What is your bass litmus test?

[davy4575]

sound, feel, cost. I dont care what brand, country, etc, etc.

 

[anavar]

48mm nut.

otherwise i wont be able to retro fit a just-a-nut 3 to it. Once you use a just-a-nut nothing will ever be the same again.

 

[phillybass101]

Fit, feel, finish, tone. weight, looks. It also has to have a great slap tone. If the E does not ring, growl, and sustain.....

 

[Gaolee]

Do I like it enough to actually spend money on it? I'm not very sophisticated that way.

 

[hdracer]

It has to be made in California or Tennessee

 

[socialleper]

If it is an instrument I've never seen before, it's appearance needs to grab me in some way that makes me want to pick it up.
If I'm sitting or standing, the bass needs to be comfortable and balanced. If it dives or is physically hard to play I don't want to fight with it.
The electronics need to be quiet. I'm not a fan of hum or crackling pots.
The strings need to be at least new-ish. If they are totally dead or just one is dead, that makes it very hard to judge the sound integrity of the bass.
I prefer basses with a lot of tonal options.
If I'm truly considering buying the bass in my hands, it needs to be in good shape. I'm not interesting in spending a lot of extra time having the frets filed down, having the neck straightened, getting scratches or dings fixed, gutting the electronics right away, etc. The bass should be usable immediately after I set it up.

Notice that I haven't said anything about sound. That's because it all a matter of what I'm looking for at that moment. I own different basses to have different sounds. I don't have a sound preference beyond the needs of what I'm doing at that time. You can't have a favorite wrench or socket size, right? You have to use the right one for the job you are doing.

 

[MrTaff]

Balance is the big issue for me, if I can't play sitting down without supporting the neck it goes straight back on the wall.

 

[birminghambass]

The neck and the feel. Everything else can be changed to what you want.

My exact feelings.

 

[dalkowski]

An elusive, ineffable quality that I like to call "the sex factor." If you don't understand it, then I can't explain it.

 

[Treadstone71]

I'm extremely cautious about bass purchases...my only true litmus test is sleeping on it. If I still want it the next morning, I show up just as the store opens and take it home.

 

[408shaw]

For guitar or bass I have to like the way it feels when I hold it--especially the neck--before I even play it.
Then I play it unplugged--If I like that then I might plug it in.

Then other factors, such as price, condition, and so on...

Sounds just like how I do it.

 

[BlueTalon]

I'm extremely cautious about bass purchases...my only true litmus test is sleeping on it.

My first thought when reading this was, "I wonder what the bass guitar equivalent of 'keyboard-face' looks like?"

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

I'm extremely cautious about bass purchases...my only true litmus test is sleeping on it. If I still want it the next morning, I show up just as the store opens and take it home.

That would be the "G.A.S litmus test" right?

 

[Treadstone71]

That would be the "G.A.S litmus test" right?

Exactly. Probably don't need it, but if I'm still obsessing over it the next day, might as well give in.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

The neck and the feel. Everything else can be changed to what you want.

same as above.

After that, the body hape and color is the next weed-out: only really comfortable with P or J shapes, but will GAS differently given the mood I am in about other shapes. Have been recently wanting an Explorer or Kelly-bird shaped bass.

I have only ever owned 3 basses (in sig) so I guess that that shows what I fall back on...

 

[zontar]

I'm extremely cautious about bass purchases...my only true litmus test is sleeping on it. If I still want it the next morning, I show up just as the store opens and take it home.

I don't rush into buying an bass or guitar--I've taken months to buy the right one.
And I once found a guitar I loved for a great price, that was going to be 20% cheaper in two days--that was possibly the longest two days of my life.

 

[Iridescentone]

To each their own. I really don't care how an electric bass sounds "unplugged". I'll never use one that way, and I've been surprised before by basses that sound dead-ish unplugged, but sound very lively and compelling when plugged in.

Apart from avoiding dead notes and wolf tones, I look for basses with character that inspires. Within that context there's a whole universe of bass stuff that I like.

There is such a huge variety of bass gear available nowadays......these are heady days for bass players!

 

[zontar]

One of the reasons I play it before I plug it in, is to see how it feels--not the playability, but the feel--if I don't like the way it feels when I hold it and when I play it--there's no point in plugging it in.
No matter how great ti sounds--I won't like playing it.

So it saves me time as I can get on with the next bass (or guitar) that much sooner.

I do like to hear what it sounds like unplugged as well though--but primarily I'm checking out the feel of the bass (or guitar)

 

[FretNoMore]

Performing a litmus test on a bass is a too destructive process for me ... you have to carve off a piece, grind it down to a fine powder, dissolve it in distilled water or alcohol and then dip your test strip in the solution. I've done it a few times and frankly all my instruments turned out to be quite basic.

 

[bigmoosepi]

it just has to look nice and feel nice to my tastes.


sound can be changed by strings and pickups, not really that important to begin with.


and if it resonates too much it usually has really poor sustain as the wood is absorbing the string vibrations and not deflecting them as it should.