What are you talking about, "coffee table" bass?

[Skip_NJ]

Oh my god look at that horribly boring brown bass. I think I died a little from boredom just looking at that. JK, brown to clear is one of my favorite paint schemes. I love a nice wood grain. Some woods with weak grain like alder, maple and mahogany can be boring, but Id hate to cover up a nice wood grain with solid paint, it seems like a waste. If I want a solid color I'll order a plain wood to paint over.

Anymore, I don't pay the upcharge for anything fancy. I don't think of it as 'coffee table' material, but my favorite jazz serendipitously turned out quite visually interesting:

 

[Jeff K]

Same as you, I'm a vintage guy who loves the vintage look but who can also appreciate coffee table basses. However I've decided to avoid them for the following reason: I know this is silly, but in my mind, fancy-looking basses imply fancy chops. I'm just a "blue-collar" support bassist: don't like soloing, don't know any Jaco or Wooten licks. So, I'm most comfortable wearing an FSO (Fender-shaped object). It's like blue jeans versus a tux -- though at wedding gigs I will happily accessorize my tux with an FSO.

Well yeah, with me there's that too...

 

[sissy kathy]

I found one

So either you're not married, or you got a new table before hand.

 

[Korladis]

Agreed: I've never thought "coffee table bass" was pejorative. "Hippie sandwich" might be borderline snarky, but not necessarily... context is everything. There is/was a user here called hippiesandwich who owned a bunch of... coffee table basses.



Same as you, I'm a vintage guy who loves the vintage look but who can also appreciate coffee table basses. However I've decided to avoid them for the following reason: I know this is silly, but in my mind, fancy-looking basses imply fancy chops. I'm just a "blue-collar" support bassist: don't like soloing, don't know any Jaco or Wooten licks. So, I'm most comfortable wearing an FSO (Fender-shaped object). It's like blue jeans versus a tux -- though at wedding gigs I will happily accessorize my tux with an FSO.

Yeah, I've even heard the term "classic hippie sandwich" in favorable descriptions of boutique basses.

My reasons for not having a "coffee table bass" have nothing to do with the aesthetics (I find Alembics to be incredibly beautiful, for instance). Number one is that I can't afford one. The second reason is that almost all of them are active, it seems, and while I have no problem with people playing active basses, it's just not what I really want from a bass.

I already get a sound I really love from my Rickenbacker, which is by no means a boutique bass (though its transparent blue finish is quite pretty, I think). Since for me it already sounds about as close to perfect as can be asked for, I'm not sure why I would get a fancier, custom, boutique bass except for looks (wanting a different body shape, or a pretty top wood or something), and I can't really afford to be thinking about purchasing a bass just for aesthetic reasons. Well, not an entirely custom made thing. I feel like I'd be wasting a luthier's time if I wanted a bass that ideally would just sound like a stock Rickenbacker.