Color -- how important is it to you?

Not very important at all to me, but I recently realized that I have accumulated exclusively brown and black basses.

I ordered this one in the summer to mix it up a bit!

 

On a 5-string, I only want red or a cherryburst color. 5-strings are my favorite type or bass, and those are my favorite colors. Like apples in a pie to me (or cherries), they just plain go together.

As for anything else, almost anything will do if it pleases the eye. I actually probably prefer not to have red in other basses, because I already have plenty of red in my 5ers.

Instrument colors tend to remind me of fruit and nature. It's all good. Just save the Rainier cherries, raspberries and red delicious apples for my 5-strings.

 

She's naked!

 

I strongly prefer natural finish - I have bought some basses just because of the beautiful wood.
Next is the classic Sunburst - if it is done nicely like on my MIA P Basses, with the tort pick guard and RW Fingerboard.
Next is Aged White or Ivory - very classy with the right pick guard.

After that - Meh - it's all the same, and strongly dislike black basses although I have a couple.

 

I can't argue, but I guess I prefer at least some stain / dye to bring out the grain. Not quite digging the whiteburst edges, either. Too opaque.

 

Once it's finished and the black HW and pickups are on it, she'll look purdy.

 

I really like blue/greens, teals, and their variants. That's my favorite.

The basses I'm playing most right now are natural finishes, because that's what they came with, and the bass trumps the color, always.

 

I only really care if it looks like a bad quality finish or wood.
And as much as I want a bunch of different colors in my bass arsenal, three of my current four are black. Not by choice, but because they are awesome basses.

 

Nothing terribly wrong with awesome!

 

I LOVE natural blonde basses: here are pics of my G&L Tribute L2K and a gorgeous FSR Fender ash body/Warmoth maple neck fretless.





Here, on the other hand, are two of the ugliest colors I have ever seen on a bass, my Classic '50s in Fiesta Red and my Classic '51 in Butterscotch:



Maybe it's really about sound: the first two are long gone and the latter two are what I depend on at gigs. Can't hear paint.

 

I didn't post the L2K; here it is.

 

(that fretless!)

 

My current basses are either natural ash, black, or vintage white (yellowed some).

I'll play pretty much any bass, anywhere. As long as it's not red.

No red.

 

Feel, sound and mojo trumps color.
Currently, I have two black, a natural ash and natural Koa basses. Really want a green bass.

 

Call me shallow…blame my art-student background…deem me a rank amateur…whatever, but to me, looks are very important. It's gazing at an excellent piece of work that makes me go, "Yum! I gotta pick that up and make it sound as good as it looks!!" If I can't stand looking at it, I'm not gonna want to pick it up. I don't care how good it's supposed to sound.

And since we're talking about our personal, esthetic preferences…MAD LOVE FOR PAINTED/MATCHING HEADSTOCKS!! I mean, really…who wouldn't give some of these a second glance?

 

Couldn't give a frog's fat fanny, really!

This is not to say that my heart doesn't skip a beat whenever I see something that appeals to my somewhat peculiar sense of bassline aesthetics, seriously (It's Jazz that GAS is all). Let's just say, to one 'n' all, a beautiful bass (sound) is some kind of wonderful, in daylight or in darkness. Tooeecheezone!

 

I've always had a tendency towards sunburst and black, I've yet to keep anything red or blue for longer than a year. Though I do have one Olympic white, and one silver (guitar) I've kept.
Here's the Current bass stable

 

Ultimately I will buy a bass or guitar based on feel, playability, sound, price and what it does differently than what I have--but all other things being equal, then colour can enter into it.
I realized one time that I could see wood grain on all my guitars & both basses (not a large collection--but more than a couple)--some through a coloured finish-some natural-except for one--which I decided has boring wood grain.

I like seeing woodgrain--not just on basses & guitars--but on furniture, door frames, railings, etc.

 

Can't join the consensus. All the basses I buy have to have bright vibrant colours preferably with matching headstocks.

I hate having boring dulls colours basses. Generally, I will pick a bass based on looks and colour and I will buy it if it sounds as good as it looks.