Aesthetic Elements That Put You Off From Purchasing Gear

[two fingers]

Gold hardware. I can't stand it. If I somehow wound up playing a bass with gold hardware that felt and sounded amazing I would IMMEDIATELY swap it out.

Natural finishes such as the common 70s style for Fender basses. I just don't like them.

The yellow Markbass speaker cones. If the rig were given to me I would donate it to a school a hundred miles away or more so I never have to see it again.

Lined fretless boards. I don't know why, but they turn me right off.

The pickguard on a MM Stingray 5 string (not the classic). It covers up WAY too much of the front of the body. Why don't you just cover the whole front and be done with it?

"90s style" wood grain finishes, such as dark green or burgundy. They are very dated looking to me.

 

[Timmy Liam]

Sunburst. Not sure why, I just don't like them.

Toilet seat pickguards.

 

[jasper383]

The wild and very bright flame tops that are very popular in some circles. Just not my thing.

 

[DonaldR]

Pickguards: I don't see the point of covering something with a cheap piece of plastic.
G&L and other ugly headstocks.
Pointy bodies/headstocks.
Rosettes or other fancy cabinet making atrocities.
Black body with rosewood fingerboard (don't talk to me about my avatar...) but with maple fingerboard

 

[marchone]

I don’t care for new guitars with relic finishes.

 

[HardNHeavy]

Long story but my wife is pretty clear that I can’t have a reversed headstock.
Very long story.

are you kidding, now i'm intrigued.....you opened the door for that one

 

[HardNHeavy]

basses with artist names all over it..like Sire bassses with a big ol' MARCUS MILLER on the headstock....

c'mom, reduce the font and throw it on the back of headstock....No offense to MM but sheesh!

 

[TrevorR]

No one has mentioned my pet peeve yet: Lakland's oval shaped bridges. Great basses, hate that look. While I'm at it I'll throw in those oval Delano pickups too! Yuck!

Some headstock shapes might be a deal breaker (especially random chomps out of them and added blobs to keep Fender's lawyers away from the door). Don't mind G & L at all but some of the newer high end basses... hmmm...

And silly pointy heavy metal shapes would be a complete no-no for me too.

And Bongos...

 

[Fishheadjoe]

-Tort
-Sunburst
-Tuner location that forces the string to come at the tuner from an angle. I have seen countless basses who's "E" string could easily be moved 1/4 inch allowing a straight run from the peg to the nut, but no, for some reason they leave it where a straight run to the peg is no longer straight.
-basswood because it dents just by looking at it
-Gibson basses
Fishheadjoe

 

[sabre79]

Which Aesthetic Elements will cause you to not purchase a bass or other piece of equipment?
You may love it, or even want it, but one thing puts you off.
Is it a design element? A brand name? Your need for a closer relationship with your father? Or are you purely practical and utilitarian in your decision making?

Different Strokes as we all know, so no harsh judgement. Sometimes I wish I could not care. I guess we do to this whenever we make choices in life (new car, house paint and design, significant other).

For me, it's usually:

• head-stock shape on a bass or guitar.
• I don't like natural wood finishes.
• I can't play pedals with stupid sexually juvenile names.

What is your example?

I want a Tribute Fallout. It checks so many boxes but I don't like the body shape. I'm hoping by the time I pay off my Zzounds balance, I will grow to like it. The Sterling short scale is nice and I love it but the wider nut width on the Fallout would be better for me.

 

[RGerhart]

Headstock shapes! Two particularly stand out to me: G&L; and Mike Lull. I love each of these bass makers, but their headstock shapes just...I can't. I feel like Sadowsky nailed the modified Fender headstock shape, and everything else is just bleh.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Weird headstocks or just unappealing headstocks, I won't name names. Gold hardware, trans green, Bite Guitars, the upper horn with a hook or a violin carved feature.

 

[swagbotbilly]

As I seem to be into Fender-Shaped-Objects with Squiers these days, I don't like them with the not-matching headstock, or adjust-at-the-heel truss rods.

I can't stand how the heel truss adjust looks with a pickguard either.

Spoke wheel no pickguard is rad though.

 

[capnjagg]

Body shape is the biggest detractor for me. I dislike not all, but a lot of modern body shapes, such as the Ibanez SR/Soundgear bodies. They could have great feeling necks and solid electronics (many do), but if I can’t get past the body shape then it’s a no.

 

[RestlessBoom]

3(or 4)+1 tuning peg layout
No pickguard
Oddly-shaped bodies
Headless
Ramps
More than two pickups
More than 5 knobs

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Aesthetics will keep me from even picking up a bass.

-don't like tort
-don't like natural/wood look finishes
-none of the classic and overdone "burst" finishes
-anything other than 4 strings holds no interest to me
-no black finish, guards can be replaced so they aren't a game changer but would have to be replaced
-no pointy ends, body or headstock
-no interest in fretless
-2x2 headstocks
-"weird" shapes, FSO is best to me

 

[InhumanResource]

Which Aesthetic Elements will cause you to not purchase a bass or other piece of equipment?
You may love it, or even want it, but one thing puts you off.
Is it a design element? A brand name? Your need for a closer relationship with your father? Or are you purely practical and utilitarian in your decision making?

Different Strokes as we all know, so no harsh judgement. Sometimes I wish I could not care. I guess we do to this whenever we make choices in life (new car, house paint and design, significant other).

For me, it's usually:

• head-stock shape on a bass or guitar.
• I don't like natural wood finishes.
• I can't play pedals with stupid sexually juvenile names.

What is your example?

I’m not into the weird giant single cutaway thing that was popular on high end basses for a while, they look weird to me.

I also don’t like the pearly 50’s toilet seat green that Fender tried to pass off as “surf green” a few years ago. Oh, and gold hardware. Everything else is hit or miss based on the overall package but these are kind of the constants that I have noticed.

 

[NobodyImportant]

Music Man basses, absolutely hideous to me. First you have some sort of big colored egg in the middle as a pickguard. Second a gaudily large control plate shaped like lets just say a curved “cucumber”. And last a big oval-ish bridge that looks like it came off of another bass.

To me, absolutely hideous design.

 

[Shanannigan]

- Painted or gloss finishes. I think natural wood looks best, I can't get into any paint job on a bass, and gloss finishes get sticky and show fingerprints. If the neck is glossed I can look passed it because I can just sand it off easily enough.

- Less than 6 strings. Since taking up 6 strings about 14 years ago it's just become standard for me. For me as far as feel, looks, and playability goes, 6 just feels right.

- Gold hardware. Looks tacky in my opinion.

 

[Killing Floor]

are you kidding, now i'm intrigued.....you opened the door for that one


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I’ll just say when I was single my future wife associated phallic headstocks with unseemly post gig social situations. All in her head as far as I can tell but better to follow her recommendations.