Do looks matter?

[blue]

To me, yes. I play a Custom Shop Gibson ES 335- bass in vintage faded cherry with white binding, a Gibson Gold Top Les Paul bass and Limited Edition German made Hofner Club bass with cavern club PU spacing

So yeah that 60s look is important to me. However recently I've been gigging my Fender Telecaster basses. Only because, I don'tfeel safe bringing the basses listed above into many of the clubs we play.

Blue

Edited August 2, 2016 by blue

[MacDaddy]

Wal's are fugly. IMO of course.

[TrevorR]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1470180022' post='3103961']
Wal's are fugly. IMO of course.
[/quote]



I so very nearly added the final line "But then again, post about my personal fave bass and the dissenting comments won't be far behind, just to underline that personal views on looks are, well, personal." to my post when I first put it up.

Edited August 2, 2016 by TrevorR

[lojo]

Yes , a bass has to fit your likes and self perceived image

[Guest bassman7755]

I actually like the sound of fenders J's but would never contemplate owning one since I find large headstock's on basses aesthetically offensive (and don't get me started on those hideous tuning pegs ...). Have been temped by a brubaker brute in the past though as its essentially a J with all the horrid bits done properly (and a zero fret for bonus points)

Edited August 3, 2016 by bassman7755

[neepheid]

Yes, looks are important. Otherwise I'd be playing P basses like everyone else.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1470215067' post='3104079']
Yes, looks are important. Otherwise I'd be playing P basses like everyone else.
[/quote]

True, but it's also well-known that Gibson have never made a pretty bass (scientific fact).

[wateroftyne]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Yes, looks are important. Otherwise I'd be playing non-P variant basses.[/font][/color]

[waldemar]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1470127703' post='3103368']
That's why my next bass will be

[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Other%20music%20related/Great%20Guitars/11379_736550003100145_1890228984563342328_n%20Jack-PCs%20conflicted%20copy%202016-03-18_zps9xxthlek.jpg.html"][/url]
[/quote]

Mmm. The action looks about perfect, but how much does it weigh...?

Wal.

[12stringbassist]

I like the idea of MusicMan basses but the Bongo looks like it was made out of an old toilet seat.
You'll never see me with one of those.

[Nicko]

No. Looks are not important. Unless it has gold H/W and LEDs, in which case I would give it a wide berth.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='waldemar' timestamp='1470223637' post='3104191']
Mmm. The action looks about perfect, but how much does it weigh...?

Wal.
[/quote]

Those spikes are nothing to do with metal ... they're actually flux capacitors which generate a localised anti-gravity field, thus rendering the bass effectively weightless.

I'm a little concerned when I play it at the Dog & Duck, what with it representing an investment of £4.7bn by the UK Defence industry, but all I've done so far is hit the mic-stand with the headstock. Radar tracking has the mic stand passing the orbit of Mars just now.

[uk_lefty]

Yes looks are important. I had a period when my only bass was my very 80s hair metal Kramer fretless... Didn't get the jazz gig I went for and got some odd looks. I couldn't play a single-cut or coffee table bass with my current band. I use a "traditional" looking p bass, have whipped out the headless cricket bat bass which went down ok, and will play the next short gig with a jazz.

[Muzz]

Yep, gotta be good-looking (to me), otherwise it'll go. I might well miss out on some lovely basses to hear and play, but if they don't appeal visually, nope.

I'm dreadfully shallow. Possibly

[SpondonBassed]

Surface over substance? I like to have both ta.

[Happy Jack]

It's easier to get at the substance if it's on top of the surface, surely?

[size=4] [/size]

[SpondonBassed]

Heeheehee. There speaks a man who has eaten a LOT of traditionally made rice pudding.

[Barking Spiders]

Ha yes , single cut. Gotta be top of the fugly tree for me too.
Eve though they play nice I can't get to love the fanned frets of Dingwalls. And as a rule I don't like the thick necks of 6+ stringers, and the shapes of the strap button parts on Warwicks, Pedullas and Mayones. As for all those Metal looks, no way Jose.
Colour wise I only go for natural finishes, cherry and deeper blues. Best looker of all is the GB Rumour though I cant a photo up

Edited August 4, 2016 by Barking Spiders

[highwayman]

I've always thought Stingrays look badass, especially black ones. No prizes for guessing my first (& only) bass so far.
Now just need to get badass....

[leschirons]

It's why I've never wanted a Wal. I don't doubt it's quality, but to some, a thing of beauty. To me, a failed schoolboy woodwork project.

[Grassie]

A badly shaped headstock (which seems to be every other bass on the market at the moment) is enough to put me off buying a bass. The main reason I haven't pulled the trigger on one of those Sire Marcus Miller jobbies (yet...)

[Funky Dunky]

I had a Squier Troy Sanders Jaguar and it sounded killer, was a beautiful silverburst finish, too.

But it looked like a piece of stood-on chewing gum. It had to go.

Someone on this very forum said "your bass should look so good that every time you go to walk past it, you want to pick it up and play it." (Words to that effect)

I have a PINK Jim Deacon Precision copy, and I want to pick it up and have a slap at it every time I pass. That's a Jim Deacon!

Looks VERY much matter to me. Playability is important, hell yes, but your eye is the first thing to be tempted, isn't it? The aesthetics of the instrument are where the desire lies. This is why so many of us drool over pictures of basses online! The Flea Jazz bass thread is a case in point.

[BottomE]

Any colour but green. Never ever seen a nice green bass.

[Funky Dunky]

Ah, but green basses have been scientifically proven to sound better, on these very pages no less

Wish I could find that thread, 'twas fascinating, although very much tongue in cheek.

I happen to think some green basses look sexual, but to each his own. Not a fan of white, m'self, unless it's a JB with a tort guard. All other white basses give me the heebs.

[LayDownThaFunk]

2-1 odds of the OP being single.