What are you most picky about?

[Rebel Rocker]

Low Action
45-105 Strings
Weight (Big Factor)
No Neck Dive

 

[pfschim]

I'm not super picky and can deal with pretty much any reasonably playable bass.
But things I pay some attention to are -
weight - I prefer lighter
action - I like it low-ish. First I set it to where there is fret buzz, then I raise it just a bit. Little bit of fret buzz on a Jazz is expected and IMO, desirable
Neck - I'm a dedicated rosewood guy (or occasionally ebony) just never liked playing on gloss maple ..although my '51P RI has a maple neck and it works for me in the right situations.
strings - Ultimately decided that nickel wrapped, round core rounds that are about 2 weeks old are what I like - currently enjoying DR Pure Blues or Sunbeams
gauge - 45-105 seems to be where I'm most comfortable .. but I also like the Thomastic Jazz Bass strings which are 43 - 100 and Acoustic Cores on my Rick Turner (41-86)
Brand - pretty much FSO's for me after decades of trying out alternatives here and there. They just feel right in my hands and around my neck.
Color - no crazy ass colors for me ... Burst, Black, Oly White .. although my '51 P reissue is school bus yellow

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Frets sprouting and the sensation of feeling your hand slide over them while playing. I hate that.

 

[andy67]

US or MIJ instrument, straight neck and low action, 3mm on the e-string. Difficult to get right but so satisfying when you get it right on a straight flat neck

 

[DJ Bebop]

Here's my list:

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

The opposite of this...

 

[Goat of Ball St]

Nitro, not even for any good reasons I just like instruments that wear, also hate chrome plated hardware but never a dealbreaker for a buy

 

[bdplaid]

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 with everything until recently, I have a jones for a sunburst P. Must have something to do with my being in a funk band and wanting to emulate Jamerson and Freddie Jackson.

But everything else, 100%.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Neck dive, yeah I'm talking about you, Epiphone EB-3 long scale reissue

Maybe real narrow string spacing?

Necks I can't get flat.

I don't play stuff long enough to pick up on their faults. If it's here at home, I just switch basses

 

[mrm56]

satiny smooth, natural feeling back of a very staight neck on a 8# P for me.

 

[blmeier7]

Straight neck with good fret leveling. If the bass can’t take medium-low action without buzzing then I’ll never be happy. Weight is a close 2nd, any 4 string above 9 lbs never stays around long.

 

[Jeff K]

A weak E string (on a 4-string). To me, that lowest string sets the whole tone of the bass and HAS to be just perfect.

But to your point, Jimmy, I'd rather have higher action than any possibility of fret buzz. I love note clarity, and tend to dig in a bit on certain songs.

 

[DuluthDank]

I don't like too much low end extension in a band mix. Some amp/cabs need a high pass filter.

 

[zortation]

Proprietary electronics. If I'm supposed to spend good money on an ABC bass I want ABC electronics and pickups. ABC hardware would be nice too.

 

[groooooove]

low action, and string spacing.

6 string bass, 16.5mm string spacing, pickups need to be adjusted nice and close to the string both for the ramp-feel as well as the sound is almost always better.

 

[BVaccaro]

Low action us preferred and always adjusted when getting a new addition. I definitely have been having a love for flats now. Oh and the less controls the better I like my minimalist basses one pickup one volume and one tone. I guess i also prefer a maple fretboard. I do have rosewood but if its an option I'll go with the maple board.

 

[GIBrat51]

Well... Two things, I guess:
1) Is the bass just basically a POS, with fundamental problems that either can't be fixed - or, they can, but at unreasonable expense?
2) Is it available in a left handed model?
If the answers are "NO" and "YES" -in that order? I'm good, thanks... Anything else that I can be picky about, can be taken care of pretty easily...

 

[lermgalieu]

I’m mostly picky about what comes out of the amp and how it sounds in the mix. Everything else is negotiable.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

• Noisy electronics: Some 60-cycle is to be expected with soloed single-coils but noise that comes from bad shielding or other causes is a big no-no. If a dirt or compression pedal goes on my board, it's always paired with a gate because I don't want my rig buzzing when idling. I know many will disagree, but I came up with the belief that a noisy rig is unprofessional. I've played with guitarists with high-gain rigs where you can hear a pin drop when they're not playing because they understand effective gating.

• No strap buttons behind the neck: If the choice is between some neck-dive and the instrument tilting forward, I'll take a little bit of dive. I hate the tilt that comes with the strap connecting to a peg mounted on the neck pocket. I still remember being nervous as I drilled a screw into the top of my Thunderbird Studio 5 because I couldn't stand using the peg on the neck pocket.

• Clearly not stock thumb ramp: I'm not opposed to thumb ramps, but nothing will turn me off of a bass more than a ramp that is clearly not stock because it has a grain of wood or color that completely clashes with the finish of the bass. It's like those ugly spoilers kids put on their Hondas and Neons.

• A "true" low-end: When it comes to a professional piece of bass gear compared to entry-level or mid-level, there is one thing I have found is always present. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a bass, amp, or cabinet. Every pro piece has a true low-end with a fundamental that is a precise moment in time completely in-phase with the rest of the tonal range being produced. There isn't an artificial low-end created by psychoacoustics, like scooping the mids to create the impression of low-end, and there isn't an inherently boxiness because of lack of low-end. It doesn't have to be an extended low-end (contrary to popular belief, bass guitar is not a super bass-heavy instrument), but it still has to be a REAL low-end.

 

[Clank Plank]

Clean Y fronts.

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I’ve found I have to steer clear of any model of bass that has an overly scooped midrange.

I’m very picky about neck dive. I’m not overly picky about weight. My two main basses are 6-strings, and I think each weighs less than 10.5 pounds, and both feel comfortable to me. Especially my new Spector Euro 6LT. Many kudos to Ned Steinberger and Stuart Spector for such a wonderful design. My Ristola-6 also feels great on my shoulder, with zero neck dive. Kudos to Brian Ristola for his wonderful body design.

I adjust the trussrod on my basses to where the neck is almost flat. And I try to keep my string action low-ish for my fretting hand, but I also have a fairly aggressive plucking style, so I’ve learned to embrace a bit of fret buzz.

I’m not picky about the color of my bass. Most of my basses have natural finishes or translucent color finishes, but that wasn’t an intentional move on my part.