What are you most picky about?

[Hevy T]

Light weight
low action
100's for strings
Must fit the look for the gig
Gotta have a nice punchy tone (whiny tone and it's out the door)
No binding on the body
prefer either rolled fret edges or binding in the neck
Most of my basses got to have 2 pickups

 

[nerkoids]

Most things on a bass, I can certainly make do, being a lefty, we take what we can get. However, I hate Cort Tort, but I especially hate these particular bass tuners, and every other brand that has those ugly notches on the key shafts:

 

[sleddogn]

Has to have color, no wood grains here, wood grain = ugly

 

[Stinky_Fingers]

-1.5” Nut
-Contoured Heel
-I like my action a little higher than most, but still low
- Prefer varnishes and waxes for the neck finish
- space between the strings and the body
-comfort, is it comfortable to hold and play for 3 hours

 

[dalkowski]

I really really really don't like noises that shouldn't be there (i.e., hum/fret buzz).

I need simple -- passive with no more than 3 knobs (V/V/T)

I demand comfort -- whether that means weight (weight?), balance, body contour, whatever. I loved my Allen Woody until one rehearsal shortly before COVID when I all but threw it across the room.

And I used to be "anything but black" as far as finishes are concerned. Now I'm pretty much white, natural or natural tint (like walnut), burst, and maybe black.

 

[beatmachine pro]

intonation and set up, strings,...ect all
but really what im most picky about is my playing

I dont even play live because i know i can be a better player
so im definately my worst critic

 

[db59]

A good pair on underwear and a nice ale.

 

[mikeyjm2]

I'm not super picky about things, but I like for things (not just basses) to be no more complicated than they have to be. So I guess you could say I'm picky about simplicity. I currently own no active basses, but I do have one being built by G&L (an L-2k) now. I've been wanting one for years.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

Strings. I’m very, very picky about strings.

 

[Jeff Scott]

---Black. If it's not black, it must go back.

You know, it's true; once you go black you never go back. My first bass (my training bass) was a 3TSB late '60s Jazz Bass that I got in 1971. A couple years later (1973) I traded it for my first Rickenbacker, a 1967 Jetglo 4005WB. I have had many other basses in other finishes over the decades, but many have been either Jetglo or black (depending on the maker). My favorite bass these days that I have is also Jetglo, so that old chestnut is, oh, so true!

 

[MIMike]

I’m not too picky about action; my skills are not that refined, so neither is my setup requirements. About the only thing I am picky about is price. I haven’t owned a ton of Basses, but I have never paid more than $1500 for instrument I’ve ever owned.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Weight
It has to be 9.5 lbs or less, although I find that number is coming down as I age.

Balance
If the upper horn does not align with 12th fret or beyond, I pretty much know that it's going to be a diver and/or a long reach. An extremely well balanced bass will also mitigate some of the overall weight, so a bass on the top end of my acceptance range has to be well balanced.

Scale Length
It has to be 34" if it's not fanned. While the sound of a 35" scale length B-string is usually great, I don't like what it does to the sound on the G-string. Plus, I just prefer the fret spacing of 34".

String Spacing
My preference is 18mm at the bridge (on a 5-string), but I do own others and my main player is 19mm.

Number of Strings
5.

Everything else is negotiable.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Probably that there needs to be minimum 22 easy accessible frets, and that the scale length needs to be shorter than 31", for me to even consider buying a bass.

Oh, and the frets needs to sufficiently leveled to accommodate a string action of 2mm (~0.079") low E string at 12th fret, and 1.5mm (~0.059") high G string at 12th fret, without any fretbuzz whatsoever.

 

[TomB]

These days, 5 strings for gigging; still love my older 4’s though. 18-19 mm for the bridge, though I’ll play whatever. Not too fussy about scale length though I’m liking shorties more and more as the shoulders and hands age. Don’t even notice radius much, but hadn’t thought about it in terms of fretting out. Maybe that’s because I like a “standard” action: very very slight bow in the truss, action that doesn’t buzz. 8.5 lbs and down, part of why I like my shorties, and good balance, which usually means light tuners. Beyond that, any color in the rainbow is fine - well, maybe not pink .

 

[Dan_reeves]

I am picky about traditional looking designs - no weird shapes or pointy stylings for me.

I am also picky about neck dive - I have purchased light tuners that cost more than the bass itself to improve balance.

 

[SJan3]

Here's my list:

---Super low action and light strings. I'd rather there be a slight fretbuzz than sacrifice higher action. So I get every bass I have as low as I possibly can, and never use anything heavier than 40-100 or 40-120 for 5 string, even when playing flats.

---Neck radius. Between 9.5" and 12" seems to be my comfort zone for a 4, though I just got a Yamaha 5'er with something like a 24" radius and it feels good. But any rounder than 9.5" and I can't bend strings without choking out or raising the action. And that ain't happenin'.

---Light weight. I wear the term "weight weenie" like a badge of honor and don't care if you he-men "Just go hit the gym" types like it or not. Wasn't always a weight weenie but a chronic should problem, due to a heavy-as-heck Jazz I used to own on a 2" seatbelt strap, put a stop to that. I've got a limit and I do my best to stick to it, and since I've got light basses that I love already, I see no need to buy any that are going to make my shoulder worse.

---Black. If it's not black, it must go back. I don't mind other colors interspersed with the black base color, but a bass has to have black as the base color for me to buy it these days since I scientifically proved that I look the best with a black bass. Any bass you might see in my little collection that's not black was grandfathered in before the testing.

And you?

Agree on the low action and light gauge strings. For rounds I use DR SUNBEAMS or DUNLOP SUPER BRIGHT NICKELS, both 40-100. For flats LABELLA LOW TENSION FLEXIBLE FLATS.
Also agree on weight. My #1 is 8.3 lbs.
I'm more open on color but not partial to bursts. Much prefer solid colors. My #1 is Olympic White with rosewood. Also have Black w/ Maple board. I love both rosewood and maple boards but if I had to choose, I'd pick rosewood.
I also prefer 9.5" to 10" fretboard radius.
12" is the limit and starting to feel too flat for me. When I was younger I loved a shallow/thin neck front to rear but these days I'm preferring a chunkier neck. More control and also prefer the 1.625"/ 1 5/8" nut width. Practically the same. I do have a Jazz bass that I love but sometimes that neck feels too narrow until I'm really warmed up.
Finally, I MOS def like the FSO look and P Bass in particular. There's just nothing more classic and correct looking for any situation.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Here's my list:

---Super low action and light strings. I'd rather there be a slight fretbuzz than sacrifice higher action. So I get every bass I have as low as I possibly can, and never use anything heavier than 40-100 or 40-120 for 5 string, even when playing flats.

---Neck radius. Between 9.5" and 12" seems to be my comfort zone for a 4, though I just got a Yamaha 5'er with something like a 24" radius and it feels good. But any rounder than 9.5" and I can't bend strings without choking out or raising the action. And that ain't happenin'.

---Light weight. I wear the term "weight weenie" like a badge of honor and don't care if you he-men "Just go hit the gym" types like it or not. Wasn't always a weight weenie but a chronic should problem, due to a heavy-as-heck Jazz I used to own on a 2" seatbelt strap, put a stop to that. I've got a limit and I do my best to stick to it, and since I've got light basses that I love already, I see no need to buy any that are going to make my shoulder worse.

---Black. If it's not black, it must go back. I don't mind other colors interspersed with the black base color, but a bass has to have black as the base color for me to buy it these days since I scientifically proved that I look the best with a black bass. Any bass you might see in my little collection that's not black was grandfathered in before the testing.

And you?

Tone, and Low action for sure, I’ll go up a notch on the string gauge to .105s, and it being presentable in a professional setting. The rest, not so much.

 

[Matt O]

Tort.

Not joking.

I’m incredibly picky about my tort. They just don’t make it like they used to. Well, there’s that guy that makes the $300 mystery material tort that looks pretty good. Other than that, not much good tort out there, imo. YMMV, etc.

 

[baileyboy]

...Light weight. And you?

This! Number one on my list is bass weight. If it weighs over 9 lbs I won't pluck a string before it's back on the rack.

 

[Manticore]

Aside from tapered tuning posts, I'm particular about string spacing, particularly at the nut. If the bass doesn't have the wide string spacing of an early P it won't get played, so I move it on. This remains true for my six string basses, so the fingerboard on these basses are fairly wide.