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What is...

Yakob

Yakob

Nov 15, 2009
780
6
Philadelphia, PA
#1
The weirdest aesthetic feature you like on a bass?

Like, other than paintjob, shape, and functionality, is there something where if you see it on a bass, you will like it more? Something that has almost no relevance?

For me it's the logo. The logo needs to be the right shape and in the right place. A close second is that it needs the trussrod adjuster to be at the body...

Nothing really that adds function or playability, I just like the way it looks.

Anyone else have something like this?
 
#4
Barnabas said:
The shape of the headstock.
If the shape bugs me for any reason, I just can't like the bass.
It's dumb, but we've all got our little hang ups. :)
Click to expand...

I agree with that. Nothing turns me off faster than a bad looking (IMO) headstock.

Black hardware would be a very close second for turn offs, (exception made for some poiny type 80's instruments, but even then I find it barely acceptable.


I like tortoise pickguards on most basses, so long as it works with the color of the body.

I like the look of tug bars too, even though they serve minimal purpose.
 
#5
Wavy closed back Grovers.
I just like the look. Sometimes they can tend to fall apart, but there's just something about them.

Full slab bodies are another. No comfort contours at all.
I play my basses fairly low, so the lack of contour doesn't bother me at all, just like the look.

I only like dots on rosewood or ebony 'boards, and don't really like maple 'boards at all.
 
#9
These aren't really deal breakers for me but I don't like:

Truss cover at the headstock
Out of proportion large headstocks
Too crazy of a headstock design
Knobs have to be clustered in a 'right way'
Big and clunky open back Fender tuners :hiding:
Absence of string retainer on headstock
 
#11
Here's another one of mine:

I love the look of Grover Titans. The look and the feel. I've never had them on a single bass short of a Hondo I played for a week, but I love them...

That being said, they stay in tune about as well as standard open-back tuners...
 
#13
Yeah definitely the shape of the headstock. Often I'll see a beautiful J or P style bass only to be completely turned off by the butchered headstock (Nordy J's please stand up).

Also, the pickguard has to match the instrument pretty well. If the body and fretboard are the same color or have the same relative brightness, the pickguard should provide contrast. If the body and fretboard contrast, the pickguard should complement the body.
 
#14
Aesthetically speaking, my favorite Fender design turns out to be one that gets slagged all the time. It must have been the era, but the first Fender (actually it was probably a copy of one) I ever saw was in the '70s and it was love at first sight:
Big headstock, big logo, black guard over 3-colour burst, and I mean really bright red, yellow and black. And don't forget that "dipped in glass" poly finish!
 
#15
my extra fat schaller tuners and schaller fine tune bridge on my 92 P Plus...if i could find more id put them on every bass i have

DSC_0608.gif
 
#16
Things I hate, that would prevent me from buying a bass:

Pickup and bridge covers.
I absolutely cannot stand them, they are freaking hideous to me, and they compromise the playability of the instrument too.

Tugbars.
Not so much that they are visually unappealing, but since I would never play using my thumb, it sort of becomes an eyesore to have something unnecessary on the bass.

Binding.
Why people want to line the nice wood with strips of plastic is beyond me.

Anything other than dot inlays.
(The exception being unlined fretless.)

Bad headstock designs, for obvious reasons.

Frets!
Speed bumps are generally unattractive to look at, whether they are on the road or on a bass.

Things I love:

Exotic woods.
So sexy!

Unlined fingerboards.
Also very sexy.

Hipshot detuners.
I don't know, the lever and screw mechanical look is just kind of cool for some reason.

3 way Telecaster style switches on rear routed bodies.
I've got one on my Jazz bass, and it has this nice clean look to it.

The shape of P bass pickups.
They just look cool the way the coils are split up and positioned next to each other.

Thumbrests. (Thumbrests are in a different location than tugbars...)
On certain basses, they add a touch of class. For example, on my black PJ Jazz bass, I have a Padouk thumbrests that matches the Padouk neck.
 
#20
knobs close to where i play
tort pickguards
tele headstocks
single cutaway bodys(they just feel strange)
strap buttons on back of bass instead tip of horn
sharp edged pick-up covers
screw-off battery cover(i like the pop-open ones)
over-abundance of controls when there not needed(to me a bass with that much stuff means your overthinking the playability of it)
 

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