Strap length. The lower part of the bass body must touch my upper right thigh. It doesn't feel right any higher or lower.
P.S. "Most" means pick one, not make a list.
P.S. "Most" means pick one, not make a list.
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What are you most picky about?
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
I believe that there are certain physiological aspects (in conjunction with other less cerebral qualities) to deriving maximal appreciation of a given instrument that certainly have influence over ones ability to extract maximal utility out of it.
Some things I’m picky about personally:
Fretboard... it must be black. Be it rosewood or ebony, or other, it has got the be black, and preferably without position markers.
Pickups.... one only. P bass please.
Electronics/knobs... this is non negotiable... must be passive with only one single knob.. a tone knob.. no need for a volume knob or additional clutter.
Action.... low.
Tone.... has to be lively/dynamic.
Style.... nothing pointy, or flashy. Classics appeal to me.
Origin...simply has got to be Made in the U.S.A. ...America is a continent, so the Made in the U.S.A. designation means something to me. Your mileage may very, and good for you.
I think a bass itself should remain uncomplicated, and as an object/utilitarian device should represent a distillation of the means to convey musical thoughts/impulses in as unobstructed a manner as possible.
Some things I’m picky about personally:
Fretboard... it must be black. Be it rosewood or ebony, or other, it has got the be black, and preferably without position markers.
Pickups.... one only. P bass please.
Electronics/knobs... this is non negotiable... must be passive with only one single knob.. a tone knob.. no need for a volume knob or additional clutter.
Action.... low.
Tone.... has to be lively/dynamic.
Style.... nothing pointy, or flashy. Classics appeal to me.
Origin...simply has got to be Made in the U.S.A. ...America is a continent, so the Made in the U.S.A. designation means something to me. Your mileage may very, and good for you.
I think a bass itself should remain uncomplicated, and as an object/utilitarian device should represent a distillation of the means to convey musical thoughts/impulses in as unobstructed a manner as possible.
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I’m picky about pretty much everything. 
Evenness of tone across the strings and fretboard is a big thing for me. I don’t mean that I expect a Bb to sound the same in first position as in sixth position, but the transition from note-to-note when moving chromatically should be reasonably even. Another thing that I’m picky about is volume consistency when switching from plucking to slapping. I don’t even slap a whole lot but when I do I want to know that my sound is not going to suddenly disappear in the mix.
Evenness of tone across the strings and fretboard is a big thing for me. I don’t mean that I expect a Bb to sound the same in first position as in sixth position, but the transition from note-to-note when moving chromatically should be reasonably even. Another thing that I’m picky about is volume consistency when switching from plucking to slapping. I don’t even slap a whole lot but when I do I want to know that my sound is not going to suddenly disappear in the mix.
When it comes down to it, there really are no total dealbreakers for me... I'll play anything and make it work.
My preferences? Lightweight, decent tone, passive, 4 strings, simple controls, and top jack.
In the looks department, I prefer anything but TCS, black, natural, rosewood, pau ferro, tort, and bongos. Lately I've been on a relic, stickers, and "refins with character" kick.
My preferences? Lightweight, decent tone, passive, 4 strings, simple controls, and top jack.
In the looks department, I prefer anything but TCS, black, natural, rosewood, pau ferro, tort, and bongos. Lately I've been on a relic, stickers, and "refins with character" kick.
My one pet peeve is grounding hum. I can't stand it. I've shielded every bass I've had. Some of them still have residual hum that is very quiet but still annoys me. It's probably because I practice with headphones.
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Fit and finish. If the frets are cutting into my hands, if the strings are laying on the frets, or I could shoot an arrow off of it because it is so bowed, I can't even play it. Same if finish on the neck is "sticky". I can't stand it.
Feel- If I pick up a bass, hold it, and it just "feels" cheap, I will have a hard getting over that.
Sackless- A good bass to me needs to have some balls to the tone. A thin, polite sound that needs a lot of knob turning to get a sound I like out of it just isn't worth it. EQ should be used conservatively. If it is the only thing holding up the sound of a bass I can't roll with that.
Feel- If I pick up a bass, hold it, and it just "feels" cheap, I will have a hard getting over that.
Sackless- A good bass to me needs to have some balls to the tone. A thin, polite sound that needs a lot of knob turning to get a sound I like out of it just isn't worth it. EQ should be used conservatively. If it is the only thing holding up the sound of a bass I can't roll with that.
Neck specifications (nut width, string spacing, etc) and low action, especially on a 5 string.
I used to be all about low action, but I have such a disdain for fret buzz I've started raising mine more and more.
Requirements:
Color has to be Black, Purple, Holoflash, the right shade of Red, or the right shade of Blue.
If it has a pickguard, it better be black. White, tort, etc pickguards are an instant deal breaker unless I can remove it and replace it with a black one.
Neck dive - As much as I love the look of a thunderbird style bass, having owned one and finding no way to alleviate neck dive on the ones I've owned, neck dive of that level is an instant deal breaker.
Body type - If I don't like the shape of the body. For example, the look of hollow body style basses, or flying V style, and several others, that's a deal breaker.
Neck/fretboard - no sharp frets, smooth neck.
Requirements:
Color has to be Black, Purple, Holoflash, the right shade of Red, or the right shade of Blue.
If it has a pickguard, it better be black. White, tort, etc pickguards are an instant deal breaker unless I can remove it and replace it with a black one.
Neck dive - As much as I love the look of a thunderbird style bass, having owned one and finding no way to alleviate neck dive on the ones I've owned, neck dive of that level is an instant deal breaker.
Body type - If I don't like the shape of the body. For example, the look of hollow body style basses, or flying V style, and several others, that's a deal breaker.
Neck/fretboard - no sharp frets, smooth neck.
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Action and stings. I set my string action to 5/64" at the low E side and 3/64" on the high G side. The A and D follow the neck radius. I use standard/medium gauge strings; 45-65-85-105
Neck radius. 9.5" or 10".
Weight. 9 lbs or less
Colors. If I have a main go-to color in life it's black. I had a black early '65 L-serial number Jazz years ago. It's a fine color for bass guitars but I've branched out and taken more to classic pastel fender custom colors; Fiesta Red, Sonic Blue, Daphne Blue, Sea Foam, etc. The metallic like Lake Placid Blue and Inca Silver are nice, too. See through blonds are nice. I don't hate sunburst finishes, I prefer two tone bursts over three tone, but they aren't really for me in general.
Neck radius. 9.5" or 10".
Weight. 9 lbs or less
Colors. If I have a main go-to color in life it's black. I had a black early '65 L-serial number Jazz years ago. It's a fine color for bass guitars but I've branched out and taken more to classic pastel fender custom colors; Fiesta Red, Sonic Blue, Daphne Blue, Sea Foam, etc. The metallic like Lake Placid Blue and Inca Silver are nice, too. See through blonds are nice. I don't hate sunburst finishes, I prefer two tone bursts over three tone, but they aren't really for me in general.
Big #1: Neck taper (i like as little as i can find otherwise i feel a little "fumbly" and even if i'm the the only one who notices, it gets distracting)
Medium #2: Neck relief (i like it at 0.010" and if it exceeds 0.012" i get a little uppity... i'm always turning 'rods)
Something i like but dont care as much about #3: String height (6.2/64" at the last fret. Yes. A month ago i was still using the 5/64" string height and 0.012" relief setup, but i've since "optimized")
Something i'm not picky about: tone of an instrument when i get it, unless it sounds really, really bad acoustically as well as plugged in. If it just sounds bad plugged in, it's an easy fix as far as i've encountered. In fact, i see it as something of value to let an instrument have it's natural voice, and if it plays, then there's no reason you cant use its voice say what you want.
Medium #2: Neck relief (i like it at 0.010" and if it exceeds 0.012" i get a little uppity... i'm always turning 'rods)
Something i like but dont care as much about #3: String height (6.2/64" at the last fret. Yes. A month ago i was still using the 5/64" string height and 0.012" relief setup, but i've since "optimized")
Something i'm not picky about: tone of an instrument when i get it, unless it sounds really, really bad acoustically as well as plugged in. If it just sounds bad plugged in, it's an easy fix as far as i've encountered. In fact, i see it as something of value to let an instrument have it's natural voice, and if it plays, then there's no reason you cant use its voice say what you want.
It's got to sound like a Hofner. The combination of the bass and amp must sound like a Hofner. Otherwise, why bother?
