What do YOU look for when buying a bass.?

[DRut]

I know this is highly subjective and I'm not looking for advice, I'm just curious.

For those of you with multiple basses or GAS, what do you look for when you decide to buy another bass?
Playability (what does that mean to you), weight, design, uniqueness.etc
I have 2 basses a pass and a jazz bass , I'm about to go out and buy another bas simply because I like the way it looks. (I think a lot of basses are works of art). It's an ESP5 string fretless. I dont Neeeeeeed it just something new for the family.
Once again I'm not looking ifor advice on buying the bass , just asking what makes you guys pull the trigger when you splurge on a new bass

 

[Whale]

I place a high value on tone and then playability. Appearance comes third… unless the bass is downright butt-ugly. Then that aspect jumps to the forefront. The name on the headstock has zero importance to me.

So when I’m checking out basses I’m looking for a sound I don’t already have or a sound that is better than what I already have. If I come across something that will work for me, I then see if the bass plays well (or if it can be set up to play well), how heavy it is, how the neck feels in my hand, and if it will withstand the abuse of playing 100+ gigs a year.

This simple approach has helped me avoid a lot of issues with gas.

 

[Texaspandj]

First appearance. I gotta dig it.
Second. Feel. That includes weight.
Third. Sound. I can always change pickups or amp settings.
And Above All That, it has to ba a FENDER.

 

[Polfuste]

WEIGHT !

 

[JRA]

so many different 'correct' answers depending on the player, but for me:

Playability (what does that mean to you), weight, design, uniqueness.etc

for me it's the neck: gotta be a comfort to play the neck! i like 'em as lightweight as i can get them. i've mostly been playing FSOs that balance well, and i've made "looks" the fun part of having a new ax.

I'm about to go out and buy another bas simply because I like the way it looks. (I think a lot of basses are works of art).

i've looked at new axes the same way, but somewhere along the line i realized that, for me, it has to play the way i want it to play...no matter what it looks like.

what makes you guys pull the trigger when you splurge on a new bass

willpower! seriously, i have so many these days i have to look for ways to rationalize a new one! it's a fun hobby to acquire new, great-playing EBs.

good luck with your new bass!

 

[bassicmike]

I would say feel...but I would be wrong.

The look of the bass has to appeal to me.

Then the feel of the neck.

As said above, the sound of a bass can manipulated through mods or amplification or strings or whatever. Unless we're talking a Wal. Then the sound of the gods would certainly have influence on the other two factors.

I was recently looking at a particular FSO as a backup, but I couldn't get past the aesthetic of the headstock in question. So I moved on.

 

[Killing Floor]

Neck feels good in my hand all the way up and down. Reasonable build quality, such that anything I would worry about can be amended easily.
And it has to have a nut width.

 

[blr2]

Playability, neck profile, tone, fit and finish, weight. Not necessarily in this particular order.

 

[AQUANOVA]

Emotional satisfaction.
Weight
Color/finish.

 

[Drop1]

I place a high value on tone and then playability. Appearance comes third… unless the bass is downright butt-ugly. Then that aspect jumps to the forefront. The name on the headstock has zero importance to me.

So when I’m checking out basses I’m looking for a sound I don’t already have or a sound that is better than what I already have. If I come across something that will work for me, I then see if the bass plays well (or if it can be set up to play well), how heavy it is, how the neck feels in my hand, and if it will withstand the abuse of playing 100+ gigs a year.

This simple approach has helped me avoid a lot of issues with gas.

I wish I could do this.
A bass has to have a certian look to get me to even pick it up. Sucks too cause I LOVE the sound of jazz basses but won't even pick them up in the store due to looks.
It doesn't help me that I think more than 90% of basses look like cheap junk toys.
On an average day I'm lucky if my gc has even 1 bass I'm willing to play. I hear others playing them and they sound lovely so I'll go look at what they are playing and it's usually one of the ugliest basses in the store. Thankfully we have a decent electronics aftermarket. Otherwise I wouldnt even be able to get close to what I want from the basses I do like the look and feel of.

I KNOW this is dumb. Can't help it.

 

[JC BASS 91]

For me I need it to meet a few requirements at this point:

1. It must have a comfortable neck profile. Big chunky necks are a huge 'no go' for me. It must be a slim neck profile. For example, I didn't ever buy a Ric 4003 because the neck was too "chunky" for me (however, I have learned that new ones since 2023 have returned to the older, thinner profiles of the 4001 series.)

2. It must sound different than what I currently have. The caveat to this rule is that I might actually buy something that is the same design as a bass I already have, but sounds different than the existing bass.

3. It must be pleasing to my eye. If it is ugly, I'll never pick it up and play it. There is at least one bass out there on the market right now that I want solely for it's looks. I have yet to actually buy it, and I may never buy it, because I know it sounds just like something I have at home already, and I know I would have to mod it get a different sound out of it.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Playability, tone and the neck has to be perfect.
The rest can be upgraded with ease.

 

[buldog5151bass]

1. Playability- I can get a usable tone from any quality instrument, but how comfortable is it to play - nut with, bridge width, body shape, weight?

2. Hardware/construction - in 40+ years of playing, I've basically had three basses - Lull P4, 70s Fender parts bass (P neck), upgraded MIM fretless jazz. All had good hardware. The only issue I had was a Detuner that broke after almost 40 years. I also replaced the Badass bridge with a bent plate on the parts bass few years ago.

3. Sound - I like to test anything before I play it.

4. Looks are important - you want to be inspired to play it, but the two times I bought something based on looks (T bird, Epiphone Viola), I found then uncomfortable to play, so they quickly went.

 

[roller]

1. Sound
2. Reputation (be it craftsmanship, tone, the luthier, etc.)
3. Value

 

[IPA]

1. Looks cool

 

[r_bnks]

The Spector logo. And hits for it being from a Specific era.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

1. Not some weird shape. (Like ricks, jazz, etc)
2. Color. Black, burst, or stained
3. Playability, low action, no buzz
4. Brand/fit/finish. We all have a little snob in us, big name is a plus. But,,plenty of great basses in the $300-500 range. Some are made pretty good. So don’t quickly pass on these.
5. Sound. Clean, big lows,

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I have a bass. I don’t need to keep buying basses to fill some void in my life.

 

[Fynn]

I mainly just look for something new. I take a deep look at what I already have, and then look for what else there is that I don't yet have. For example, I don't currently have a single coil P bass, so that's definitely on my list of things that I want to acquire at some point.
I do of course care about aesthetics and such, but my taste also changes so often, that I can't really rely on that for purchase decisions. Besides, I don't have to look at it when I'm playing, so that's fine haha.
It should play well enough for what I want it to be. Certain neck shapes and thicknesses make certain playstyles easier for me. But if I don't play a certain style on a certain bass, then of course it doesn't have to have that specific neck shape either.

 

[Nightsprinter]

Here's what I don't care about: color, how it looks, the type of wood/materials used, the name on the headstock

Here's what I look for and haven't found yet: 5 or 6 string bass built with the correct geometry for $1500 or less, perfectly level frets that can achieve a 5/64" bass side and 3.5-4/64" treble side action with no buzz with a small amount of neck relief. And for fretless, I just want a nice true fingerboard that's not gonna buzz out or have dead spots on highly desirable notes that will allow for a comfortably low string action. That's it. That's all I want. Something built correctly that isn't going to cost the equivalent of several mortgage payments.