Who has a killer bass that they've neglected for one reason or another?

[gafbass02]

This stunning GMR. The east preamp developed a fault, so I pulled it and haven’t found the time or inclination to sort it so it’s sitting in a bag with no electronics. Tbh at this point I may just shift it  

[BassAgent]

My first "grown up people" bass that I bought when I was about 12 or 13 is a Blade B2 Tetra Bass which I have since then upgraded with Lollar pickups and an Aguilar preamp. It's an amazing bass with a killer neck but the 70's bridge pickup spacing isn't for me. I have 8 Jazzes and this one never gets used. Shame, because it's a fantastic bass. I'll never sell it though.

[Rich]

11 hours ago, E sharp said:

the Sadowsky is hitting the spot for the Function, Northern Soul and Ska gigs at that moment. 

Speaking of ska gigs... since I bought the Spector Q4 as a basket case and restored it to working order, the Skabass I put together during lockdown hasn't made a single sound. Visually it's perfect for the band, and it sounds great too, but it's over a kilo heavier than the Spector and that weight really makes a difference. And now the Spector has its full fat EMGs it sounds better too. We're mulling over a photo shoot at some point and the Skabass will definitely come out for that, but otherwise... I really should gig it at least one time, but the Spector is... well, it's a Spector, y'know?  

 

Edited February 29 by Rich

[andy67]

Take your pick as I only play the maple neck Fender P now. 

[neepheid]

3 minutes ago, andy67 said:

Take your pick as I only play the maple neck Fender P now. 

 

Time for a clearout then?

 

Not that I'm eyeing anything up - I'm aff it.

[knirirr]

This one:

 

 

It's got a neck and body by WD Music with Villex pickups. The strings are currently Labella gold tapewounds. It sounds awsome and I even have a T-shirt with it on (a gift)...
It rarely gets out these days because, inevitably, everyone wants double bass instead.

[Paolo85]

On 28/02/2024 at 10:12, Lozz196 said:

Since I’ve gone short scale I’ve neglected my fave US Fender Precision. I’m on leave this week and have picked it up a few times, reminding myself of why it’s my fave bass so have made a pledge to myself that I shall play it every Sunday morning at least. 

After buying a short scale recently I think I may end up in a similar situation. I have built the perfect (for me) P bitsa. It took me a while to settle on everything. But short scale is so comfortable..

[thodrik]

I have had a Vigier Excess for twenty years. 

I always knew it was a great bass, but coming from a passive Fender Precision (which I have owned for 25 years), I struggled with just how 'active' and powerful the pickups were on the Vigier as they generally overpowered the inputs of most amps I had.  I also wasn't convinced that the action wasn't as nice as it should be for a bass of that price (it was about £1,200 back in 2004...). 

I used it on and off for gigs and tours etc but it was replaced as my main gigging bass in 2009 when I got my first Sadowsky Metro and didn't really get used after that. I then took it to a tech in 2015 who noticed that the neck was slightly misaligned. The tech thought that the neck was either not put on correctly in the factory, had been taken off and then not put back on properly or had maybe received a knock in transit. Anyway the tech sorted it out and it played like an entirely different bass. 

I then  'discovered' in Covid lockdown that most of the best tones involved cutting rather than boosting the active EQs in order to tame the pickups. Now instead of starting with the EQ in the 'centre' (no cut/boost) position, I treat the EQ as a boost only EQ from 'fully cut'. It makes the bass so much more useable.  I actually hate myself for not noticing this trick about 15 years earlier! 

It became my main bass again in 2022...

[Greg Edwards69]

The Yamaha Attitude LTD2 in my profile picture. I haven't played it for a couple of years since getting my considerably cheaper G&L Tribute JB2. My band has been doing fewer heavier rock gigs lately and more pop stuff, and the G&L just works better in this context. The G&L is also lighter (although I did replace the Attitude's tuners with Ultralites not long before getting the G&L - my back was playing up around that time and I had to do something to make it more comfortable.  Not to mention, I really need to spend some quality time with the Attitude and my Helix - dialling in some dedicated presets for it. Not only is the dual outputs on the bass and Pierce preamp model one of the reasons I bought the Helix, but it's a very, very loud bass and I can't use my regular presets without substantial tweaking.

 

If I can replicate my main gigging presets for the Attitude, with or without dual channels, I may start gigging it again.

 

PS, my old No.1 bass before the Attitude was a Warwick Thumb BO 5 string. I kept that around, unplayed for about 7 years before finally realising I didn't need it and sold it.

Edited February 29 by Greg Edwards69

[blyn]

My 1972 Fender Jazz, that I bought because it is identical til Geddy Lee´s bass... 

[pete.young]

My BBNE2 isn't getting a lot of use, and hasn't since my last pop band took a one-year sabbatical in 2016. It's all double bass for me too at the moment.

[Doctor J]

On 28/02/2024 at 13:33, Rich said:

To my utter shame and embarrassment, up until last year this beautiful, extraordinary Shuker custom build had spent a good 2 or 3 years shut away in my bass-drobe

 

On 28/02/2024 at 17:37, itu said:

Love the word... will steal it!

 

Ah lads, if you're going to steal, steal from the O.G. 😁😉

 

 

[Killerfridge]

I probably haven't played my Warwick Thumb in a gig or studio setting for over 10 years. It was a gift from my late father, and my first professional instrument so I'm never getting rid of it; I just don't click with it like I used to

[BassAgent]

5 hours ago, blyn said:

My 1972 Fender Jazz, that I bought because it is identical til Geddy Lee´s bass... 

Send it to Amsterdam, I'll take care of it until you want it back😁

[Stub Mandrel]

Only gigged my Fender Performer once (and a jam) since returning to the fold in 2018, it was my main bass in the 90s.

 

Doesn't fit the blues band image, but gojng to use it for the heavy rock covers band'sdebut gig this weekend. With the Marquess 5

 

And yes, the Performer is a killer bass!

 

 

 

[Mokl]

On 28/02/2024 at 08:38, NancyJohnson said:

I stopped playing this for quite a while because the John East circuit developed an issue on the mid-pot.  It all worked, but periodically the bass would just emit a theremin type squeal.  The thought of replacing the full circuit was a bit of a costly ball ache.

 

At my wife's prompting, I spoke to John, he sent a replacement part and bingo, back in the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeez, my bass with East pre does that too. I'd not put 2 and 2 togerher...Worth contacting John about it? I've not found him responsive in the past tbh.

Edited March 1 by Mokl

[NancyJohnson]

19 minutes ago, Mokl said:

Jeez, my bass with East pre does that too. I'd not put 2 and 2 togerher...Worth contacting John about it? I've not found him responsive in the past tbh.

 

The sound would just randomly start and not stop until I tapped the mid-pot with a finger or messed with it somehow.

 

John let me know how to take the pot out of the circuit (so I could at least start playing it again without fear) and I returned the pot and cable to him.  He returned it a few days later (uncertain if it is/was the same pot), but he included a new wire/ribbon saying these were more stable than the old ones, so I suspect the problem was was with that.

 

Anyhow, reinstalled everything and it's been 100%.  Give him a shout!

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

18 hours ago, blyn said:

My 1972 Fender Jazz, that I bought because it is identical til Geddy Lee´s bass... 

 

Thing is, anyone who has a jazz bass - it's identical to at least one of Geddy's, if not more...

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 28/02/2024 at 22:59, gafbass02 said:

This stunning GMR. The east preamp developed a fault, so I pulled it and haven’t found the time or inclination to sort it so it’s sitting in a bag with no electronics. Tbh at this point I may just shift it  

Usually I really don't like the look of flamed wood, or blue finish for that matter, and not particularly fond of Maple fretboards either, but on that bass for some reason it genuinely look no short of absolutely stunning.

 

Beautiful bass! 

 

Edited March 1 by Baloney Balderdash

[crazycloud]

On 29/02/2024 at 08:59, gafbass02 said:

This stunning GMR.  

That's purdy. With another string or two, I might get a little excited.

[ern500evo]

Haven’t really played the Yamaha or Warwick at a gig for ages. Was mainly using a Sire V7 Vintage for most gigs, then the Spector came along and it’s pretty much all I use now. 

[Musicman666]

i have a few killer basses and some just stay in their cases unplayed for yonks ...then suddenly i will get one out and fall in love with it all over again not being able to put it down. 

[martthebass]

This one. Doesn’t really fit the look of the Glam band; I bought it with some inheritance money and couldn’t bear to part with it. It does feel special when it comes out to play though.

[Baloney Balderdash]

23 hours ago, ern500evo said:

Haven’t really played the Yamaha or Warwick at a gig for ages. Was mainly using a Sire V7 Vintage for most gigs, then the Spector came along and it’s pretty much all I use now. 

As someone who shreds as much as he tends to do I wonder how come Billy Sheehan went for a 21 and not 24 fret neck on his signature bass, yet even having bothered upping for the last 5 frets being scalloped under the upper strings.

[OliverBlackman]

I have 3 distinctive basses and they all have their specialties. Because I hadn’t had a 5 string for around 10 years, I’ve been playing my 5 string Sire V5 for the last 6 months. That means my loverly Overwater fretless has remained in its case. However, it will be there for when I need it. 

 

edit: it now has a Hiscox case with red lining because I didn’t think the blue worked with the bass colour

Edited March 3 by OliverBlackman