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What Bass Was The Biggest DISAPPOINTMENT?

#441
Travis Bean bass during the mid '70s. I bought into the hype and being left handed, I ordered one without having the luxury of playing it first.

It had a beautiful pearly white koa body with an aluminum neck.

She looked great but I didn't care for the tones or fee,l and couldn't get used to that metal neck. I really wanted to like this bass, but whatever was tried to do to improve the sound didn't work. Looking back, that's the only bass I remember having when other band members asked me to play something else.
 
#442
I've gotten to the point where I'm not happy with anything but Fender P basses. A P was all I had for years and years, and when I got back into playing regularly around 2003, I've gone through any number of different basses. MM Sterling, Rick 4003, Fender J, Fender Jaguar. Now I'm back to playing the Fender P bass I had originally. The biggest disappointment was wasting all that time and money to find out I'm happy with what I had all along. Time for a craigslist herd-thinning.
 
#443
Rickenbacker 4003.

I've never really had a big lust for this style of bass, but I saw it in a local music shop. I've heard good things about them, saw the £1,400 price and thought I'd give it a go.

Hated the feel, the weight, the finish on the neck, the lack of any place to rest my thumb.. I even hated the inlays! Not the bass for me - decided that after 5 minutes.
 
#445
DanNowhere said:
I've gotten to the point where I'm not happy with anything but Fender P basses. A P was all I had for years and years, and when I got back into playing regularly around 2003, I've gone through any number of different basses. MM Sterling, Rick 4003, Fender J, Fender Jaguar. Now I'm back to playing the Fender P bass I had originally. The biggest disappointment was wasting all that time and money to find out I'm happy with what I had all along. Time for a craigslist herd-thinning.
Click to expand...

Funny, for me, a Fender MIA P Bass was my biggest disappointment. Everyone always recommends them to me when I describe the tone I'm after, but I guess I need to do a better job of describing it :p I just wasn't taken with the feel at all, it felt so awkward to me. I didn't spend too much time tweaking the tone, but I didn't think it was anything to write home about. Definitely not worth the price, in my opinion.

Though the nice thing about basses being a completely subjective thing: it allows for some awesome deals when you find your dream bass in a craigslist herd-thinning!
 
#446
BC RICH Any model with the "neckdive",


NOW LISTEN!! :


I dig the tone (whats not to dig, right?)and I love the looks, always wanted one since I was a kid in the late 80's.

I've had 3 Warlocks,3 Mockingbirds (and a Beast..but we wont talk bout that.)

Always thinking, it was gonna be better..better model, relocate the strap buttons...nothin.

I WILL try again though , someday...those new 5 string neck thrus...and new Ideas to deal with the "dive"....

I Really want an Ironbird though, the only one that I really wanted but never got.

carry on.
 
#448
had a ric 4001 that sounded horrible. traded it to a friend who put emg pups in it and still sounded horrible, he got rid of it also. another is my ibanez artcore. the E string sounds great, but thats it. and using it live, forget it, just gets lost in the mix.
 
#449
Mine was an Alembic Exploiter back in the mid 80's. I was trying to emulate you-know-who without having the $$ to copy one of his top-of-the-line models.

I almost keeled over when I found a low-end Alembic in a CT guitar shop. I played it for about 15 seconds and thought "I HAVE to own this". Within a week I traded my Ibanez Musician and a decent sized pile of cash and brought it home.

Aesthetically, it was a work of art even though it was pretty plain by Alembic standards-quilted maple over a mahogany body. It was flawlessly built and once I got a semi-handle on the filter, I could produce some really excellent tones.

Problem was, the body shape just doesnt work for me. I never felt physically comfortable playing that bass. As much as I wanted to love that bass, it got to the point that I really hated to pull it out of the case and practice on it.

Just for ha-ha's I'd like to try another explorer-bodied bass now and see if I still have the same reaction.
 
#450
brand new Rickenbacker 4003S/5 in midnight blue from Musicians Friend. I thought this was going to be the "end all / be all" 5-string bass choice for me. Not by a long shot. String spacing was WAY too tight, neck dive and the B string (no matter what I did with the pickup adjustments) was no where near as loud as the E through G strings. That was just a bad idea on Rickenbacker's part imo.
 
#451
I havent had that many basses in my 25 years of playing (mostly because I was broke and couldnt afford anything new when I was younger), but the only disappointing one was my 1988 Ric 4003. Thing was beautiful and felt fantastic. I played a Guild B301 for 20 years so I was used to a similar shape/weight/neck, so it felt "right" in my hands. The tone was good, but not what I thought I was going to get. Sounded more like a Jazz bass to me. I put it up for sale and made a few hundred dollars so it wasnt all bad.

I think it is a sickness though...I just bought another Ric 4003 and its on its way to me now.
 
#455
JoshB said:
And personally, if I had a bass worth over $6k that wasn't working for me, yeah, I'd contact the builder, but I also would understand that I spec'd out that bass, and it's my own fault. As far as the OP's profile, it says he still owns it, so that's saying something, considering what your basses go for on the used market.
Click to expand...

I agree. But there are additional issues. One is that high-end basses are often a acquired taste! A lot of people in this thread expressed disappointment with Alembics. And Hey, I bought one and I must admit that I was disappointed too! Some of it was real. I contacted Alembic and they more or less fixed it. But some of it was ME too! It took me quite some time (not just days, but months or even years) to come to appreciate the very unique qualities my Alembic offered. I very much suspect that this is true of most high-end basses. Thus an initial disappointment isn't a big deal. It's a FINAL disappointment that is the big deal!
 
#456
Fenders with a modern c-shaped neck. I hate the way they feel. The only Fender necks I like are old style p-bass necks, so as much as it would be great to own a Fender, it won't happen until I can afford either a reissue or a real one. I have the same issue with Fender guitars, so it's not a problem with one or two specific instruments.
 
#460
First of all, this thread is hilarious.

So, mine is the Spector Rebop 5er. Bought it in white - site unseen, awesome looking bass. White on black Spector - loved the look. Had a "modern" tone, whatever that was, it wasn't my tone, the neck was a baseball bat. Really tried for months to enjoy it, I couldn't wait to offload it for another Jazz.

I remember a big surprise once though, I needed a quick 4 string for a gig in the 90's, I bought a Yamaha 4 string on an impulse buy. It was just a cheap $400.00 bass, I don't even remember what it was called. That thing kicked all forms of %#@. Sounded and played great. A total no-namer of a bass too. I wish I never sold that thing.
 

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