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How have your aesthetic preferences changed since you started playing?

#21
I used to want to have unusual instruments. Weird shapes, doublenecks etc... So I built my own weirdly shaped doubleneck bass. It was great. I got all the attention I had been craving. I even had kids come up to me at shows and ask for my autograph. Then I thought about that... I'm a nobody. I'm not a great bass player, I never was. I'm not in a famous band. Why am I signing autographs? Then I realized that people are equating my exotic, expensive looking instrument as proof of talent, proof of (well, not fame but fameworthiness perhaps?)

Many of you will probably think I'm crazy but that seriously bothered me. Deep down, I like to think of myself as a person of substance and not flash. My attraction to the strange is a very genuine aspect of myself, but if I was going to be signing autographs I wanted it to be because I was a great bassist or a famous bassist. I felt that I was just signing autographs in proxy for my doubleneck bass.

So after that I started becoming attracted with more conventional looking instruments like Fenders. If a person is playing a bass that looks like pretty much any other bass out there and someone asks for an autograph, you can be sure it's not because of something he owns. This worked out well for me because I can still play weird instruments like my 9 string octave-baritone guitar because I usually just mod existing instruments. Only other musicians will sometimes notice there's something strange about the instrument I'm playing. It has too many tuners or the frets are all angled weird, Jaguar basses aren't supposed to have strat jacks in the control plate, a Jazz bass that only has one pickup instead of two, or my vintage Rickenbacker guitar that has all the frets, pickups and bridge angled at 11 degrees. Most people don't notice these things and I'm fine with that.
 
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#22
I'm impartial really, just depends on the particular bass. Have a black jazz deluxe (mim) that came with tort p/g. Didn't like that
look so switched the p/g to vintage pearl. a lot classier in my eyes. That bass has taken a back seat lately so ive decided to mod
it to my tastes. Its going fretless and I was going to keep the current p/g and add all gold hardware. I still think it would look
awesome, but my friends and bandmates think I should make it a blackout bass, soooo.... it's getting a warmoth fretless ebony neck (well, ebony over maple) ill dye the headstock black, black Hipshot HB6 ultralites with lollipop keys, black Hipshot A
style bridge, Audere JZ3 or Bass mods preamp (ill have to add a black control plate), gloss black p/g, undecided on pickups
but I like the look of the Dimarzio's with black pole pieces (Ultra jazz I think?), and DR Black Beauties. The neck and tuning
machines are on order, I already have the DR's on it, just need to save up a few more $'s for the rest of the parts!

aside from this I have basses in natural (Alembic Epic, MIA Fender deluxe Jazz,Ovation acoustic), 1 natural stained
(Ibby SR506), 2 sunbursts(Epi Viola and G&L JB2), 1 vintage cream('88 L2000), 2 black (the aforementioned mimJazz,
and an '83 L2000). Dying to do a Pbass deluxe in candy tangerine with mint p/g and crem pickup covers!
 
#23
Absolutely,
No loud Red Basses..
White, Black, Natural. One Burgundy.
All kinds of odd color stuff before.
Then comes the bass that fits like second skin. Those are an even harder quest. Some of my 1st keepers can all use a refinish but unlike before when I would go crazy now like a lion the marks show character..
So yeah things change.
 
#24
I used to think that covering my bass with stickers would look really cool.
Give it sort of a punk look.
I tried it a couple times, but always ended up taking them off because it just looked really amateur-ish and clashed horribly with the finish on the bass.
 
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#27
M.R. Ogle said:
I used to think about the aesthetics of my instruments a lot more than I do now.
These days, I don't care as much for the looks, just give me a comfy instrument that's in-tune and I'll play it.
Click to expand...
gully_jones said:
Biggest change for me is ergonomics over aesthetics
Click to expand...

pretty much the same as above: if it feels/plays right for me: i like it. having said that: i have a preference for subdued looks vs. loud/wild looks...for quite awhile now.

i once bought (the late 80's---i think) two white, peavey fury basses (one fretted, one fretless) because i thought that would be "cool." i wouldn't do that now!
 
#29
I've always been drawn to Fenders. Despite "trying" (ie., buying, then selling) various others over the years, I always come back to my Fenders. So that much hasn't changed.

Probably the change that jumps out for me is that I used to dislike maple boards. I felt that they seemed to look dingy after awhile, and that the black dots looked "cheaper" than the rosewood/white dots. That changed. Now all of my P-Basses have maple boards. My Jazzes all have rosewood (except for my '75 Reissue). So now I guess you could say I love both (maple and rosewood) equally. ;)
 
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#30
Yup..... you can't imagine how badly I wanted one of these 30 years ago.
Now not so much!:***:
aria ZZB-Bridge-03.jpg
 
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#31
Yeah, back in the playing days, I played Fender Jazz basses and kept a Precision and a fretless Jazz around and had an Alembic Series 1 for several years. But I always had my eye on a MM Stingray back then.

Fast forward to the last 3 years, I re-started my playing career with a Jazz Five, but then I picked up a Stingray SR5 and I haven't looked back. I keep the Jazz around, as well as, yes, a fretless Jazz and a Precision. Hey, some employers want to hear (probably "see", but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt) a Precision and I certainly love playing it.

I always played the heavy gauge Ernie Ball strings. Still do. One BIG difference is back then, I HAD to have a thumb rest. Nowadays, I do the movable anchor, floating thumb practice of playing. MUCH better for me.
 
#32
I used to have nothing but painted instruments but as I have grown older I find I much prefer the wood finish. I even went so far as to remove the paint from what was a black MIM jazz to make it wood finished. For me the wood has a more elegant look to it and when I look down, or see someone sitting in on my axe I definitely prefer the aesthetic.
 
#33
Joe Nerve said:
Was just thinking about this earlier this evening.

I used to love colorful non traditional looking basses. Bongo, Fenderbird, anything out of the ordinary.

Now I want all my basses to be black, and low key.

Yes, my preferences have changed, and probably will again.
Click to expand...

My feelings exactly. My first new bass was a bright purple B.C. Rich Warlock.
I would never go on stage with it now. Not even ironically.
My sound should stand out, not my rig.
 
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#34
My preferences really haven't changed. There are certain styles and colors that I have never liked. I have always liked Natural, Olympic White, Lake Placid Blue, Black, Wine Red and almost every sunburst. I tend to stay away from bright red, green, yellow.
 
#35
-Liam- said:
I used to think that covering my bass with stickers would look really cool.
Give it sort of a punk look.
I tried it a couple times, but always ended up taking them off because it just looked really amateur-ish and clashed horribly with the finish on the bass.
Click to expand...
It DOES look amateurish. Here, stickers announcing local heritage muck up the finishes.
Re: OP, I like black and chrome. Just black and chrome...maybe with white accents like a jazz pickguard. My #1 is an MTD jazz and it's that orangey sunburst....I find it to be offensively ugly; others do not. It plays great so I deal with it but I REALLY want it to be black. I have always only liked black. It matches any outfit or stage.
 
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#37
My first basses were all Burst, Tort, Flats! I had never even SEEN a bass with flamed or quilted maple tops until I saw my flamed maple Alembic in the local shop and fell in love and HAD to have one! Well today flamed maple is kind of common and I wish I'd have waited and got the burled walnut top I saw later in that store. But today I still love lots of natural wood in basses of all fancy kinds. Though my G&L are blueburst and I still have a few standard burst with tort and flats (6 string fretless SX in avatar).
 
#39
I'll admit that the beauty of the bass used to be very important to me. I have built guitars using Warmorh components that are absolutely gorgeous. Now, that is not a priority. About 3 years ago I had Carvin SB5000 built. My priority was that there be NOTHING on the bass that did not contribute to the sound I wanted. Swamp ash body maple board... no tints, stains, bindings, flamed this or that anywhere. This is now my go-to favorite bass and it's beautiful to me. There's not a thing I would change. Not only is it beautiful (to me) and sounds great I got a custom bass at a very reasonable cost.
 
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