Instrument Aesthetics - stand out or blend in?

[BassUrges]

All my basses are NSFTB and my homebrew 5er will take it to the next level of inappropriate when complete, but I aspire to dive bars and pickup joints.

My wife, however, has been nagging me to buy a “presentable” bass.

 

[tr4252]

I think the typical audience member will notice your instruments and comment on their appearance, as long as they can include ridiculing them into their pickup lines.

Tom

 

[BadWithNames]

For the most part, I try to not stand out. I don’t do lead stuff at all, and never solo, so musically, I like more blended, grooving bass parts. Though I feel that I always do too much when improvising.

Aesthetically, I like darker colored instruments for the most part. Don’t really like black, though. I don’t mind more obscure designs or builds, but I don’t like super bright, eye-catching colors or patterns.

I don’t want to draw a whole lot of attention to myself while on stage, but I don’t mind be recognizable by my instrument either. I’m not the center of attention as the bassist, but I don’t want to be just another bassist either.

 

[Element Zero]

I guess it would depend on the gig, but if I used the gigs I normally play as a reference, none of my basses would seem out of place.

 

[micguy]

My basses are all wood finishes, often with a dark stain. On the stages I play on, there is a lot of light -on the singers up front. Back where us instrumentalists live, it’s a lot darker, so most of the time, most any bass is not going to stick out that much.

 

[seanm]

I can guarantee that if you brought the Batgirl bass to a corporate gig for the company I work for, you would be asked to leave for ethics violations. I doubt they would ever have a band though... so not a problem. But it is something to think about.

The other bass should be fine.

 

[Kmonk]

I have been playing for 40 years and have never even thought about whether my bass will stand out or blend in.

 

[bkbirge]

The Toon bass looks great, don't see a prob with using it at a corporate gig.

 

[Jeff Scott]

This question has never entered my mind, ever. That is not anywhere near why I consider buying an instrument; there are lots of far more important criteria, really. I suppose your question has much to do with vanity, right?

 

[bonespatrol]

This question has never entered my mind, ever. That is not anywhere near why I consider buying an instrument; there are lots of far more important criteria, really. I suppose your question has much to do with vanity, right?

i can mostly dig that. keep in mind it's coming from a dude who rocks a mustache. not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Depends on who I'm playing with.. I'd use my sunburst j for singer/song writer type of paying gigs, and use the sparkling silver j for my band's gigs.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

You obviously don’t have enough basses yet

How come can one have?

 

[micgtr71]

I have a black p with an anodized pickguard and a black fretless jazz with a tort guard. I’m boring I guess. Never though about it before now

 

[LowActionHero]

I like stuff that's different enough to be unique, but not crazy enough that it's distracting ...

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I love bright colors or some way for my basses to stand out.

We've played some weddings and never heard a discouraging word about the looks of my basses. They are what they are. I dress accordingly for those type of events so I figure I'm honoring my obligation looks-wise.

 

[dukey donkey]

This.

I want to have a bass that is inappropriate for any occasion.

Seek the Mothman... Legend has it, it's never had a single appropriate gig...

 

[Dabndug]

Depends on the project. I'm usually playing as a sideman or part of a large ensemble, so understated/neutral is the way to go - natural, sunburst, black, or white. On the rare occasions where I get to perform my own stuff, the great green mother-of-toilet-seat Waterstone TP 12er comes out of (extended) hibernation.

 

[TheDominoKid]

I’d never play this with my jazz/funk project, but my stoner rock band—you bet!

The Toon bass is rad. I’d play that any gig. Batgirl—not at a corporate event.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I definitely want my basses to stand out- by the way they sound and how I play them. I prefer them to look subdued.

 

[Nephilymbass]

This is not so much to ask whether looks matter to you in a bass, which we've talked about a lot, but what the goal of the look is for you. When you think about how a bass looks, do you want an instrument to stand out and draw attention, or do you want it to blend in?

In a sense, this is a visual-aesthetic equivalent to the musical question of the bass' role; do you step up and play "lead bass" and draw attention to the bass line, or do you support the ensemble and avoid that attention?

It's been on my mind lately because of my latest angle with GAS. I play in a group where I often need a five-string. I have two already. Both are visual standouts. One is "Batgirl," a Yamaha BB415 that sports a big custom decal of... well, you guessed it, Batgirl:

View attachment 3088646
...and the other is Looney Toon, a custom bass made by Kansas City Luthier John Toon:
View attachment 3088648
Neither is exactly a Fender P, they tend to stick out.

The band in question has talked about going for more corporate function-type gigs. In a bar band or stage show I figure I would play whatever I want and the existing basses are great. But for a more formal function-type of setting would you want something less splashy?

The only bass I’ve owned that could have been very out of place was if I brought the sort of batlike shape esp f-415fm I had to an acoustic rock gig. Normally its not an issue at all for me as I tend to like basses that aren’t too crazy looking for the genres I play.

Lately I’ve really been into basses that are a mix of vintage and modern. Kind of like some of the modern muscle cars compared to their ancestors.
like if a fender p

is an old mustang

Then I want something more modern but still with some of that classic vibe. For example here’s my main bass and the newer challenger