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Ugly Basses


Rib13Bass

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4 hours ago, TheGreek said:

 

I really like these (isn't there one for sale here currently??) Waiting for them to come down in price to grab one at bargain basement price.

Me too. I don't need one, couldn't find a use for one, and probably (almost certainly) can't afford one - I wouldn't say no though.

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1 hour ago, dclaassen said:

I had one of these in the '80's...great bass, fantastic sound and tone...just really heavy and uuugggglllllyyyyyyy

 

image.png.d10fcc3f2bd951676d01c8c2a5389810.png

 

I had one, maple active '77. Loved the look of it (which was why I bought it) but hated the sound and overall playability, replaced it with a Warwick which knocked it out of the park and was about half the weight. Felt like it was made out of lead which was compounded by the fact they they only look good on a long strap so it's even worse on your shoulder.

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1 hour ago, dclaassen said:

I had one of these in the '80's...great bass, fantastic sound and tone...just really heavy and uuugggglllllyyyyyyy

 

image.png.d10fcc3f2bd951676d01c8c2a5389810.png

 

Respectfully disagree on the ugly verdict.  As for weight, well there are lighter basses at the centre of a black hole ;)

 

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8 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

There's hundreds of them. 

 

Noted author Mark Phillips aside, I saw these on eBay a while back and they were so awful it was worth taking screengrabs.  No idea who made them.

 

Hart4.jpg.ca844f2b79fc5f669eca04de436855b4.jpg

 

Hart2.jpg.08a0b5b66e281cb67b82ad79260f54c3.jpg

 

Hart3.jpg.ddecd9e1c892e54ef261a773091d805b.jpg

 

Hart1.thumb.jpg.2341ac6d3e4b6716a890281230a2e7b5.jpg

 

 

Lest we forget...
mdp.thumb.jpg.efda551cd44b18af1e715540e34cae2e.jpg

 

No question - these are ugly.

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9 hours ago, Cato said:

I've never seen a bass so ugly that I didn't eventually end up gassing for one.

 

Even those Foderas that look like a whale swallowing a ladder, I want to play one just to see why they built them like that, I'm imagining some sort of supreme ergonomic experience that makes perfect sense of the questionable aethetic.

 

Single cut basses tread an absurdly narrow line between fugly and luvly.  Very few makers get it right to my mind:  Shuker is one of them.  And... um, that's it.  Apart from a niche European maker who's name I have totally forgot.  I also don't like those with long clutching horns.  I might mention Sei in that regard but I will likely go to hell.

Edited by lownote
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On 22/09/2022 at 08:48, Cato said:

I've never seen a bass so ugly that I didn't eventually end up gassing for one.

 

Even those Foderas that look like a whale swallowing a ladder, I want to play one just to see why they built them like that, I'm imagining some sort of supreme ergonomic experience that makes perfect sense of the questionable aethetic.

 

Everything about this is true.

 

I used to retch, every time I saw one of those Fodera-style single cut things and run to the safety of my P-basses. Nowadays, I'm still not a fan, but they don't make me suppress my gag reflex like they did earlier in the century. I'll probably end up selling various body parts and organs to fund the purchase of one in a year or two.

 

For a brief moment I was the proud (?) owner of this, which polarised the opinions of my nearest and dearest...

2145016750_roberts1.thumb.jpg.e8f44b727bdd8d9103806432f859307b.jpg

 

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16 hours ago, Grimalkin said:

The back end of a Rickenbacker, glued to the front end of a Precision, with hair metal head-stock...

 

jackson-x-series-concert-bass-cbxnt-dx-iv-lrl-absynthe-frost_1_BAS0011533-000.thumb.webp.7d6e2299aeada6a483b5eece2d5ffef1.webp

Intention: Appeal to everyone

Outcome: Appeal to no one

 

This is what happens when the seven-year-old child of the SEO of the company has permission from Daddy to "design" an instrument with no idea of ergonomics and absolutely no sense of aesthetics. Rickenbacker and Fender should take Jackson to court over this - not regarding copyright infringement, but about crimes against humanity.

 

 

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52 minutes ago, rushbo said:

Intention: Appeal to everyone

Outcome: Appeal to no one

 

This is what happens when the seven-year-old child of the SEO of the company has permission from Daddy to "design" an instrument with no idea of ergonomics and absolutely no sense of aesthetics. Rickenbacker and Fender should take Jackson to court over this - not regarding copyright infringement, but about crimes against humanity.

 

 

 

It's all subjective but it does display a distinct lack of imagination IMO, I do wonder how they went with it.

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21 hours ago, Rib13Bass said:

are Wishbasses all fretless?

 

Think about the general overall, errm, quality of Wishbasses -- the finish, the agricultural carving, etc -- and then use your imagination to visualise what the fretting would look like if he tried it...

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Any high end bass that has too much 'bling', gold hardware, metallic finishes, too many stitches and knobs, too may pickups (unless its 'ironic' like the Warwick Bootsy Collins star bass). Wal, Alembic, Fodera, Warwick come to mind. Don't like exotic woods on basses either, they look like pieces of 70s furniture. 

 

At the opposite end of complex basses Fender P bass the black/white pickguards/rose wood fingerboard is a horrible combo IMO. It makes a good bass look cheap.  I love P basses otherwise. 

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45 minutes ago, Rich said:

Think about the general overall, errm, quality of Wishbasses -- the finish, the agricultural carving, etc -- and then use your imagination to visualise what the fretting would look like if he tried it...

I'd love to see an actual Wish-o-Backer in the flesh .

Edited by Quilly
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