Ugly bass ???

tandemman · #1 07-03-2009, 01:54 AM

Hello,

Imagine, you are shopping for a new bass and you're about to choose YOUR dream bass. After a long time playing different basses you end up with two basses to choose from. One beautiful piece of art, plays well and sounds good. The other, an ugly piece of S**T but you literally fly over te fingerboard, and it sounds wonderfull and inspiring... What would you choose from ?
I'm in that situation right now and the attached pictures show it all... I showed it to a fey people and they all said "well.... it's ugly indeed" !

The bass looks (to me...) as something from coming from a cartoon, it looks rather funny with those small shoulders
The shoulders are so small that te scroll almost touches the floor when the bass is laying on it's side...

Maybe it looks so strange to me because the bass i'm normally playing is a French +/- cello-shaped bass which is allmost the opposite ; large shoulders !

What would you do ? go for it and don't mind about it's looks or leave it and find something more appealing with similar sound and feel ?

Regards,

Francis

Square Bear · #2 07-03-2009, 02:09 AM

2 things that matter most to me are sound and playability. If it's the bass you've got to have in that regard, get it.

You're right tho, the gamba style and sloped shoulders combination makes for an rather unattractive bass.

neatobassman · #3 07-03-2009, 02:17 AM

I always pay attention when someone is playing an ugly instrument. My thinking is "Damn, that thing must play like a dream if they bought THAT" People will remember it. lol.

cnltb · #4 07-03-2009, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tandemman

Hello,

Imagine, you are shopping for a new bass and you're about to choose YOUR dream bass. After a long time playing different basses you end up with two basses to choose from. One beautiful piece of art, plays well and sounds good. The other, an ugly piece of S**T but you literally fly over te fingerboard, and it sounds wonderfull and inspiring... What would you choose from ?
I'm in that situation right now and the attached pictures show it all... I showed it to a fey people and they all said "well.... it's ugly indeed" !

The bass looks (to me...) as something from coming from a cartoon, it looks rather funny with those small shoulders
The shoulders are so small that te scroll almost touches the floor when the bass is laying on it's side...

Maybe it looks so strange to me because the bass i'm normally playing is a French +/- cello-shaped bass which is allmost the opposite ; large shoulders !

What would you do ? go for it and don't mind about it's looks or leave it and find something more appealing with similar sound and feel ?

Regards,

Francis

Don't get me wrong, but are you a musician or a "collector" who puts musical instruments into a display box.

If one bass is the better bass, regardless of looks and according to your ow n taste and preference , and you want to play it rather than just look at it I wonder why you are working so hard on the decision for even a second. The look thing is quite a superficial argument, no?

BTW - I personally rather like the looks o fthe pictured instrument

Roger Davis · #5 07-03-2009, 03:10 AM

I think it looks rather nice; I would have no problem with it on stage. It might even make me look a bit better.

Basses I don't like are gambas where the upper bout is the same/wider/deeper than the lower bout. OK if you're a Pamela Aderson fan I suppose.

Were your friends few or fey? BUY THE BASS!

**Matthew Tucker** · #6 07-03-2009, 03:30 AM

Lovely looking piece of sh*t if you ask me. if it sounds great, get it and learn to fly in TP.

What does the "looker" look like?

tandemman · #7 07-03-2009, 03:47 AM

OK, thanks guys,
There's even more...

This is the second time i have this bass at home.
The first time was two years ago and i almost bought it after trying lot's of different basses.
Few days before the loan period was expired, I accidentally ran into an old French bass (private seller) that was the same price but with greater value = better deal...
I brought the "ugly one" back to the luthier and that was it, some regrets after, but hey, i made my decision and so be it...

Few days ago i brought my French bass to that luthier to install a new bridge with FC pickup. The "ugly one" was still there. After some talking he picked it up for me an began to play on it and I thought "oh my god, this sounds gorgeous !!!".

He probably could see the fire in my eyes and he offered me to trade it in with my own bass ! Now I have it on loan again and can't stop playing on it. We agreed that he doesn't start working on the French bass untill I made my decision (nice isn't it...)

Maybe this was predestined, maybe it's true love...

BTW: the sloped shoulders make me go into thumb position like nothing

tandemman · #8 07-03-2009, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

Lovely looking piece of sh*t if you ask me. if it sounds great, get it and learn to fly in TP.

What does the "looker" look like?

The "looker" is as ugly (if not uglier !) as the bass, so I thought to compensate for that with a beautifull piece of wood in front of me. LOL !!!

**Matthew Tucker** · #9 07-03-2009, 04:12 AM

I meant, the good lookin' bass ... It's not all about YOU you know

tandemman · #10 07-03-2009, 04:33 AM

Oh, i'm sorry Matthew !
The "looker" looks like this :

uprightben · #11 07-03-2009, 06:10 AM

Beauty truely is in the eye of the beholder, I like the looks of the "ugly duckling" better!

Of course, basses are like babies to me- there are no ugly ones, just ones that take more effort to love.

**Matthew Tucker** · #12 07-03-2009, 06:21 AM

Yep I find the dark one a bit frumpy.

Tell more about the other one. Who built it?

swingingoodtime · #13 07-03-2009, 06:57 AM

Between the two; I prefer the look of the 'ugly duckling'. And if plays better for you, then it's a no-brainer. The best looking instrument in the world is no good if you don't want to pick it to begin with...

Eric Hochberg · #14 07-03-2009, 07:22 AM

I don't see anything ugly in that bass. Reminds me of a Quenoil. Playing is everything, I wish I felt about my basses the way you do about this one.

tandemman · #15 07-03-2009, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

Yep I find the dark one a bit frumpy.

Tell more about the other one. Who built it?

It's from an unknown maker but it's German (saxony) although it has some French characteristics... (the previous owner - a well known Dutch jazz doublebassist - thought it was French...)
The top table is quite thick and stiff. It produces a bit nasal tone but the sustain is incredible and there's still enough bottom end. Haven't tried it in a live situation but i can imagine it will cut trough... Other thing that attracts me is that the sustain stays in the upper register with no "banjo sound" at all. It's probablly built as a solo bass.
Neck has a dovetail joint, there's a one repaired crack under the left F-hole.

Thanks to all for your opinions !

Francis