How have your aesthetic preferences changed since you started playing?

[pudgychef]

+1 to people suggesting a great feeling/playing/sounding bass trumps any appearance/aesthetic considerarion....can't imagine a bass I wouldn't play if it felt/played/sounded like the one...

Personal example of this:
Bongos started looking a heck of a lot better to me after I played one..

 

[Charlie Webb]

I used to love natural finish basses and disliked sunburst finishes, used to hate maple fretboards. Now I'm in love with my Stingray, sunburst finish and maple fretboard.

Yes, I have changed

 

[Jeff K]

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.

I do too. But when I started playing (without lessons), I started doing that naturally. I guess I just naturally figured out that everything sounded "cleaner" if I played that way. (I anchor on the pickup when playing on the E, then on the E when playing the A, etc..)

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

As long as it doesn't look like a P-bass clone with the pickguard, the way 99% of basses look. I want something that looks different.

 

[dave64o]

I've always preferred more traditional looking basses, in a burst or natural finish, and, if there's a pickguard involved, yes, a tortoise shell pickguard.

 

[LordJSullivan]

I always have preferred a natural wood-grain look, although my current bass is red. I'm not a fan of red at all, but black was out of stock, so I wasn't too fussed about it.

I also used to like anything spiky and 'metal' looking (like Warlocks). So glad I got out of that...

 

[Korladis]

Use to dislike white or light finished basses....now white is likely my favorite...

in the mid 90s I loved the look of a natural finish bass (usually a J) with black bound and blocked neck...by the early 2000s I started to find it 'overdone' and tired of it...these days it seems ubiquitous and is a complete turn-off for me...

Used to greatly prefer 2 and 2 headstocks - now prefer the MM look....

How have your aesthetic preferences changed?

Used to be extremely into pointy basses.

I still like them somewhat, but now I'm way more into more old school looking basses (Rickenbackers, T-birds, etc.)

I used to really like black basses, but now I actually prefer other finishes. Though I do have one bass that's black.


I actually hate tort pickguards much more than I did when I was younger.

 

[mellowgerman]

Ironically the Explorer bass was my dream bass when I started 16 years ago. Fast-forward to this photo from last weekend of me with my current numero uno... just took shipment of her a couple months ago

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Not really - I've always like natural wood / maple fretboards... I've always like any blue basses (still do);

I did go through the whole "Cream colored pickup" phase in the last '70s but I got better. Lord they are ugly!

 

[Biggbass]

I've been a fan of SB since the 60's so I guess I'm set in my ways. Every time I see
a good 3 tone SB I get all warm and fuzzy inside. 2 tone SB is almost as good.

 

[twinjet]

Use to dislike white or light finished basses....now white is likely my favorite...

in the mid 90s I loved the look of a natural finish bass (usually a J) with black bound and blocked neck...by the early 2000s I started to find it 'overdone' and tired of it...these days it seems ubiquitous and is a complete turn-off for me...

Used to greatly prefer 2 and 2 headstocks - now prefer the MM look....

How have your aesthetic preferences changed?

When I first started ten years ago, I knew I wanted a sunburst bass with a white pickguard. While I still like that combination, tort has grown on me. Also, black pickguard on midnight wine. drool

 

[Blaargh]

Actually not a lot in ten years. I still like classic styled basses like Fenders, Gibsons, Gretsches (I've come around on Rics) and still hate coffee table basses like Warwicks. Still hate white pickguards and gold hardware, still like block inlays and cream pickup covers. The only thing I can think of is that I've warmed to Rics, I used to think they were hideous.

 

[DirkP]

A lot. But overall they have become far less important, esp. in regards to other players. Still don't like coffeetable basses or ornamental design crimes, but couldn't care less if I like what someone else is playing.

 

[abarson]

I despise black basses and can't seem to get rid of enougH of them. And I just don't get pickguards, tort or otherwise.

 

[ed morgan]

I used to only like sunburst type schemes and hated natural. Now I'd love to have a natural and don't want another burst. Time does change things.

 

[Salicete]

In answer to the original question, nope, and at this point probable never will.

 

[Fabio_MIJ]

I used to play guitar.

Me too!

but I still love it, I do not disdain my roots.

 

[Jared Lash]

Not really - I've always like natural wood / maple fretboards... I've always like any blue basses (still do);

I did go through the whole "Cream colored pickup" phase in the last '70s but I got better. Lord they are ugly!

Ugly? I beg to differ.

I've always gravitated towards slightly different body shapes but where I used to really be into exotic tops now I favor solid colors with pick guards or bursts.

My other basses:

[

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Ugly? I beg to differ.

I've always gravitated towards slightly different body shapes but where I used to really be into exotic tops now I favor solid colors with pick guards or bursts.

My other basses:

[

I don't see a single bass loaded with those ugly DiMarzio pickups - Perhaps "Cream" is the wrong term. Tan? Off yellow?

 

[groucho]

OH YEAH, as a kid (16) I hated Fenders - Totally in love with basses that exhibited bilateral symmetry !
(EB3 , all those ES335 looking semi acoustic basses)
Then the Fender thing got through to me design-wise and mostly things like that since.
I STILL cannot warm up to "pointy" basses (Explorer, T Bird, BC Rich Bitch, Flying V)