What are you most picky about?

[DJ Bebop]

Lines.
Lines need to be straight.
Everything needs to be parallel, perpendicular, or in a set radius.
When I see painted stripes on a road that look like the driver was drunk, I get an inch in the middle of my brain that I can't reach with the coat hanger.
The remotes on the coffee table. They have to be side by side, parallel and pointing at the tv. And the coffee table better be parallel to the couch and tv or there will be an episode.
Lines down the back of stockings. Better be perfectly straight and not all wavy or gtfo.
Just few examples.

Interesting, tell me more.

 

[TomB]

My list: No neck dive ever! Neck dive is a sign of piss-poor design. Close action. Chrome Flats. Tone with tech21 preamp and QSC power amp. Light weight. 5 to 6 pounds is good. 30.5" scale.

A bit off-topic, but what strings do you recommend for 30.5” scale 5-strings?

 

[luciens]

For me, it's fingerboard relief. I absolutely just have to have the relief on my boards spot-on on the gnat's azz at all times. If there's so much as a nanometer too much relief, and I start getting that "stiffness" in the action in the middle of the board... The psychiatric problems begin immediately.

So I always have allen wrenches sitting out all the time so I can tweak the TR's if needed.

That's the only item where I seem to have true mental illness surrounding it. Everything else I seem to be rational about, but the setup and fingerboard relief is just out of control in my psyche....

L

 

[eliascalles]

Im 100% with you on the black. ideally a rosewood or ebony fingerboard, but it's not a deal breaker. that said I don't care for the look of a black painted headstock. mostly though I don't really care all that much about the looks of the bass. If the audience is paying attention to what my bass looks like something is already amiss lol.
the rest not so much. I dislike a very low action and almost every bass I get I have to raise it up a bit. weight not such an issue with a good strap and reasonable set lengths, but I'll prob be singing a different song when I get older. neck radius I never paid much attention to, but I just checked my fenders are all 9.5 as is my G&L, I have a gretch that is 12, they all feel ok to me. I only play 4 strings basses so maybe it's more of an issue with 5+ strings. cheers

 

[Andy Marshman]

I have preferences and dilemmas. I hate fret buzz and compromise by keeping the action high enough. (I do maintain the correct action and adjust the truss rod accordingly). I think that with time, I'll relax on that hang up and tolerate some buzz and enjoy lower action.
I like light weight and short scale but have 30 and 34 inch instruments.
I do not tolerate clanking, treble-heavy tone on a bass, and adjust EQ to suit my old school RnB/Stax tone.

 

[JimmyM]

I ain't all that picky....I can work with just about anything that has a 35" scale and fresh Roto 66s on it. The only thing I suppose you could say that I'm totally anal about is my nut groove depth and width and absolutely no sharp edges or corners on my nut. I lavish many hours dialing in the nuts on every one of my basses to make them absolutely perfect before I can say I'm happy with any bass.

LOL...just the 35" scale qualifies you as picky to me And you're picky about nuts.

 

[JimmyM]

A bit off-topic, but what strings do you recommend for 30.5” scale 5-strings?

Depends on the bridge.

 

[TomB]

Depends on the bridge.

I suppose, but so far there are not a lot of flatwound short scale B-strings I’ve run across to choose from, so I always ask. So far, I’m pretty happy with Dunlop 45-125’s, 10 or 12 gigs in.

 

[Gordon Mills]

I see a lot of references to "neck dive". Am I just lucky, or is the way I set my strap making me impervious to it. I have never had a bass try to do that when I'm playing. Does it mostly happen to those guys who wear their bass below their waist?

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Yeah, I tried that for a while, and went back to the lights because I like to bend strings, and the more bendable they are, the better for me.

I switched the lights after I read what BB King said about playing lights versus fatter strings. I know it was guitar, but it made sense to me. I never noticed any drop off in tone, either.

 

[joel406]

Has to be a 5 string.

Has to have D'Addario strings.

Can't be green, yellow, orange or any other color than... "Natural wood finish" "3 Tabacco sunburst" or the right "black".

And above all else.

Must be a Fender.

 

[shade_1313]

To me, basses that have headstock painted same color as body look weird with maple fretboards.
Can't explain why, it just irks me.

It was the matching headstock that tipped me over the edge of buying this, versus getting a Combustion with a Pau Ferro board. I generally don’t like maple boards, but with it bookended at either end by a bright color, it worked for me.