What are you looking for.

[joel406]

When you're considering a new bass, what are you looking for in that, or any particular instrument?

I have certain parameters I require just to consider the bass for the heard.

 

Body style

# of strings

Color.

Feel.

 

For me, the first 3 of that list, have to be met. Then I go for feel.

 

What are the things that the fine people of BassChat look for when considering a new (or used) instrument?

[OliverBlackman]

First and foremost, what do I need or how can I improve on my current stable.

Currently a 5 string 34” in the shape of a Ken Smith BT5 would fit the bill! 

[dudewheresmybass]

At the moment ( and for the previous few years), I've been on a tribute kick, meaning getting a hold of some of the instruments associated with those that inspired me to play.

Look is important, as I often play with trib shows.

Number of strings is largely irrelevant to me. 4's are king though

Colour isn't particularly important either, but I have ended up with a lot of black instruments lol

Feel is the most important things once I can my hands on the instrument. If it feels rough, or has issues I know can't be fixed, then I'm out 

 

 

[tauzero]

While it may seem shallow, looks are important. Especially something a little out of the ordinary (I have allowed two FSOs into the house, one Variax and one Sei). Part of this is that it should be a natural finish, I dislike paint, especially as I'd probably chip it.

 

Number of strings - five (I have two wonderful 4-strings and more 6-strings than I'll ever use).

 

Headless preferred but not absolutely essential, though the threshold of acceptance for a headed bass is higher than that for a headless, obviously.

 

Once I've got that far, it's time to play it. Neck must be shallow. Not bothered about string spacing, anything from 16 to 19mm will do. Preferably two pickups and active, though I do have one passive and one single pickup bass. It should also make a reasonable sound.

[andruca]

It's been a long time since I NEEDED a bass and was thus looking for something specific. All my latest acquisitions have been more like "I'd like a P bass, let's see what I can find...", or "wow!, that bass I had never heard of sounds spectacular, I want one", or "what is this bargain in the classifieds?" 🤣

 

Lately I can live with anything but the generic/dead "modern" lousy tone. I mostly stay away from bass humbuckers other than Leo's designs (P, MM). In that regard I have DARKtolinis and DEADlanos specifically blacklisted (after much dough stupidly dumped on them). I also stay away from the nasality of pickups positioned too close together (when there's more than 1). I find it a horrible design choice, sounds too bland and generic to me, every time, no matter how much the djent bass trend tries to make us believe that's how "virile" should sound.

 

Those are the things I'm lately picky about. I can adapt to other circumstances if sound is fine. For instance, I was a skinny neck nazi some years back, now I can live with a thicker neck if I like a bass and its tone enough.

Edited November 22 by andruca

[Ed_S]

I think I'm now at the point where I could pretty much spec a bass to be built for me. I did it 10ish years ago and now realise that I didn't have a clue what I actually wanted other than a unique and perfect thing made just for me by somebody that everyone heaps praise onto for the flawless nature of their work. It didn't turn out that way, and I take part of the blame as I gave far too many answers that sounded like "I don't really know.. whatever is 'normal'.. I'll trust your experience". The rest of the blame was in the workmanship, but though that's mostly irrelevant here, I do wonder whether they cared less about the build since it was almost certainly not going to be what I wanted - given that I clearly didn't know. Anyway...

 

P-shaped 5 string

3.8kg absolute maximum (lighter the better)

Passive V/T

34" scale

12" board radius

45mm nut (65.5mm at the 12th)

18mm string spacing

 

I'm still no good at describing back-of-neck profiles but I could hand one to a builder and say exactly "like this" - it's a P neck that's neither the thinnest nor thickest you've ever handled.

 

So, I found a cheapy with most of the specs and modded it the rest of the way!

 

Edited November 22 by Ed_S
Hit enter and posted too early...

[BassAgent]

15 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

First and foremost, what do I need or how can I improve on my current stable.

Currently a 5 string 34” in the shape of a Ken Smith BT5 would fit the bill! 

This exactly. Especially a sound for a particular band or style. 

[neepheid]

Absolutes: not a Jazz, not a short scale, 4 string, must weigh at least 8lbs

 

I have a vague, negotiable list of secondary characteristics which are preferences rather than absolutes - prefer a >40mm nut, prefer humbuckers, prefer an odd number of pickups etc.

 

Beyond that, it's looks and what my gut tells me.

Edited November 22 by neepheid

[gjones]

I firstly go for looks (I know, I'm shallow), then I go for sound, then playability/feel.

 

I really like the look and sound of Stingrays but I never liked the playability/feel of the neck of the USA built ones. I have a Sterling SUB Ray4 which has a Jazz type neck and I do like that.

 

I now have a bit of a thing about the new sparkly black Sire Z3s. I love the look of them and the sound but, although the roasted neck look great, I don't know if I'd get on with it. If they came with Jazz style necks, I'd nab one in an instant.

[bloke_zero]

When I play them some basses just talk to me and some don't, even if on paper they look perfect.

Aside from that I am looking for specific tones I've heard on records (like thick mid P, or sharp grind on a stingray or super modern clarity) and it helps if the bass looks good. That last is awfully subjective, but boils down to "can you imagine yourself playing live with it". Like I love a pointy 80's bass but can't imagine myself playing one.

[LeftyJ]

18 hours ago, joel406 said:

When you're considering a new bass, what are you looking for in that, or any particular instrument?

I have certain parameters I require just to consider the bass for the heard.

 

Body style

# of strings

Color.

Feel.

 

For me, the first 3 of that list, have to be met. Then I go for feel.

 

What are the things that the fine people of BassChat look for when considering a new (or used) instrument?

Only once have I been in the position you're describing: really searching for that one perfect bass. It was when I wanted to upgrade from my old Condor Jazz Bass to my first proper 5-string. Being a lefty, I couldn't really be picky: what 5-strings within my budget are on the market, and is there a choice of colour at all? This was in or around 1999-2000 and most Dutch music retailers didn't have much of a webshop or a way to view their stock online, so I had to do it the old-fashioned way and took the train to Amsterdam to visit as many music stores as I could in one day. At the end of that day I had a list of 3: Cort Artisan B5L, Ibanez SR885L and Yamaha TRB5IIL. I went with the latter based on feel (very solid and with a smooth and chunky neck), tone (warm but tight, almost piano-like on the high strings, possibly due to the 35" scale) and playability (it had the widest string spacing of the 3, a regular 19 mm at the bridge which I liked a lot). They had a choice between trans blue and amberburst, and I chose the amberburst. 

 

Nowadays I just browse classified ads and once in a while one will grab my attention and call my name. Often I buy to try, and sell when I don't gel with an instrument. Looks are usually the first thing I go off on, and often the trying doesn't really start until the instrument is at home with me, has had a thorough cleaning, polishing and adjustments to my taste. There have been many examples of me buying instruments which were outside of my comfort zone, just because I wanted to give them a go and was unable to try one in a store. 

[itu]

As can be seen here, 18-19 mm string spacing is a must, as well as long scale (33.8-36"), and carbon (at least as an insert in the neck). Relatively flat necks are fine, whether thin or thick. I like some special shapes (Auerswald, Linc Luthier, Spalt...) because they look different.

 

 

6 strings are for g-word players, F-word basses (J,P) just aren't for me. Maple fretboards and light coloured basses look like the luthier left the work too early (Larry G's off-white Moon is an exception). Acoustic basses are mostly a joke, semi acoustics on the other hand...

[fretmeister]

Weight

Balance

Comfort

Playability.

 

Colour / looks don't matter to me at all.

[ped]

Mine used to be modern sounding, two pickups, super low action, probably carbon.

 

Then I bought an ancient Mustang and it changed everything.

[crazycloud]

This.

With a pivot plate/boomerang.

[joel406]

On 21/11/2024 at 13:10, OliverBlackman said:

First and foremost, what do I need or how can I improve on my current stable.

Currently a 5 string 34” in the shape of a Ken Smith BT5 would fit the bill! 

Well.

 

We would be happy to help you with that sir.

 

Please provide your credit card number and we'll get that right out to ya.

[Count Bassy]

32" Scale

Five string.

Flexible sound options

 

After that it comes down to trying it out.

 

[Jackroadkill]

Call me shallow, but I just like basses that make me feel cool when I play them.

[la bam]

Pick ups and pick up configuration. 

 

Colour. 

[OliverBlackman]

1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:

Call me shallow, but I just like basses that make me feel cool when I play them.

Is the bass cool or the people playing them 😎

[Jackroadkill]

3 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Is the bass cool or the people playing them 😎

 

I'd hope for the latter but suspect the former, in my case!

[police squad]

In March this year I picked up a 1964 Hofner violin bass at Auction.

I've never played a German one but do have a contempory.

It has a wonderful neck, slim, not too shallow and comfortable.

I'll probably gig it at some point.

 

I just got a bee in my bonnet about wanting one.

Same with the Harlet Benton PB-50. It actually has a great neck, really great since I rolled the fingerboard edges, sounds amazing too. Gigged in my Police tribute

 

For me basses have to look cool, not too flashy (by which I mean, loads of knobs and sitches) and have 4 strings

Any colour, I have all colours including a neon pink Brian May guitar

[alittlebitrobot]

I'm just a bedroom noodler so I can't justify a collection in any way, so what I've decided is that a new bass would have to bring something new. 

I have a 34" fretted 6 string, which means I also own a 34" fretted 4 and 5 string in one instrument. I have a fretless 34" 4 string. I made a 30" 4 string bass because I think the short scale does bring something unique and now I'm planning a new build; a short scale 5 string fretless with piezo pickups. I think that is sufficiently different from my existing collection. 

Thereafter it's going to have to be a one-in-one-out policy.

My short scale is fine and I enjoyed the challenge of making it because it's unusual in a few ways, but I would be willing to let it go for something like a Bronco or maybe one of those short scale Stingrays..

[jd56hawk]

On 21/11/2024 at 12:19, joel406 said:

When you're considering a new bass, what are you looking for in that, or any particular instrument?

I have certain parameters I require just to consider the bass for the heard.

 

Body style

# of strings

Color.

Feel.

 

For me, the first 3 of that list, have to be met. Then I go for feel.

 

What are the things that the fine people of BassChat look for when considering a new (or used) instrument?

Exactly!

I won't even grab a bass and plug it in if it doesn't catch my eye.

Why should I?

[meterman]

Sound. 

Weight.

38mm neck width.

4 strings.

La Bella flatwounds.

 

Then possibly colour? Tugbar?

 

I always had short scale basses like Fender (& Squier) Mustangs, but when I started to get remote session work (you know, recording your parts and sending them back via email) I found that Mustangs weren't quite 'there' enough for certain jobs.

 

So I bought a Jazz bass which was an improvement, as the E string recorded better. But I still found that it wasn't quite right for me. Eventually I bought a very lightweight Squier Sonic Precision and put a Jazz neck on it. I don't know what pickups Squier use for their Sonic series Precisions, although they'd certainly be fairly cheap, but the bass is incredibly loud and versatile. Well, as far as a Precision goes, anyway. 
 

Without fail, it records brilliantly, either DI-ed or miced up through an amp. I've hit upon my perfect bass almost by accident and it was around £150 plus the price of a set of La Bellas. If I ever had to get another bass it would have to be pretty close to that. 

I sometimes fantasise about having a small but niche collection of say, a Jazz, a Stingray, an Ovation Magnum, a 51 P, an Ibanez Blazer, a Telecaster bass, another Mustang, a hollow body bass, and a fretless of some kind, a double bass, etc... But even if I had them all, I'd probably still use the cheapie Precision for most of my work purposes. 

 

 

Edited November 28 by meterman