Which basses do you dislike?

bassoctopus

bassoctopus

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Seems Warwick basses get a bit of stick from "non-believers", so lets redress the balance ;)

Which basses do you dislike and why.

For me...

Rickenbackers - never played one, but they IMO they are the most ugly instruments in the world. I quite like their guitars, but not their basses.

Fender P-Bass - I love Fender Jazz basses, but Precisions do nothing for me at all, sound, looks and how they play

Musicman - hate the way they look, love the way they play and sound. Toyed with buying one a few times, but could never get past the look of the things.

That's it for me :)
 
I dont dislike any particular make,everything has relevance.
 
I personally dislike Peavey basses. Even their really expensive ones are mediocre at best. They should stick to amps... The basses look nice but don't play very well at all. ~M~
 
p-bass and musicman, but most of all the BONGO :roll:
 
Basses I dislike the feel of:
Gibson
Epiphones
Ibanez
ESP
Tune
BC Rich
Peavy

Basses I dislike the sound of:
Fenders
Gibson
Epiphones
BC Rich
Peavy
ESP
 
bassoctopus said:
Seems Warwick basses get a bit of stick from "non-believers", so lets redress the balance ;)

Which basses do you dislike and why.

For me...

Rickenbackers - never played one, but they IMO they are the most ugly instruments in the world. I quite like their guitars, but not their basses.

Fender P-Bass - I love Fender Jazz basses, but Precisions do nothing for me at all, sound, looks and how they play

Musicman - hate the way they look, love the way they play and sound. Toyed with buying one a few times, but could never get past the look of the things.

That's it for me :)
Click to expand...

I find Rickenbackers to be quite unique actually..
 
I'll add a few words to my one...

Why I dislike Fenfer?

I find that that company was a great innovator in the 50's, with very interesting instruments, the P-bass, the J-Bass, the Strat, the Tele, but that they then sat on their heinies and went on to make a endless stream of reissues and different models where the difference is the color of the pickguard...

Oh, and I also have an innate dislike for the big guys, for the run-of-the-mill, usual stuff, that's why i play fretless bass, that I use a Mac, that I take photos using film... Silly? maybe...

PJ
 
I dislike Gibson, Fender, Peavy, Epiphone, B.C. Rich and ESP. They don't offer the feel I'm looking for and the sound is nothing special either. I used to think different but after having played a Warwick for the first time I never looked back. There are still some Ibanez basses that I like but not very many of them. The Fenders feel like crap. The neck feels too misshapen and the strings are way too close to the body. There's not too much you can do in terms of a complex and unique setup. The guys at Fender have been sitting on their asses for the last half-century, no doubt about it.
 
Even though I never owned a Fender I cannot say that I dislike all of them soundwise, in that case I would dislike all music made up to the 70's incl Jaco, and I really cannot say that. Many basses has something to add to a band and I cannot really say that a unique sounding band would sound "better" just because a change of bass brand.

That was my few lines / mats
 
JanVanHove said:
I'll add a few words to my one...

Why I dislike Fenfer?

I find that that company was a great innovator in the 50's, with very interesting instruments, the P-bass, the J-Bass, the Strat, the Tele, but that they then sat on their heinies and went on to make a endless stream of reissues and different models where the difference is the color of the pickguard...

Oh, and I also have an innate dislike for the big guys, for the run-of-the-mill, usual stuff, that's why i play fretless bass, that I use a Mac, that I take photos using film... Silly? maybe...

PJ
Click to expand...

Leo Fender was an innovator. I suppose the problem was that he sold the company and the successive Fender companies just stuck to the same formula - and looking back on past glories (as in endless "classic" re-issues). Leo himself went on to develop new approaches through MM and G&L basses. Who knows what he might be up to if he was alive and active today!

I don't really dislike any basses particularly... I just find some of them are "me too" designs and a bit boring.
 
... what I was basically saying was that I agree with Jan... forgot to say that above!
 
To me, Yamaha is a motorcycle brand. NOT a bass.

Regarding Fender I feel a bit sad - like "haven't we improved since the 50's?" - as some of you already have said.

And next to a warwick mostly everything sounds dead and flat. Like a synth bass. (which can be good - sometimes)
 
Any design that looks like you could injure yourself on at least 3 points on it... US ESP, BC Rich etc.

Ricky's dont do much for me looks wise but some of their sounds are quite nice. G&L Lakland 44/55 range and most Musicman/Bongos are in the same boat too. I hate the traditional Stingray with the single P/up and teardrop style pickguard but the Dual Humbucker'd one with the Extended Pickguard to the knobs floats my boat nicely.. the neck does it for me big time, sort of a cross between a Jazz 5 and the neck on my Fortress.

I cant bash Fender because of their designs - but I prefer brands other than Fender's attempts at Jazz and P Basses, mainly because you dont have to try every version in town to find one that feels right.
 
Well I dont really Like ESP/LTD basses, but that is basically it. I really do not understand why a lot of people in here are so anti-fender? Well different people, different tastes i guess, huh? :D :)
 
i can't really say that i dislike or hate other brands of basses. i've tried many and all i can say is that they are not for me. now for someone else they could be to them what my warwicks are to me, perfect! those people could feel the same way about warwick as i do about their basses, it all has to do with personal taste and with what's best for the player. that's my opinion at least.
 
Here is my breakdown by brand:

Fender: to me the sound is uninspiring. It sounds flat. Im also not a big fan of Passive basses which they seem to build a lot of. Also, I feel that Fender is now an image instrument, not a sound instrument. I see so many kids and adults at Guitar Center buy Fender bases because of the looks. To me, music is about a combo of sounds and looks, not JUST looks. Fender gets a giant MEH in my book.

EBMM: I like the sound of EBMM basses, specifically the Stingray. The sond the Stingray gets from that one pickup has yet to be reproduced by any other bass company in the world IMHO. The downside to this company for me is the Bongo. That bass has aesthetics that wold make baby jesus cry. It is just ugly and even if it sounded good (which I dont think it does) I would bever be able to get past the ugliness. The communityt who support EBMM basses as a whole are very narrow miinded about other basses and opinions. Dont you dare speak ill of the EBMM basses, or else they would get on like dogs on a cat. I like the sound and looks, but the community for them pisses me off.

Warwick: This is the bass company for me. I like the exotic look of the basses, they stand out and show much more detaield craftmanship. Warwick offers a custom shop to its customers, something that most other companies do not. Warwick basses do the sound best that I am looking for. My only knock is the weight of some of the basses, but you get used to that in a while. Plus, they are so much fun to play, that the weight doesnt factor into the fun equation enough to bother me anymore. The basses turn heds everywhere, something the other companies wish they could do.
 
Im not anti-Fender products and design, I love them in my own way.. Im just against the products they put out to the public that dont have a high degree of quality control. It seems as time goes by, the worse the company has become. They are paying higher prices for products that are of lower quality, which is 95% the USA models.

I was having a conversation about this with a mate. He was talking to a luthier who specifically deals with Fender style instruments and he gave the following reviews on each of the different divisions of Fender - Mexican Fenders between 5-7 out of 10, Japanese Fenders between 7-9 out of 10 and then the US ones could be anywhere from 1 to 10. Ive heard stories of guys playing around 40-50 USA Fenders before finding the right one... playing one Japanese Fender and its perfect... That shouldnt happen.

If I were to order a Jazz 5 (Which im looking to in the near future).. I wouldnt order a Fender out of blind trust... Id look more to the Japanese (ESP Japan, Navigator, Atelier-Z, VanZandt, Moon, Bacchus, dragonfly, etc) and European Builders (Clover, Sei, Celinder, Windmill, etc) whos products are always of a high standard.

I believe that if you're prepared to pay good money for a bass with a brand name, you shouldnt be forking out for a lemon, rather getting exactly what you paid for and hopefully more. Ive still yet to play a remotely bad Warwick (Out of the series I like).... There's a reason why we love these basses.
 
I realy hate Fenders!!!
It's not the sound, which is actualy OK, or the neck, but the overall look. It is so damn ugly that I would rather be shot with a shotgun than seen with one on stage.
They should make it illegal for bass manufacturers to color basses in sea foam green!!!!!!!
 
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