I call an instrument that looks great but doesn't grab me tonally a 'bimbo'. I've had a number of bimbos over the years. I've grown to view them as somewhat of a luxury.
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Looks over tone?
- Thread starter twinjet
- Start date
Buy a Ric. Problem solved.
Beat me to it
I was drawn to the 4003 initially for the look though.
- Jun 6, 2012
- 4,837
- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
I find that most people can only hear the big differences between instruments, and I think most people "hear with their eyes." So if they see a dark-colored, soft wood instrument, they'll think the instrument will sound "dark." They'll think this even if the pickups have a higher resonant frequency than others, even if the strings are roundwound, even if the amp is a bright amp, or even if the player is using a pick right near the bridge. You (…yes, you, the person reading this) probably do this a lot yourself. We all do!
It sounds like this is a terrible thing, but I don't think it is. We should just own up to it and accept it. I think look and feel of an instrument is at least as important as how sounds. After all, you can change the sound of a bass in drastic ways: all you need is a soldering iron, some knowledge, and a few cheap parts. But it's much harder to make an ugly instrument look beautiful—or make a beautiful instrument look the right kind of ugly.
So, go get the instrument that looks and feels right to you. Think about the visual and tactile as much as you can, and don't feel guilty about it. In all likelihood, the way the instrument looks will shape what you hear anyway.
I, honestly, love the look of my Schecter C5… but I would love to play on one of those sexy old Fender Bass V's. They look like a P and a J had a beautiful little baby. Did they ever reissue these?
It sounds like this is a terrible thing, but I don't think it is. We should just own up to it and accept it. I think look and feel of an instrument is at least as important as how sounds. After all, you can change the sound of a bass in drastic ways: all you need is a soldering iron, some knowledge, and a few cheap parts. But it's much harder to make an ugly instrument look beautiful—or make a beautiful instrument look the right kind of ugly.
So, go get the instrument that looks and feels right to you. Think about the visual and tactile as much as you can, and don't feel guilty about it. In all likelihood, the way the instrument looks will shape what you hear anyway.
I, honestly, love the look of my Schecter C5… but I would love to play on one of those sexy old Fender Bass V's. They look like a P and a J had a beautiful little baby. Did they ever reissue these?
If I was a studio bassist, I wouldn't. No-one's gonna care what bass it is and, unless you're famous, know what bass it is. Live, however, I may do a bit. Not too much, but a bit. I've managed to find a bass with both looks and perfect tone! A bit weird, maybe, but it's got that charm appearance-wise for me, and the tone. OH the tone! Listen to Dookie by Green Day. It's EXACTLY like that. I think P's look better than J's by the way. I wouldn't ever be seen live with a Jazz.
I try to find a balance. I love the tone of my 44-02s, but the first one I bought is a natural finish with a quilted top. Great for everything but not "metal" enough for my stoner/doom band. I found a used one that is black, rosewood, with a tort PG; total Geezer bass. For a 5 string I knew I wanted a 55-02 for a bunch of reasons but held out for a black one, and then got lucky that I found a used one cheap after looking for a LONG time.
I can firmly say that I would not play certain color basses based on color alone. At the same time I wouldn't expect a guy at a country gig to want to play my pointy Tom Araya LTD with pentagram markers.
I can firmly say that I would not play certain color basses based on color alone. At the same time I wouldn't expect a guy at a country gig to want to play my pointy Tom Araya LTD with pentagram markers.
Unless you think they are uglyBuy a Ric. Problem solved.
i was guilty of 'looks' once ... tone was OK , just never felt right ...
could say something similar about my 1st wife .. !!?!!
could say something similar about my 1st wife .. !!?!!
Unless you think they are ugly
To each his own, but to my eyes this is a work of art.
They've never reissued them and probably never will.
I got to play one at Gruhn's a few years ago. It was very cool. But also a terrible design.
In my world, in priority order, 1) neck (playability), 2) appearance and 3) sound. Yeah, I said it, sound is third!
It's not like you like the tone of a Warwick but the looks of a Rickenbacker, a Fender P is about as close as you could get to looking like a Jazz.
Or... oh I don't know, buy a jazz and roll the bridge pickup off, like everyone else who needs the sound of a P but has a Jazz does.
First world problems man for sure.
I use to always prefer the look of a Jazz over a P also, but I always found myself favoring the neck pickup. I eventually got a P and now I don't know, I might prefer the looks of the P now. But it doesn't matter cause I now have both, and whichever one I grab I know I will be happy.
Except for my first one or two, I've always bought basses based not just on their tone, but also on their playability and their looks. I've never had a situation where I needed a specific bass NOW, so it's always been easy to get exactly what I want. It just takes time and patience to find one that satisfies me in all three ways.
If tone is the only thing someone goes by when picking a bass and it works for them, that's certainly OK with me. And if someone passes on the most amazing sounding bass because they don't like how it looks, that's OK with me to. I do what works for me.
If tone is the only thing someone goes by when picking a bass and it works for them, that's certainly OK with me. And if someone passes on the most amazing sounding bass because they don't like how it looks, that's OK with me to. I do what works for me.
Many a marriage has been based on "looks vs. tone", with painful (and expensive) consequences. Why do you think this time it will be different? 
Could always do what I did and go custom.
I found I wanted a pj but hated the looks so I ordered a pj with the woods I wanted, the inlay I wanted and covered up the pickups in some big pickup covers.
Point being get both. The tone you want and the looks you want.
I found I wanted a pj but hated the looks so I ordered a pj with the woods I wanted, the inlay I wanted and covered up the pickups in some big pickup covers.
Point being get both. The tone you want and the looks you want.
When I bought this I have to say I didn't like the quilted maple look as i thought it was visually far too loud for me. Having owned it for 3 years now I still think its loud but I'm getting used to it. However since I was buying it from the states, I didn't have the opportunity to try it out before I bought it, I'd only ever heard Jimmy Johnson's series II at a gig he played in a small club here in the UK with Allan Holdsworth so relied on my familiarity with the alembic sound from other basses I own and the confidence it would sound great. Fortunately it did so I think I chose based on it's sound expectation more so that it's looks. That said I'd always choose based on tone and try to find an instrument that I liked both tonally and visually. I believe if you are gonna spend a lot of time with an instrument you better like more than just how it sounds, ergonomics and visual aspects are important too.
I'm Jazz Bass player primarily because I love the neck I had on my '65, the neck I have on my current J, and the different sounds I can get out of it just by changing where I pluck the strings. Most Jazz Basses I've tried (well over 100) don't have this neck. I've never cared for the neck on P basses because it feels chunky to me. But, I've got to say, if you've played that bass with all those songs you used to do and it really has "the tone" for God's sake keep it! You can always add a Jazz later.
