Here is a tale of a "dream bass" that was not quite as dreamy as I'd hoped and I held on to it for way too long.
Grab a beverage, for here is my tale:
A wenge-necked 1997 Warwick Corvette Standard 4-string I bought in the early 2000s and had for about 10 years.
The story:
Warwicks were my dream basses back when I was in high school (1992-1996). I drooled over them in the Bass Player magazine ads. I was beyond thrilled when I finally had the chance to own one of my own. It was a wenge-necked 1997 Warwick Corvette Standard 4-string I bought in the early 2000s (from an awesome TBer) and had for about 10 years. I gigged with it, toured with it, recorded with it, etc in several bands and musical contexts. It was easily the best bass that ever came into my possession. Everyone who played it couldn't put it down.
...but the truth is everyone else loved the bass more than I did. From day 1, its ergonomics never fit me quite right. The compact body made the neck jut too far out to the left and the short upper horn made the balance too horizontal, thus first position (where the "money notes" live) was a miles-away reach for me. I vastly preferred playing this cheapie Soundgear a friend let me borrow while my Warwick was in the shop getting some mods.
But Warwick was my dream bass, I had invested in a truly amazing one, and my stubborn younger self just "had" to make it work because it was such a great bass that everyone said was the best they'd ever played.
That's why I stuck with that bass for so long (maybe too long), because I felt wrong about thinking, "This is the most amazingest bass ever... but I don't like it. Why can't I like it? I want to LOVE it, dammit I NEED to love it!!!!!"
Circa 2015, I sold that bass to a jazz student. The bass fits him like it was meant for him. From what I understand, he still has it, treasures it, and plays it all the time.
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For similar reasons, I never quite bonded with Spectors. I once had a Czech-made ReBop 5-string that should have been perfect (solidly built, played and sounded wonderful, weighed only about 8.5 pounds)... but the compact body, short upper horn, 35" scale, and bridge placement made the bass balance too horizontally for my liking and the neck jutted out too far to the left making first position an uncomfortable miles-away reach.
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I also once had a Japanese Aerodyne 4-string that should have been a forever bass (looked, sounded, and played amazing!). Ergonomics weren't bad either... except that when I played standing up with the bass strapped on at the height/position I like best, the body pressed against my body in an uncomfortable way.
---
Go figure, my heavily modded LTD (by ESP) HTB-600 nestles most comfortably against my body, yet its body shape looks like it would be the most uncomfortable thing in the world. My Soundgear is a pretty damn comfortable bass too.
Grab a beverage, for here is my tale:
A wenge-necked 1997 Warwick Corvette Standard 4-string I bought in the early 2000s and had for about 10 years.
The story:
Warwicks were my dream basses back when I was in high school (1992-1996). I drooled over them in the Bass Player magazine ads. I was beyond thrilled when I finally had the chance to own one of my own. It was a wenge-necked 1997 Warwick Corvette Standard 4-string I bought in the early 2000s (from an awesome TBer) and had for about 10 years. I gigged with it, toured with it, recorded with it, etc in several bands and musical contexts. It was easily the best bass that ever came into my possession. Everyone who played it couldn't put it down.
...but the truth is everyone else loved the bass more than I did. From day 1, its ergonomics never fit me quite right. The compact body made the neck jut too far out to the left and the short upper horn made the balance too horizontal, thus first position (where the "money notes" live) was a miles-away reach for me. I vastly preferred playing this cheapie Soundgear a friend let me borrow while my Warwick was in the shop getting some mods.
But Warwick was my dream bass, I had invested in a truly amazing one, and my stubborn younger self just "had" to make it work because it was such a great bass that everyone said was the best they'd ever played.
That's why I stuck with that bass for so long (maybe too long), because I felt wrong about thinking, "This is the most amazingest bass ever... but I don't like it. Why can't I like it? I want to LOVE it, dammit I NEED to love it!!!!!"
Circa 2015, I sold that bass to a jazz student. The bass fits him like it was meant for him. From what I understand, he still has it, treasures it, and plays it all the time.
---
For similar reasons, I never quite bonded with Spectors. I once had a Czech-made ReBop 5-string that should have been perfect (solidly built, played and sounded wonderful, weighed only about 8.5 pounds)... but the compact body, short upper horn, 35" scale, and bridge placement made the bass balance too horizontally for my liking and the neck jutted out too far to the left making first position an uncomfortable miles-away reach.
---
I also once had a Japanese Aerodyne 4-string that should have been a forever bass (looked, sounded, and played amazing!). Ergonomics weren't bad either... except that when I played standing up with the bass strapped on at the height/position I like best, the body pressed against my body in an uncomfortable way.
---
Go figure, my heavily modded LTD (by ESP) HTB-600 nestles most comfortably against my body, yet its body shape looks like it would be the most uncomfortable thing in the world. My Soundgear is a pretty damn comfortable bass too.
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It turned out the flat radius of the Squier Deluxe Active Jazz fretboard was not a good fit for my fretting hand. Live and learn, trial and error, learn from your mistakes or whatever you want to call it. The "Big Picture" was I could not bond with it. Fortunately, it did teach me a lot about my "bassicological" 
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