What is your priority in a bass guitar?

[redstriper]

What do you look for when considering a new (or used) bass purchase and which is the single most important aspect?

Would you only buy a bass that satisfies all 6 listed features, or would you be happy with just one or more?

With so many instruments bought on line, it is only possible to know 3 in advance, (brand, price and appearance) - does this mean these features are most important to on line buyers?

I added Brand as another choice in response to flyfishers post - dunno why I hadn't thought of it before.

Edited April 11, 2014 by redstriper

[discreet]

Yes, I'd say price and appearance are most important to online buyers. Apart from online reviews, what else do they have to go on?

GAS is very much a visual phenomenon, imo - look at the number of basses for sale that were obviously bought for their appearance, only to be moved on when the playability and/or tone and/or comfort were not what the buyer was expecting.

The appearance of a bass is very important, but not at the expense of the other factors. [size=4]On the other hand, if a bass scored highly with me on every aspect apart from appearance, I wouldn't be interested in it. There you go - I'm shallow.[/size]

Not sure I can vote for just one option, though.

[Lozz196]

All of them. And especially agree that no matter how good a bass sounded/played, if I didn`t like the look, it`s doubtful I`d even find out how good it sounded/played, I`d more than likely never pick it up in the first place.

That said, I`ve just got my 78 Precision back, which isn`t as comfortable (due to weight) and doesn`t play as easily as my 2008 Series Precisions, however the tone I get from it is the reason why I got it back, and why it`s my number one bass. It reacts far better to dynamics of playing, have to coax the sounds from it and this is why I love it. Plus it`s the classic black/black/maple look which I`ve loved for years.

I read the same sort of theory in Eric Claptons book - he said his famous Strat "Blackie" wasn`t the easiest of guitars to play, and you had to work to get the sound of it, so when you did, the tones were great.

[Muzz]

I made the mistake recently of spending a lot of money on a bass with its appearance as a major factor, foolishly relegating the other factors into minority considerations. It turned out to be uncomfortable, poor on playability and lacking in tone. The appearance suddenly became much less important once I had picked it up and discovered this. It lasted less than 24 hours.

So, I'd say wisdom lies in considering and testing all five factors thoroughly. I could live with less than perfection in a couple of areas, but only if the others outweighed them.

[discreet]

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1397154995' post='2421305']
I made the mistake recently of spending a lot of money on a bass with its appearance as a major factor, foolishly relegating the other factors into minority considerations. It turned out to be uncomfortable, poor on playability and lacking in tone. The appearance suddenly became much less important once I had picked it up and discovered this. It lasted less than 24 hours.
[/quote]

Can we know what bass it was, just out of interest..?

[Mr Anthony]

It might be a little shallow, but I want a bass that looks good. If it looks good, I'll pick it up and try it. Then I'll find out how it plays and sounds. If I can't afford it, chances are it's going back on the wall/stand.

Like Lozz said, if it doesn't look nice, chances are I won't bother picking it up. It could be the best playing/sounding bass ever, but looks, unfortunatlely matter quite a bit with some instruments.

[BigRedX]

Choosing a bass goes pretty much in this order:

1. Looks. If I don't like how it looks I would never even think about trying it out.
2. Playability/comfort. If I like the way it looks I'll pick it up and try it out unplugged. Only once I'm happy that I like the feel will I get around to trying it through an amp.
3. Sound. TBH the only real test of this is through my rig with my band in a rehearsal or gig situation. No matter what it sounds like in the shop, this is the only real way to know if the sound is right for me.
4. Price. Only really an issue if it's more than I can afford.

[flyfisher]

I'm surprised 'brand' isn't on the list.

When I started seriously playing bass I got myself a Fender P bass. Not because I knew that's what would be best for me but because I knew it was good enough for many of the best players in the world and therefore would likely not limit my own modest prowess. Plus, if I decided to give up it would likely command a decent second-hand price.

When I fancied a bit of a change, I bought a Fender Jazz, for much the same reasons.

When I wanted a 4x4, I bought a Land Rover
When I wanted an SLR/DSLR camera, I bought a Canon (though it was a close run thing with Nikon)
When I wanted fly rod, I bought Hardy
When I wanted a watch, I bought a Rolex
Etc etc.

None of these brands are perfect, all have strong competitors, some of which may be better in some respects, but all of them are quality products with well deserved reputations. As such, they are unlikely to be a poor choice and will likely perform beyond the capability of the buyer, plus they will probably command a good price on the secondhand market, should it come to that.

Safe choices I guess.

[mentalextra]

Price can't be an option, all those items on the list are defined by price surely. If price were no object I would choose the most comfortable, toneful, best looking, highly playable bass regardless of price. Whereas most of us have a fixed amount of cash and buy the best we can with the money available

[LukeFRC]

Tone.

Playabilty can be found in a setup.

[gazhowe]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1397156743' post='2421332']
Choosing a bass goes pretty much in this order:

1. Looks. If I don't like how it looks I would never even think about trying it out.
2. Playability/comfort. If I like the way it looks I'll pick it up and try it out unplugged. Only once I'm happy that I like the feel will I get around to trying it through an amp.
3. Sound. TBH the only real test of this is through my rig with my band in a rehearsal or gig situation. No matter what it sounds like in the shop, this is the only real way to know if the sound is right for me.
4. Price. Only really an issue if it's more than I can afford.
[/quote]

This^

[BigRedX]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1397158737' post='2421361']
Tone.

Playabilty can be found in a setup.
[/quote]

Really? IME setup is all about fine tuning. It can't do anything about things that make an instrument fundamentally difficult to play like the wrong neck profile, string spacing, an uncomfortable body shape.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1397161123' post='2421409']
Really? IME setup is all about fine tuning. It can't do anything about things that make an instrument fundamentally difficult to play like the wrong neck profile, string spacing, an uncomfortable body shape.
[/quote] hmmm good point. Apart from body shape I think you can get used to other things/improve technique.

[Dave Vader]

Character, it has to make me want to pick it up over and over again.
So I voted playability, which may be the same thing.

[Dad3353]

X-factor, perzazz, 'summit', magic, that undefinable call in a similar way to choosing/keeping one's partner. Any chance of extracting the precise elements involved..? None, and so much the better.

PS: Love, that's it. Love. I knew I'd remember its name...

[discreet]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1397167638' post='2421524']
...that undefinable call in a similar way to choosing/keeping one's partner.
[/quote]

So 'Price' it is, then. [size=4] [/size]

[Dad3353]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1397167804' post='2421527']
So 'Price' it is, then. [size=4] [/size]
[/quote]

...

...

[KingBollock]

For me it would be price, if I can't afford it then it doesn't matter how it looks or plays. The second thing would be looks, mostly. My main bass is one that I had wanted for a very long time, even though I had never even seen one in the flesh, only in videos and magazines, I bought it online, I just got lucky that it plays like a dream. But I do have a bass that is ugly as sin, I bought it because I wanted a five string and I could afford it, but I have another five string now and the ugly one never gets touched, though that is mainly because the new one sounds better.

[gsgbass]

Playability is my first preference. Tone next on the list. Comfort, then Appearance. I do have Brands that I like, but that isn't as critical. Price is in there somewhere at times too.

Edited April 11, 2014 by gsgbass

[Myke]

First up is looks. It's gotta look nice otherwise I wouldn't try it. Then tone, no point getting a bass if I don't like how it sounds. Close third is playability then comfort and finally cost.

But cost is also one of the main ones, if it's lacking on any of these points and it's too expensive it's a no.

[Guinness21]

It's difficult to pick just one. Yes, a bass might sound great, but if it doesn't look the part I won't get it. But then, if a bass looks good and sounds good, but doesn't feel good ( the ibanez sr1600 comes to mind, don't like the feel of the matte finish on the body) again I won't be getting it.

I suppose price is fairly important; you can only buy a bass you can afford. Obviously tone is important - it's a musical instrument so it's always about how the thing sounds - but at least you can change pickups, which is a lot easier to do than changing the feel of a neck, or paint finish on the body.

Having just concluded about 6 months worth of shopping around for a bass, i can tell you that the decisive factors for me were looks, feel, price and tone. I went to a[size=4] music shop and tried about 10 basses, coming away with a clearer indication as to what I wanted but there were still a number of contenders. Then I went to the london bass guitar show and found my stingray - it's a natural finish with an ash body (best looking stingray I've seen [color=#33cc00][b][font=arial, sans-serif]✓[/font][/b][/color][color=#545454][font=arial, sans-serif]), it had the best satin finish neck I've played (feel [/font][/color][color=#33cc00][font=arial, sans-serif][b]✓[/b][/font][/color][color=#545454][font=arial, sans-serif]), the hh setup meant I could get the classic 'r[/font][/color][color=#545454][font=arial, sans-serif]ay sound but also hit p and j sounds (tone [/font][/color][color=#33cc00][font=arial, sans-serif][b]✓)[/b][/font][/color][color=#545454][font=arial, sans-serif], and was at least £300 cheaper brand new than a 4h stingray from an ordinary music shop (price [/font][/color][color=#33cc00][font=arial, sans-serif][b]✓[/b][/font][/color][color=#545454][font=arial, sans-serif]).[/font][/color][/size]

[mcarp555]

I don't know if you'd call it 'Playability' or 'Comfort', but for me, it's 'Feel'. I played a Precision for decades before I ever picked up a Jazz. Within 30 seconds, once I felt how slender the neck became by the first fret, I knew I had to have one. Certainly the other factors on the list are important as well, but I'll put 'Feel' above most of them. It's great to play one for a while and once you get used to it, switch to something with a different feel. And sometimes, an uncomfortable instrument is not always a bad thing. It can be a challenge.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

For me ; go into shop( or browse net). Have a maximum price in mind that you can afford .
Has to look good. Then play it and see what it's like. Then it has to sound good.
Then pay for it .

[JTUK]

Tone and playability in equal measure..plus it isn't going to look like a dog.

[Jellyfish]

I regard playability probably the most important, but I found no basses within my price range playable enough. So I went custom and got one with specs that weren't available off the shelf, making it the easiest to play out of any basses I've ever tried and probably will try.