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Are cosmetics that important in a bass??

#61
I have always tried to stick to natural, black or sunburst finishes, simply because they blend in. This dates back to my days as a pickup musician doing casuals. When you're subbing, it's bad form to show up at a gig with a metalflake purple bass, if the band has a clashing colour scheme...

Aside from that, I think that worrying about looks in the sense of body or headstock shape, etc., is kind of goofy. With the exception of a tribute band where a particular model and colour of instrument might be part of the stage dressing, I doubt that anyone ever lost (or got) a gig worth having on that basis.

I got flack about this position before, because my main axe is the fancy coffee table bass in my avatar, but I honestly don't think looks are that important. I'm picky about playability and tone to the point of near-OCD, and have trouble finding instruments that I bond with. As a result, I think that looks take a back seat to finding that "it factor", sound and feel-wise.
 
#63
steve_rolfeca said:
I have always tried to stick to natural, black or sunburst finishes, simply because they blend in.
I got flack about this position before, because my main axe is the fancy coffee table bass in my avatar, ...
Click to expand...

I believe many audience members would find a cheap retro looking bass with a bright gloss red finish and lots of chrome much more fancy looking than your bass. They don't know anything about our gear, or what each model costs.

I believe too that natural finishes blend in well in most situations, and they don't attrackt excess attention at all. As mentioned before, even if bass players might consider my Drozd "fancy" because it is not the cheapest bass, it is my experience that audience members never seem to think it to be out of place at all.
 
#64
holllowbody said:
Reading around here it appears that how a bass looks is a big deal to most people if not all.

Why is that? Why do looks matter at all?

I thought is was all about playability, tone and build quality etc.
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Here's my 2 cents. I think the player has to like the way the bass looks- I think if he likes the way it looks.it gives the player a little confidence and makes them want to play more.
having said that...the tone and playability probably come into play before how the bass looks- but of course, something catches your eye when you see it in a music store - or in a photo.
 
#65
I think aesthetics are a part of everyone's mindset in varying degrees. Sure, some people really just don't care what an instrument looks like, but they probably have some preference about color, texture, etcetera without it being a predominant factor. If you had a choice of 2 identically playing basses, but different designs, you'd pick by cosmetics.

I think by default our minds help us decide what is attractive at a basic level, be it a white P bass or a flamed/quilted/burled triple cutaway with a headstock the size of my face. Just depends on the one viewing it.
 
#66
By the time I sort through what sounds good and what feels and plays good, I have sooooo many options left that I can sort out the ugly ones and still have more choices than I need to deal with. At that point, appearance matters A LOT! I don't have to choose between a great looking turd and a pitiful looking tone champ. I choose from scores of tone champs, but with varying appearance.

And like Munji and others have said, my high $$$ basses (Alembic, Roscoe) see just as much time in the dives I play at as my "lower" cost basses (Marchlewski, Music Man).
 
#67
Why does it have to be "either-or"? With the plethora of choices we bass playershave today, there's no reason we can't have a great playing and sounding bass that appeals to us visually as well. Should looks be the primary reason for buying a bass? Maybe yes, maybe no, but there is no reason anyone should have to compromise between looks and tone/playabilty. All these factors are all subjective anyway, any one particular bass that may look good and sounds/plays bad to one, might be woefully ugly, yet sounds and plays wonderfully to another.
 
#70
C.Linton said:
Why does it have to be "either-or"?
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Look at it this way.

A number of people love the way the Bongo sounds, but wont use it due to it's looks. Nothing else really sounds like the Bongo.

Some people religiously stick to vintage looking burst finishes, as such they wont use a Warwick, even though they like the sound. Nothing else really sounds like a Warwick, other than a Warwick. Some just don't like woody looking basses so they avoid Warwick.

The list goes on.
 
#71
i could give a sheet... if they are in too nice of condition, then i would be afraid to play them or take them out; especially if a few beers were involved. definitely down the list of importance for me.
 
#73
When looking for a bass, I narrow down my choices first based on which ones are visually appealing to me. I then narrow them further based on which feel the best to play.

I don't really buy the whole "Nothing else really sounds like a Bongo/Warwick/etc" argument. Most basses, IMO, sound fairly similar within a certain degree (generally "active" or "passive" sounding.) If I like the rest but not the sound, well, that's what aftermarket pickups/effects and amps are for.
 
#74
holllowbody said:
But, if you like the sound of the Bongo but refuse it based on looks, then what?

What else is going to sound like the Bongo? Nothing really.

The Bongo is just one example.

This is where looks become too important.
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It's been quite a while since I've played a Bongo, but I don't remember it being such a unique sounding bass that other basses couldn't fill the same niche.

I hear what you are saying, though. If you really want a Bongo, and they look ugly to you, you might still buy it and at least just find the color you like the best. :(

If I was a banjo player, I could never find one I liked the looks of, because all banjos just look ugly to me. I guess I'd have to live with it. :)

Fortunately, I've found plenty of nice looking, playing and sounding basses that work just fine for me.
 
#76
My main player is a cobbled together piece of crap. I have less than $600.00 tied up in it. She ain't much of a looker, but she feels and sounds great.

Now, if I was to layout $1,200.00 or $1,500.00 dollars or more rather than piecing a bunch of crap together for half that, it better feel, sound, and look great.
 
#77
holllowbody said:
Reading around here it appears that how a bass looks is a big deal to most people if not all.

Why is that? Why do looks matter at all?

I thought is was all about playability, tone and build quality etc.
Click to expand...

Looks are very important. From fashion, to cars, to instruments. A person is less likely to play something that is not appealing (to them). If you don't like the way a bass looks, how likely are you to want to pick it up and play it? Bottom line. if you cant stand to look at it, you probably are not going to want to play it. But here is the thing, everybody has different concepts of beauty. Same concept goes for setup and playability. Many people quit playing because their bass or guitar is too hard to play, not knowing that a good set up will fix that. Tone quality is important too, but tone is very subjective. just as is beauty.
 
#78
holllowbody said:
Reading around here it appears that how a bass looks is a big deal to most people if not all.

Why is that? Why do looks matter at all?

I thought is was all about playability, tone and build quality etc.
Click to expand...

For me it is all about playability and reliability.
Built quality too is important, so is tone.
Looks almost don't come into it for me ( but I dislike fancy tops and other bells and whistles-basically all that is there for looks rather than function).
 
#79
holllowbody said:
Look at it this way.

A number of people love the way the Bongo sounds, but wont use it due to it's looks. Nothing else really sounds like the Bongo.

Some people religiously stick to vintage looking burst finishes, as such they wont use a Warwick, even though they like the sound. Nothing else really sounds like a Warwick, other than a Warwick. Some just don't like woody looking basses so they avoid Warwick.

The list goes on.
Click to expand...

Think of the ugliest thing you can imagine then put that into a bass shape. If it had your ideal sound, would you still play it for a live performance? If your answer is yes, can you see why others wouldn't want to play it?
 
#80
Some folks care about appearances, others less so.

Jaco's bass looked like a total piece of crap. The thing was beat to hell. Nevertheless he was able to impress quite a few people with it. Some of them probably initially thought he was a clown with a piece of junk bass.
 

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