Do Stickers Make a Bass Trashy?

[bh2]

Yes... absolutely.

 

[Groovy_Gravy]

Heres my gigging bass. it has a grateful dead dancing bear... is it trashy? i dont think so. i like the grateful dead and wanted to put the sticker on it...shoot me

 

[russpurdy]

Thread revive. I make it a point to put at least one sticker on all my instruments. I play all fender style solid colour basses and guitars so it looks just fine. Everything from toy story to guitar shops to Bill f***ing Murray. I like having something personal on them. I don't understand how people can call other people tools for trying to express themselves through instrument decoration. We are already participating in such an expressive activity why should we draw a line about where we need to stop being expressive. For the record, I don't put any ideology or political stickers on my gear but I do rep my favourite hockey team on a few occasions.

 

[babaseen]

Obviously on a sadowsky nyc it's sacrilegious;-) I just love this as player but it is white (don't like white basses and too cheap to get it refinished in another color and too lazy to sand it to bare wood).

the white underbelly tramp stamp in chinese characters (PAIN IS LOVE)

see headstock here...http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f233/fs-i-can-make-custom-waterslide-decals-contd-835102/index5.html

 

[chargerbandit]

I turned a boring PJ bass into a Cartman punkrock bass. Still terrible to play but atleast pleasant to the eye. Used to be bright red.

My guitars simply have to have something special.

 

[jlepre]

I want to put a peace sign decal on the black pickguard. Any suggestions where I can find one?

 

[Nephilymbass]

Trashy is a very subjective term. Some people think 200,000 cars are cool. I think they are an incredible waste of money. I wouldn't put stickers on certain basses but on others it's all that gives them character. P basses look great with stickers. They look sorta bland and cheap without them. I wouldn't put stickers on a warwick thumb bass but if the bass costs under a grand stickers are definitely fair game. I tend to like vinyl stickers much more than paper. They hold up much better

 

[AaronVonRock]

Depends on the bass and depends on the stickers. When it's done well, it looks cool. But a lot of the time, it's done with lame stickers and comes across like someone is trying too hard to be "wild". Based on the photos in this thread, I would say maybe less than 10% of the basses with stickers look cool. It is a very subjective thing.

 

[wisconsindead]

Heres my gigging bass. it has a grateful dead dancing bear... is it trashy? i dont think so. i like the grateful dead and wanted to put the sticker on it...shoot me

Same, I have a stealy on mine, along with a tiger sticker off of a thermos lol. Free squire, why not?

 

[bassbenj]

Depends on the bass and depends on the stickers. When it's done well, it looks cool. But a lot of the time, it's done with lame stickers and comes across like someone is trying too hard to be "wild". Based on the photos in this thread, I would say maybe less than 10% of the basses with stickers look cool. It is a very subjective thing.

"Depends" is the correct answer. Since many stickers are paper there is a aura of cheapness about them. But not all stickers are paper. Do the waterslide stickers on headstocks make basses look trashy? Does the plastic logo stuck on my Alembic? How about a Fodera butteryfly? Sure it's been inset and all but really it's just a "sticker".

So what about ordinary paper stickers? Well, putting a bunch of stickers on a bass is obviously creating a collage. Artists do this all the time to excellent effect! But then there is the question if the bass owner is a collage artist as well as a bass player? I'm sure some are! And some, of course are not. Is collage valid art? Yes it is.

And finally we come to the last question which is were you TRYING to make your bass look trashy! Obviously the idea that every bass needs to be "gorgeous" isn't valid. Art isn't that narrow. If your music demands a "trashy" look to make a statement, then the right look with the right kinds of stickers can help you make that statement.

It all just DEPENDS on what you are trying to say and how well you end up saying it!

 

[NinetyFive]

Having beautiful, valuable instruments is a burden to bear. You have to polish them, maintain them, keep them all "original," and play them gently.

You do not have to do any of that. If your instrument is too expensive for you to play and treat as you please, then you spent more than you can afford. Instruments are tools, not investments. You should also maintain all your instruments regardless of price.

 

[skwee]

It is your bass. If it makes you feel happy, do it up!

 

[verycoolname]

I think stickers look cool on other people's basses, but it's not something I would necessarily want to do to my own.

 

[Rich McCoy]

Here is mine with stickers:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=363715&d=1379792719
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=363714&d=1379792719
I think it works, at least for me.

 

[cv115505]

Just one... I make sure I have a cross on every bass... I actually cut a cross out of the pickguard on my G&L JB and it came out really cool... this one is just electrical tape...

 

[Fletz]

Here's mine. I think it's simple yet differentiating ... (With black knobs and black badass bridge):

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image by peterdannenfelser, on Flickr

 

[MrTaff]

Depends on the bass & the stickers, this look cool

this doesn't ( I know it's a guitar )

 

[Rip Topaz]

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At one point I completely covered this bass. Probably early 90's in this pic.

 

[punkjazzben]

A beaten up P bass covered in 30 years of stickers from punk bands that don't exist anymore is great. A bottom-rung Ibanez with a Vans sticker on it isn't. In my opinion, obviously.

 

[aledeville]