Form vs function

[Baloney Balderdash]

31 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

 

In your opinion.

 

 

Therefore, my statement about it being opinion remains my opinion.

 

I would much rather be considered absurd and obsolete than just plain rude.

Bloophf squitzch quaquawble åbleøbÿõ ka'poq zhzkl-boiñgkh squáshtz plãgabloïnkzch lobleöph nøblé ZÄáPp zoïnk æhlph! 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[How1]

When I was younger I was always looking for something better (for better, see pointlessly more expensive!)or unique or something just different for a change. The first time I went to a music shop to try a bass, I was determined it would be anything but a Fender, because they're so ubiquitous and 'boring'. Guess what I walked out of the shop with?! The jazz bass I bought was the most comfortable bass I tried that day, but I was never happy because I wanted something 'different'.

 

These days I'm completely the opposite. After all the pointless GAS, I always came back to fenders, because I like how they feel and sound and that's where I stick these days. I know how they'll feel and sound, I know how to record and eq them, I know roughly what they'll weigh...If they break I know how to fix them, and that parts are easy to get. If they got nicked I could pretty much pick up a very similar one, or a Squier if Im skint from pretty much anywhere on the planet, straight off the net or from a shop and be relatively confident of what I was getting.

 

Are they the best basses available? Absolutely not, but there's a comfort and continuity to Fender, which goes a lot further than looks. And nothing is perfect, so if you know their weakspots you can work round them or fix them. I do like how they look anyway though. 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by How1

[MichaelDean]

It's got to have form and function to me. If it doesn't excite me visually or aurally, I won't pick it up to play it. I've sold all of the things I don't like the look of or don't sound good to me. I've also been swayed on the visuals of some basses based on how they play. I've never really liked the Spector/Warwick look, but I played a multiscale Spector the other day out of curiosity and it's really converted me. It was really well put together and I'd have one in a heartbeat.

 

I'm totally sold on multiscale though as a thing I want in any new bass I buy. I can play more intricate bass lines more accurately and more easily on multiscale than I can on straight frets. It can be a bit of a stretch on the money end, depending on the part and especially on a 37" string, but it's a compromise I'm willing to accept.

[MacDaddy]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Bloophf squitzch quaquawble åbleøbÿõ ka'poq zhzkl-boiñgkh squáshtz plãgabloïnkzch lobleöph nøblé ZÄáPp zoïnk æhlph! 

 

 

Easy for you to say 😉

[Linus27]

After 36 years of playing, trying many different makes of basses, I know exactly what I feel most comfortable playing and that is either a Fender Jazz or a Fender Precision which includes Stingrays and the odd other similar bass. I know how they sound so its down to finding the best version of that bass possible and the colour or look that suits my preferences.

 

Fender Japan tends to be my preference as I prefer a gloss neck which is more common on a Japanese Fender as opposed to a Satin finish. I like them to have US pickups and I prefer earlier Japanese Fenders that are made from Alder or Ash as they are heavier and feel nicer to play over the lighter Basswood bodies that they started to use from around 1994 onwards. I'm also happy to use a US or even good Mexican model if it ticks all the boxes.

[fretmeister]

Function is vital to me. Weight and Balance are my 2 biggest concerns and they go hand-in-hand with playability.

 

Colour / looks etc are dead last. I'd happily do a jazz gig with a BC Rich Warlock bass if the important stuff was right.

[nilorius]

I care how my instrument looks, not that it is much or less road worn, but how it is built visually. I don't play on something i don't like at design.

[paul_5]

I thought I didn’t care what my instruments look like until I realise my main two are almost identical, so I think I have a type. Condition is less important to me than how it plays and feels. All of my kit is old and battered but I know it quite literally inside out and know exactly how it will respond to my sausage fingers, so it has that going for it.

[itu]

Yes, I have seen good looking Js and Precisions, but they're not for me. There was one Pensa-Suhr, and one black fretless BaSSStar, but other than those two, no. I even hate P pickup: it looks dreadful, and the sound, no thank you.

 

I have tried many basses, and there has been some strange encounters:

Steinberger L-2: terrible neck!

Wal: super electronics, mediocre neck profile

Alembic: some models look strange, and they are so heavy!

Lakland: varying quality

and so on...

 

I do admit that my Genesis 5 is probably closest to a J. But the neck is from another planet. These are my main basses.

1) they please my eye

2) they are comfortable to play

3) they sound fab

4) necks are stable

5) light weight or not very heavy

 

[Dad3353]

I play drums. Form..? Function..? What the ... They're drums. So..?

 

[Waddo Soqable]

8 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

I play drums. Form..? Function..? What the ... They're drums. So..?

 

You are Timothy Spall and I claim my £5

[Greg Edwards69]

52 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

I play drums. Form..? Function..? What the ... They're drums. So..?

 

My band’s drummer would disagree

 

[Dad3353]

5 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

My band’s drummer would disagree

 

 

Drums..? I see no drums. 

[nilorius]

3 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Drums..? I see no drums. 

These are crystal drums, very rare !

[tauzero]

Of course, it's not just the bass that should have both form and function.

 

 

[neepheid]

15 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I heard nothing.

 

Neither weeping or shooting.

 

I am afraid that is all in your imagination.

 

Simply stating the truth.

 

You really prefer a forum full of misinformation to daring face factual misconceptions?

 

I get you might already have your facts straight, but there are other people than you using this forum.

 

Which as far as I see it is as much a collection of knowledge, a place to search for information, as it is a social space.

 

 

I'm at a music festival right now and I'm half cut. Your opinions are not facts, and my opinion is that if you have to write more than a paragraph, you're probably having a rant.

[Baloney Balderdash]

41 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

and my opinion is that if you have to write more than a paragraph, you're probably having a rant.

At least that makes newspaper articles and books a fast read. 

 

Go by the headlines and covers and make up your own story and version of reality.

 

The general trend of today, as seems to be treating facts if as they were merely unqualified opinions, which admittedly frankly worries me.

 

I do understand where it is coming from though, we've gotten used to being force fed lies presented as facts for so long and are getting to the point of being fed up with it.

 

Making up your own lies and presenting them as facts however doesn't exactly improve the situation.

 

(I should properly make it clear that the first couple of sentences are intended as a humorous comment to your reply, while the last couple of sentences are not intended aimed at you in specific, but just a somewhat related general observation and concern following the same line of thoughts to a proper conclusion).

 

Regardless though have a nice festival. 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash