Your "Hot or Not" on a bass

[Low End Bee]

Just out of curiosity. What makes you go yeah and what makes you go meh no matter how well the bass plays and sounds? My personal list witout apologies below.

Yes Please

Black pickguards - Solid colour finishes - Chrome hardware - Passive controls - 4 strings - Old basses that have been modded interestingly - Racing stripes - Precisions - Mustangs - Rickenbackers - Weird short scales - black strings - Silk wraps on strings - Chunky necks - Mosrites - Lollipop tuners - Graphite necks

 

No Thanks

Gold hardware - Natural wood finishes - 5 or more strings - Jazz basses -  Loads of knobs and switches - active electronics - Pointy 80s - Black hardware - Neon strings  - Warwicks - Fanned Frets - Skinny necks - Multiple exotic wood coffee tables - EB3's - Cherry sunburst - D tuners - tort pickguards - ramps - Alleva Coppolo headstocks - headless basses

[Dan Dare]

No Thanks to Jazz basses? My dear sir, have you taken leave of your senses?

[Low End Bee]

Just now, Dan Dare said:

No Thanks to Jazz basses? My dear sir, have you taken leave of your senses?

Nope. They are horrible

[NickD]

Yes Please

Bare wood - Black hardware - Maple fretboards - Extended range.

No Thanks

Paint (painted body with unpainted headstock is even worse) - Gold or Chrome hardware - Position Markers on the fretboard - Jazz types with bell plate but no scratchplate - Fivers with 2 over 3 heastocks (3 over 2 is fine)

[oldslapper]

Yes please: P bass 4 string passive unlined fretless with Natural finish and tort pick-guard. And Old blonde ply double basses.

Ok go on then: As above but fretted.

No thanks: Everything else. 😆

[Dan Dare]

41 minutes ago, Low End Bee said:

Nope. They are horrible

The JB police are on their way to re-educate you... 😁

[burno70]

I like waaay more basses than not.

Off the top of my head the only one's I don't really like, aesthetically at least, would be spikey, metal-oriented, basses.

[BrunoBass]

I don’t particularly like:

Natural wood finishes, gold hardware, black hardware, ‘boutique’ basses, single cut basses, basses that look like they’ve been made in a prison woodwork class, five stringers, silks on strings, active versions of traditionally passive basses, tortoiseshell pickguards, single ply pickguards, Dingwall basses / fanned frets generally, any bass that screams ‘look at me!’

No irrational hatred of any of these, just a dislike / indifference / can’t imagine myself ever playing or wanting.

[DaytonaRik]

Extended singlecuts à la Fodera and instruments with a plethora of  on board electronics, gizmos and switches.  I’m a simple man - bass, wireless, amp with nothing in between!

Other than that, we’re good with pretty much anything as long as it has 4 strings!!!

Edited November 21, 2019 by DaytonaRik

[bartelby]

yes: pretty much anything that isn't in the list below

maybe: natural wood finishes

No: modern style single cut, massive headstocks

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Yep:

mustangs, thunderbirds, Precisions, u-basses, flatwounds, NS uprights, lightweight cabs, long suede straps, cmnfort strapps, lollypop tuners, lightweight tuners with traditional looking keys, daphne blue, sunburst (inc cherry) aged white pearl pickguards, passive controls, nickel hardware, trussrod adjustment at the headstock, vintage gear in good condition

Not Yep:

Roundwounds, Jazz basses(sorry!), ricks, heavy cabs, short or slippy straps, reverse winding tuners, black or gold hardware, 5 (or 6) string basses, active controls, tuners with 'Y' shaped keys, lined fretless, having to unscrew the neck to adjust the trussrod, skunk stripes on back of neck, bright white pearl pickguards, filthy/smelly gear

[tinyd]

I'm really old-school - I'm a bit suspicious of any bass with more than 4 strings and big slabby natural wood custom basses with loads of strings and funny horns really make me uncomfortable. They sound great, mind, so I know I'm being very shallow

[Mykesbass]

No Thanks    Single cuts, gold hardware, natural finish (not fancy woods, but the 70's Fender that looks like a work top) pointy basses.

Yes Please    Anything that takes my fancy that isn't in the above (easily pleased)!

[yorks5stringer]

Yes please: old, reliced, colours of all hues but one ( see below)

No Ta: natural, sunburst and anything by a certain guitar improver.

[Ted Theodore Logan, III]

My favourite bass guitars are the ones that make you a better bass player... 

They are usually the ones that cost several months of wages or are endorsed by celebrities!!! 

[Lozz196]

I’m quite easy to please:

YES - Is a Precision

NO - Is not a Precision

[lemmywinks]

Hot

Natural finishes, particularly darker ones

Black Hardware

Dark fingerboards

Warwicks (rounded body shapes in general)

 

Not

Glitzy sparkly finishes

White scratchplates

Gibsons

Singlecuts

Red basses (just no)

Precisions (booooooooring)

Edited November 21, 2019 by lemmywinks

[Cato]

In the 30 odd years I've been playing I don't think there's a single finish, feature or fixture on a bass that I've initially hated the look of that I haven't ended up with GAS for at some point down the line.

These days when I see something I don't particularly like my first thought is 'I'll probably want one of those in a couple of years'.

Edited November 21, 2019 by Cato

[Ted Theodore Logan, III]

8 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I’m quite easy to please:

YES - Is a Precision

NO - Is not a Precision

What if it's a Precision that's not a Precision?..   like a Precision Jazz!... 

[Lozz196]

1 minute ago, Ted Theodore Logan, III said:

What if it's a Precision that's not a Precision?..   like a Precision Jazz!... 

Aaaarrrrgh, brain overload 😱

[Ted Theodore Logan, III]

3 minutes ago, Cato said:

In the 30 odd years I've been playing I don't think there's a single finish, feature or fixture on a bass that I've initially hated that I haven't ended up with GAS for at some point down the line.

These days when I see something I don't particularly like my first thought is 'I'll probably want one of those in a couple of years'.

Got GAS?!!...

You will do... You will do...

[ezbass]

I'm open anything except gold hardware and more knobs than a flight deck. Full disclosure, I've owned a bass with both of those, it was nice, it has gone. Oh, hang on, there's more, I don't like single cut, Tele bodies on a bass (G&L ASAT) at all.

[Osiris]

Yes Please

Short scales especially Mustangs, Precisions, Jazzs, P/J's, passive pickups, Ric's (looks and sounds but not the necks), black hardware, chrome hardware, block markers, round wound strings, matching headstocks, thunderbirds, old 80's pointy BC Rich things in ludicrous colours

Meh

Active pre-amps

No Thanks

Sunburst (absolutely f@cking minging), tortoise shell scratch plates (equally minging), Sunburst and tort combined (is there anything truly more disgusting?) Gold hardware, Stingrays, Ric necks, flat wound strings, ultra light strings, fretless, anything with more than 5 stings, anything that weighs a ton, Turdburst

[Muzz]

Yes - Shukers, Thunderbirds, Split coil pups, Maple boards, ebony boards, exotic wood, John East Preamps, Elixir strings

No - Jazzes of any variety, singlecuts, rosewood boards, anything over 9lb, fivers, sixers, nuts over 40mm

Other than that, I'm open to suggestions...

Edited November 21, 2019 by Muzz

[Paul S]

I have a certain number of boxes to tick for my fantasy 'gold medal' bass.  I don't currently own one that ticks all the boxes, though.

Black double cutaway lightweight body, no pickguard, maple neck/fretboard, short scale, 40mm nut width, 18mm string spacing at the bridge, single pickup in the P bass sweet spot, passive, lightweight chrome hardware. TI Jazz flats.

Things that won't pass my finish line:

Red body, those funny single cutaway things that look like stranded whales.  Tort pickguards.

Anything else is more a case of 'never say never' as long as a number of boxes are ticked.