Are cosmetics that important in a bass??

[MelodicExp]

i dont care too much about looks, but it has to be: built well, sound good, and play like butter.

 

[RBrownBass]

Hearing is about 90% visual...

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Well I have about $3k total invested in 2 EBMM basses. I could have bought boutique looking basses, but I felt the extra cost that benefited nothing other than looks was pointless when the EBMM basses play just as well if not better, not to mention I really like the sound and build quality of them. Not that the EBMMs look bad, but they arn't head turners either.

The only thing about a burst/tort Sadowsky or Lull that's more boutique looking than an EBMM is the name on the headstock. EBMMs would be "head turners", as you describe, if they were made by a small shop and cost twice as much as you paid for them. No other aesthetic characteristic would have to change. Basses look expensive or cheap or somewhere in the middle based on the name on the headstock. There are, of course, QC and finishing exceptions, but in most cases the instrument's price reflects all that.

I do not care about finish at all. i kind of like how my bass is starting to look like crap.

It sounds like you DO care about finishes and that you prefer those that show a lot of wear.

If you can't hear what is decalled on your headstock, you're doing it wrong.

lol, pretty much nailed it here.

Lemme ask this. If you're one of those guys who would buy a "relic'd" (I didn't say reliced because I didn't want anyone to think I'm talking about someone who bought a bass that caught parasites a second time) bass, say one of those $4,000 things from Fender, would you be as concerned about playing it at a gig as you would a $4,000 custom Sadowsky? I mean, if the $4,000 relic gets a scratch or a ding, it wouldn't be detectable, but if it got stolen you'd still be out a $4,000 bass.

My first DB cost more than the combined cost of the three MIA Fenders I've owned, none of which were Hwy one. That bass had a bunch of dings and scratches and I didn't care one bit.

I'm one of those people who think at least some basses ought to reflect the tradition of lutherie that applies to most other instruments in the string family. That to me means natural woods of whatever species (I don't get into the haterspeak of calling them "fancy" or "coffeetableish"), clear or brown stain finish, a neck that isn't bolted on and a more/less symmetrical headstock. A Gibson/Alembic/Tobias aesthetic rather than a Fender/Sadowsky or EB/Lakland one. Doesn't mean I wouldn't play it the same way and in the same places. All three groups have their high and low-priced basses, and none of the high-priced ones are more "boutique" than the others.

 

[hrodbert696]

There's not such a shortage of great-sounding basses that you have to put up with a look you don't like to get the tone. It's not an either-or.

 

[lfmn16]

Look at the Fender Custom Shop Jaco Bass. Most people wouldn't pay $100 for it if it didn't have the Jaco name on it (hyperbole alter).

We make a statement about ourselves by the basses we buy.

 

[suraci]

Gee and I always thought that music was about groove and SOUND

 

[Waterpilot]

The color "Metallic Purple" yields the best tone.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

The color "Metallic Purple" yields the best tone.

Only for Metal...

 

[deste]

Tne most important things are sound, feel, neck, ok...
...but... if you like the look, why not?
I own a Squier CV J that, after many moddings (pups, wiring) has become my bass #2: I didn't like the look, too white for the tort pg, so I put a blue pearloid one, and now it's quite unusual.
Then I found an used MIM J equipped with Seymour Duncans: great sound, lightweighted, thin neck, I bought it. But it looked pretty sad, black w/ white pg: placed on it the tort pg (ripped off from the Squier) and now it looks real cool, both classy and aggressive.

Other story: last year, to celebrate the end of a hard period, I spent a little money on a Squier CV P. i was very happy ofr the J, and this was even better (even if I'm not a P-bass guy). And it looked so vintage in its aged sonic blue, and even more when i put on it a pearloid pg. But the Devil decided to punish my G.A.S., and let the back pin button loose its grip, so it smashed on the floor, losing a square inch of paint. Immense sadness and desperation: the P fell into a sort of wasteland. I decided it'st time to rehab, and next wednedsday it will see the stagelight again for a blues gig. Anyway it's still a good sounding bass. There's people who pays a lot of money for false relic bass, at least mine is true...

Don't think about other people: if you like it, enjoy it, play it. And if they don't like its color (or the name on the headstock), invite to a blindfold test. Or, even better, don't give a damn, and keep on playing.

 

[OOTB68]

i like a bass that looks well used, but plays beautifully and sounds awesome. i like the pretty, mint condition ones too... but not nearly as much, and in a different way.

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