Dream basses that left you disappointed

[Woodinblack]

On 03/06/2021 at 14:07, NickD said:

I'm not sure how I understand how anyone can 'dream' of an Ibanez.... That's the car equivalent of dreaming of a Ford Mondeo. Even their posh ones, that's like dreaming of a high spec Mondeo.

I would put the ford as a mondeo, and loads of people dream of those. I would call the ibanez more a honda!

For me it was the dingwall - huge dissapointment. Still would love to try the more upmarket ones, but considering how bad it was I couldn't buy unseen and they don't exist in many places. Still, swapped it for an ibanez, which I still have. Probably be the last one I kept.

 

[itu]

On 05/06/2021 at 02:26, Jerry C said:

Solution? Stiffer, denser necks. 

So you say the body has no effect on the whole instrument? Carbon neck without the headstock is probably the stiff part, but did you consider any other parts as a possible reason to the problem?

Bass is a resonating system, not a neck.

My biggest issues with basses have been with 5-string instruments. String spacing tends to be something like 17 mm. Tobias, MM, Modulus, Ibanez, Status... I found a Genesis 5 (from BC, of course) which is a dream (35", 19 mm, not incredibly heavy), but I simply do not understand why a five should differ from a four in spacing.

Another issue is Fender. Prices are very high although the construction and often the feel is cheap and bulky. Even some Sadowskys have been lame, maybe J and P are not for me. I have played one Pensa-Suhr which nearly played itself, but that's about it.

[Bigwan]

I can think of a quite a few over the last 30 years! 

Warwick Stage 1 Streamer - lusted after one for years. First time I played one (Sound Control in Glasgow) I hated pretty much everything about it. It was a well used/abused example but it put me off nonetheless. Never played one since, but have enjoyed other 'wicks so maybe someday I'll cross paths with one again... 

Modulus - played a 4 string in the Bass Centre in Wapping about 20 years ago. Yuck.

Wal - owned a Wal custom for a few years. Bought it cheap (£550) when I was going through a Tool phase. Spent a long time trying to tell myself it was a great bass. And it did SOUND great... It just felt like an unergonomic lump of lead. To my mind Alan at ACG has improved on the Wal idea in every regard... 

Musicman - had a MM5 in the late 90s. Nice flexible bass. But the MM4, Bongo 5HH and Bongo 4HH basses I've owned since have left me cold... 

Shuker 6 - nothing to do with John, all on me this one. Ordered a custom bass without be 100% on exactly what I wanted. 

Sei - again lusted after them for years. I've played about 8 different examples from memory. Other than a headless 6 Flamboyant, the rest did absolutely nothing for me at all. 

Fodera Ying Yang 4 - (Bass Gallery visit) never really been MY dream bass but it has been for many. I just couldn't believe how "meh" this bass was... But then I'd just played a beautiful Fodera Emperor 5 and the Skarbee Celinder Update 4 minutes before, which are easily 2 of the best basses I've ever held in my hands. Certainly in my top 5 anyway. One of the best bass days. Met @Flanker of this parish that day and had a blast through his (new to me) Thunder funk head. Sorely missed you are mate. 

Sadowsky 5 - (different Bass Gallery visit) again, a long lusted after bass. Again toppled by the Moon 5 jazz I played it side by side with. The Moon was spectacular. The Sadowsky was OK. 

I'm sure there are loads more. I've had a lot of basses through my hands over the years. 

 

[Woodinblack]

12 minutes ago, itu said:

My biggest issues with basses have been with 5-string instruments. String spacing tends to be something like 17 mm. Tobias, MM, Modulus, Ibanez, Status... I found a Genesis 5 (from BC, of course) which is a dream (35", 19 mm, not incredibly heavy), but I simply do not understand why a five should differ from a four in spacing.

I agree, why should you have to put up with huge spacing just to fill up the space on a 4? Luckily Ibanez do 16.5mm on a SR4 too mostly!

[dmccombe7]

Some interesting ones there @Bigwan

I bought my Warwick Thumb NT in 89 from Sound Control Glasgow. Tried the Thumb and the Streamer but preferred the Thumb probably because i was a Jack Bruce fan. 

The ACG's look amazing. Not actually tried one.

I like the look and sound of MM but tried one when they appeared in shops years ago and the neck felt too wide for me.

Your WAL experience did surprise me as i found mine very comfortable to play but had a dead note on G string which on hindsight might have been something simple but being young and naive and having no help from WAL i traded it for something else possibly my Jazz.

Its amazing how we experience basses in different ways.

Dave

 

[Woodinblack]

On 04/06/2021 at 17:59, binky_bass said:

The Thunderbird was a itch that I wanted to scratch and did so a few times but was always far too underwhelmed to keep the ones I had for more than a few weeks.

I am in a similar but opposite camp. I got the Epiphone thunderbird (the through neck with the gibson pickups) and I found with the CTM100 amp it was an absolutely glorious sound and good to play (and lethal for the singer, another plus!), but sadly, I can't get used to playing a 4 string, I can't do my current bands set with one and I can't be bothered to change basses (and our set list is never fixed), so it ended up on the wall looking pretty and gathering dust.

Oh the messinger cazpar 5 string short scale, absolute beauty, but totally uninspiring and lifeless sound.

Geddy lee jazz, again good sound, nothing special on looks obviously, have to tune it any time the weather changes. And again, a 4.

I see all these lovely 4s and really tempted but just know that you are never going to end up playing them. Almost got a ric 4003, but figured it would be another waste.

[Bigwan]

17 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Some interesting ones there @Bigwan

I bought my Warwick Thumb NT in 89 from Sound Control Glasgow. Tried the Thumb and the Streamer but preferred the Thumb probably because i was a Jack Bruce fan. 

The ACG's look amazing. Not actually tried one.

I like the look and sound of MM but tried one when they appeared in shops years ago and the neck felt too wide for me.

Your WAL experience did surprise me as i found mine very comfortable to play but had a dead note on G string which on hindsight might have been something simple but being young and naive and having no help from WAL i traded it for something else possibly my Jazz.

Its amazing how we experience basses in different ways.

Dave

 

I'd highly recommend ACG @dmccombe7. I've owned 4 (one of them twice!). They've all been top notch. My current 2 are going nowhere!

I've not played many Wal basses, but the one I had felt TOTALLY different to another Mk 1 that belonged to a friend. Different neck shape, weight and balance altogether. His was a far more pleasing soft V neck profile. It's not a bass I'm likely to revisit given the current market price. I bought at £550, sold for £1450 a couple of years later. Could probably get north of 4k for it nowadays and it was in particularly bad condition, not by my hand I might add!

It's different strokes for different folks innit!

Edited June 7, 2021 by Bigwan

[binky_bass]

4 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

I'd highly recommend ACG @dmccombe7. I've owned 4 (one of them twice!). They've all been top notch. My current 2 are going nowhere!

I absolutely second this! 

I have 4 of Alan's creations and they are absolute GAS killers. These days it is a very rare day I get GAS because my ACGs continue to provide anything and everything I could ever want or need in a bass. 

Shameless ACG picture below! 

[ubit]

3 hours ago, Big Rich said:

An Epiphone Thunderbird was the beauty that shattered my dreams.  I always wanted one and when I got the chance to buy one, I snapped it up.  I knew about Thunderbird's being headstock heavy but the neck dive on mine bordered on being violent.

It just never felt right to play and I always felt that we were fighting each other.

I now have a Jazz Bass and that is a pleasure, a dream to play , sounds amazing and it's mine for ever.

I bought one of these. I could handle the neck dive ok as I loved the look so much but it was  so underpowered. We played in two different tunings so I used two basses but changing to that I had to muck about with my amp volume. I sold it.

[EBS_freak]

Is anybody actually buying those grim BTB basses?

 

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, Bigwan said:

I'd highly recommend ACG @dmccombe7. I've owned 4 (one of them twice!). They've all been top notch. My current 2 are going nowhere!

I've not played many Wal basses, but the one I had felt TOTALLY different to another Mk 1 that belonged to a friend. Different neck shape, weight and balance altogether. His was a far more pleasing soft V neck profile. It's not a bass I'm likely to revisit given the current market price. I bought at £550, sold for £1450 a couple of years later. Could probably get north of 4k for it nowadays and it was in particularly bad condition, not by my hand I might add!

It's different strokes for different folks innit!

I saw the ACG's at Alan's bass bash in Moffat when i was there a few times but his basses were always busy and just never got to trying one. I only came across him when i bought my Overwater 6er and someone mentioned ACG to me. Having never heard of ACG at that time i went with Overwater.

I wasn't aware WAL made different necks but i'm no expert in WAL basses. Mine was the WAL Custom series.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I guess the one that really stands out for me is an Alembic.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like them and I had played quite a few before buying my first.

Back in the day, Bass Central had a fantastic selection of Alembic’s and they were kind enough to let me play a selection of them including an MK Balance K, which was very nice indeed.

Once back in the UK I saw a used MK Signature (not a K) for a decent price and bought it straight away thinking there wouldn’t be much difference. How wrong I was. For starters, the body was enormous and it weighed an absolute ton. Alembics aren’t known for their lightweight builds, but crikey this was huge, heavy and crucially, not very well balanced. I sold it for what I paid for it, so no damage done in the end.

Forward wind several years and I now find myself the owner of another heavyweight Alembic, but this one’s a Spyder, so it’s a bit special and I’m happy to keep it 😀.

Edited June 7, 2021 by hiram.k.hackenbacker

[thodrik]

The only 'dream' bass I really didn't like was a Fender Custom Shop Jazz. £3.5k for a passive Jazz. The aging was nice, it played okay but the single coil hum was pretty damn loud and I really didn't like the 7.5" radius and the set up of the bass was just borderline 'alright'. There was a genuine 1975 Jazz in the same shop that was twice as nice for half the price. So that experience just took a Fender Custom Shop off my list of dream basses.

Most of the time my dream basses have delivered.  I have only bought two basses in the last 10 years though (Vigier Arpege and Sadowsky NYC fivers strings) so my turnover of instruments is very slow.

[chris_b]

I guess it would have been nice to own an Alembic and an Overwater, but when the weight was doable, I didn't have the cash. Now I have the cash, they are way over my weight limit. Ho hum.

I achieved one dream, though, I owned a couple of 5 string Wals. I played the mk 3 for about 10 years. Very nice bass.

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Is anybody actually buying those grim BTB basses?

 

I am guessing quite a few people.  I have met many people that do high fret stuff, mostly 6 strings. Dave swift has a custom model and he is always playing his.

I quite like them apart from the necks are way to large for me.

 

[Chris2112]

On 03/06/2021 at 14:07, NickD said:

 

I'm not sure how I understand how anyone can 'dream' of an Ibanez.... That's the car equivalent of dreaming of a Ford Mondeo. Even their posh ones, that's like dreaming of a high spec Mondeo.

 

 

Quite disappointing to read this. Whilst everyone can dream beyond their wildest imagination, one does well to remember that not everyone is minted and for some, an Ibanez is a very nice prospect. When you get your head out of the bass world, you realise that we do pay a lot of cash for blocks of wood with some wires strung about them. For a lot of players, an Ibanez is a realistic and attainable dream. For some players, it's even further away. 

FWIW, my first proper bass was an Ibanez BTB405QM that I bought when I was 14 with a little help from some savings and family giving me an early birthday present. It was a massive step up from the starter bass I had; it was an entirely usable instrument that would have been suited to any setting. It was £400-odd quid even back then, not exactly highly priced but not cheap. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by Chris2112

[diskwave]

On 03/06/2021 at 14:54, Lozz196 said:

Every Musicman Stingray that I’ve had

Me too. Beautifully made instruments, Bought one in 1980 played it all thru the eighties....the usual summer hols, summer camp hotel type gigs...funky pop etc...but it always felt like eating chocolate without any sugar or fat....needless to say a dive into P bass world cured my cravings.

I've tried this and that over the years thinking I need to spend more too but I always drift back to a P bass...currently playing a 70's CV and never been happier.

Edited June 7, 2021 by greavesbass

[FinnDave]

11 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

...needless to say a dive into P bass world cured my cravings.

I took my Precision out to a rehearsal yesterday, first time I've played it for months and the first time with this band. I have a few basses and the others comment on their appearance, but yesterday, nearly everyone commented on the sound of the Precision - full, rich, bass - they loved it. Makes me wonder why I've bought so many basses over the last few years when I had the P all the time! I'll be gigging it one Saturday with a different band, and the guitarist in that one often says that if I sell that Precision, he'll have to kill me. I think I'd probably let him if I did anything that dumb!

Simple, unexciting, basic - but just perfect.

Though to keep this on-topic, I clearly remember my first P bass, bought new in the early 80s. Bloody thing had some random fault that meant it could cut out mid song without warning, usually just for a few seconds. That was a bass I'd waited years to get, and it was definitely disappointing!

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

I am guessing quite a few people.  I have met many people that do high fret stuff, mostly 6 strings. Dave swift has a custom model and he is always playing his.

I quite like them apart from the necks are way to large for me.

 

Did DS buy his?

[diskwave]

9 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

Simple, unexciting, basic - but just perfect.

Bang on.  I some times think how scary it is that we have all these fancy bass companies getting peeps to part with massive wads of cash...yet when the dirt hits the fan and the joint is pumping everyone is gonna dig that simple tone, whether ur playing clangy rounds or like me cold dead old flats a P will fill the air with thunder.

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Did DS buy his?

Yes, he bought it, played it, then took it to a photo shoot and Ibanez noticed at which point he became an Ibanez artist. He mainly plays his BTB6 or 7

[bassbiscuits]

A Mike Lull PJ4. I really wanted a lighter bass than the hefty USA Jazz and Precision I had, and had been lusting after one for ages. 

I traded in those two good basses and about £900 on top to get the Lull. 

After a couple of gigs I realised I just didn’t like much about how it sounded or played, but for 10 times the price of the Yamaha I was also playing at a the time. Completely underwhelmed.

Sold the Lull at a big loss. Still have the Yamaha.

Lesson learned. 

Edited June 7, 2021 by bassbiscuits

[ubit]

15 hours ago, greavesbass said:

Bang on.  I some times think how scary it is that we have all these fancy bass companies getting peeps to part with massive wads of cash...yet when the dirt hits the fan and the joint is pumping everyone is gonna dig that simple tone, whether ur playing clangy rounds or like me cold dead old flats a P will fill the air with thunder.

Yup, 'cept I ALWAYS use rounds.

Edited June 8, 2021 by ubit

[mike f]

A 1978 Musicman Stingray, sunburst with a maple board. Purchased for £695 (in about 1990). I’d wanted one from the day I started playing and wanted to love it but just couldn’t get on with the neck. Ended up trading it for the 74 Jazz bass which I’ve still got.

[casapete]

On 07/06/2021 at 09:33, dmccombe7 said:

I like the look and sound of MM but tried one when they appeared in shops years ago and the neck felt too wide for me.

You maybe know this already Dave, but the MM Sterling (US model) has a slimmer neck than the Stingray, and are a great bass. If I could only find a featherweight one it would be my go to instrument.