Bass colour

[LiamPodmore]

I feel kinda out of place. I personally don't care about the colour too much, i'm going to get my 1st bass refinished in Neon Pink as soon as i can afford it. I especially like anything neon, but i think certain things look better (Black n Maple) and the sunburst on my Squier Jazz Deluxe V is quite nice. Overall i don't care about colour, aslong as the whole look of the bass is decent, and it sounds and plays well, is light and in my price range, its all good.

EDIT: One finish i am absolutely loving right now is the Spector Holoflash. I think that is just one amazing finish.

Liam

Edited November 28, 2010 by LiamPodmore

[ThomBassmonkey]

Kinda relevant to the original question: How many of you guys have a band image that you try and live up to?

I think that's the thing that makes me cringe most about some of the colours. As I said in an earlier post, my band basically uses red, so for the band image, it'd have to be a red, natural, white or black bass to fit in, I think that's one of the things I'm concious about with colours. I quite like blue basses for example, but I don't think I'd travel to try one out at the moment if I was offered it (unless it was a silly price or some other overriding factor).

[KK Jale]

I'm cursed by sunburst.

I almost never buy new, and whenever I find a great-playing, great-sounding instrument at the right price, it's... sunburst.

Both basses. My Gibson six-string. Even my acoustic. Sunburst.

Luckily I play rootsy country/soul/folk/songwriting stuff mostly, so they kinda fit in.

Given the chance: green... never. Red, not keen. White: only with a tortie guard, please. Blue: no thanks (sonic blue gets a pass).

Also, flamed maple tops make me heave.

[Tinman]

[quote name='Twigman' post='1039346' date='Nov 27 2010, 09:40 PM']that is f*****g orrible

I almost brought up my tea[/quote]

Thought you'd say that

[Deep Thought]

I'm not the slightest bit bothered what colour a bass is-as long as it's black.

[Spike Vincent]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='1039654' date='Nov 28 2010, 09:57 AM']I'm not the slightest bit bothered what colour a bass is-as long as it's black.[/quote]
Damn right.Although I have plenty of basses that aren't black because the colour was not a priority.

[MacDaddy]

sure colour matters, just as looks do. What Truckstop said really.

I do like none standard colours though. Why would you want to be like everyone else?

[BigRedX]

Let's be thankful that these days that colour choices are a viable option.

When I first started looking at basses in the Mid 70s if you wanted something good your choices broke down to the following:
Gibson Thunderbird - 2 tone Sunburst
Gibson EB0/EB3 - Red stain
Rickenbacker 4001 - Fireglow
Fender P and J - 3 tone Sunburst and occasionally natural and very occasional, black, white or red.

You did come across other finishes from time to time, usually on Fenders but they were generally pretty rare, and worthy of comment when they did turn up.

[Lfalex v1.1]

The other colour choice was Black. The Black ones went for more money (retail) as no-one would touch the Purple Finish. Of all the 10th Anniversarys I've played (4 of them) mine felt best. So I bought it. And for considerably (£350) less than the Black ones were..
In hindsight, I think Yamaha were quite brave with this colour scheme, and at least they went the whole hog- Painted neck, Purple fretboard, and matched cover on the neck HB...

[bartelby]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1039802' date='Nov 28 2010, 12:06 PM']

The other colour choice was Black. The Black ones went for more money (retail) as no-one would touch the Purple Finish. Of all the 10th Anniversarys I've played (4 of them) mine felt best. So I bought it. And for considerably (£350) less than the Black ones were..
In hindsight, I think Yamaha were quite brave with this colour scheme, and at least they went the whole hog- Painted neck, Purple fretboard, and matched cover on the neck HB...[/quote]


I love that bass!!

[alanbass1]

I'd like to think that colour wouldn't matter to me if it was a great bass, but sadly it does.

[RhysP]

The only thing that is a total no-no for me are sunburst finishes.
I don't like black or white finishes either, though I would make an exception for a black/maple neck Precision or Stingray.

My other "most hated" finish used to be Candy Apple Red, but I've just bought a Stingray 5 in CAR that I think looks lovely, though it is a lot darker than many other CAR finishes I've seen.

I generally like to see blues, greens & purples used as they're still fairly uncommon.

[BT!]

i tend to change my mind alot. when i had my first bass i only liked black finishes. then went through a phase of hating them and loving blue finishes. now im in my white basses and natural phase.

only thing im really picky about all the time is sunbursts. tobacco and cherry are ok but not a huge fan of any others.


oh yeah and green.......dont get me started on green

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1039762' date='Nov 28 2010, 11:35 AM']Let's be thankful that these days that colour choices are a viable option.

When I first started looking at basses in the Mid 70s if you wanted something good your choices broke down to the following:
Gibson Thunderbird - 2 tone Sunburst
Gibson EB0/EB3 - Red stain
Rickenbacker 4001 - Fireglow
Fender P and J - 3 tone Sunburst and occasionally natural and very occasional, black, white or red.

You did come across other finishes from time to time, usually on Fenders but they were generally pretty rare, and worthy of comment when they did turn up.[/quote]

Sounds like heaven! I spend most of the time I'm in the for sale forum going "that's a gorgeous bass, shame about the colour" hehe

[Lozz196]

I realised, when looking back at this, I didn`t offer an opinion on my faves, so, in order of preference:

1. Sunburst, tortoiseshell scratchplate, rosewood neck - got one
2. Black, black scratchplate, maple neck - got one
3. White, black scratchplate, rosewood neck - got two, for live use - a punk band needs a white bass or two

All precisions, naturally

Edited November 28, 2010 by Lozz196

[12stringbassist]

I avoid black basses, as they are harder for the audience to see, as I usually wear black on stage.

I made an exception for these two:

[The Burpster]

Hmmmm good topic this one - I sit in both camps really.

If its an intersting or pretty piece of wood I like to see it, afterall most basses are clever bits of woodwork.

I'm also really OK with a decent paint job, solid or otherwise.

I also like naked Carbon fibre.

I'm not keen on distressed 'road worn' or whatever this weeks term is - they just look f**ked and uncared for to me.

However taste is personal and subjective.

[BT!]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1040394' date='Nov 28 2010, 08:27 PM']a punk band needs a white bass or two[/quote]


110% correct

[tauzero]

I like natural, not at all keen on painted finishes.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='BT!' post='1040669' date='Nov 29 2010, 12:38 AM']110% correct[/quote]

YES!

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='KK Jale' post='1039498' date='Nov 28 2010, 01:16 AM']I'm cursed by sunburst.

I almost never buy new, and whenever I find a great-playing, great-sounding instrument at the right price, it's... sunburst.[/quote]

Me too. My sunburst Precision was the best sounding, lightest and cheapest of the 8 or 9 I tried.
The sunburst is well done and I gave it a b/w/b scratchplate and use DR black stings which improve the looks. I've finally grown to like it after 3 years.
White would be my preference followed by CAR.

[Clarky]

Afraid I am completely shallow. Part of the reason I fell for the Pino was I love the faded fiesta red colour. I am one of the trad colour camp (sunburst/oly white/seafoam green/ sonic blue/fiesta red) and never been attracted to natural wood.

For a rock/metal bass, though, gotta be black!

[Musicman20]

For the record, back in the day I didnt like sunburst. I used to like black and natural.

Owning a white bass for 16 years meant the colour grew on me, and now I LOVE it.

After seeing a few Precisions in sunburst, and Kurt Cobain with a sunburst Fender guitar of some sort, I fell for sunburst. A classic IMO.

Black? I now avoid it for some reason.

[iconic]

Bass hardware 1st....but colour is everything else, I mean a bass isn't just for christmas...

Edited November 29, 2010 by iconic

[Daquifsta]

For me. colour issues mostly centre around the hardware. I hate Gold. I hate gold the metal, and faux gold the manky plating colour.
Show me something with Chrome or Black hardware, and I'm well on the way to liking it :-)