What features should all bass guitars have?

[Lozz196]

In a contrast to my earlier in-jest post, if I actually thought about it from scratch about what I wanted from a bass I`d be hard put to describe anything other than a Fender Precision, my only real points I`d put would be accurate tuners that held tuning, body chamfers to make it comfy, and no neck-dive. I do also like the idea of in-built tuner that has been mentioned.

[Geek99]

6 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

Think the unit itself is about 10mm but obviously would need a blob of solder and a power source.

Solar maybe, why cannot it be a transducer so no solder needed

[mcnach]

21 hours ago, josie said:

I seem to remember there was a thread about this a while back, but I thought it might be interesting to float it again: 

What design features have you seen on a bass guitar that you think they should all have?

I'll open with three:

-- Safety catch on the jack input so the cable can't be pulled out accidentally. I've had this on my Jazz+V and Ibanez 6. 

-- (Active only) Active / passive / standby control options. I used the standby a lot when I had it, on the J+V. 

-- (Active only) Easily opened battery compartment separate from the rest of the electronics. The first time I've seen this is on my Ibby 6. I do check batteries regularly, but it's so much easier to do when you don't have to faff about with a screwdriver, and then carefully avoid deranging the rest of the more or less carefully installed wiring, and losing the very small screws. 

Interested to hear anyone else's views on this (including any luthiers here!)

 

I don't like locking jack sockets. If something catches the cable and pulls hard, I'd rather it comes off than breaking the cable, or the socket, or both. I had one in a Cort GB74 and hated it as I always forgot it was locking.

Battery compartments, yes, the flip style ones... but with proper connectors that clamp to the terminals and not the flimsy bent metal contacts my Stingray has... eventually they stop working well and cause problems. Easy fix to bend them back, but it's just temporary.

Truss rod wheel if the adjustment is at the body end, EBMM style.

Saddles with adjustable spacing.

Adjustable nut height, like Warwick do.

 

[mcnach]

Top loading bridge too.

Passive tone control, whether there is an active EQ on top of that or not. 

[Baxlin]

Nobody’s mentioned a player with a bit of skill.....🎶

[CameronJ]

9 hours ago, Bridgehouse said:

Does that system work if the battery fails? I’d want a failover - battery failure means passive mode with working passive tone control. John East’s work like that and have a separate passive tone knob - but for it to do failover (in case of battery failure) the passive tone works all the time 

It’s been a while since I played that particular bass but from memory I think the passive circuit still worked even without a battery.

29 minutes ago, mcnach said:

Truss rod wheel if the adjustment is at the body end, EBMM style.

This +1 and I must say, even without having a spoked truss wheel, the adjustment being at the body end is sooo much easier than at the headstock end. More space between the strings to rotate the Allen key, plus the strings themselves are so much more pliable at the body end so it’s just a less obstructed process, especially on a 5 string bass with a single truss rod.

[Hellzero]

No frets.

[Woodinblack]

26 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

It’s been a while since I played that particular bass but from memory I think the passive circuit still worked even without a battery.

If the passive circuit doesn't work without a battery, it is, by default, not passive!

[CameronJ]

10 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

If the passive circuit doesn't work without a battery, it is, by default, not passive!

Indeed!

[Kevsy71]

Slot load bridge BUT with a simple press-latch mechanism over the saddle so that the ballend can't pop out when you start installing a new string (not sure if such a beast exists though)

Well-shielded electronics

Satin neck (no gloopy gloss)

Fretboard on both sides of the neck and pups on both sides of the body. One side has rounds, one has flats, and each side can have different pups/preamps. Of course this requires an inflatable belly guard (bit like the Gretsch White Falcon), and fingerless gardening gloves in the case candy, so the strings on the side you are not playing can't hurt you...

 

 

[Bridgehouse]

15 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

If the passive circuit doesn't work without a battery, it is, by default, not passive!

True - I’ve seen a few basses though that say they are passive but actually it’s just an active eq bypass and although good for getting a passive tone, it all goes south when the battery goes!

[BigRedX]

All a bass needs is the following:

1. A neck
2. Some method of tuning each string
3. Some method of intonating each string
4. Some method of spacing the strings apart at the end witness points
5. A pickup
6. Some method of connecting the pickup to the rest of your signal chain

Everything else is personal preference.

[Bridgehouse]

2 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

All a bass needs is the following:

1. A neck
2. Some method of tuning each string
3. Some method of intonating each string
4. Some method of spacing the strings apart at the end witness points
5. A pickup
6. Some method of connecting the pickup to the rest of your signal chain

Everything else is personal preference.

Controversial! Are you listing “body” under personal preference? (I do kinda agree but I can’t do the stick type basses - well, I don’t think I can)

[BigRedX]

4 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

Controversial! Are you listing “body” under personal preference? (I do kinda agree but I can’t do the stick type basses - well, I don’t think I can)

Yes. I've owned a Hondo Alien - short scale with minimalist body a few cm wider than the neck, a Born To Rock F4B - a neck plus an aluminium tube outline of the body and an Atlansia Solitaire 1 string bass which is just a 36" long square section of wood with a string running along the length, and can't recall any of them causing me any problems to play.

Back in the early 80s when I tried one of the original Steinberger Basses the lack of headstock was more disconcerting than the lack of body when it came to play it.

However I did forget to add point 7...

7. Some method of attaching a strap.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

On 03/11/2018 at 23:37, AndyTravis said:

In Built tuners would be cool...Epiphone did Guitars with tuners built into the pickup surround for a while (Les Paul ultra 2 I think...)

You were doing so well up to this...

[Kevsy71]

37 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

All a bass needs is the following:

1. A neck that easily allows you to set a preferred relief, and then stays in place
2. Some method of tuning each string and keeping them in tune for at least the set
3. Some method of intonating each string without having to remove and replace the strings multiple times (à la Rickenbacker)
4. Some method of spacing the strings apart at the end witness points
5. A pickup
6. Some method of connecting the pickup to the rest of your signal chain that is well shielded

Everything else is personal preference.

Certainly my Squier Bronco ticks those boxes, and is a fun bedroom bass! It's a good list because it allows you to build on it, adding those personal/situational preferences: e.g. I've added my personal 'must haves' for a gigging/recording bass in italics - and probably add well-dressed frets, no neck-dive, and a weight that I can bear for a set too.

[Twigman]

Somewhere to comfortably anchor one's right thumb.

Having played Precisions for years I'd got used to the blocky thumb rest of the pickup cover....when I got my EBMM USA Sterling I found the sloping profile of the pickup cover wasn't as useful as an anchor point...I've got used to it now though.

[tedmanzie]

I’d like to be able to adjust nut height without taking it to a luthier or buying a set of files.

[Geek99]

54 minutes ago, tedmanzie said:

I’d like to be able to adjust nut height without taking it to a luthier or buying a set of files.

Warwick just a nut does this I think 

[Pea Turgh]

I read the thread title as “feathers” earlier, and “Fenders” this evening.

1. Zero fret

2. ultralight tuners

3. rolled edge fretboards

4. the ability to balance (two strap buttons on symmetrical body or one offset on a non-symmetrical boy like wot Tobias used to do) whilst still being plugged in.

[Maude]

7 hours ago, Twigman said:

Somewhere to comfortably anchor one's right thumb.

Having played Precisions for years I'd got used to the blocky thumb rest of the pickup cover....when I got my EBMM USA Sterling I found the sloping profile of the pickup cover wasn't as useful as an anchor point...I've got used to it now though.

I'd like a rail running from bridge to neck to anchor my thumb on so all playing positions are available and equal, make it the same height as the neck and the transition to playing over the neck would be seamless. 

[Ndldean]

I’d second whats been previously mentioned and say:

1. If active a passive option with separate passive tone control

2. Built in tuner would be very handy... not sure where it would go though... back of the headstock possibly.

[mcnach]

With regards to active/passive controls, a while ago I came to the realisation that what I'd really want is a passive tone control coupled to an active mids control with adjustable frequency centre, something like the John East module which covers 100Hz - 1000Hz (or 200Hz - 2000Hz, as it's got a switch for both ranges). 

I don't need a bass control, really.

Treble? A passive control is sweeter, for my taste.

What I want is to control what happens in the middle, and with a wide range like that, I can get punchy low mids, or hollow tones, or beautiful deep bass tones... For me the on-board EQ on active basses is merely to fine tune my sound and make some small adjustments for specific songs, but the basic sound comes from the amplifier's EQ. The small adjustments I want are all in the mid range or something that a passive treble cut is better suited for.

[BigRedX]

Other than pickup selection and coil section (for basses with more than one pickup or coil per pickup) I don't need any controls on my basses.

[FinnDave]

47 minutes ago, mcnach said:

With regards to active/passive controls, a while ago I came to the realisation that what I'd really want is a passive tone control coupled to an active mids control with adjustable frequency centre, something like the John East module which covers 100Hz - 1000Hz (or 200Hz - 2000Hz, as it's got a switch for both ranges). 

I don't need a bass control, really.

Treble? A passive control is sweeter, for my taste.

What I want is to control what happens in the middle, and with a wide range like that, I can get punchy low mids, or hollow tones, or beautiful deep bass tones... For me the on-board EQ on active basses is merely to fine tune my sound and make some small adjustments for specific songs, but the basic sound comes from the amplifier's EQ. The small adjustments I want are all in the mid range or something that a passive treble cut is better suited for.

Agree completely with this - recently bought an Ibanez six that someone had put an East pre-amp into in place of the original. Used the bass at a Dudes gig on Saturday, MarkBass amp which I set to neutral, and adjusted the bass's tone using the pre-amp alone, and by far the most important and powerful control is that sweepable mid range. I think I had the blend slightly favouring the bridge pick up and the bass control to give slight cut, then dialled in the sound I wanted with the mid. I've been listening to a recording of the gig this morning, and the sound out front is just what I had hoped for.