Dr M Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Never owned a truly awful bass, but pretty much every Epiphone I've played has been terrible. Ironically, the only exception was an EB-0 - recent Indonesian made one was actually pretty nice. Unfortunately I have a thing for Thunderbirds, which means I keep trying out the Epis, and keep being disappointed. The basic Thunderbird IV has a neck like a cricket bat. The Pro I played felt like someone had forgotten to sand the back of the neck, and the new Classic I tried had 1/4 inch action and a wonky bridge... I think I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for a Tokai. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soul deluxe Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 this was a sh*t bass literally,ended up round this guys house once at a party, he was a guitarist, but he had a bass.. was an encore p bass.. im not joking when i say it had dog sh*t all over the pickups... why, i will never know... strings were about as dead as they could be, not really the fault of the bass as there not hugely bad instruments if set up correctly.. but a bad experience all the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazWills Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1359584330' post='1957221'] Encore P copy. [/quote] same here, but only as I'm comparing it to far nicer (and more expensive) basses bought subsequently... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) [quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1359582226' post='1957147'] I cant believe nobody has flagged this as a discussion point before. Class topic. I learned on a bass which was advertised in Kerrang magazine in the late 80s. I bought it around 1988/1989, the make was Axe. Any body suffer the same pain please let me know....! The ad in Kerrang was awful, bass being played by a huge bloke in a stage-esque setup - plugged into a battery amp 6 inches high with less power than a rooster fart. It was all I could afford at the time as I was working as a part time fish gutter ; and second choice as I wanted the Axe drumkit but my folks just said "not this side of eternity Ringo"; (it was probably crap as well). Looking back, bearing in mind I was literally just picking bass up from scratch - the sound was grim and never changed no matter what the tone control was set at, the bridge was held down by only four small screws (one in each corner) and when you brought it up to tune it came away from the body; I played out of tune as I learned on floppier strings than usual. The strap button on the top horn fell out after a month and got screwed back in to the back of the bass. I eventually stuck black insulating tape over the name on the headstock I was so embarrassed to be seen with it. I stopped short of wearing a brown bag over my head as I played it, but only because the drummer's kit was actually worse than my bass. I really wish I had a photo of my early garage days . . . .. . . . . .you would laugh your ass off. Especially at the night we were raided by the police following neighbours complaints; they just left after laughing at the singers bad Axl Rose copy of Welcome to the jungle. 1 - 0 to the NWOBHM My dad put me out of my misery after 12 months and picked me up from school and took me to the big guitar shop in the city and said pick one..... I got a gleaming frosted white Charvel/Jackson 4 string. Talk about parking a Robin reliant and driving away a Ferrari. [/quote] I used to lust after those Axe basses! Mind you, I was only about 7 at the time... Not a terrible bass by any means, but the worst bass I have ever owned was my Epiphone Thunderbird - lightweight and flimsy, lifeless tone. The neck was nice though. Edited February 1, 2013 by Cosmo Valdemar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) Avon grabber copy. Horrible fretwork, high action, weighed a ton, sounded dull. Cost me £20 in a car boot, sold it for a £5 loss a decade later. Edited January 31, 2013 by Wil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 [quote name='soul deluxe' timestamp='1359641132' post='1958085'] this was a sh*t bass literally,ended up round this guys house once at a party, he was a guitarist, but he had a bass.. was an encore p bass.. im not joking when i say it had dog sh*t all over the pickups... why, i will never know... strings were about as dead as they could be, not really the fault of the bass as there not hugely bad instruments if set up correctly.. but a bad experience all the same [/quote] oh look... a bass covered in poo, probably dog poo. I know what I'll see what the strings are like.... oh look dead as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 When I started off on bass (late 80's) somebody handed me a black Aria Pro II, no idea what model (traditionally shaped, no pointy bits other than headstock). I noticed something wrong in the neck, and I found out the neck was actually broken somewhere under the 3rd fret, so a bit of the truss rod was sticking out. That was bad to play My parents took pity of me and brought me to a rabbit warren of a shop in my home city, where I picked a Manson and FBT amp, passing a 70's us-made fender p bass as it didn't have enough knobs and controls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Sunn Mustang P-copy....my first bass, and it weighed about 3 tonnes! Funny about the 'Axe' basses mentioned early on - my first gig (I was drumming) in about 1988, our bassist used one. I do have a video of this most horrendous performance. It was so good, he had given up playing by about Spring '89!! [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I've never owned a truly bad one, my Squier P would be the worst, but even that's great for the price. What I have learned though is not to buy that Epi Thunderbird I've been lusting over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Thunderbirds are usually a recipe for disaster, with their awful tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 [quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1359635663' post='1957930']Jeez - you lot don't know you're born. My first bass was an Egmond...[/quote] Yeah, but you're, like, old, innit..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 [quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1359652736' post='1958315'] Sunn Mustang P-copy....my first bass, and it weighed about 3 tonnes! [/quote] I still have one and love it dearly, tis my favourite. Horses f*&^ horses and all that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashborygirl Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 A couple of contentious entries here, not crap as such, just disappointing. An Overwater Progress that was just dull, dull, dull. It was the magnolia paint of the bass guitar world. Modern Stingrays. Hate the bland maple necks, find the tone anaemic & a pale facsimile of a once great bass. There, I said it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 A Dallas Tuxedo Bass from sometime in the fifties. Mahogany neck and no truss rod so the neck was the width of a box of Swan Vestas and about the same depth. It was so uncool that the band I was in at the time forced me to upgrade to an Antoria EB3 copy (which I still own ). I suspect that the Dallas might be worth more today. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I've not owned anything that couldn't have been spruced up with a good set up and some decent pickups thankfully. I thought most of the Epiphone range was great (especially for the money) but the Flying V and EB-3 both had really weak sounding pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumps Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 The first bass I got didn't even have a name written on the headstock. From the strings to the fretboard was a short taxi ride & stayed in tune for 35.2 seconds. It was Truely horrific to play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howdenspur Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Avon EB0 copy. Sort of purpley colour, lump of cardboard supporting the bridge. Chopped it in for a musicmaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baseline9 Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 (edited) I can recall a couple of bobby no name basses I played over the years, they were pretty bad. A nice story once was I was helping out at a gig and a band turned up but the bass player was coming later. I stepped in and sound checked for the guy (he was using my amp anyway) I took the bass out of the case and I cannot remember what it was but it was set up poorly with strings from the 1800s and it sounded bad (prob could of been ok with a little TLC). So when the guy turned up I lent him my 90S EB music man, I made a bit of a joke of it and said "I'm not letting you use that!", the guy was only a kid and he was stoked. Mikey. Edited February 1, 2013 by baseline9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 [quote name='Ashborygirl' timestamp='1359668096' post='1958643'] A couple of contentious entries here, not crap as such, just disappointing. An Overwater Progress that was just dull, dull, dull. It was the magnolia paint of the bass guitar world. Modern Stingrays. Hate the bland maple necks, find the tone anaemic & a pale facsimile of a once great bass. There, I said it. [/quote] Pretty brave to say it giving the rep both of those have but you have say what you feel! I've played a fair few Fenders (in shops and bash bashes to try them out) and I can honestly that 100% of the Mexican ones shouldn't be on sale and only 30% of the American ones are worth even picking up. But those 30% are stunners I'll have to admit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregBass Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1359657890' post='1958436'] Yeah, but you're, like, old, innit..? [/quote] Damn - sussed out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstocko Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 We had an old P copy encore at my college. It was called the Red Baron for a reason. For some reason people kept on using it on recordings, and it would sound sh*te regardless of any studio magic. It had a dodgy jack socket, one working pot, a scratchplate that didn't fit, stickers on the fretboard and some sticky residue from god knows what. I should go back and take that bass, I easily spent more than its worth on keeping that alive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 '77 Fender Jazz. and I can't believe the money it would go for now.... which is the joke of the centuary.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 2 spring to mind: 1. my first bass, an '85 Squier Ketana. It actually was just another MIJ Squier P type thing (Fender was doing dodgy design in 1985) and it played and sounded half decent, but man was that thing fugly. It was the only bass I could afford..... poor me . I wish I still had it though..... for sentimental reasons. 2. a '79 kramer with the aluminium neck, great sound but utterly useless on a warm stage. Absolutely impossible to keep in tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loushort Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) An IMC/Shaftsbury Ric copy i brought off a student of mine it was just awful wouldn't stay in tune and just sounded sh*t it looked good thou sold it a few days later Edited February 7, 2013 by loushort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumps Posted February 2, 2013 Share Posted February 2, 2013 Reading this thread fully it looks like apparently I still own one as my main bass I love my bass to bits lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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