What most influences your buying decisions

[lojo]

[quote name='jonunders' timestamp='1382581482' post='2253976']
What factors most influence you when making a purchase.
[/quote]

Do I fundamentally like how it looks and sounds

Then

Can I get some opinions on basschat to back up everything else I already want from it

[jezzaboy]

I am a total fad head. I buy the bass with no thought other than "I really fancy one if those. No I [i]need[/i] one of them."

And 2 months down the line when the honeymoon period is over, I think of lots of ways why said bass is not suitable and get shot of it at a huge loss.

[tauzero]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1382606275' post='2254178']
Feel and quality of the neck. The look. Cost. Balance. Manufacturer. General tone.
[/quote]

First three of those, followed by "will Mrs Zero let me have it?"

[alyctes]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1382615612' post='2254407']
Join the queue....
[/quote]

Long queue, isn't it?

[Bolo]

I will not pick up an ugly bass. Supposing someone caught it on camera? I'd lose all my street-cred! I want to look awesome playing bass, it helps.

So looks first, then feel. Play it unplugged for a while so you're not distracted by the sound of that £2k+ rig you plugged in to.

Lastly the trivial stuff like sound, the missus' anger level, and actually being able to pay for the thing. The bass I mean.

At this point you may have reduced your options to one or two examples. Pick one at random, pay, go home.

Return it the next day, apologise for your mistake and bring home the one you really wanted, now that sense is no longer a factor.

Easy!

[Guest bassman7755]

I have a very specific set of things I look for. My ideal bass

* looks great (in my case that means a modern look with small headstock).
* has a zero fret
* wide string spacing ideally at the nut as well
* flattish fingerboard profile
* maple as body wood
* woven carbon fiber neck
* two splittable coil humbuckers
* locking tuners (or headless design that can cope with single ball end strings)

Unfortunately noone actually makes one

[steve-bbb]

is it a J

if not, is it a 'J type'

[Count Bassy]

In your case, as someone has said already, there is a fundamental difference in that one is fan fretted and the other isn't.
I would have thought anything else would be secondary.

If they were both the same, fret- wise, then I agree with the toss a coin principle. I.e. pretend that the decision has been made for you and see how you feel about that decision.