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Color -- how important is it to you?

#21
when I was 16 back in 1989 I really wanted a BC Rich warlock and the only one that I could find, and afford. was a lilac (basically pink but told everyone was purple) Korean one. Not much choice for a 1st year apprentince fitter in western Sydney back then! I didn't care about the colour back then and I still have the body of that bass which I'm about to fit a schecter neck to and paint, was going to paint it black but this post has made me think maybe I should paint it 1989 Lilac?
 
#22
I tend to go more for the deeper darker wood tones and richer colors.

Never really liked natural finished high gloss ash or other relatively straight grained wood, it just looks too much like pine or some other construction lumber to me. Flamed, quilted, curly or tiger maple, Cocobolo, figured walnut, poplar or buckeye burl, and Koa are all woods I like to see the grain on but also prefer to have the lighter colored ones tinted a bit darker.

As for paint finishes - vintage aged white, Seafoam green, black, just about any burst finish, shell pink and sonic blue are all favorites of mine. But I like my headstocks unfinished or black and I like the back of my necks in satin or raw but not gloss.
 
#23
It's not that important to me I like instruments in almost all colours. My instruments are natural, blue, black, sunburst and white.
For some reason I am not often drawn towards red probably because there's an awful lot of red guitars and basses.
I lately have been liking blue stained guitars. I will be refinishing a stray in a blue stain. But for basses I generally love the look of any finish that enhances the wood grain. I have been checking out Ritter and viellete basses and they look awesome in a wide range of colours.
 
#24
If I play it, and I like the sound, 90% of the time ill like the finish. The other 10% is glitter finishes, over the top figured tops, and crazy colours (hot pink, lime green, etc.) so sound and feel are tantamount, and color is an important second because i still have to play it and look professional
 
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#25
I'm currently GASing for a nice P, a Geddy Lee Jazz, and a MM StingRay 5 HH. If someone was to gift me one of these, I wouldn't really care the color. Since I'll probably be spending my own hard earned cash on them, might as well pick the color, right? Right now, I'm leaning towards either midnight wine, 3 tone sunburst or black (all with maple neck) on the P, pretty much set on sunburst with the Jazz, and have no clue with the MM as they have a slew of finish options. So my point is, if I have money in the game, I'm not picking pink.
 
#27
I don't think it's that important, provided it's not some odd or extreme shade, I'm rather conservative in how my gear should look. I have in the past played basses that were solid colors (white, black, red, dark red metallic) but when looking at what I actually play today I guess that answers what my real preference is. :)

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#28
lpdeluxe said:
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.

FenderStandardPrecisionFSRfretless.jpg


FenderStandardPrecisionFSRfretless.jpg


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:

FrankstonVFW2.jpg


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.

MusicRoom2_zpsa4b34b64.jpg
Click to expand...
How the hell do you play that fretless? I'd sound worse than I already do!
 
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#32
I tend to gravitate towards black, sunburst and candy apple red. There's a lot of others I'd like to buy, such as oly white, surf green, sonic blue etc. I wouldn't discount a bass solely on colour, but if I didn't like the appearance of an instrument I wouldn't buy it.

There's enough choice out there that I don't feel I need to compromise on most aspects of choosing a bass, so yeah, I suppose colour is an important thing for me.
 
#34
Never had a preference, be they natural or colors. But every once in a while I'll see a color that to me is just flat out ugly. Saw a used Music Man bass once that had a maple neck, white pickguard, white pickup cover and the body was this white, crushed up sea shell candy kinda sparkle that I thought looked hideous.
 
#35
I choose basses like I choose my women: Gotta be visually appealing to me to get a foot in the door, but it's the personality that determines if she's a keeper.

I still have the first bass I bought, which is my only woodgrain. It's an Ibanez SR700, and it's still one of the best looking woodgrain basses to my eyes (aside from some gorgeous boutique models in figured grains).

The rest of my stock has rotated through various colors of choice, which seem limited strictly to: white, black, and red.
 
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#37
My first bass back in the 1970's was a sunburst finished miserable little kid sized Tele Star. (Teisco)

The second bass that I bought was in 2008, it was a red Jackson. I had my first stroke a couple of weeks later. Since that stroke I don't see colors right at all. So, now colors annoy me. I stick with what doesn't annoy me, bursts and natural finishes.

Bursts_zps5b19c38b.gif


Naturals_zps32ce6c45.gif
 
#39
Im not to picky usually. However i am done with clear maple finishes... I had a large set of Ludwig classic drums in clear maple for 15 years and a Spector NS 4 in clear quilted maple. Ive seen enough of that color to last me a lifetime!! lol there are enough choices out there that i want something different. I just got another Spector and since i know i like everything about them, i could be a little more picky with the color. Otherwise if it plays and feels good i will usually go with it.
 
#40
My favorite would be a natural woodgrain or some stained woodgrian like those Ibanez SR series basses. I also like red or white. Or any color that's pleasing to the eye.

I don't care much for sunburst and I really dislike those tortoiseshell pickguards - they look like old linoleum from a house built in the '40 or something :)
 

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