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What are the standards of the highest quality bass?

WarriorJoe7

WarriorJoe7

Inactive
Mar 12, 2004
6,316
95
Syracuse, NY
www.myspace.com
#1
I am going to list some of the obvious ones but i know i am overlooking some. I am looking for you guys to fill in the gaps.

Basically it's things that a bass MUST have to be called high quality. So according to this, fancy woods and gold hardware are NOT a requirement even though they are often present... You can easily have an extremely high quality bass that is all plain woods and hardware but it must have these things or else it falls short:

Excellent fretwork (Example: Zon)
Good tight-fitting neckpocket (Peavey)
Substantial Bridge (Schaller)
Smooth Tuners (Hipshot)
2 way truss rod (as opposed to 1 way like old Fenders)
either a substantial neck or reinforced
Good quality woods (somewhat subjective)
A neck that you like the feel of (subjective)
Pickups/Electronics that aren't noisy (Lane Poor/Aguilar)

It is kind of related to things you should look for when evaluating a bass. Some of it is subjective but I list it as such. I also list example brands for things are less subjective and I can think of a good example.

Alright so what are the other things you guys look for? I know I am not leaving you much, but if you can think of something then expand my mind.
 
#3
ah yes... balance that is a good one I overlooked. Thanks.

On another note, say a bassist has only $200 so he decides to buy an SX. Now an SX is an excellent bass for the money and they can be modified into a great bass... however I guaruntee that it's going to have a cheap bridge, cheap electronics, and the fretwork is not going to be perfect unless by stroke of luck. An SX is not a high quality bass out of the box. High value - arguably YES! Highest Quality NO!

So that being said by your logic the SX is the highest quality bass for some people just by the mere fact that they use them. It's like saying the highest quality diamonds are the one's everyone is wearing. I however disagree based on what I said.

But I really don't want to argue those fine points. Just looking for things that people look at to evaluate the quality of a bass.
 
#9
Well, on top of the OP, I also look at the finish of the instrument, things like: even color, even clear coat with no drips or runs, well polished metal parts, even chrome, cracks in both the wood and finish etc.

Then I check the fretboard edge, if it's sharp or uneven, back in the rack it goes.

Then I check the nut, if it's uneven, scratchy looking and/or misshapen that tells me that this probably was a Friday bass.

Then I check the pup route pocket for uneven, too big, misshapen or out-of-place routing.

Things I'm not really concerned about include:

Setup (saddle and truss rod adjustment). I fully expect a new instrument to need one.
Strings. I know I'll probably remove the stock set and install my favorite instead.
Fret sprout. This is to be expected when a wooden instrument traveled halfway around the world to get here. I will try to have the store do the work if required, if not I'll add the price of a fret dressing to the price of the bass to figure out total cost to me.
 
#10
Well I'm sure this will cause a bit of crying but in my opinion the highest quality basses are not hand carved. Even the worlds most super special fanboi club swinging luthier can not match the tolerances by hand that a well run CNC operation can make. Google Industrial Revolution for more on this concept.

By definition highest quality will disqualify all but the highest degree of repeatability as there can be only one best and any deviation from that ideal would be a flaw.
 
#11
BobXboB said:
Well I'm sure this will cause a bit of crying but in my opinion the highest quality basses are not hand carved. Even the worlds most super special fanboi club swinging luthier can not match the tolerances by hand that a well run CNC operation can make. Google Industrial Revolution for more on this concept.

By definition highest quality will disqualify all but the highest degree of repeatability as there can be only one best and any deviation from that ideal would be a flaw.
Click to expand...

How can I not agree more.. Guess I should just cry about it..:rollno:
 
#14
BobXboB said:
Your call :)

A better way might have been to try to explain why. Look at my post for an example.
Click to expand...

Open a thread about your opinions and there I will post under it when I have time. This thread is not about that. But please, please don't forget to mention your anticipation of people crying about the sour truth.
 
#16
WarriorJoe7 said:
I am going to list some of the obvious ones but i know i am overlooking some. I am looking for you guys to fill in the gaps.

Basically it's things that a bass MUST have to be called high quality. So according to this, fancy woods and gold hardware are NOT a requirement even though they are often present... You can easily have an extremely high quality bass that is all plain woods and hardware but it must have these things or else it falls short:

Excellent fretwork (Example: Zon)
Good tight-fitting neckpocket (Peavey)
Substantial Bridge (Schaller)
Smooth Tuners (Hipshot)
2 way truss rod (as opposed to 1 way like old Fenders)
either a substantial neck or reinforced
Good quality woods (somewhat subjective)
A neck that you like the feel of (subjective)
Pickups/Electronics that aren't noisy (Lane Poor/Aguilar)
Click to expand...
I'd put an asterisk on the last item in that list. If the specific design of the pickup(s) is single coil, it's perfectly acceptible for there to be some noise. I personally love the tone of a single coil pickup bass like my Jay Turser JTB-401, and it has a terriffic pickup! I will say that the bass is astoundingly quiet - the pickup hum is very low, the rest of the electronics must be adequately shielded.

Interesting thoughtful thread.

I would add a good finish to the list, though even the cheapest basses these days have a very good finish for the most part.
 
#17
BobXboB said:
Well I'm sure this will cause a bit of crying but in my opinion the highest quality basses are not hand carved. Even the worlds most super special fanboi club swinging luthier can not match the tolerances by hand that a well run CNC operation can make. Google Industrial Revolution for more on this concept.
Click to expand...

Well, "hand built by luthier" certainly doesn't preclude the use of jigs and templates, nor does it prevent the use of power tools. CNC (computerized numerical control) does not offer more precision by nature, it's just an automation tool that afford faster output of large number of units.

I would argue that a good luthier should, in theory, hand pick his base material and hardware better working on a single unit at a time.

By definition highest quality will disqualify all but the highest degree of repeatability as there can be only one best and any deviation from that ideal would be a flaw.
Click to expand...

Couldn't disagree more. You can repeat junk to highest degree of similarities, it's still junk.
 
#18
bullshark said:
Well, "hand built by luthier" certainly doesn't preclude the use of jig and templates, nor does it prevent the use of power tools. CNC (computerized numerical control) does not offer more precision by nature, it's just an automation tool that afford faster output of large number of units.
Click to expand...
Please don't put things in quote to pretend they are what I wrote. I understand the need to build straw men but your quote is false and of the 4 words you used only one of them is from what I wrote.
I would argue that a good luthier should, in theory, hand pick his base material and hardware better working on a single unit at a time.
Click to expand...
That is un related to what I said. Please read the post first. CNC carved necks do not require non hand picked wood.
Couldn't disagree more. You can repeat junk to highest degree of similarities, it's still junk.
Click to expand...
Again I don't think you read all the post. If there is a best, something similar can not also be the best. If 10.2 millimeters is the best measurement for something 10.3 is not the best. If a luthier can't repeat a tolerance with the accuracy it can be reproduced by CNC... Oh nevermind :)
 
#19
A very interesting question. For me it has to do with the qualities of being a musical instrument. Of course that is a personal opinion. Anything that gets in the way of the musical experience makes the bass a non-starter. So, if there is any issue about the body comfort or balance or feel of the neck or place to rest my thumb... if there are no distractions then I'd say the quality is high. If the sound is what I need it to be and there is a reasonable level of tone adjustment then I'd say its quality is high. Lastly, if the appearance is not a distraction to the gig, and that can be a number of different things, then I'd give it high marks. (personally I think Ritter basses are beautiful, but not for every gig).

Of course if you are looking at the bass as an expression of workmanship, then that is another thing. I love my basses... but as musical instruments... if I didn't play bass, I wouldn't want them around the house... or any other bass either, I just don't see them as decoration, but that's just me.
 

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