Poll: Tone and Playability or look?

[njones89]

It's like dating. If I don't like the way she looks, I'm not paying diddly squat. That's probably why I don't have that many basses, lol.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

#1, 2 and 3: Playibility
4: Tone
5: appearance.

 

[JRA]

playability.

 

[inthebassclef]

Playability and tone has lead me to buy Red basses and I hate red bass.

 

[NoiseNinja]

1. playability
2. tone
3. looks

This!

 

[socialleper]

Both.
The appearance is what makes me want to pick something up in the first place. The playability and tone are what makes me think about buying.
An ugly bass can play and sound great, but if it makes me cringe, what is the point?

 

[bassdude51]

It's all about looks!

 

[Wisebass]

love to quote myself:

of course not but I have a beautiful wife and a nice car so why should I play an ugly bass?

may the bass be with you

Wise(b)ass

 

[Dave W]

I don't choose.

It absolutely needs to sound good. But it also needs to play great and look cool.

 

[gpx1200]

Spector = all of the above

 

[Plectrum72]

I voted tone and playability, but for me it actually goes:
1. Playability
2. Looks
3. Tone.
Call me shallow if you like, but tone is far easier to fix (strings, eq, pups) than a fugly instrument that doesn't inspire me to pick it up.

 

[mellowinman]

I only buy Fender and Rickenbacker. I always get looks, tone, playability and just plain awesome.

 

[rtslinger]

Since most of the tone comes from my hands
I go with playability

 

[Jebberz]

Playability first, but I wont buy a bass that is not pleasant to my eyes.
Tone and look can always (or almost always) be improved later.

 

[erigod23]

Looks and playability. With all my pedals and EQs and whatnot, I'm pretty sure I can make any bass sound acceptable.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

Yep, tone and playability first and foremost, end of discussion. No one's giving out gigs or paying me for having a pretty bass. I can certainly appreciate a beautiful bass, but if she doesn't play and sound the way I want, it's all superficial. If she does play and sound great, then the appearance is a bonus... but not worth X% more to me.

 

[Jeff K]

I always buy based on looks. And then I always end up selling them based on tone and/or playability.

This is a good point. IF I happen to buy a bass in a store, it first has to appeal to me visually. Then I play it. If the tone and playability match the visual attraction, I'll buy it (if, of course, I can afford it!).

But more often than not, I buy used. Sometimes I have a chance to actually play it prior to buying (some local Craigslist ads, etc.). Other times (TB Classifieds, a good deal from M.F., etc.), I buy it without playing it first. In those situations, I don't have that possibility (to play it first). So most of the time, it has appealed to me aesthetically first, and I take the chance by buying it. Then if the tone does NOT speak to me, I'll sell it later.

Like some of you have already said, in this day and age, I expect both...

 

[archtop2]

Look.
It embeds lots of things, the brand : Fender looks good, the type : a precision looks good, the pickups : a P plus a double Jazz look good, the strings : GHS neon green look good.
And in the and it also sounds good, fine!

 

[Doner Designs]

No need to settle for one or the other these days.

Having said that, I have purchased a number of basses that had looks that were just OK in my mind but they were nice quality and major bargains.

 

[BlueAliceOasis]

Both.