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OCD Bassists?

Do you align the ball ends on your basses? If not, you're amateur OCD.

Oh, and per Jerry, it is CDO. It should be in alphabetical order.

5226673371_1eae4a782d_b.jpg
 
Hmmm, not really for me because I make the odd change to my amp's settings now and then, just to suit where I'm playing. It doesn't have to be EXACT though, and my effects unit is all preset just with footswitches for each effect, so no worries about having to make sure they're "correct".

However, I'm really anal with my basses. I am known for adjusting my action and even sometimes intonation in between songs, and on rare occasions even during songs. I'm familiar enough with the tuning of my instruments so that I can compensate with tuning adjustments to stay in tune during shows, practices, etc. My logic is that the closer to perfect my setup is, the more I can do on my instrument. That's a polite way of saying I'm compulsive as hell.
 
Only on my effects. I have to make sure all the knobs are in the right places but that's just good sense.

The only habit I have is if I'm playing my Jazz I will wedge two picks under the pickguard above the front pickup. There's only one song in our set that I play with a pick and I can't remember the last time I dropped one but I still don't feel ready unless I've got two wedged under there. :D
 
I have a buddy that goes to most of my shows and he thinks it's funny to move some of my knobs during the set breaks, drives me crazy! I know after the 1st note "crap, Dave was here". Now the whole band keeps an eye out for me. I get even though.. I rearranged his spark plug wires on his engine once at 2am after a show and took off. I also try to put cigarettes out in his drinks whenever possible. It's all in good fun though, no hostility, haha.
 
Any bass players here have exact settings for everything and basically go all OCD when it comes to shows? I wanna know if I'm the only one.

I do. I actually took pictures of all my settings and carry a printout in my rack to confirm the settings are right. It's less OCD and more that I have some pretty sensitive bits in my rig that small changes to knobs make big tone changes.
I'd much prefer to be plug and play, but I'm very happy with the tone I get so I have to endure the specific nature of the gear.
 
As a rule, I keep my amp set flat, my bass set flat, and have memorized my pedal settings. I may or may not change that when the band gets going, depending on how I feel I'm sounding in the mix. I don't consider it OCD by a long shot; I think of it as being professional. People are paying me to play,and I like getting paid, so I want things to sound right.
 
Do you align the ball ends on your basses? If not, you're amateur OCD.

Oh, and per Jerry, it is CDO. It should be in alphabetical order.

5226673371_1eae4a782d_b.jpg

I'm so glad I don't have THIS problem. I hate changing strings as it is. If I had to line up the ball ends....oh man, what a hassle and waste of time...no offense to those that have to do this due to OCD, of course...
 
Ursus Tyrannus said:
I had to actually laugh out loud, I thought I was the only one!

Guilty...
  • My ball ends are in a perfect line.
  • I re-align my volume and tone knobs so that 12:00 is dimed.
  • My cords are wrapped up perfectly so that the loops are even and opposite and the plugs meet at the Velcro closure.
  • I wont play my basses without straplocks.
  • I've photographed my amp settings for particular songs and particular basses.
  • My basses each have their own position on the rack. When my wife messes with me by switching the Ric and the Jazz, I notice immediately and fix it.

I know...there's medication for this, but I actually think people who don't do these things should!
 
Continuing in the spirit of this thread, I hope Engine207 won't mind if I point out a minor grammatical error in his Latin sig. Should be "nobis" not "nos." The word "gratum" takes dative case, not accusative. Otherwise, it seems like a creed that all of us on this thread should take more to heart.
 
Do you align the ball ends on your basses? If not, you're amateur OCD.

Oh, and per Jerry, it is CDO. It should be in alphabetical order.

5226673371_1eae4a782d_b.jpg

Am I the only one that noticed the phillips head slots for the intonation screws are at the same angle?

You have no idea how much relief and satisfaction I feel just to see that. I kinda want a cigarette even though I don't smoke.