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What Features Do You Tend To Avoid When Choosing A Bass?

#101
I hate NECK HEAVINESS. (thus Gibson/Epiphone Thunderbirds. They dip like a tobacco addict).


Active electronics confuse me, and as stupid as it sounds, they feel...artificial to me. With so many features, and those battery boxes, the bass feels more like Mission Control than an instrument.


I can't stand headless basses, or basses made from weird materials, especially Stienbergers.


I avoid any more than 4 strings. I'll occasionally play a 5, but I draw the line there. Unless it's an 8 string (with the octave strings and 4 feel)


Loathe really wide necks or string spacing.


Loathe ridiculously narrow string spacing/necks that you can only play with a pick.


I heavily dislike those crazy bridges that take forever and a day to intonate (the one downside to Rics, that's why I'm throwing a Badass II or III on it when I do get one.)


That's all I can think of at the moment.
 
#104
I am floored by how picky people are! I want to say close-minded, but I won't. I didn't, did I? :hiding:

Some things are just bad, like neck dive etc. Other than that, if it sounds and feels good, I'll give it a chance.

I like everything from a passive 4-string Fender P's to pointy headless graphite coffee table 18v active 36" 7-strings with 7 knobs, 5 switches, fanned frets and led markers.

Any time in my life that I have gotten dogmatic about not liking something, I usually find that there are exceptions to every rule, and you do yourself a real disservice by categorically ruling out possibilities. I used to hate Fenders, ESPECIALLY that nasty 70's crap. Now... Hey, they're pretty nice!
 
#105
I have a lot of preferences, but in most cases that's all they are - preferences. Just about the only things that I insist on right now are 5 strings and nothing longer than 34" scale. And I'm thinking more and more I should at least have a 4 string bass so I can get comfortable playing one so even that one is becoming a softer requirement.

Other than that, I'm pretty wide open.

EDIT - Oh yeah, weight is an issue also. If it's more than 10 pounds, there have to be A LOT of major advantages to over come that ONE major disadvantage.
 
#107
EdHunter said:
Coffee-table tops and more than 5 strings.

As long as it has four strings and a paintjob, I'm pretty much sold...
Click to expand...

+1

This is purely a personal preference, and purely aesthetic, but I really don't like the looks of an all-natural bass or guitar. It just looks like it was freshly carved from a tree, and reminds me more of a piece of furniture. I admit, some of the woods and finishes are beautiful, but give me a paint job any day over a natural finish.

And I'm sick to death of red and black (Fender? Are you listening?).
 
#108
I already chose a bass. Wait, are you guys getting more than one? ;)

I think I can say I'm with virtually everyone on no whammy bar.
I absolutely need a single volume control.

Other than that, I judge each bass on it's own merit against my needs. Someday I might have a bunch of cash to drop on an unusual solo performance boutique instrument, so I can't rule that out.
 
#110
There are a great many features I don't like in basses
(never mind problems).

Unfortunately, this doesn't stop me from buying basses that have them.

I'll be doing good if I can just stop buying basses that are too heavy to pick up, much less play. :rollno: If I can do that, then I am clearly not hopeless.
 
#111
I used to be picky, but now I'm more open to experimentation...

There's things I don't like at all, like bad neck dive or too much weight, but I'm cool with any bass until something specific on it starts bothering me (like a bad dead spot in an area I play a lot or something silly like me not liking the color of the bass anymore).

Summing it up, I'd say I don't look for features that would turn me off; I'll get the bass I wanted and, later on, when I find something I don't like, I pass it forward if I can't live with that problem.
 
#114
OPBASSMAN1994 said:
I heavily dislike those crazy bridges that take forever and a day to intonate (the one downside to Rics, that's why I'm throwing a Badass II or III on it when I do get one.)
Click to expand...

Why not just get a Hipshot bridge? It's a drop-in replacement.


Anyway, my list:

More than four knobs. I'm a simple person, also stupid. Too complicated, and I don't know what to do. I do my EQing at the amp.

Unpainted necks. Just looks cheap to me. If the body is painted, the neck should be, too.

P-bass pickups. Can't stand them. I just really do not like them. In fact...

Any bass that's basically a P-bass.

Not a big fan of active electronics, generally. I especially don't like having to use batteries for the bass.

Basses with no pickup selector switch. I like how Jazz basses sound, and T-birds can sound pretty good, too, but geez... switching from one pickup to the other is such a pain on these.

Basses with more than five strings. Too much. Again, I'm stupid. I get lost.

Wide string spacing. Ugh, no. Too far to travel. I fall in the gaps.

Generic looking basses. Especially Ibanez basses, the really normal looking ones.

Basses with enormous upper horns that connect to the body. Also, those really blobby single-cut basses. Much bigger than on a Les Paul bass and that part looks like a tumor to me.

When neck through basses have exotic tops that cover the entire top. The neck part should be exposed.

Maple fretboards. Just no.

Tort, sparkle, or pearloid pickguards. Yuck.
 
#115
- Wide string spacing. I used to like it, but after having owned and played several Warwicks lately, I feel that it would be a downgrade to go back.

- Large bodies (makes me look so small :/)

- Passive basses; I prefer the tone and options of active electronics most of the time

- Anything with more or less than 5 strings - I've found my sweet spot, I think :D
 
#117
Sartori said:
Why not just get a Hipshot bridge? It's a drop-in replacement.


Anyway, my list:

More than four knobs. I'm a simple person, also stupid. Too complicated, and I don't know what to do. I do my EQing at the amp.

Unpainted necks. Just looks cheap to me. If the body is painted, the neck should be, too.

P-bass pickups. Can't stand them. I just really do not like them. In fact...

Any bass that's basically a P-bass.

Not a big fan of active electronics, generally. I especially don't like having to use batteries for the bass.

Basses with no pickup selector switch. I like how Jazz basses sound, and T-birds can sound pretty good, too, but geez... switching from one pickup to the other is such a pain on these.

Basses with more than five strings. Too much. Again, I'm stupid. I get lost.

Wide string spacing. Ugh, no. Too far to travel. I fall in the gaps.

Generic looking basses. Especially Ibanez basses, the really normal looking ones.

Basses with enormous upper horns that connect to the body. Also, those really blobby single-cut basses. Much bigger than on a Les Paul bass and that part looks like a tumor to me.

When neck through basses have exotic tops that cover the entire top. The neck part should be exposed.

Maple fretboards. Just no.

Tort, sparkle, or pearloid pickguards. Yuck.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much the description of what I DO like in basses! :D

:hiding:
 
#119
Hey--I used the search button!!!!! :hyper:

The things to avoid, which are pretty much deal-killers for me, are heavy basses and/or basses with neck dive. Everything else is a preference (and I have lots of preferences).
 

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