for all we know"
For me, if it has a sound I want I'll adapt to everything else.
"And love may grow for all we know"
For me, if it has a sound I want I'll adapt to everything else.
I really didn't bond with a Warwick Thumb 5 string Broad Neck that I had a few years ago. My brother and I have been through a few Warwick Thumbs. I still maintain that the best of them was a 1998 4 string bolt on model. That had a slim wenge neck and a really focused, punchy tone. The 5 string BN on the other hand, was pretty much the exact opposite. The neck was just outsize, not so much in terms of width but depth. Yes, it's a broad neck and the 20mm spacing was expected and not uncomfortable, but there was no real reason for the neck to be as deep as it was. That, combined with the sharp 'D' profile meant that it was fatiguing to play in the first position. It had two big soapbars that gave a really muddy, indistinct tone. Where a Thumb should be really tight and middy, this just wasn't. I didn't keep it all that long.
The other notable one, which is one I thought I would really like, was a Zoot fretless. It had all the right ingredients for me - solid maple body, graphite neck and Bartolini electronics. For whatever reason, it just sounded lifeless. I don't know if it was the sheer density of the maple body, but it just didn't seem to resonate freely. Whereas I had wanted loads of midrange, the tone was pretty broad and flat. It certainly didn't jump out at me. I tossed around the idea of selling it for a while, because I really liked the spec, it played very nicely and looked gorgeous. In the end, the tone just didn't grab enough to make it feel like a keeper. Both my fretless basses now have solid maple wings and they sound amazing, both are keepers!
The other notable one, which is one I thought I would really like, was a Zoot fretless. It had all the right ingredients for me - solid maple body, graphite neck and Bartolini electronics. For whatever reason, it just sounded lifeless. I don't know if it was the sheer density of the maple body, but it just didn't seem to resonate freely. Whereas I had wanted loads of midrange, the tone was pretty broad and flat. It certainly didn't jump out at me. I tossed around the idea of selling it for a while, because I really liked the spec, it played very nicely and looked gorgeous. In the end, the tone just didn't grab enough to make it feel like a keeper. Both my fretless basses now have solid maple wings and they sound amazing, both are keepers!
A Fender Power Jazz Special. I had a pair of them. Both E series MIJ Basses from the 80's. I loved their looks and their tone. Unfortunately the neck is extremely uncomfortable for me. My gigantic hands don't work well on 1.5" nut widths.
I could not bond with the Rickenbacker. Owned a black/white 4001 for several months in the early 80s. Other than its look, I did not like anything about it. Was glad to unload it. Gave another try to a 4003 for a spell, but that ended the same way.
A Lakland 44-02, in natural ash / rosewood with Lakland / Hanson electronics. On paper, I should have really liked it but I never bonded with it.
Unfortunately it's the J-bass. I love the idea but I can't get on with the offset shape that looks like a Precision after a few pints, even though they're easier (faster) to play because of the thinner neck, and arguably have more tonal variation. It's the tyranny of familiarity, I suppose.
I've had so many basses I've loved... TRULY loved but realised I'd never bonded with them until I bought my Ultra P. Now I don't say I play bass, I say I play THAT bass. A completely different experience that leaves me worried about breaking or losing it. Thank god it's not as expensive to replace as some of the others I've owned.
An Alembic Series I that regularly left me in the lurch because it would not stay in tune. I'd primed myself to like it, but had to get rid of it for the band's sake.
Ray 34, thought it had all I needed. A few months and then sold it.
In retrospect it was the body the neck and the mid control.
The sound was okay.
In retrospect it was the body the neck and the mid control.
The sound was okay.
A Spector ReBop 5 I used to own. Everything about that bass was wonderful... except that it never sat right on me while standing. Whether I slung it high or slung it low, it sat too horizontally on me and first position was an uncomfortably long reach and the somewhat chunky neck didn't help matters.
I felt a similar way with a Warwick Corvette Standard I used to own. I loved everything about that bass (particularly its deliciously slender neck), but it balanced too horizontally on me while standing, making first position a stretch.
And bear in mind, I like to strap my basses somewhat high.
I felt a similar way with a Warwick Corvette Standard I used to own. I loved everything about that bass (particularly its deliciously slender neck), but it balanced too horizontally on me while standing, making first position a stretch.
And bear in mind, I like to strap my basses somewhat high.
EBMM Stringray5 HH. I just could not love it. It was beautiful and well made. Sold it and it made someone very happy.
Did not bond with the big 4:
Jazzbass = Sounds weak and did not found 1 sound I liked.
Precision Bass = One sound, not for me.
Rickenbacker 4001 = Pain in the ass to setup, not very ergonomic.
MM Stingray = sounds too 80' for me.
I had a Fernandes Tremor which sounded too boomy.
Those were the basses i get rid of easy and fast.
I had Modulus Quantum for few years but it was a love/hate situation where one day, i loved it so much with a perfect sound and the next, it sounded like crap (I know, it was me....).
Still think it's a great bass but i would love to have one with EMGs and not Bartolini PU which i really don't like.
Jazzbass = Sounds weak and did not found 1 sound I liked.
Precision Bass = One sound, not for me.
Rickenbacker 4001 = Pain in the ass to setup, not very ergonomic.
MM Stingray = sounds too 80' for me.
I had a Fernandes Tremor which sounded too boomy.
Those were the basses i get rid of easy and fast.
I had Modulus Quantum for few years but it was a love/hate situation where one day, i loved it so much with a perfect sound and the next, it sounded like crap (I know, it was me....).
Still think it's a great bass but i would love to have one with EMGs and not Bartolini PU which i really don't like.
Beautiful bass...
Poster child for neck dive.
I have reasonably long arms and had to stretch to reach the "A" tuner...
EBMM Caprice. Beautiful, lightweight, top tier craftsmanship... it just never felt right to me.
Stingrays. ...and I keep trying and trying and trying! Great basses but I just can't bond with it.
Several - mostly due to fret board radius. Took a while to find what's comfortable and easy for me to play.
EBMM Bongo. Loved it but just too much bass for me.
And I guess you could say my Allen Woody and I lost our bond due to ergonomicals.
And I guess you could say my Allen Woody and I lost our bond due to ergonomicals.
