Marc S Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Hi all, Apologies if anyone has posted this sort of thing before, I did a search and couldn't find anything too similar.. This was prompted by seeing this post, which is really mainly about the design / style of a bass But I wanted to know what really awful basses are / were out there mainly concentrating on matters other than the "look" of an instrument... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/218700-could-this-be-the-worst-bass/page__p__2230880__hl__worst%20bass__fromsearch__1#entry2230880"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/218700-could-this-be-the-worst-bass/page__p__2230880__hl__worst%20bass__fromsearch__1#entry2230880[/url] I started playing in the early 80's - with a break of over 20 years, and resumed playing again several years back.... wish I'd never stopped now, but there we go When I first started playing, I bought a 2nd hand 3/4 scale bass which had a Kay logo on the trussrod cover That's "Kay" the catalogue people at that time Anyhow, it looked a bit like a sort of Rick shape but had a bolt-on neck, which was twisted slightly I didn't really know what I was buying at the time so I wasn't aware of the twist It was cheap, and it was all I could afford at the time The effect of the twist was that you could tune the bass, but at the last 2 frets the strings (particularly the E and A) were out of tune. As soon as I played anything else at least half decent, I could tell just how awful this bass was The sound, when played through an amp was just awful too The pickups must have been rubbish It didn't put me off playing however I was just determined to get something better There were a lot of cheapish guitars around at the time and I wonder just how many of them have survived, how many were good, bad, or indifferent Shortly after this bass, I had a Shaftesbury and that was a rather nice guitar I now wish I'd had the money to keep It was a whole different kettle of fish built in Japan, and at the time, Japanese built guitars were considered not very good However, I've since seen & played several instruments which disprove that Back to my 1st bass A pal of mine (an ex-drummer) recently bought one for his daughter I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it! Haven't seen one in ages I gave it a quick whirl, and it really is just firewood I advised him to get her something better BTW. He didn't, and she has given up Anyone else remember these Kay basses? Or anyone else with memories of terrible guitars? A lead player old pal of mine shudders at the thought of his first "Jedson" Cheers Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 BTW. I meant to add, I sold the bass to a guy who just wanted an "ornament" to hang on his wall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 One of these: The Rosetti Bass 7 (mine was in a rather hideous green sunburst). I have a feeling I paid £1 for it, might have been £2. That was in about 1972. It would be overpriced if you paid that for it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 The bass I learnt to play on.hondo 2 precision copy. Learning to play on firewood is quite frustrating. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I had a squire P.... absolutely awful.... nothing else to add really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I started with an Encore P bass. Hideous in every way. My next bass was an Aria Pro II Integra which felt and sounded like a £5k Ken Smith in comparison! Then I played a Ken Smith at a shop. My world crumbled before me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I played a 5 sting USA Fender, can't remember the model but it was truly awful, i like fenders normally but this was an exception, the B string was the worst I'd come across on any bass. some sort of set up would have helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1380814169' post='2230983'] I played a 5 sting USA Fender, can't remember the model but it was truly awful, i like fenders normally but this was an exception, the B string was the worst I'd come across on any bass. some sort of set up would have helped. [/quote] Odd arent they, sort of 4 string with a B string vibe about them? [b]worst ever [/b]Kay SG bass that I learnt on (belonged to a friends dad) [b]next joint worst [/b]every Rickenbacker I have tried or even gigged with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 (edited) [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1380814559' post='2230995'] Odd arent they, sort of 4 string with a B string vibe about them? [b]worst ever [/b]Kay SG bass that I learnt on (belonged to a friends dad) [b]next joint worst [/b]every Rickenbacker I have tried or even gigged with. [/quote] My first bass was one of those Kay SG 's & it too was pants. Edited October 3, 2013 by artisan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Entry level stuff has really improved over the last few years... Even the absolute cheapest of the cheap basses are playable these days. I played someones encore P the other day and yeah it wasn't great but it was playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Once I got into serious territory... and past the baby stuff. worst was a 70's Fender Jazz as I didn't really know any different, but I thougt it was what I wanted. Followed by an Ibanez MC940 'Sting' bass or whatever if was called.. It was made pretty well, I guess,..but totally bland, bland, BLAND. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 The worst bass I've played was an Epiphone Thunderbird ... An absolute atrocity of an instrument. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionn Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 On second thoughts ... A friend of mine once owned a Burns Vista Sonic. THAT was the worst bass I've played, even worse than the Epiphone. A total pig of an instrument. I'm astonished that folk spend 4-figure sums of money on those. Not only do they feel, and sound bad ... they look terrible too. Right down there with Rickenbackers. Yuk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 (edited) The worst bass I ever had [size=3][b](mostly down to me being a cheapskate at the time)[/b][/size] was a Columbus fretless Jazz copy. Aboslute gawd awful sh|te. But it took me enormous pleasure taking it to bonfire night and watch it burn. Edited October 3, 2013 by Grand Wazoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [attachment=145276:KAY.JPG] Kay K1. The English language does not contain words with sufficient venom to describe how bad it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 my first bass was awful a marlin sidewinder with a bowed neck and a weedy godawful sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1380818626' post='2231072'] [attachment=145276:KAY.JPG] Kay K1. The English language does not contain words with sufficient venom to describe how bad it was. [/quote] Oh dear it looks like a few of cut our teeth on these, no wonder I went all out active musicman as its probably as far away from it as possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Hang on I am lying, mine was an Avon which were much better but still awful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1380818626' post='2231072'] [attachment=145276:KAY.JPG] Kay K1. The English language does not contain words with sufficient venom to describe how bad it was. [/quote] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............................................................................................ THE NIGHTTMARE RETURNS TO HAUNT MY DREAMS Sob............................................................................................................................................................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1380811369' post='2230931'] When I first started playing, I bought a 2nd hand 3/4 scale bass which had a Kay logo on the trussrod cover That's "Kay" the catalogue people at that time Anyhow, it looked a bit like a sort of Rick shape but had a bolt-on neck, which was twisted slightly I didn't really know what I was buying at the time so I wasn't aware of the twist It was cheap, and it was all I could afford at the time [/quote] Was it one of these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vintage-Kay-short-scale-bass-guitar-/151131905156?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item233029dc84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [quote name='artisan' timestamp='1380820693' post='2231129'] Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............................................................................................ THE NIGHTTMARE RETURNS TO HAUNT MY DREAMS Sob............................................................................................................................................................ [/quote] Mine is still in my parents loft. I suspect it will stay there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bagsieblue Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Westfield - small bodied, Warwickesque, 5 String. Awful, awful awful. Weak pickups, tone controls next to useless..... Can't believe I gigged it for so long - when I got a MIM Jazz Deluxe the difference was like night and day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I've never really had any horror story basses, I once borrowed a genuine '70s R*ck*nb*ck*r that [i]should[/i] have been the balls. It was not. Sounded incredible, but it felt like a snooker cue?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 [quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1380818077' post='2231065'] The worst bass I ever had [size=3][b](mostly down to me being a cheapskate at the time)[/b][/size] was a Columbus fretless Jazz copy. Aboslute gawd awful sh|te. But it took me enormous pleasure taking it to bonfire night and watch it burn. [/quote] My second bass aquired was a Columbus Precision, which with hindsight was awful,(strings kept popping out of the nut) but it was so much better than the Kay K1 it was a revelation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusco Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Lindo P copy from Crack Converters, first bass and at the time I thought it was ok. It did a job but as I know now that job should have been to start a fire with. No bass should give you splinters from the fretboard.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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