What's the most over-rated bass, or bass related product???

[Tait]

[quote name='Telebass' post='372093' date='Jan 6 2009, 03:23 PM']1) Active tone controls. That's what your amp's for, chaps...
2) Exotic wood basses - why do you want to play furniture?
3) Complexity - gets in the way, will be less reliable. KISS...[/quote]

cant expect any more from someone who plays a telebass lol.

i agree about complexity and exotic woods, but i hate passive basses - to me they always sound bland and quiet

[cetera]

[quote name='urb' post='285212' date='Sep 16 2008, 03:52 PM']A couple of my own:

Spectre basses
er....(ducks) Foderas[/quote]

Yep, them Spectres are crap....

Try a Spector instead, MUCH better!

[bremen]

[quote name='LWTAIT' post='372133' date='Jan 6 2009, 04:20 PM']i hate passive basses - to me they always sound bland and quiet[/quote]

3 words: Live At Leeds
Another 3: Jean Jacques Burnel

[bassmansky]

[quote name='NJE' post='372070' date='Jan 6 2009, 03:10 PM']Whats with all the Ashdown hate? I had an epifani and it was crap compared to my ABM head and cab, Ashdown has loads more balls and works so well when driven, they are only wooly if your a muppet and cant use EQ or you shove a P-bass through it ( I can say that I used to own one)so much better IMHO![/quote]
+1, yes theres alot of ashdown haters on here,dont now why.a very popular brand(apart from on here)i have no problems with mine whatsoever and yes you do have to twiddle with the eq,but once you get that sound it will imho blow lots of their competitors away!But each to their own as they say!

[alexclaber]

[quote name='LWTAIT' post='372133' date='Jan 6 2009, 04:20 PM']...i hate passive basses - to me they always sound bland and quiet[/quote]

This is why too many beginner instruments contain appallingly nasty active circuitry - because louder always sounds better, it's the nature of the human ear, and this is particularly apparent with lower frequencies. If you want to compare a passive bass and an active bass you have to match the levels. But if you want to sell basses to beginners it's easier to stick a cheap circuit in that boosts the output and bottom than try to educate them to the benefits of passive basses.

Now I'm not saying that all active basses are bad - but even the MEC circuit in my Warwick Streamer sounded rubbish compared to bypassing it or the Aguilar OBP-3 that replaced it. Quality active onboard circuitry cannot be done cheaply though it doesn't have to be very expensive.

Alex

[Protium]

[quote name='SJA' post='273644' date='Aug 31 2008, 11:29 AM']I've never understood the logic behind Ashdown putting eq sliders and rotary knobs together-
ie. a rotary knob for the lowest frequency, then 2 sliders, then a mid knob, then 2 sliders, then a highs knob. it just makes it a drag to find a workable sound in a rehearsal studio.

dunno what the fuss about Darkstar pickups was either. I suppose they look quite cool.[/quote]

If you leave the sliders flat, you're left with a simple bass-mid-treble 3-band EQ.

To find a workable sound: Same as any other EQ - change the settings to suit? Which one do you find difficult - the knobs or sliders? They both do the same job

[chrisAngryman]

couldn't agree more about ashdown

really hated (hate, still haven't sold it) my mag210, so hard to get the eq exactly how i like.

cheap zoom effect boxes

[ARGH]

I hate everything,thats ever been made by anyone,ever..........

[billynoband]

Fenders.
99% of commercially built cabs.
Any effects pedal.

[Tait]

[quote name='bremen' post='372154' date='Jan 6 2009, 04:37 PM']3 words: Live At Leeds
Another 3: Jean Jacques Burnel[/quote]


[quote name='alexclaber' post='372320' date='Jan 6 2009, 07:14 PM']This is why too many beginner instruments contain appallingly nasty active circuitry - because louder always sounds better, it's the nature of the human ear, and this is particularly apparent with lower frequencies. If you want to compare a passive bass and an active bass you have to match the levels. But if you want to sell basses to beginners it's easier to stick a cheap circuit in that boosts the output and bottom than try to educate them to the benefits of passive basses.

Now I'm not saying that all active basses are bad - but even the MEC circuit in my Warwick Streamer sounded rubbish compared to bypassing it or the Aguilar OBP-3 that replaced it. Quality active onboard circuitry cannot be done cheaply though it doesn't have to be very expensive.

Alex[/quote]

ok, sorry, what i meant was i can only ever get them to sound bland, and that theyre quieter than my active basses so i always end up boosting the volume on my amp. ive tried and tried again with passive basses, but i cant seem to make them work for me. i dont hate other people hating passive basses, if you can get a good sound out of a bass, then use it. i just cant get one i like out of passive basses.

its why i cant like jazz basss. i love the way a jazz looks, and some of my favourite bassists can make their jazzs sound great (timmy c for one) but i cant get a sound like that with a jazz no matter how hard i try. i learnt on a passive, so its nothing to do with how i learnt or what sound im used to, its just that i can only get a sound i like on an active.

Edited January 6, 2009 by LWTAIT

[Kev]

+1 for passive basses and ashdown amps

il add £2000 + instruments and fender copies (sadowsky particularly)

Edited January 6, 2009 by BassManKev

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='372320' date='Jan 6 2009, 07:14 PM']This is why too many beginner instruments contain appallingly nasty active circuitry - because louder always sounds better, it's the nature of the human ear, and this is particularly apparent with lower frequencies. If you want to compare a passive bass and an active bass you have to match the levels. But if you want to sell basses to beginners it's easier to stick a cheap circuit in that boosts the output and bottom than try to educate them to the benefits of passive basses.

Now I'm not saying that all active basses are bad - but even the MEC circuit in my Warwick Streamer sounded rubbish compared to bypassing it or the Aguilar OBP-3 that replaced it. Quality active onboard circuitry cannot be done cheaply though it doesn't have to be very expensive.

Alex[/quote]
+1

Words of wisdom as per usual Mr Claber!

[Tlbasss]

Great thread this - Read from page one to page 21 non stop.

Things that bug me are;

Using wristbands as capos
Stickers on basses
Wing mirrors ( tuners stuck on headstocks)
Any more than 6 strings is effectively a harp
Scallopped fingerboards on bass

Rotos - got splinters off of those things
fastfret
any flanger effect on bass

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='Tlbasss' post='372610' date='Jan 6 2009, 11:36 PM']Great thread this - Read from page one to page 21 non stop.

Things that bug me are;

Using wristbands as capos
Stickers on basses[/quote]

the wristbands aren't being used as capos... they're being used as mutes to deaden unfretted strings. It's mainly tappers that use them as they're not able to mute normally using their fretting hand index finger.

Stickers on basses... cool if they're right for the genre and on an appropriate bass, but a real pain to remove and clean up

[XB26354]

[quote name='bassmansky' post='372274' date='Jan 6 2009, 06:29 PM']+1, yes theres alot of ashdown haters on here,dont now why.a very popular brand(apart from on here)i have no problems with mine whatsoever and yes you do have to twiddle with the eq,but once you get that sound it will imho blow lots of their competitors away!But each to their own as they say![/quote]
I have to disagree, having owned a lovely Epifani 210 combo. I currently have an Ashdown combo and have tried plenty of Mag and ABM gear in the Gallery. The Epifani made every bass, passive or active, 4, 5, or 6 strings sound great. The Ashdown makes every bass sound like the amp is inside a wardrobe at the bottom of a well. They also look crap imho. No, I don't know why I bought it either, apart from it being cheap!

[bassmansky]

[quote name='XB26354' date='Jan 7 2009, 07:52 PM' post='373422']
I have to disagree, having owned a lovely Epifani 210 combo. I currently have an Ashdown combo and have tried plenty of Mag and ABM gear in the Gallery. The Epifani made every bass, passive or active, 4, 5, or 6 strings sound great. The Ashdown makes every bass sound like the amp is inside a wardrobe at the bottom of a well. They also look crap imho. No, I don't know why I bought it either, apart from it being cheap!
[/quote
neither do i if thats what you think of it!

[Pookus]

I like a lot of things people dislike
Passive bass (Rickenbacker)
Rotosound strings (always used them and they do the job)
My Ashdown rig is fantastic! ABM900 & 810 Cab.

Things I don't like using.

Multiple effect pedals
"Clean" solid state type amp sounds
Knobby "bistro" basses

[Tait]

i like ashdown, too. ive only ever really used my five fifteen (which i suppose technically isnt mine now cos its sold, gonna be dropped off on friday i think) but its served me well.

oh and +1 pookus on multiple effects pedals, i only ever use a little bit of distortion. i hate it when the effect is noticable, to me an effect thats been used well makes you think the bass sounds good, but doesnt immediatly draw attention to the effect itself. the only exeption is when its supposed to be really noticable, like say the bass part in hysteria. im not sure if im making sense here, i know what i mean, but its difficult to explain. but basically, unless the effect is supposed to be a main part of the song, then you shouldnt be able to notice the effect at first hearing the bass, the effect should only be noticed when you think "ooh the bass sounds good... is he using distortion (or whatever)?" i think that explains it a bit better.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Acoustic basses ?
Peavey amps

[OutToPlayJazz]

Fender basses - I've tried to love them, bought about 5 of the things. Sold them all. Unresponsive, awkward to play & way behind the times. Seriously cool, though!

People who call my basses, "guitars"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[4000]

[quote name='XB26354' post='373422' date='Jan 7 2009, 07:52 PM']I have to disagree, having owned a lovely Epifani 210 combo. I currently have an Ashdown combo and have tried plenty of Mag and ABM gear in the Gallery. The Epifani made every bass, passive or active, 4, 5, or 6 strings sound great. The Ashdown makes every bass sound like the amp is inside a wardrobe at the bottom of a well. They also look crap imho. No, I don't know why I bought it either, apart from it being cheap![/quote]

Played my Rick 4003s8 through an Epi UL310. Pants. The same bass through my Trace 1153 sounded like God. Played several basses through an Epi set up in the Gallery the other day and they all sounded fine until I got to the Rick 4003. Pants again. Yet Ricks sound great through my Ashdown or my old TRace stuff. I think whatever rig you use it's all about the combination of the bass and the amp, the way you eq, the sound you're after etc etc. One thing I have found is my Ashdown is way more versatile than I thought it was even after the 1st year of owning it. Still not great with my Sei though!

[slapmonsta]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='373595' date='Jan 7 2009, 10:21 PM']Fender basses - I've tried to love them, bought about 5 of the things. Sold them all. Unresponsive, awkward to play & way behind the times. Seriously cool, though!

People who call my basses, "guitars"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Have to agree with the Fender thing.I've had three,tried to love them and got bored with them really quickly.
Once you play Graphite there's no going back to be honest.

And to the guy who listed king as "overated"...compared to who or what?Inspired a generation,and put bass playing on BBC1 matey!Not a bad legacy.Don't see many bass players on kids tv these days,do you?[/quote]

[leschirons]

"Signature" strings. What the f***'s that about?

And people who use the words "Custom built" when they're trying to sell a heap of crap on Ebay that no-one's heard of.

[Oscar South]

Graphite basses, I like that every wooden bass has a subtly unique tone; to hell with carbon copy instruments... takes the fun and mystery out of the craft.

[Pookus]

Those Fenders that have been cosmetically aged. Bogus.