Do you care about small details in your gear?

[Katoosie]

Hi!

I've been pondering a little bit about all the gear I have owned up until this point and I wanted to ask all of you a question.

See, I wasn't entirely sure how to phrase my original question but what I'm looking for here is the small - sometimes insignificant to some - details.

Does this matter to you? Say, a matching electronics compartment cover like this to perfectly match the body

Or textured, fancy looking knobs for that tactile feel on your pedal?

Perhaps even a colour matched bass and strings to satisfy your inner OCD freak?

Matching wooden hardware?

Anything goes, as long as its kind of niche - maybe a certain shape of a headstock? Velute? A specific nut material? Same colour LEDs on your amp?

Does it matter to you? Or not at all?

 

[Oddly]

Definitely matters to me. I love gold hardware, for example...and lollipop tuners. I have no inhibitions about changing out control knobs, for example, if I don't like the originals.
Maybe it's shallow, but if I feel good about the gear I'm playing, I play better.

 

[Tom Bomb]

Elements of style are important but the story is everything ​

 

[Zooberwerx]

Not anymore...call it the "cold slap of reality". Our fellow TBers may notice or care but it's lost on the balance of the population. I love the do-dads as much as the next guy and who's going to miss $100-200 here & there? The fact I have an $800 co-pay on a medical procedure is sobering.

Riis

 

[2saddleslab]

The little details always make the biggest difference. Each might be subliminal on their own but when done correctly they can result in a pleasant synergy.

 

[BarqsBitMe]

Hi!

I've been pondering a little bit about all the gear I have owned up until this point and I wanted to ask all of you a question.

See, I wasn't entirely sure how to phrase my original question but what I'm looking for here is the small - sometimes insignificant to some - details.

Does this matter to you? Say, a matching electronics compartment cover like this to perfectly match the body
View attachment 4548842
Or textured, fancy looking knobs for that tactile feel on your pedal?
View attachment 4548844
Perhaps even a colour matched bass and strings to satisfy your inner OCD freak?
View attachment 4548845

Matching wooden hardware?
View attachment 4548847

Anything goes, as long as its kind of niche - maybe a certain shape of a headstock? Velute? A specific nut material? Same colour LEDs on your amp?

Does it matter to you? Or not at all?

It matters a lot to me, as does the overall appearance of my instruments. To be honest, that is the first thing that will get me interested in purchasing another bass. Of course the bass needs to feel good to play, otherwise I will end up not playing it and will sell it... but I can't see myself ever buying a bass that I think is butt ugly even if it played as if it was of divine origin. I mean, I'd certainly play one if someone gave it to me, but I'd never want to spend my money on a bass that I think is ugly.

I also like my basses to be in pristine condition and will therefore never understand the people who buy new basses that are made to look like they have been beaten to ****. I can see the attraction to an actual relic, because in general I find old things interesting even if it is just an inanimate object. But to buy something new...often for thousands of dollars... that is made to look like it came out of a dumpster is something I just don't understand.

 

[Lobster11]

I don't usually care much about such things, but that matching electronics compartment cover in your first pic would drive me crazy because it makes the screws stand out so much. I'd much rather have a black cover with black screw heads.

 

[micahwc]

The older I get, the less tolerance I have for for things on an instrument that annoy me.

whereas 15 years ago I would just put up with things, now I sell the instrument and/or get something else.

 

[Katoosie]

I don't usually care much about such things, but that matching electronics compartment cover in your first pic would drive me crazy because it makes the screws stand out so much. I'd much rather have a black cover with black screw heads.

Find white screws? Haha!

 

[two fingers]

I rarely get this kind of feeling about a product. But the Mesa TT800 really blows me away. There are dozens of inputs, outputs, knobs and switches. But the design simply "flows". It instantly makes sense. Is it attractive? Sure, I think so. But USING it takes the experience to a "whole nuther level". One would think that it would be complex. But it truly isn't. Dialing it in is intuitive. Every time I need to tweak it, I shake my head in amazement at how easy it is to get where I need to go.

 

[mongo2]

A bass being comfortable for me to play and the details concerning just that are my primary concern, even before the tone since I can easily change that. I used to be interested in the aesthetics of a bass but now I'm all about comfort and function.

I don't use pedals other that the occasional SABDDI and I have no feelings about the details of that or my amp as long as they work for what I want to play. Fact is I'm more interested in the chair I sit in while I'm playing.

 

[sleddogn]

knurled knobs make my heart go pitter patter

 

[micguy]

If you make your own basses (I do), and are weight conscious, you get to be obsessed about how much every part on your bass weighs.

 

[Spidey2112]

I used to be really bad, sweating the details, obsessing over this, compulsive over that... serious, if I wanted to lose weight, I'd just worry the calories off...

... having kids will change all that.

(Before kids): Honey, any idea how this mark got on the wall? No worries, I got it.

(After kids): Oh, lookie! Paw Patrol decorating our house, in crayon no less. Now I don't have to hang that knee high picture. Wheeee!

Counseling helps, too... they've help me realize if you buy new, it should indeed be new. Used is anything other than new.

 

[dwm74]

Do I care about the small details? Not really, but every now and then something will just get stuck in my head and drive me batty. A small irregular mark in the wood grain that affects absolutely nothing will stick out to me like a neon sign, but other times a blatant blemish or ding will get by with an 'oh well' shrug.

 

[BobDeRosa]

I couldn't care less about cosmetics of any kind. Sound and feel are all I care about.

 

[Stock]

As long as the focus remains on what is important. I played in a band where the guitar player had the greatest equipment, but was a hack player who couldn't progress. All the money spent on doo dads could have been spent on lessons. All the time spent salivating over the next acquisition could have been spent on drilling and grinding at technique. Heck, he would obtain a great guitar but not get a proper set up and have terrible intonation and not even understand the concepts of how the gear worked. He would add a great iconic amp and never learn his way around the tone controls.

 

[HardNHeavy]

those red knobs on that blue box......hello, fashion police!...all the other pics not a problem.

The pre-amp back plate, your not looking that anyway.. Matching strings?..i dont look at strings when i play, certainly dont care wht color they are. Concentrate more on where my finger lands on neck.....and that warwick bass is beautiful. I'm pretty easy going, it could be any bass or amp..as long as the action is good and the amp doesn't distort or fartout.

 

[dalkowski]

Except for my Guild B30, I own no gear for which obsessive attention to detail matters.

 

[Drzejzi]

I recently changed old pickguard and electronics cavity screws in my 3 basses, because I was irritated, that they were a little worn out. I care about such details, that could be easily fixed.

However I would probably not spend any additional money for features in a bass, that are just for visuals, like tops from fancy woods etc.

At the same time I would really like to have a visually stunning bass with multiple exotic woods. I just have a hard time justifying the cost.