Worst chronic bass design flaws?

[Engine207]

Got to be truss rod adjustment for me. Especially on my beloved Fenders. Having to take the neck off is a serious pain.

Yup...this right here.

I've always wondered why Leo thought that a set-up adjustment that necessitates string removal and neck unbolting was a good idea.

Only two of my Fenders are heel adjusting, and I've notched my pickguard to overcome that flaw. I'm thinking of building my own this autumn, and one of the "must-have" features is a spoke wheel truss adjustment. Aside from the convenience factor, you can make slight adjustments in a very measured way.

 

[cnltb]

Fair enough. Graphite does have a non-zero coefficient of linear expansion but it is so low as to be negligible in this particular application.

Thanks for picking nits, wiseacre.

Wiseacre?...nice

 

[pocketgroove]

Putting preamps in them? Or putting more than four strings on them?



I kid.

+1

 

[ThudThudThud]

$0.02

+1 Neck Dive
+1 Truss rod adjustment
+1 Bulky neck heel
+1 Fret dressing
+1 Lack of shielding
+1 Unbalanced tone across strings
+1 Badly/non set up instruments to retail

I'd throw in pick-up placement FWIW. A lot of 'new' designs catch this, but a lot don't.
(just an opinion, but wouldn't the Precision p'up sound better if the poles on the E & A were closer to the bridge?)

 

[Blues Cat]

Nickel frets

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

I don't think there is ANY flaw common to ALL basses... But common ones?

Truss rod adjustment;
Fretting access above the 20th fret (for those who care...)

those or the two (previously mentioned) that leap to mind...

 

[Drunk Heffalump]

Weak pickups in the low/mid and sometimes high( Looking at you Fender) brands until you break the bank, that and price gouging games, supported by keeping production low, ergo demand high. Far too many companies have this little problem....

 

[ljazz]

Man, I don't know about universal, but the craziest design flaw ever in a bass that I've seen was the bridge spacing on the Fender MIA J's from the late '80's / early 90's (the "boner" basses / Longhorns)...... It's like 21.5mm..... you couldn't keep the E or G strings on the fret board. Absolutely killer, quality instruments from a manufacturing point of view...... I've never played a bass with a tighter neck pocket. And Fender kept the bridge like that through the life cycle of the longhorns.

I never understood why they didn't use the bridges from the Deluxe Jazz.

 

[embellisher]

I feel like I'd have the true temperment thing...and everyone would be like..."WHOA! Who did that to your frets?!"

Just imagine a Dingwall with those!

 

[cassius987]

Personally, I hate that basses don't come with a straplock system by default. On both of my basses and my guitar my dad and I have applied far too much effort getting straplocks installed, and the crummy little strap buttons that are on basses by default never work for me for an extended period.

I thank God that basses don't come with strap lock systems. I hate strap locks. Just get a rubber washer and place over the strap--quiet and effective.

 

[KingRazor]

Others have hit some that sprang to mind, but how about overly sharp fretboard edges? Fender's American Standards and G&L's USA basses have rolled edges, which feel great, and should be the norm IMO.

This.

 

[billiam5billion]

As much as I agree with the idea of Steinbergers being super efficient designs, I gotta say-looks DO matter, and that thing got beat with an ugly stick. If they started making all basses to be as comfortable and efficient as possible, I think we'd all be missing out on a very important aspect of playing, which is aesthetic.

 

[Thrill-House]

Not super common, but it seems alot of companies make unique shaped bodies but fail to test their balance when being played standing up, resulting in neck dive. Makes playing said bass or guitar really annoying and difficult to play.

 

[Longshot]

big chunky heelblocks on a bolt-on

Amen to this one. Agree on the chunky blocks.

 

[Busty]

It sounds like there is a general consensus about neck dive and weight. Here is my solution, headstocks are a universal design flaw. They are entirely unnecessary from a design perspective.

Thus the solution---

Invalid Link Removed


Ned Steinberger was a genius, he saw what a bass really needed and didn't need. I think half of the people on this thread would love to play one of these bad boys, even if they hated it, if you get my drift.

Steinberger might be a genius, but that legrest he sells under license is just…[insert extreme negative swearword]. Otherwise, these kind of basses are frequently needing adjustments (like pictured in your post) for correct strap fit and for correcting the body diving (on a horizontal axis)…

 

[lowendrv]

+1

Why doesn´t Fender offer a contoured heel as standard?

There's no money past the 5Th fret!!!!

 

[mongo2]

There's no money past the 5Th fret!!!!

Nah, that's '60s thinking...in 1982 it was raised to the 7the fret.

 

[fractiouslowend]

I thank God that basses don't come with strap lock systems. I hate strap locks. Just get a rubber washer and place over the strap--quiet and effective.

i wasn't aware that straplocks made noise
the washer idea is a good quick or cheap fix, but if you take your strap off all the time, i imagine it would be a nuisance

 

[DerHoggz]

i wasn't aware that straplocks made noise
the washer idea is a good quick or cheap fix, but if you take your strap off all the time, i imagine it would be a nuisance

Just the noise of metal against metal, nothing significant or noticeable.

 

[joemagar]

It's a shame they haven't figure out a way to prevent bass guitars from causing severe brain damage yet.