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What Bass Was The Biggest DISAPPOINTMENT?
- Thread starter plangentmusic
- Start date
MM Sterling 5 HS, although I don't blame the bass. It sounded great but I found the smaller body uncomfortable.
I ordered (and received) a BEAUTIFUL Fender American Deluxe Jazz W/Quilted top back in 2004 and it was absolutely PERFECT in every way, shape and form.
Unfortunately, I guess I was the biggest disappointment because I could never get used to the active thing and sold it off....again, it wasn't a problem with the bass, it was more a problem of me not caring for the active thing...
Unfortunately, I guess I was the biggest disappointment because I could never get used to the active thing and sold it off....again, it wasn't a problem with the bass, it was more a problem of me not caring for the active thing...
Fender MM was a big dissapointment for me too.
Heavy,sounds bad,and costs alot.
I also played a few other Jazz bass fenders-American,and most of them I didn't like.
Though I once played an American fretless Fender Jazz,was really cool and fun.
Also a big dissapointment was Music Man,both Stingray and Bongo.
Both are heavy and have nothing special.
These(Music Man) and Warwicks feel to me as they are built "chunky"...
Like someone took a big block of wood,put strings on it,threw some gross electronics and let me play it.
Especially the neck of the Warwicks.
And all these were a big dissapointment,because I got many many MANY good words about them.
Not my style AT ALL!
Heavy,sounds bad,and costs alot.
I also played a few other Jazz bass fenders-American,and most of them I didn't like.
Though I once played an American fretless Fender Jazz,was really cool and fun.
Also a big dissapointment was Music Man,both Stingray and Bongo.
Both are heavy and have nothing special.
These(Music Man) and Warwicks feel to me as they are built "chunky"...
Like someone took a big block of wood,put strings on it,threw some gross electronics and let me play it.
Especially the neck of the Warwicks.
And all these were a big dissapointment,because I got many many MANY good words about them.
Not my style AT ALL!
Musicman Stingray: extremely uncomfortable, cant get away from that trebly/middly/nasal tone even with eqing.
Fender Musicmaster: a 1000 bucks toy
Fender Musicmaster: a 1000 bucks toy
for me i have found that jazz basses of any make just don't do it. i guess i'm not a jazz bass guy, though i really want to be. in my 20+ years of playing i keep buying jazz basses trying to like them. i end up changing p/u's, preamps and so on, and them just end up selling them.
mid '70s Gibson Ripper - I bought one new back then and gigged it a lot for a couple of years. Had a lot of different sounds, but not one I really liked. Traded it for a '78 Precision that I still have.
Fender Roscoe Beck 5-string. I so wanted to love this bass. But the sound just didn't have much personality or warmth for me. A lot of guys love 'em, and Roscoe himself sure makes it sound good, but it didn't do it for me.
Fender Roscoe Beck 5-string. I so wanted to love this bass. But the sound just didn't have much personality or warmth for me. A lot of guys love 'em, and Roscoe himself sure makes it sound good, but it didn't do it for me.
To the OP - great question, really got me thinking. The basses I've had buyers remorse on are:
2005 Fender American Deluxe Jazz 5 Ash - sounded lifeless when I got it. Replaced the PU's and the Preamp and Strings and Nut and Bridge. Now it sounds ok but not my go to bass.
2007 G&L 2500 Tribute - looked beautiful, sounded great on one or two settings but the pickups where way too hot for just about any amp I plugged into and I never got used to the maple fretboard. Sold it.
2009 Stingray 5 string 3band - Sounds good but nothing like my vintage preEB 2 band stingray or even my musicman SUB5. Both sound better and are much easier to dial in the tone I want. Still have the Ray5 but thinking about letting it go.
2005 Fender American Deluxe Jazz 5 Ash - sounded lifeless when I got it. Replaced the PU's and the Preamp and Strings and Nut and Bridge. Now it sounds ok but not my go to bass.
2007 G&L 2500 Tribute - looked beautiful, sounded great on one or two settings but the pickups where way too hot for just about any amp I plugged into and I never got used to the maple fretboard. Sold it.
2009 Stingray 5 string 3band - Sounds good but nothing like my vintage preEB 2 band stingray or even my musicman SUB5. Both sound better and are much easier to dial in the tone I want. Still have the Ray5 but thinking about letting it go.
Fender Deluxe series Jazz, MIM. I got a deal on it on ebay (new/used, used for only hours) and thought it would be great. The sound was good but the neck was a POS. I did 2 fret jobs to it (and I've done hundreds with success) and it was still trash. No warranty because it was officially used. My faith was pretty much gone on Fender basses before that but this incident nailed the coffin lid shut.
I know, another rant on fender from me. But this guy asked!
I know, another rant on fender from me. But this guy asked!
Also a Warwick thumb 5 neck thru (the expensive one) The pickups were slanted in a wierd way and to close to the neck. I just couldn't get used to it and traded it off for a Roscoe SKB 3005 which I loved.
Getting buried in the mix? Muddy low end? Poor B string?
The Warwick Thumb is known for being superior in all these 3 areas.
I simply do not believe this statement to be true.
Weird ergonomics and sound you don't like are criticism I can understand on the thumb though.
at first i didn't like my 2008 Fender Geddy lee. After replacing the tone pot with a stellartone tone styler, adding hipshot tuners, and having professional setup, I like it now. But it's hardly the same bass that it was, and I've spent about 300 bucks getting it to be acceptable in tone and playability. Oh i added a black pickguard, but that was personal taste, not a necessity!
Since 2009, Warwick went back to the super slim necks of 80's and early 90's models.
1963 Fender Jazz bass.
It was the worst bass I ever owned.
Dead spots all over the place and no tone at all, it was a huge disappointment.
I tried everything to make that bass work and it never did.
I sold it.
It was the worst bass I ever owned.
Dead spots all over the place and no tone at all, it was a huge disappointment.
I tried everything to make that bass work and it never did.
I sold it.
laklandplayer said:
These stories don't get brought up enough but I believe it. I have played early 60s fenders that knocked me out and some that didn't sound as good as the current US models. Just because it's pre-CBS and costs a fortune, that does not guarantee anything.
musicman stingrays. love how they look. owned 2 of them. made cheap and the sound is not my cup or tea at all...
I can't believe I haven't seen this thread before. I'm enjoying it a lot.
I have one major regret in a bass purchase, and one minor/sorta regret.
1. The major purchase (and repeated!) regret: I've been playing bass a LONG time, and own (or have owned) just about all of the "classic" four string electric basses. Back in the mid 1990s I bought a used late 1970s Music Man StingRay because of the Leo Fender heritage, and the great publicity and buzz they were getting. It never felt or sounded quite right to me. After a few years I finally sold it.
Within a few months I was thinking again, "I really ought to have a StingRay." So a couple of years ago a used one in good condition showed up near me. I snatched it up and brought it home, and really wanted it to be one of the "chosen few." But try as I might, I could never make it work, either in terms of sound or playability. So I sold it.
Again, a few months later that damn voice starts whispering in my ear, "You really ought to have a StingRay." You'd think being 0 for 2 I'd learn. But nooooo . . .
So a used four string HH StingRay in excellent condition shows up near me. I rush over, buy it, spend endless hours trying to set it up and fall in love with it, all to no avail. It was a beautiful and well-crafted instrument, but we just couldn't make the connection work.
Its sound . . . imagine a dozen 6' pieces of aluminum conduit held upright on a large concrete pad, and then allowed to fall down. That's how the tone of all four of these StingRays always struck me, no matter how I tweaked the EQ. And the neck always felt vaguely uncomfortable, especially down around the first fret.
So I sold StingRay III, and I think that MAYBE I've finally learned this lesson.
2. The second and minor regret is a Mapleglo 1973 Ric 4001. I LOVE the way these classic basses look, and Sir Paul playing one is a personal visual icon for me. But the neck never feels right to me, and the sound is lacking . . . something.
But this one I'm going to keep for a long time just because of it's musical heritage and role.
FWIW and for some context on the above, my standard "go to" basses are a Pedulla MVP and a Fender MIM Precision.
I have one major regret in a bass purchase, and one minor/sorta regret.
1. The major purchase (and repeated!) regret: I've been playing bass a LONG time, and own (or have owned) just about all of the "classic" four string electric basses. Back in the mid 1990s I bought a used late 1970s Music Man StingRay because of the Leo Fender heritage, and the great publicity and buzz they were getting. It never felt or sounded quite right to me. After a few years I finally sold it.
Within a few months I was thinking again, "I really ought to have a StingRay." So a couple of years ago a used one in good condition showed up near me. I snatched it up and brought it home, and really wanted it to be one of the "chosen few." But try as I might, I could never make it work, either in terms of sound or playability. So I sold it.
Again, a few months later that damn voice starts whispering in my ear, "You really ought to have a StingRay." You'd think being 0 for 2 I'd learn. But nooooo . . .
So a used four string HH StingRay in excellent condition shows up near me. I rush over, buy it, spend endless hours trying to set it up and fall in love with it, all to no avail. It was a beautiful and well-crafted instrument, but we just couldn't make the connection work.
Its sound . . . imagine a dozen 6' pieces of aluminum conduit held upright on a large concrete pad, and then allowed to fall down. That's how the tone of all four of these StingRays always struck me, no matter how I tweaked the EQ. And the neck always felt vaguely uncomfortable, especially down around the first fret.
So I sold StingRay III, and I think that MAYBE I've finally learned this lesson.
2. The second and minor regret is a Mapleglo 1973 Ric 4001. I LOVE the way these classic basses look, and Sir Paul playing one is a personal visual icon for me. But the neck never feels right to me, and the sound is lacking . . . something.
But this one I'm going to keep for a long time just because of it's musical heritage and role.
FWIW and for some context on the above, my standard "go to" basses are a Pedulla MVP and a Fender MIM Precision.
Two go-arounds with Pedula. First a Thunderbolt 5, while beautiful, did not play well or sound good on stage. Some hum and the noise got it sidelined and made me reach for a Musicman. A second time was with the Rapture Jazz 5 string. The neck was just very cumbersome to play. This is more of a preference thing, not a quality thing. So while I REALLY wanted to like Pedulla, I couldn't get it to work for me. FWIW - fabulous build quality, etc. and I'm sure the right bass for a lot of people.
