What's the most over-rated bass, or bass related product???

[bassmansky]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='274109' date='Aug 31 2008, 10:55 PM']i think Ashdown wins the most hated award [/quote]
dont think they'll mind too much!

[Protium]

Fancy expensive wood, e.g. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA flamed maple top, $300000 extra.

[4000]

Ok, I'll bite. Not usually big on negative threads, but this seems to have stayed good natured.

Heavy basses, especially ones that you love to death but cripple your knackered back when played standing up; especially when they took you 20-odd years to get. Actually scratch that, it's life that ruined that part! The bass is wonderful....ok, every bass that I want but can't have because it's too heavy. No, that's still life that's the problem....

Marcus Miller. SMILE!!!!!!! IT'S EASY!!!!!!!

Heavy gear, especially when you know you can get your ideal sound out of it for peanuts but can't carry it anymore (please step forward the early Trace pre-Kevlar 4x10s)...actually scratch that, that's life too. Grrr.

I second hating "less is more", and for your consideration cheerfully submit the much more apt "enough is enough (is enough)".

People who say you're not a bass player if you use a pick. Try having arm problems that mean using your fingers is an arse; learning to play with a pick in the first place has saved my playing life.

Fender-type (wide) spacing. If I had hands like the Hulk ok, but I've got decent sized hands and it's still way too big.

Aguilar GS112s. Will be for sale as soon as I can afford to replace them and work out what I'm replacing them with. Pants, I hate 'em. They have all the articulation of a stoned Chav.

Tweeters. Hate them more than Marcus. One question; why does anyone want to sound like a bottle being thrown at a greenhouse?

Forearm contours (on most basses). I'll have my bass without built in RSI thanks.

Neck dive.

Basses that sound great in the shop that don't work in your (my) band. How many times have I been caught out? Most of them. How much have I spent finding out? Double Grrr.

People who cant accept that what doesn't work for them might work for someone else. I don't fancy Angelina Jolie. Doesn't stop Brad Pitt wanting to er, you know.

And probably lots of other things......hmmmm.

Gear I want but can't afford, that's the worst.

Edited September 16, 2008 by 4000

[waynepunkdude]

I'm getting really fed up of every gig I play having at least one bassist with an Ashdown Amp and a Warwick bass.

[urb]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='285385' date='Sep 16 2008, 09:07 PM']I'm getting really fed up of every gig I play having at least one bassist with an Ashdown Amp and a Warwick bass.[/quote]

Mmmm - that'll be lots of money thrown at marketing those 'brands' working then... - I've always thought they only advertise Nescafe cos it tastes like sh*t...

same for Ws and AD

IMHO.

M

[Protium]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='285385' date='Sep 16 2008, 09:07 PM']I'm getting really fed up of every gig I play having at least one bassist with an Ashdown Amp and a Warwick bass.[/quote]

I've never seen anyone round here play a Warwick or an Ashdown (apart from when they've lent mine and a 5:15 combo)...

Another peeve - bassists who turn up at a gig expecting someone else to have an amp they can use and the ones who f***ing moan at me because I wana set up the VU meter right so they dont blow the preamp... "Play as loud as you are going to during the gig" "HUH? What for?" I don't have to let you use my amp you little sh*t.

[Protium]

[quote name='urb' post='285408' date='Sep 16 2008, 09:39 PM']Mmmm - that'll be lots of money thrown at marketing those 'brands' working then... - I've always thought they only advertise Nescafe cos it tastes like sh*t...

same for Ws and AD

IMHO.

M[/quote]

I've never seen an Ashdown ad, and can't comment on the taste I'm afraid...

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='urb' post='285408' date='Sep 16 2008, 09:39 PM']Mmmm - that'll be lots of money thrown at marketing those 'brands' working then... - I've always thought they only advertise Nescafe cos it tastes like sh*t...

same for Ws and AD

IMHO.

M[/quote]

Didn't you play a Warwick for years and years??

[phil_the_bassist]

[quote name='Protium' post='285466' date='Sep 16 2008, 11:03 PM']I've never seen anyone round here play a Warwick or an Ashdown (apart from when they've lent mine and a 5:15 combo)...

Another peeve - bassists who turn up at a gig expecting someone else to have an amp they can use and the ones who f***ing moan at me because I wana set up the VU meter right so they dont blow the preamp... "Play as loud as you are going to during the gig" "HUH? What for?" I don't have to let you use my amp you little sh*t.[/quote]


BIG +1!

Then also the ones that bring their own sh*tty little crackly practice combo, see that you've got something that's actually SUITABLE and expect to plug into yours.

[urb]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='285472' date='Sep 16 2008, 11:19 PM']Didn't you play a Warwick for years and years??[/quote]

Yes, but it was made in 1990 in Germany before it became the global monster of a company that it is today - that bass definitely 'different' from a lot of souless planks of wood that bear the 'W' on their headstock today - obviously just my opinion but that Thumb was lovely - far too heavy and frustrating in terms of sound sometimes but a great bass that served me well for 18 years. Sadly it's now gone to a new owner - so I am no longer a warwick player - and a happy one at that.

M

[tauzero]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='285385' date='Sep 16 2008, 09:07 PM']I'm getting really fed up of every gig I play having at least one bassist with an Ashdown Amp and a Warwick bass.[/quote]
Remind me to bring a Warwick, not a Tsai, if I ever play a gig with you...

[waynepunkdude]

You have a superfly I wouldn't mind seeing one of those in action, it's just getting so predictable now everytime we play with a band I see a VU meter

[Rich]

I played through a Superfly at a support gig we did a while back. I was really looking forward to trying it, but I hated the tone (as usual for Ashdowns). I had to really crank the EQ to get anything approaching nice out of it. Disappointing.

[Protium]

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='285542' date='Sep 17 2008, 08:16 AM']BIG +1!

Then also the ones that bring their own sh*tty little crackly practice combo, see that you've got something that's actually SUITABLE and expect to plug into yours.[/quote]

There was one gig the bassist was sound and didn't give me any trouble at all but when I'm setting up the amp for him the guitarist comes over: "Who the f*** are you?" - one of these pretentious 16 year old metal heads with an iron maiden vest on. I asked him if he thought his dean headstock would be comfortable when shoved 2 foot up his colon.

[Faithless]

Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeender.



Sorry.
But, that's how it is...

[EBS_freak]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25141"]This[/url]

Edited September 17, 2008 by EBS_freak

[tauzero]

[quote name='Rich' post='285696' date='Sep 17 2008, 11:16 AM']I played through a Superfly at a support gig we did a while back. I was really looking forward to trying it, but I hated the tone (as usual for Ashdowns). I had to really crank the EQ to get anything approaching nice out of it. Disappointing.[/quote]
I like mine. I'm running it through a homebuilt 2x10" that uses quite inefficient but hi-fi speakers, and it all has a clean neutral tone that I just twiddle with as I see fit. Was the cab you were using any good?

[Tait]

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='285799' date='Sep 17 2008, 12:56 PM'][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25141"]This[/url]
[/quote]

+1

these are absolutely hideous, and although ive never played one, the price tag seems huge for what they are.

[WHUFC BASS]

Any bass with more than 5 strings.

Signature Instruments

Anything made by Carlsboro

Ernie Ball Strings

Buying from Music Shops

Marshall Bass Amplification

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='273824' date='Aug 31 2008, 03:59 PM']I will add.

Pointless pedal boards.

Ashdown.

Headstock snobary.

Coffee table basses.[/quote]


I'm getting my Ashdown LG350 soon :S

[Cantdosleepy]

Ha ha - Sellout!

[Delberthot]

right, deep breath:


people who play 6+ string basses in rock bands

Ashdown - its sh*t wooly, indistinct crap that generally fails most of the time

Spalted maple tops - yes I'd like to have some overpriced crap that looks like OSB put on the top of my bass and I'd like you to charge me one squillion pounds for it.

Fender - One downside of Fender being the first mass produced bass manufacturer is that everyone associates bass with them, like Coke. There are more ranges of basses that seem to overlap than something something. People are still going to buy them as they are either ignorant of the many basses that are better than them or are name Snobs.

Gibson - How could a company that producs such fantastic guitars produce such sh*tty basses - 'hey guys, I have an idea: lets make a range of very fragile basses that try to hit the floor every time you let go of them. What we'll do is glue the neck to the body as well so they can't simply change the neck when it does break because they all will eventually. That way we'll be able to sell more of them'

Marcus Miller - stop trying to look cool with the pouted lips thing and smile once in a while - why can't you be more like Nathan East? He never stops smiling.

Double thumbing - nothing there I can't do with 2 fingers and be less tired by the end of it.

Active EQ with more controls than the Hubbel Space telescope - Unless you play a tube amp, chances are your amp has an active EQ built in that can acheive the sound you are looking for.

People that use the words/phrases/acronyms: Dial in the tone, the dude totally owns that bass, in the pocket, mwah, wood shedding, anything else you may see on Talkbs, etc.

The fact that most bass players only see how many watts an amp/cab/combo has rather than how efficiently it can turn it into sound due to brainwashing by companies promoting their gear that way. eg an 8x10" 6000w monster cab with an SPL of 92dB

Why do valve amps need to be so expensive? Most of the designs have been around for years so unless they are point to point hard wired by the ghost of Leo Fender there is no reason why they should be sometimes 4-5 times as expensive as tranny ones

Rickenbacker & Musicman basses. I love the shape and the look of both but cannot get either one to sound like how you'd expect them to.

Rickenbacker - why haven't they caught up with technology and produced a single truss rod that anyone can use themselves without fear of the fretboard popping off? Why is their bridge design the same? It makes it so difficult and time consuming to adjust the intonation. Most people I have spoken with prefer the pickup cover off. Why haven't Rick produced a design that doesn't result in turning your bass into a cheesegrater for your fingers when you take it off without putting one of those pickguardian thingy on?

Coated strings. I thought the purpose was to make the coating invisible? They feel really sticky and cause my fingers to drag across them. They also sound dead straight out the packet.

Flatwound strings - I love the strings but why can't they tell you what their roundwound equivelant is so that i don't have to go through 10 sets to find something that doesn't feel like I'm playing with rubber bands, or an Ashbory?

Plectrums - I love the sound that Chris Squire gets but when I use one, i don't feel like I am actually playing. I cannot play with any emotion. I am not dissing them, I just cannot get used to the fact that only one hand is touching the strings. I feel something is lost when using one. And, yes, I do use one for a couple of songs that need one to emulate the sound off the record. In fact I use the same ones as Chris Squire

Single cut basses - they simply look wrong. Dosn't having what would effectively be the top horn attached to the neck affect what you can do with the truss rod without breaking something?

Alembic & Fodera. I don't personally see how spending as much as i would on a second hand car could possibly sound that much better. Maybe its the spalt.

Any company that claims to be at the cutting edge of design with amps and then produces very innefficient cabs

Companies that produce a signature series bass that someone famous uses which is no where as good as the one the actual artist uses.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Delberthot

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='372027' date='Jan 6 2009, 02:30 PM']right, deep breath:


people who play 6+ string basses in rock bands

Ashdown - its sh*t wooly, indistinct crap that generally fails most of the time

Spalted maple tops - yes I'd like to have some overpriced crap that looks like OSB put on the top of my bass and I'd like you to charge me one squillion pounds for it.

Fender - One downside of Fender being the first mass produced bass manufacturer is that everyone associates bass with them, like Coke. There are more ranges of basses that seem to overlap than something something. People are still going to buy them as they are either ignorant of the many basses that are better than them or are name Snobs.

Gibson - How could a company that producs such fantastic guitars produce such sh*tty basses - 'hey guys, I have an idea: lets make a range of very fragile basses that try to hit the floor every time you let go of them. What we'll do is glue the neck to the body as well so they can't simply change the neck when it does break because they all will eventually. That way we'll be able to sell more of them'

Marcus Miller - stop trying to look cool with the pouted lips thing and smile once in a while - why can't you be more like Nathan East? He never stops smiling.

Double thumbing - nothing there I can't do with 2 fingers and be less tired by the end of it.

Active EQ with more controls than the Hubbel Space telescope - Unless you play a tube amp, chances are your amp has an active EQ built in that can acheive the sound you are looking for.

People that use the words/phrases/acronyms: Dial in the tone, the dude totally owns that bass, in the pocket, mwah, wood shedding, anything else you may see on Talkbs, etc.

The fact that most bass players only see how many watts an amp/cab/combo has rather than how efficiently it can turn it into sound due to brainwashing by companies promoting their gear that way. eg an 8x10" 6000w monster cab with an SPL of 92dB

Why do valve amps need to be so expensive? Most of the designs have been around for years so unless they are point to point hard wired by the ghost of Leo Fender there is no reason why they should be sometimes 4-5 times as expensive as tranny ones

Rickenbacker & Musicman basses. I love the shape and the look of both but cannot get either one to sound like how you'd expect them to.

Rickenbacker - why haven't they caught up with technology and produced a single truss rod that anyone can use themselves without fear of the fretboard popping off? Why is their bridge design the same? It makes it so difficult and time consuming to adjust the intonation. Most people I have spoken with prefer the pickup cover off. Why haven't Rick produced a design that doesn't result in turning your bass into a cheesegrater for your fingers when you take it off without putting one of those pickguardian thingy on?

Coated strings. I thought the purpose was to make the coating invisible? They feel really sticky and cause my fingers to drag across them. They also sound dead straight out the packet.

Flatwound strings - I love the strings but why can't they tell you what their roundwound equivelant is so that i don't have to go through 10 sets to find something that doesn't feel like I'm playing with rubber bands, or an Ashbory?

Plectrums - I love the sound that Chris Squire gets but when I use one, i don't feel like I am actually playing. I cannot play with any emotion. I am not dissing them, I just cannot get used to the fact that only one hand is touching the strings. I feel something is lost when using one. And, yes, I do use one for a couple of songs that need one to emulate the sound off the record. In fact I use the same ones as Chris Squire

Single cut basses - they simply look wrong. Dosn't having what would effectively be the top horn attached to the neck affect what you can do with the truss rod without breaking something?

Alembic & Fodera. I don't personally see how spending as much as i would on a second hand car could possibly sound that much better. Maybe its the spalt.

Any company that claims to be at the cutting edge of design with amps and then produces very innefficient cabs

Companies that produce a signature series bass that someone famous uses which is no where as good as the one the actual artist uses.[/quote]



That's an excellent rant to start off the year with!

[NJE]

Whats with all the Ashdown hate? I had an epifani and it was crap compared to my ABM head and cab, Ashdown has loads more balls and works so well when driven, they are only wooly if your a muppet and cant use EQ or you shove a P-bass through it ( I can say that I used to own one)

Anyway my few:

Rotosound: Always advertised by top bass players, everyone says they are the best string in the world and they are the only strings any of my local shops stock. Crap tone, crapper feel, and die far too quickly.

Rickenbacker basses: Look awesome, sound useless and I have wanted to like them so very very much.

P - Basses: Used to own one and didnt realise how utterly useless they were until I played a Stingray and Jazz

Lakland Skyline (going to get strung up for this): I have tried nearly all of them and have to say I think they are overpriced and the necks feel a bit cheap. The necks on the 55-01 are big and clumsy, i didnt find the longer scale made that much of a difference to the B, and the DJ just looks like someone has slightly melted a Jazz. The best playing one was the Duck sig and that was unfortunately was short a string and only had a P pickup. If you have enough money to buy one new, save a bit more and get a Proper one from America secondhand, they are like completely different basses and are so much better IMHO!

Edited January 6, 2009 by NJE

[Telebass]

1) Active tone controls. That's what your amp's for, chaps...
2) Exotic wood basses - why do you want to play furniture?
3) Complexity - gets in the way, will be less reliable. KISS...