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How important is appearance?

Eilif

Eilif

Grooving under the MDW runway.
Oct 1, 2001
9,756
9,645
Chicago
#1
How important is the visual "vibe" of a bass"

I just wanted to start a discussion about the importance of a basses appearance for those who play out. The type of appearance is immateriel. But how important is it for you to have your bass be shiny clean or worn in, vintage(fender)style or the latest in bass technology, how important is color, etc? Should these things be as important as function? I am sure we have all seen basses that play great, but just don't look as cool.

I ask this, because I am in a alterna-pop rock band (somewhere beweeen Third eye Blind and Jars of Clay), and I always take appearance "vibe" in to consideration when I choose my basses. I am wondering if anybody else feels the same way, or I am just Shallow ;)
I know there are basses that would sound as good , and would be easier to play then my upgraded Fender precision(one of my main basses) such as many Ibanez, Washburn, ESP, MTD etc, but most of those basses , while they would sound as good, would not (for the most part, there are exceptions) fit the bill as far as appearance and vibe is concerned.

As a subpoint, does a "vibey" bass bring out music in you? it does for me.
 
#4
I'm not afraid to admit that bass looks are important to me. I'm a very visual person to begin with, and with all the great-sounding and playing basses out there, there's no reason why you can't have one that's beautiful as well.
 
#5
Eilif said:
How important is the visual "vibe" of a bass"

I ask this, because I am in a alterna-pop rock band (somewhere beweeen Third eye Blind and Jars of Clay), and I always take appearance "vibe" in to consideration when I choose my basses. I am wondering if anybody else feels the same way, or I am just Shallow ;) .
Click to expand...

I have to admit, I think my basses look friggin' cool, and that's what mainly led me to want to try them and play them.

I just got back into bass in 2003, and before I "settled down" with the Warwicks I have, I bought or tried quite a few basses, which ended up getting returned or re-sold because they didn't do for me sonically what I needed them to. I was most sad to resell my Thunderbird because it looked and felt awesome, but the sound quality just wasn't there in the end.

Without the initial look making me *want* to pick up and play a particular bass, I probably wouldn't have tried some of them. On the other hand I don't reject much outright, so I'm usually open to trying even an ugly bass =0)

In the long run though, I think most of us would take an ugly one that sounds/plays great over a gorgeous but crappy playing or sounding bass.

EDIT: and some people would call mine ugly as sin, I'm sure.
 
#6
So then the question is "what makes a good looking bass"

(I know I'm contradicting my first post, but I just have to open this can of worms) :D I love hearing people's opinions on stuff like this

I like the pickgaurds, and classic lines of a fender with chromes, or an old fashioned semi-hollow bass. Which is why I dislike most ibanez, and why just about the only peavey I will play is my '79 t-40.
But at the same time my frettless that I play for church is a super sleek, greenburst Carvin lb75f.
 
#7
Appearance is important to me. But then, what I consider to be a good-looking instrument usually coincides with good build quality. That means nice wood, proper pickup routs, a mirror finish, polished frets, clean hardware etc.

I won't play an ugly beat-to-hell or poorly set-up instrument just because it's alleged to have some mystical "vintage vibe." There's a lot of that attitude infecting the indie music scene though. "If your instrument has four strings or less and looks like crap, welcome."
 
#8
Christopher said...
"There's a lot of that attitude infecting the indie music scene though. "If your instrument has four strings or less and looks like crap, welcome."


Agreed, it is interseting to see companies like Ibanez putting out guitars that look like old school pawn shop guitars (jetking series) but have modern features and workmanship, and the reavailabity of Vintage Burns bass models, which are pretty much exacty like the origionals. I would like to see if these rereleases/improvements on what were origionaly fairly crap guitars will be accepted. (the Ibanez got enough acceptance to release a Jet King II model however)
 
#9
Eilif said:
So then the question is "what makes a good looking bass"

(I know I'm contradicting my first post, but I just have to open this can of worms) :D I love hearing people's opinions on stuff like this

I like the pickgaurds, and classic lines of a fender with chromes, or an old fashioned semi-hollow bass. Which is why I dislike most ibanez, and why just about the only peavey I will play is my '79 t-40.
But at the same time my frettless that I play for church is a super sleek, greenburst Carvin lb75f.
Click to expand...

To me this varies in degrees. I like Fenders, BUT on my black Jazz I have a black pickguard because I think it looks better than the white one. I am not too crazy about great big chunks of white plastic :p . I also like flame tops and bursts. Who knows what I will like tomorrow. ;)

Dan
 
#10
Quality/sound is what comes first to me, but if I can't find it in a color I like, then I wouldn't get it because I'm sure I can find one with good quality/sound that looks good too. I'm surprised MTD is on your list of bad looking basses, I absolutely love the finishes/designs of MTDs (Well, American ones and some of the imports).
 
#12
yes appearances do matter, but realize everybody has different tastes. Back when i first started playing I was at store and a guy came in with what i now know is a Modulus Q5, i thought cool except it was stained purple over flamed maple.

needless to say it was his dream bass but i thought is was fugly. But when he plugged into a little tiny Behringer amp it sounded righteous so my perception of the bass changed.

sounded great but there is no chance i would by one in that color.
 
#16
My main criterion is what works for my audience works for me. Typically, there are no "bass wannabe's" in my audience, so I could care less about "vibe"/appearance as far as pleasing them. They don't know a Fender Jazz from a fender on a Chevy.

Just give me my check for sounding decent and that's fine.

But, personally, I want something that is a satisfying extension of what I'm trying to play, in terms of looks and feel.

But, if I were to play regularly in front of an audience composed largely of headbangers, appearance would be very important. For instance, there's a market for all those crazy-ass Schecters and ESP's where the paint jobs cost as much/more than the pickups.
 
#19
Being a girl and very particular about looks, I'd say looks should definetly be important to you. Imagine walking into an audition and having a beat up bass with scratches all over the finish. I'm a drummer, and I'd rather have my fingers cut off that have my drums get scratched, but unfortunately there isn't that option. ;)

My rule of thumb is, look for the best you can get soundwise, and then make sure the finish is what you want.
 

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