When you're test-driving gear...

[Spector_Ray]

...at your local store, what do you tend to play? I've heard people playing everything from scales to Jaco to just thumping the E string and beyond. Is there something you gravitate to in order to test the limits of the gear you're trying out?

[vindy500]

i have a riff. it goes from open e to 7th fret on g string. i play that

[tplyons]

Some of this, some of that. Depends on what I want the bass to do.

[steve21]

I play all around the neck, see how comfortable it can be for me to finger the the lower registers (The main riff for For Whom The Bell Tolls is a nice worker for that), I see how well it can do in the mid register (The Bass interlude in Orion is a nice example, also for clean fingering), I see how well it can do in the higher register (especially faster played), which Anesthesia, the solo from Ytse Jam, and random tapping and stuff is good for. I also see how good it is for picking and chords, which Tool (Either Sober or Schism's intro) is good for. Then I throw it across the room to see how durable it is.

[BOOCAKE4U]

i turn the amp all the way up and play "frere jacque" over and over until the police arrive

[Spencer!]

I tend to play whatever I feel the bass will voice well.

[kobass]

"Higher Ground" always works for me...

[nicoli]

I usually start with some scales and some blues lines. After that, I play whatever I'd be potentially using the gear for with a band.

[SnoMan]

Harmonics.

Tone and volume consistancy when moving from string to string or from different frequencies.

Test how the equipment responses to soft playing and digging in. Testing response in regards to tapping and slap/pop.

I never really play anything in particular, but what I play is to meet those ends.