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Bass Features: Top Ten Personal Turn-Offs

#161
1. Sunburst color
2. Headless
3. Pointy 80's style basses
4. P-bass, but PJ is fine
5. too many knobs and switches
6. Bongo
7. too heavy over 8.5 lbs
8. way over priced because it's vintage
9. anything that doesn't have 5 strings
10. anything with more than 2 pickups
 
#162
Foreword: For me, picking a bass is like picking a pair of shoes. And my priorities are very similarly aligned. Since a bass is a continuation of my appearance and overall aesthetic, I don't want an instrument that seems too busy in it's own right, or flatly contradicts my personal style. It's like shoes. And just as I would turn down those crazy comfortable running shoes with weird designs all over them in favor of some simple skate shoes or devastatingly uncomfortable classic chucks, I'd rather play a Fender (and accept it's limitations) than play the neck through 24 fret 6 string. With guitars, I think this view is shared by a lot of people (it's fairly easy for me to find an awesome guitar that I would proudly wear at a show), but as a bassist, I often feel terribly terribly alone. 91% of the basses I see posted on here are things I would never consider playing. I'm sure they play and sound amazing, but aesthetic is simply too important to me. I also think things can be beautiful in their own right, but ugly within a context of being a musical instrument.

1. no pickguard. if a bass doesn't have a pickguard, I probably won't even consider taking it off the wall

2. overly showy finishes. I don't care about seeing the woodgrain (with a few rare exceptions), and I don't want some fancy dye burst thing either. I much prefer solid colors.

3. designs that lack a sense of visual balance. this is tough to explain, but I know it when I see it. A good example is the deluxe american jazz basses with the extended cut away. with no appropriate compensation, they just look wrong.

4. ugly headstocks. poorly shaped headstocks, too small headstocks, the vast majority of 4 on a side headstocks that aren't fender shaped, etc. headstock design is KEY, and it's an area that seems to be brushed over quickly with little concern for a lot of companies. The headstock is the signature, IMO, and it should be something distinct and stylish.

5. Left handed basses. I'm right handed.

6. here's where I'm a hypocrite. You've probably guessed by now that I'm a fender guy who likes his 20 fret necks just fine. Well, I may have gotten used to that limitation, but I refuse to be limited FURTHER, which is why I would not play something like a Mustang bass, where access to those higher frets is near impossible. (I wouldn't be opposed to ONE more fret, but that's as far as I'll go).

7. fretless basses. I have a fretless that I can play well, and it's fun, but the novelty wears off for me pretty quickly. I like the tone and playability of a fretted instrument. I can only ever see myself wanting or needing one fretless just for special applications.

8. Elaborate inlay work.

9. Basses that are really nice but completely out of my price range. Those are the worst.

10. Air-basses. Sure, the playability is unbeatable, but the tone and appearance are highly questionable.
 
#163
1. A weak low B. No rumble here!

2. Neck-dive. Major deal breaker here. My technique doesn't support the neck at all.

3. >9lbs. I have yet to hear a heavy bass that sounds much different from a medium weight bass. Definitely not enough for me to wage war with my shoulder and back.

4. Needs ultra low action. No, not all basses are capable of the action I want. Boutiques and the Peavey Cirrus seem to do it best.

5. Passive. I need 'em active. It allows me to cover more ground. Due to my active EQ, my Conklin can nail a passive P with flats tone.

6. No sustain and dead spots. It's easy to mute the strings, but you can't add sustain if the bass doesn't have it.

7. Lines on fretless basses. They confuse me more than they help me.

8. Plain looking basses. My tone and style are far from plain. Might as well look different, too.

9. Non-radiused pickups. I need radiused pickups or a ramp for my right hand techniques.

10. Poor truss rod access. I don't have the time or the patience to remove the neck, put it back on, and make more adjustments.
 
#166
1. Bad pickup location. Too many basses these days do not have a reasonable neck-position pickup option, and the pickup location there is key IMO.

2. More than 4 strings. :D I know a lot of you guys won't consider a 4-string, but that's all I will consider. I just don't like the sound of a B string personally. A 4-string bass sounds perfect as is. YMMV

3. Preamps you can't bypass. I agree with most of you - I need at least a passive option on my bass, in case the battery runs out, or if I just want the passive sound.

4. Bad balance - any sense I get that neck dive is possible on a bass, it goes right back on the rack. I won't touch it. Too many bad experiences with a Thunderbird.

5. Maple fretboard - I don't really have an explanation for this, other than just personal preference for rosewood.

6. Corny finish - I don't really like colorful basses too much in general, but bright translucent blue or opaque beige paint finishes are really only good for a test drive. Won't consider owning one.

7. Corny body design - Now before you all jump on me, I just want to point out that this is only a personal preference thing...I don't like the look of 99% of Warwick basses, and all those little basses that look like them. It just doesn't suit me at all. I like a retro look to my basses.

8. Too many frets - Again, this is just a personal preference thing. I've had 24-fret basses before and I liked having that option, but honestly I almost never used the option. It's another one of those things that, to me, makes a bass look too "modern" and I prefer the vintage look. When I see a bass with 24 frets now, I get the same gut reaction I get when I see a kid riding his bike down the street with a helmet on: "ugh, what's wrong with people today?" I'm just an old fogey at heart.

9. Bartolini Pickups - Again, this is only just personal preference, but I avoid these like the plague. A bass with Barts just screams to me, "I am fancy! Look at how hip I am!" I'd honestly rather have Darkstars. I'm sure Barts are very nice pickups, but this also goes back to #1: basses equipped with Barts often have them right next to one another, way down toward the bridge, and I can't tolerate that.

10. Ugly logo, anywhere on the bass - one of the reasons I don't play Peaveys.

11. Bad headstock shape - one of the reasons I stopped playing Peaveys back in the day. They've improved considerably since then.

I guess I'm just kind of picky.
 
#167
I'll play...

Gold Hardware
Gawdy!
Poor Balance
I don't want to wrestle my bass.
Poor Truss Rod Access
I should have to remove anything to adjust my truss rod.
Overtly Heavy
I'm talking more then 12lbs - if it's balanced I can deal with that much weight.
Tremolo / Whammy
Some players can rock the bass whammy, I cannot!
Non-Quick Releasing Bridge
I could always replace the bridge, I guess, but there are lots of great quick releasing designs out there
Fake Tops, i.e. Photo Flame
Cheating!
Hidden Trim Pots
I'd rather have another knob on the front of the bass.
Baseball Bat Necks
I prefer medium thickness and more flat than round.
Cheap Hardware / Pots
Cheap is lame!
 
#168
1 Neck dive. Who does like that?

2 Disassembly to adjust truss rod or change battery. Obviously.

3 String trees. It makes tuning more difficult, and less stable if the string makes contact with more than just the nut. I prefer angled head stocks.

4 Volume/blend. In the center position there is a slight volume drop, because each pickup has half the value of the pot in series with it in center position. With volume/volume when both pickups are on full there is no resistance in series with the pickup.

5 Hum.

6 Sloppy neck pockets.

7 Basses that weigh over 9 pounds. I have a 6 pound bass that has all the low end response of my 11 pounder.

8 Neck pickup that is too far away from the neck and limits the beef, or is too close and limits slap.

9 Not enough clearance under strings in the plucking area. Makes my finger tips sore when I slap. I don't slap that much though.

9 1/2 Tight string spacing. It rips up my hang nails when I slap.

9 5/8 Thin necks. They give me hand cramps, I like 'em chunky like a P bass.

9.626 Gaudy hardware and inlays. I have a bass with gold anodized aluminum hardware but I hate the looks.

9.712 Bridges that have to be altered to tune BEAD.

10 Fender bridges. The saddles can rattle. It's hard to change strings unless you cut the curl off the old string. The Fender bridge is key to sound of their basses I think and I love the Fender Pbass sound.
 
#170
:cool:
1-Active basses.
2-Useless exotic wood tops.
3-More the 5 strings. (play piano,or guitar)
4-Neck dive.
5-any bass over 9 pounds.
6-High priced Fender clones. (I don't care who makes it, It should not cost more than $2000.00.)
7-Strange body shapes, just to be different. (See Bongo's)
8-12' to 14' radius fingerboards
9- 5' and 8' speaker cabs. ( good for Harmonica)
10-Useless threads like this. (Just joking)
 
#171
fender imitation bodies and necks: they've been done to death invent a new shape for god's sake
bass's with a rediculously high amout of knobs and dials: your amp head has an eq USE IT!!
gold hardware gold looks cheap and cheesy
ultra high end bass's spending 4000 quid on a bass wont make you a better player
5 strings you have the same amount of notes on a 4 string stop being so lazy n move your hands up AND down the neck
bass snobs so my bass aint made by fender, gibson or rickenbacker big deal it sounds just as good and probably plays better stop being a brand name junkie
arty farty paintwork sorry but i dont want my audience vomiting when i pull my bass out my bag (lime green yuk)
poor truss rods i play with ultra heavy strings and i expect my truss rod to keep up with them
wood finish i want my bass to look like an instrument not a coffee table
companies that advertise "made in the usa" when there made in china and assembled in the usa
ultra light strings if the strings are really that hard to fret take up guitar leave the bass to people with real hands

yup thats my rant completed i also hate roundwounds but were all different and set in our ways the abouve is just my opinion:smug:
 
#175
1) volume volume control
2) dead spots
3) hard access truss rod
4) passive elec
5) headless bass
6) nasty fret ends
7) not a five string bass
8) too much inlay work
9) warrior type pickup placement single/humbucker bridge/neck
10) only one PU

Honorable mention to any Carl Thompson basses which I can't even look at
 
#176
My top 10 turnoffs:

1) Active electronics. I'm a no muss, no fuss, as few knobs as possible kind of guy. Just plug in and play. Active electronics on cheap basses are particularly bad. All I need is one hum-cancelling pickup and one volume knob; I let my fingers dictate my tone and do all my EQing on my amp.

2) excessive weight

3) neck dive

4) pickup flush against the neck (I need room for slap/pop)

5) bad fretwork

6) poor neck joint

7) neck is either too thin or too chunky

8) dead spots

9) poor truss rod access

10) incapable of low action with zero to minimal buzzing.

If I could add more, I'd put cheap/poor quality hardware/tuners.

Biggest turnoff bass for me was my friend's Rogue. Thing had mile-high action that even a pro setup couldn't cure and just seemed to fall apart in my hands. Cheap wood, cheap components, cheap construction, cheap everything. It'd probably even make crummy firewood. The guy did pop a Seymour Duncan QP pickup in there, but it's like putting a diamond on a cow pie. I never in my life thought I would encounter a bass that bad.
 
#177

#1 - Headless basses.
- Must be the most ugly thing that ever came out of the 80's!

#2 - Fake chrome.
- Plastic knobs with chrome paint on makes me put the bass back up on the rack again before i even start playing on it.

#3 - Geeky model names.
- Quote geek bass maker: "This is from the new Dragon-slayer-of-the-legendary-darkness series with has the shadow-killer paint on it and a hell-demon inlay on the neck, GEEKK!"
Kinda exaggerated quote but you get my point.

#4 - Big pickguards.
- Pickguards that are unnecessarily big makes me slice my wrist.

#5 - Metallic glitter paint.
- Seriusly, why destroy a bass with that ugly ass type of paint.​
 

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