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Prejudices When Choosing A Bass

Chienmortbb

By Chienmortbb,
in Bass Guitars

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Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Basses that look like the colours were chosen by a 3 year old child - especially Tort scratchplates which don't match - black bass with red tort.

You’ll love this then 😆

IMG_7929.jpeg

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Posted
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22 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

TBF it's possible to get away with tort and white/black. 

 

IMO sunburst and tort are the worst offenders, followed by non matching colours. 

Sunburst and tort for me is so predictable. It’s been done to death for decades.

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pst62 Mentor

pst62

Posted
Posted

I like Fender & Squier Precisions and Gibson & Epiphone Reverse Thunderbirds.

But I don't like bastardised versions of those classic basses, with their aesthetically displeasing headstocks.

Eg. Lulls, G&L's, Sire etc. No matter how good they're cracked up to be.

 

 

Oh and let's not forget those hideous things with the names Ibanez, Yamaha, Dingwall and Fodera. 🤮

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Chienmortbb Grand Master

Chienmortbb

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Posted
On 07/12/2023 at 19:34, Wolverinebass said:

This is going to be a long list.

 

Singlecuts that look like a melted plastic toy whale.

38mm nut width.

Satin finishes.

The fact that virtually all basses have 40mm nuts nowadays as so many are made in the same factory. Cort, Schecter, ESP to name but a few.

3 point bridge.

Headless basses.

Basswood bodies.

Humbuckers in the Musicman positions rather than the normal ones.

Fender custom shop (You're not making a Wal. Cut the crap eh?).

Warwicks. Mainly for pricing structure and plagiarism.

Block markers that are a weird colour or just not white/pearloid/black.

Foderas. Sorry, how much for a bass that's more polite and free of personality than my aunt?

Dingwalls for the fact that every Nolly wannabe has to have one.

Ashdown basses. They're really not great.

Cheap tuning pegs. Just why?

Oil finishes. It's not a deck chair, get it finished properly.

Inaccessible truss rods.  

Figured necks. Planning on playing with your back to the audience the whole time? No? Well, you've just wasted your money on that roasted flamed maple neck.

Logos on the body. If I wanted my bass to look like an advert, I'd put a Marlboro sticker on it just to be difficult.

Candy Apple Red. Has anyone ever bought a bass this colour? I certainly don't want to go onstage looking like I'm about to play a stale Braeburn apple.

Sparkle finishes. Good luck fixing that when it gets chipped.

Racing stripes. Does a Mustang bass go faster? No, it just looks cheap because of it.

 

So much to agree with and so much to disagree with. For a start, is Welling REALLY London?

Headless basses? I was like you, but we now have a regular spot at a bar that is a real squeeze. Fender 4 in a line bass is a no no.

Logos on bodies? Where else on a headless?

I would agree about Candy Apple Red, but my first bass was a Squire Candy Apple Red, and it was great, wish I had it now.

Cheap Tuners? With you 100%. First upgrade on most basses (even some Fenders)

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Chienmortbb Grand Master

Chienmortbb

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I remember a "secret report" done for Leo Fender on how to alleviate the "dead spot". The report, I think it was done by George, concluded that two in line machine heads would improve it but only a headless bass would cure it under all conditions. Of course that was not a possibility for Fender, so we are stuck with it.

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tauzero Grand Master

tauzero

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

I remember a "secret report" done for Leo Fender on how to alleviate the "dead spot". The report, I think it was done by George, concluded that two in line machine heads would improve it but only a headless bass would cure it under all conditions. Of course that was not a possibility for Fender, so we are stuck with it.

 

I have mentioned Leo's idiot son Stan before, who decided that basses needed an enormous billboard at the end of the neck to put the Fender logo on, so the originally planned headless bass never came into being.

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Wolverinebass Experienced

Wolverinebass

Posted
Posted
35 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

So much to agree with and so much to disagree with. For a start, is Welling REALLY London?

Headless basses? I was like you, but we now have a regular spot at a bar that is a real squeeze. Fender 4 in a line bass is a no no.

Logos on bodies? Where else on a headless?

I would agree about Candy Apple Red, but my first bass was a Squire Candy Apple Red, and it was great, wish I had it now.

Cheap Tuners? With you 100%. First upgrade on most basses (even some Fenders)

Well, I joined Basschat many moons ago, when the options for geographical accuracy was a bit more limited. I just haven't changed it. Welling is in Zone 4 actually, so yes, it's in London. London Borough of Bexley. As it borders Greenwich, Woolwich and Plumstead are they not in London or does it only apply to the square mile? Ha!

 

There should be no logos on a headless. Mainly so the manufacturers have "plausible deniability" of having built them after they're sold. 

 

It's funny you say that about your Squier. An old friend bought one in CAR and it sounded fantastic, but I did have a laugh about the possible reason it was so cheap was because it looked horrible.

 

 

 

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Krysbass Collaborator

Krysbass

Posted
Posted (edited)

A bit of a list, I'm afraid...🥴

 

Scratchplates - especially plastic

Maple or any other light coloured fretboards

Opaque paint finishes (the wood-grain must be visible)

Sunburst or any other 'burst finishes 

Bent-bit-of-metal bridges

String trees on headstocks

Strings that splay out too much above the nut, due to the headstock design

Visible pole pieces on pickups

3+1 or 4+1 tuner arrangement on headstocks

Headless basses

Relic'd basses

 

I've found this list helpful when GASing or choosing a new bass as, unsurprisingly, it quickly thins out the field of possible contenders.😂

 

Edited by Krysbass
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Bassman68 Community Regular

Bassman68

Posted
Posted

Purely personal opinions but….

 

Black basses with white scratchplates (mostly Fender style) - Just look too ‘Cheap catalogue’ to me?
Green coloured basses - Would never choose green out of choice & even some of those blue stains over maple/ash, seem to turn green if the wood is too yellow?

Bad headstock designs, be it poorly located machine head position or string splay.. Bass collection springs to mind, where they’d reverse certain tuners to keep the string splay straight…And the winner of most obvious bad ergonomics go to…

IMG_0566.jpeg

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Baloney Balderdash Grand Master

Baloney Balderdash

Posted
Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

20230207_1005573.thumb.jpg.da393d329b0f69a5b737fecae07c102b.jpg

 

I'm sure there's more to pick on than just the CAR...

The legend go that the designer of the bongo got the idea when he was taking a poo on the toilet.

 

 

23 hours ago, Lord Summerisle said:

You’ll love this then 😆

IMG_7929.jpeg

Well, purple and black actually mix really well, not quite as well with that redish/light brown fretboard though, as well as a darker purple shade would have looked much better.

 

If the fretboard had not been so redish brown a plain (non pearl/sparkle) deep dark metallic purple pickguard would have looked awesome.

 

Edited by Baloney Balderdash
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Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

The legend go that the designer of the bongo got the idea when he was taking a poo on the toilet.

 

 

Well, purple and black actually mix really well, not quite as well with that brown fretboard though, as well as a darker purple shade would have looked much better.

 

If the fretboard had not been so redish brown a plain (non pearl/sparkle) deep dark metallic purple pickguard would have looked awesome.

 

I did consider a darker purple pick guard, it probably would’ve looked artistically better but the lighter one I got stands out like a sore thumb, and that was the aim. Agreed about the fretboard, I hope it will darken down a bit over time with lemon oil applications and general use.

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Jackroadkill Veteran

Jackroadkill

Posted
Posted (edited)

Soapbars

Block markers

Bound necks**

Black hardware*+

Cheap tort*

Active circuitry*+

Five strings*+

Headless basses

Sunbursts (although this is okay on guitars for some reason)**

Short scales (although I really want to like them)

Pointy / melty / just plain stupid body shapes*+

Figured woods

Wax / oil finishes

Mirror scratchplates

Thin necks*+

Narrow necks*

Jumbo frets*+

Angled pickups

Jazz Basses with Strat knobs*

Jazz Basses with one-piece scratchplates

Basswood bodies**

Paulownia bodies

Plywood bodies*

Tidepool / LBP bodies**

Pau ferro fretboards

Laurel fretboards

Volutes (just use a bloody scarff joint!)

Barrel jack sockets*+

Skinny wee tuning machines*+

'70s style Fender Logos and block lettering

Brass nuts

Satin finishes on Fender basses

Curved-section bodies

 

I think that's probably enough to be going on with.

 

*=I have owned basses with these features

**= I have owned guitars with these features

*+= I owned one bass with all of these features

 

I am the most anorakky (is that a word?), sad, pedantic, lonliest bass player in the world and I claim my five pounds.

Edited by Jackroadkill
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