Has anyone bought a bass on a whim just cos of its looks?

[Marky L]

Yes. Very often.

[grandad]

7 basses now. All SS & MS. Yes, looks first, then feel & balance & sound next.

All different, but you don't know if you'll keep it until after a setup & flats fitted. And then played for some time. But yes, looks come first. 

[yorks5stringer]

I bought this a few years ago

[yorks5stringer]

and turned it into this

[yorks5stringer]

and I've just got one of these

[Roger2611]

Yes, Thunderbird's and Rickenbacker's both look utterly wonderful yet I just can'y get comfortable with either so sell them on, I sold my last Tbird a couple of years back and my CMI Rick copy a few years before that.....guess what I am currently scanning the sales ads for.....stupid is what stupid does!

[Bunion]

I was looking for a Wal anyway but this just gave me GAS 

[thebrig]

On 24/03/2022 at 13:59, Barking Spiders said:

I have, yesterday.😁. I already have three other basses, having sold four in the last 18 months. I'd only gone into the store to get some strings but it just looked so inviting I couldn't resist it. As I already have a Ray 4 single humbucker model I didn't even bother trying it out in the shop. Luckily it's great. Nice low action with no fret buzz and a great tone with the double humbuckers.

I bought this exact same bass on a whim, I'm a P Bass man but I thought I needed something different, so I ordered this online and returned it a few days later for a full refund.

 

I would like to point out that the Sterling by Musicman SUB Bass HH is a fantastic bass, especially for the £399 that I paid for it, and as you say, it was set up with a low action, no string buzz, and played beautifully straight out of the box.

 

BUT! I didn't need it, an active bass just doesn't work with the type of music I play, so I came to my senses in time to be able to return in during the cooling off period.

[thebrig]

On 24/03/2022 at 14:07, Lozz196 said:

Yes, a good few years ago I was in Coda Music in Stevenage and I saw a Mex Fender precision in white/rosewood, there was something about that bass that I just had to have it. I`m currently trying to resist the temptation with a bass up for grabs on here, same colour scheme.

I was in Coda Music in Stevenage a few year's ago to look at their bass range and I ended up buying not a bass, but a Martin DC28e.

 

I just happened to be looking at the Martin DC28e in the acoustic section upstairs and the salesman asked if I was interested in buying one, I replied that I'm a bass player and can't play guitar that well, but then he said that they are knocking them out for £1099 because they had over-stocked on them, and suddenly I was interested, I knew this model sold for around £2,500 so I got my card out and paid the money.

 

I kept it for a while, but soon realised that this beautiful guitar was far too good for someone like me, so I put it up for sale and doubled my money.

Edited March 27, 2022 by thebrig
To add photo.

[chris_b]

Bought a bass on a whim? No, never. I only buy basses cos I know they sound good. They also have to pass the "looking good" and the "can I afford them" tests, but that's always secondary to tone.

 

I have bought bass amps on a whim, to check them out. Sometimes that works, my Aguilar AG700 and TH500, but mostly it doesn't. 

Edited March 27, 2022 by chris_b

[Newfoundfreedom]

Every bass I've ever owned I've bought based on the looks. 

 

Sad really. I'd never use a Fender (P or J) because i can't stand how bland they look. Although I acknowledge they probably sound better than 90% of the stuff out there. 

 

If a bass doesn't look good (purely a personal, eye of the beholder type deal) It just wouldn't inspire me to pick it up. 

[Barking Spiders]

17 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Every bass I've ever owned I've bought based on the looks. 

 

Sad really. I'd never use a Fender (P or J) because i can't stand how bland they look. Although I acknowledge they probably sound better than 90% of the stuff out there. 

 

If a bass doesn't look good (purely a personal, eye of the beholder type deal) It just wouldn't inspire me to pick it up. 

I get you. I think the ubiquity of P basses has now made their looks bland compared to say a Stingray of Ricky. Some of my fave players are P bass players so I don't knock P basses. Just don't want one myself. 

[Newfoundfreedom]

Just now, Barking Spiders said:

I get you. I think the ubiquity of P basses has now made their looks bland compared to say a Stingray of Ricky. Some of my fave players are P bass players so I don't knock P basses. Just don't want one myself. 

 

Yeah I'm the same. Can't really knock them, I just don't think I'll ever play one. I've figured out what I like over the years, and it's usually some combination of natural wood, humbuckers, and small tuners. I just can't stand the look or feel of the Fender type elephant ears. 

[neepheid]

That's why I scratched that itch with a G&L Tribute LB-100... When they came out with that metallic blue/green with tort and blocks combo, yum! Also it's (just) different enough from a Fender/Squier P to be interesting.

[Nail Soup]

On 26/03/2022 at 10:13, Barking Spiders said:

When I say whim in the OP I mean I never even had the slightest intention of buying another bass.  I didn't even go away to have a think. I just bought it like i was buying a pack of gum. Not quite the same as planning to buy one and choosing one that's a looker.

In that case, I'll revise my answer:

No I've never bought a bass on a whim because of it's looks. I've never bought a bass on a whim. I've never bought anything on a whim .

[merello]

On 24/03/2022 at 15:33, Bassassin said:

All the time, probably my main criterion for any bass purchase ever. And that's a lot of basses.

 

Couple of examples, one good:

 

 

And one absolutely bloody awful:

 

 

The Lottery Of Functionality aspect might well be a factor in the whole thing, but I don't know. I just like shiny stuff.

Top one is a stunner....pretend I hang about with Travolta and tell me more!

[basexperience]

Yeah! I bought a Sire MM V7 Mk 2 during lockdown because I needed a maple / maple bass for slap work, without trying one, one the strength of the reviews. It's fitted in very nicely indeed. Heavy as hell, but a great bass.

[ead]

Not just me then, that's a relief.  Maybe the question should be re-phrased to something like....

 

...."Apart from @chris_b, has anyone not bought a bass on a whim.....etc. etc."

[Bassassin]

23 hours ago, merello said:

Top one is a stunner....pretend I hang about with Travolta and tell me more!

Aria STB-GT, from about 15 years or so ago. Basically a P/J/MM hybrid. Think these were £250/£300-odd new, found mine on Ebay for £100. Absolutely unmarked, but had an issue where the battery drains if not removed, presumably an issue with the jack but I couldn't find the fault & ended up wiring it passive. Should maybe stick a Retrovibe Stinger pre in it one day.

 

They were never particularly common so not many around these days. If I remember there was a 5 string version too.

[Yango]

Unfortunately, yes. 
 

My early to mid 70’s Hofner Beatle Bass that I bought for a song back in the late 70’s. Obviously Mr. McCartney bears some responsibility for this. I still have it. Never play it. 

 

My Steinberger XL2A. I blame MuchMusic, Sting, David Bowie, Geddy Lee and Eddie Van Halen for this one. It plays like a dream, never goes out of tune, sounds incredible and just sits perfectly in the track when recording. Still got it, never play it!

 

The last one—‘cause I swore I’d never buy with my eyes again—was a 90’s American Jazz Bass Deluxe. It was a beautiful sunburst. Unfortunately the Jazz neck gave me ungodly cramps in my fretting hand because it was so skinny. And the preamp was a killer… not in a good way. It was thin and the high end was kind of shrill—I had a horrible time trying to record this bass. Eventually, I’d had enough and traded it for a 90’s EBMM Stingray SR4H 3EQ, and the angels did sing!

 

 I think that people should be blindfolded when buying any instrument, because it’s all about tone and playability. You WILL fall in love with an instrument that sounds incredible and plays effortlessly, but maybe isn’t your fav colour. But you’ll never get along with your favourite colour bass that plays and sounds like crap. 

[neepheid]

30 minutes ago, Yango said:

I think that people should be blindfolded when buying any instrument, because it’s all about tone and playability. You WILL fall in love with an instrument that sounds incredible and plays effortlessly, but maybe isn’t your fav colour. But you’ll never get along with your favourite colour bass that plays and sounds like crap. 

 

I disagree. In my opinion, both aspects are important. Of course it needs to be functional. But if it doesn't look good, you won't be inspired to pick it up, you won't want to be seen performing with it.

 

Maybe we should buy our clothes blindfolded too? As long as it feels good and fits you well, who cares if your shirt has got the C word printed in massive letters on it?

[Yango]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

Maybe we should buy our clothes blindfolded too? As long as it feels good and fits you well, who cares if your shirt has got the C word printed in massive letters on it?

Well, you certainly went off the rails pretty quickly there.

 

I’m talking about musical instruments. It’s my opinion. Period.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Yango

[neepheid]

7 hours ago, Yango said:

Well, you certainly went off the rails pretty quickly there.

 

I’m talking about musical instruments. It’s my opinion. Period.

 

And you're entitled to it, just as you're entitled to have a negative opinion of how I went about countering your argument, in exactly the same way as I'm entitled to disagree with you and use an obviously ridiculously amped up example to reinforce both my point and how much I disagree with yours - so ridiculously amped up it was I didn't think I needed to suffix it with a winky smiley. 

 

I still disagree with your opinion of this matter.  If you can get over the fact that you don't like how I went about disagreeing with you want to discuss the matter at hand instead of attempting to shut it down, I'm all ears.

[dave_bass5]

Yes. I went from not knowing about Sandblasted basses to getting one in less than an hour, purely for the look. 
This was in 2016, and it’s still my

main bass today. Other than a 5 string bass, everything else I got has been and gone. It’s not the best, but I just love using it. 

[dmccombe7]

I've never been a fan of relic'd basses in fact i deliberately would give them a 2nd look but i bought a MarloweDK because i love the tone and feel of the bass. 

To be fair since buying the relic'ing has grown on me and i definitely dont worry so much about dinging it at gigs compared to my other "perfect condition" basses.

Had i tried the bass without seeing it i would probably have bought it. That's a change in attitude for me.

Dave