Prejudices When Choosing A Bass

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, dudewheresmybass said:

for me - 

No Jazz basses

No MM style basses or pups

no J pups, except in certain circumstances

no Short scale

At the mo it has to be no rosewood (although that is very likely to change! lol)

No active basses.

and I most definitely agree largely with the coffee table thing

By “coffee table”, are you all referring to this kind of thing?

[neepheid]

1 minute ago, Lord Summerisle said:

By “coffee table”, are you all referring to this kind of thing?

 

That's way fancier than my coffee table...

[dudewheresmybass]

8 minutes ago, Lord Summerisle said:

By “coffee table”, are you all referring to this kind of thing?

overly figured woods basically, so pretty much Yes lol

[Chienmortbb]

22 minutes ago, dudewheresmybass said:

for me - 

No Jazz basses

No MM style basses or pups

no J pups, except in certain circumstances

no Short scale

no Tort

At the mo it has to be no rosewood (although that is very likely to change! lol)

No active basses.

and I most definitely agree largely with the coffee table thing

Get off the fence, you must have some opinions?😀

[Chienmortbb]

This thread has gone wild and I should reign myself in but… Jazz basses. I keep thinking I should have one and every time I put one in my trolley/basket, I chicken out. So why do people like them? 
 

They are a Basscaster, the 4 string, long Strat with two single coils. The control plate looks like an afterthought. Block inlays? Not for me especially on a maple neck. With all the experience of the Precision, why keep the Elephant ears? Actually I know why, stock control and economies of scale. 
 

The Precision was named because, unlike a double bass, it had frets and Precise note intonation was ( almost ) assured. Why the name Jazz?  Marketing ploy to open a new market? 
 

So why  do I have a Aerodyne Jazz Bass? Well it has a P pickup in the neck position. I do like the 38mm nut neck width, the body contour is unique and the overall package moved me like no other bass has. What about the J bridge pickup you ask. Hardly ever used although it is now a DiMarzio humbucker. 

If I ever succumb and buy a Jazz, it will have both pickups replaced with DiMarzio Jazz humbuckers. However I suspect  putting a Jazz in my basket trolley will

be as far as it gets. 

 

[neepheid]

8 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

This thread has gone wild and I should reign myself in but… Jazz basses. I keep thinking I should have one and every time I put one in my trolley/basket, I chicken out. So why do people like them? 

 

Care in the community, innit?

 

[Oopsdabassist]

I dislike the angular body shape of a Jazz bass,to scratch the jazz itch I installed 2 tonerider J pickups into my old Squier PJ....after suitable body modification and a new scratchplate.  Its the closest I'm EVER gonna get to owning another jazz bass!

[Chienmortbb]

I have just realised, when I played the old six string egg slicers, I hated Strats. Perhaps that is why I make the sign of the cross when I see a J?

[carlsim]

i find my tastes change over time... for years I couldn't stand a P bass and only played 5 strings, now I have been after a MIJ/CIJ 70s p-bass for a few months and will pull the trigger when I find the right one. Likewise, I have always loved the 'coffee table' bass and have owned several Overwater basses and similar custom basses but over the past few years, have found myself drawn towards cool and unusual painted finishes! I tend to go with the flow, play it and if it feels good, go with it. I know I will probably sell it after a while anyway!

 

Having said that, despite my first ever decent bass being a sunburst p-bass, I doubt I will ever own another sunburst unless it was a 60's or early 70s P or J bass! Don't know why, can't stand the look of a 'burst!

[SamIAm]

2 minutes ago, carlsim said:

I have always loved the 'coffee table' bass

What is a coffee table bass?

S'manth x

[Mykesbass]

3 minutes ago, Smanth said:

What is a coffee table bass?

S'manth x

Fancy wood body.

[neepheid]

2 minutes ago, Smanth said:

What is a coffee table bass?

S'manth x

 

Bass body made of fancy "decorative" woods, burls, spalts, always natural finish, or worse, colorised in a way that highlights the burly/diseased wood it's made of.

[Rodders]

1 hour ago, Chienmortbb said:

This thread has gone wild and I should reign myself in but… Jazz basses. I keep thinking I should have one and every time I put one in my trolley/basket, I chicken out. So why do people like them? 
 

They are a Basscaster, the 4 string, long Strat with two single coils. The control plate looks like an afterthought. Block inlays? Not for me especially on a maple neck. With all the experience of the Precision, why keep the Elephant ears? Actually I know why, stock control and economies of scale. 
 

The Precision was named because, unlike a double bass, it had frets and Precise note intonation was ( almost ) assured. Why the name Jazz?  Marketing ploy to open a new market? 
 

So why  do I have a Aerodyne Jazz Bass? Well it has a P pickup in the neck position. I do like the 38mm nut neck width, the body contour is unique and the overall package moved me like no other bass has. What about the J bridge pickup you ask. Hardly ever used although it is now a DiMarzio humbucker. 

If I ever succumb and buy a Jazz, it will have both pickups replaced with DiMarzio Jazz humbuckers. However I suspect  putting a Jazz in my basket trolley will

be as far as it gets. 

 

 

Same for me with Aerodyne, I have a Yamaha BB PJ, never use the J pickup, just because I'm me and how my brain does or doesn't work, I might de solder it take it out and just leave the cover in place so it looks presentable. 

Oh and de solder the tone pot while I'm there..

[LewisK1975]

The only thing that usually puts me off straight away is a matching colour headstock if it's a maple fingerboard.

 

Just looks weird to me! YMMV!

 

Oh and by the way what is FSO? seen it a few times through this thread and never heard that before??

[Rodders]

1 minute ago, LewisK1975 said:

The only thing that usually puts me off straight away is a matching colour headstock if it's a maple fingerboard.

 

Just looks weird to me! YMMV!

 

Oh and by the way what is FSO? seen it a few times through this thread and never heard that before??

 

FSO = Fender Shaped Object.

[carlsim]

31 minutes ago, Smanth said:

What is a coffee table bass?

S'manth x

What they said - guitar with a fancy wood top - Overwaters and the like... burls, fancy grains...

[neepheid]

FSO?

 

[snorkie635]

2 minutes ago, neepheid said:

FSO?

 

Jason King lives.

[Woodinblack]

39 minutes ago, Smanth said:

What is a coffee table bass?

 

Any pretty wood that isn't manly enough to build a shed with.

 

Not that you would build a coffee table with that either, that ironically tends to be made of the sort of woods that people build basses from like ash or basswood with plastic on. Maybe occasionaly walnut veneered, although the only walnut basses I remember were gibson and fender.

[LewisK1975]

2 hours ago, Rodders said:

 

FSO = Fender Shaped Object.

Ah, of course....

[tauzero]

9 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

Truss adjustment hole at the headstock. No matter how god the bass, I automatically associate it with the worst of budget basses, and I won't touch it.

 

Yes, silly. But I can't help it.

 

My very budget Warwicks, Pedulla, Esh, Ibanez, and Seis agree with that.

[tauzero]

3 hours ago, Smanth said:

What is a coffee table bass?

S'manth x

 

Attractive. Unless it's a singlecut.

[SumOne]

I don't get on with Basses that are too heavy, or with tight string spacing. And phallic looking horns are a turn off! 

[jazzyvee]

Like a few others here i don't have prejudices, i'm an equal opportunities buyer with preferences.

My preferences don't include single cuts except the single cut shaped like this Stradi basse. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by jazzyvee

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

More of a preference than a predjudice, but I tend to go for modern reissues of basses that were available in the mid to late sixties. My main basses are my three JMJ mustangs, but I also have another pair of mustangs, two epi thunderbird vintage pros, a gibson non-reverse thunderbird, a Guild Starfire II, and a Danelectro Longhorn. The Hohner B2A tends to stay in its case.