Worst bass you have owned and why?

[Brother Jones]

I've never really owned a shocker, because even though many have their bad points, I always end up adapting to them, tweaking the set up, etc, until they work.

The least inspiring bass I've ever owned was, surprisingly, a through neck Warwick Thumb from 1993 or thereabouts, which at the time I thought would be my dream bass. Sounded completely anonymous and weedy and I hated the massive frets.

[Rich]

Squier HM 5, a bit like this but with 5 strings. Not a truly dreadful bass really, but the tone was somewhat lacking and the string spacing was too tight. And it had a stupid pointy headstock, which I hate. Was a good introduction to 5 strings though.

[spinynorman]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='909413' date='Jul 29 2010, 04:26 PM']Epiphone seem to get a lot of votes![/quote]

I had a MIJ Epi EB3 and an MIK white TBird, both of which were very nice basses. With Epi, where it's made and when is important.

My worst was a 1970s Eko Manta. Made of balsa wood and completely dead.

[Dubs]

I've owned my fair share of cheap sub £150 basses but the worst bass I've owned, by way of most 'disappointing', was a Musicman Stingray. Bought new and just felt lifeless and very average the whole time I owned it (3 years). It was a complete let down as my first properly expensive bass. It had the classic Stingray sound but was a real chore to play. I obviously got the runt of the litter... I've since owned a Sterling and that didn't last too long either, although I have played a couple of absolutely fantastic Sterlings in the past and will probably come back one in the future.

[Rayman]

I bought my 9 year old daughter a 'Shine' Precision copy as her first bass. It is, without question, an utter piece of sh*t in almost every possible way. She now uses my Fleabass, which is like an Overwater in comparison.

[thisnameistaken]

Two for me: First bass I ever owned was a Satellite plywood Jazz copy that I paid £50 for. Turned out to be £45 too much.

[quote name='PantZ Bassplayer' post='908785' date='Jul 29 2010, 12:15 AM']My first bass...a Satalite jazz copy...4 peices of fence wire on a banana[/quote]

^^ Hahaha.

[quote name='Beedster' post='908727' date='Jul 28 2010, 10:54 PM']MIJ Geddy Lee Jazz: just sounded puny as hell and the neck was so thin it was unplayable. Not a bass, just a long guitar really.
MIA Jazz, late 90's. Shocking QC and tone. Described as 'rattly' by my then bandmates. Could not be set up.[/quote]

... and an early '90s MIA Jazz (one of the 22-fret ones) which was new when I got it, I gigged it for a summer and by the end I'd had to replace the bridge, machines and electronics, and the neck was twisting. It was garbage.

Edited July 30, 2010 by thisnameistaken

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='908742' date='Jul 28 2010, 11:10 PM']Avon EB0 copy. Gave tin and firewood a bad name. Awful thing.

Probably worth £150 as a 'Lawsuit' now.[/quote]


Yes, exactly mine too! It was my first bass, given by the bass player as I swapped from rhythm to bass. Absolutely horrible, terrible sound, nasty to play and looked like an SG, not a bass. I'm afraid I broke it.

[harvey1-8]

My first bass was an Encore P copy which is the worst I've owned.

I've had a couple of bad Fenders as well, an MIM jazz 5 and an MIA jazz 4.

[M-Bass-M]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='910145' date='Jul 30 2010, 12:08 PM']My first bass was an Encore P copy which is the worst I've owned.[/quote]
+1. I cannot for the life of me remember what it sounded like, but I remember it being damn heavy and vastly inferior to the MIJ Precision that I replaced it with.

Another fairly disappointing bass that I had was a MIJ Fender Precision Special, with a Jazz PuP and stacked pots. Aside from the fact that one of the pots needed replacing, I can't remember making it to sound vastly different from the aforementioned Precision.

Of course, back then I was not nearly as educated around tone as I am now, so my opinions may be different now!

[martthebass]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='908742' date='Jul 28 2010, 11:10 PM']Avon EB0 copy. Gave tin and firewood a bad name. Awful thing.

Probably worth £150 as a 'Lawsuit' now.[/quote]

Ditto. Strangely my band mates loved it.......to me it sounded like a fart in a tin.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='Rich' post='910084' date='Jul 30 2010, 11:25 AM']Squier HM 5, a bit like this but with 5 strings. Not a truly dreadful bass really, but the tone was somewhat lacking and the string spacing was too tight. And it had a stupid pointy headstock, which I hate. Was a good introduction to 5 strings though.

[/quote]


I have one of those.

[Veils]

Probably a Lakland DJ4

[yorick]

A Gherson jazz copy. Played like crap, but the pickups were amazing.

[niceguyhomer]

I don't think I've had a bad bass - this is the one I'd rank lowest...(bitchin' case though eh?)

[RhysP]

My custom built early 80s Jaydee Supernatural. The neck was so unstable I spent more time adjusting the f***ing thing than playing it. Sound-wise it was a bit of a one-trick pony too. Did the Mark King thing brilliantly but sounded sh*t for anything else.

[Spike Vincent]

A Kay Gibson EB copy I bought in Woolies in 1979.My first bass,cost me £40 (a weeks wages back then...) and it was total sh*te. Action at the nut was about 1/2 ",and I only bought it so it would look ok restrung left handed.I believe it may well still be in my parent's loft.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Spike Vincent

[Rayman]

[quote name='Veils' post='910334' date='Jul 30 2010, 03:15 PM']Probably a Lakland DJ4[/quote]

[i]Really??[/i]

[lee4]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='908962' date='Jul 29 2010, 10:02 AM']Fender Aerodyne Jazz. Uncomfortable, not a much of a sound, crap electrics. Don't like the Jazz body shape either. No more Jazzes.[/quote]
+1 to that.Vile sh#te.
A close second is a Warwick $$.Great neck,great pups and eq,but it gave me shoulder pains as it was so heavy,and the Just-a-nut cut my finger!

[Chopthebass]

By far the worst was a Warwick Thumb 5-string through neck. Neck dive, neck dive, neck dive.

[allihts]

I was once given a 'legacy' bass? I think it was from indionesia, worlds highest action, worlds biggest neck and worlds oldest strings! Sounded quite good plugged in though, despite the fact it was impossible to play.

[PantZ Bassplayer]

Hahaha . Glad to see I wasn't the only one into buying kack. After stopping playing for a while, I got back into things with a Tokia Jazz. Nice neck and good sound, but it wieghed a ton and had no balance. Everytime you took your hand off the neck, the headstock hit the floor!! When I burst the G tuner, I knew it was time to go! Not bad, just bloody annoying.

[Spacehog]

For me it was a Vintage AV4 i bought off the net (lesson learned!)
When it arrived the action was about 8 foot so i tightened the truss rod which was so tight it felt like it
was going to snap.
Eventually i got the action to a reasonable height but then the neck was badly twisted so i sent it back and
after a month of agro finally got my money back.

[Stacker]

[quote name='yorick' post='910366' date='Jul 30 2010, 03:45 PM']A Gherson jazz copy. Played like crap, but the pickups were amazing.[/quote]


Yeh, I guy I knew, back in the day, had one and it sounded great!

Another real dog I had was a 4001 Rick back in the '80s. A weak, dreadful sounding instrument that I began to hate and had trouble getting rid of. Didn't put me off them, though.

Edited August 1, 2010 by Stacker

[mcnach]

I never had a really bad bass. Not even my old Lyon by Washburn P-type bass was terrible. Or that Alba P-bass that I paid £34 for, it actually sounded quite nice.

But the worst bass I've had was an OLP MM2, a stingray clone I bought on eBay.
It was heavy, the neck felt awkward, it didn't resonate... it was very uninspiring and barely used it. I sold it quickly.

My best bass however... is also an OLP MM2! In fact, I own two fantastic ones.
They get played more than my Stingray and my Warwick, which peopel would normally have in higher regard... but I found that if you get a nice OLP, it's a really nice bass to play. I do upgrade the pickups and install preamps on them, so by the time I finish with them they're no longer your £100 gumtree OLP.

Nicest one on the left, the one I sold on the right:

[Truckstop]

I once paid £139 in 2005 for a Stagg something or other purely because it had a wick suburst paintjob done on it.
The pickups fell out all the time, the action was high enough it had its own weather, the 'A' tuner kept falling out and it sounded a bit like someone humming on a piece of cardboard.
I've still got it on my wall cos it does look really really tasty.

Biggest disappointment was the Yamaha RBXJM2. Has none of the class and joie d'vivre of the JM1. Still a great bass, but after the JM1 it didnt really live up to my expectations.

Speak your brains!

Truckstop