mcnach

[quote name='krispn' timestamp='1400061087' post='2450258'] Are you a little bit tempted to swap the necks over ? I got bitten by the jazz bug after thinking I needed a P bass and selling a delicious DJ4 Lakland. I put the Model J's into the next jazz I got and loved the sound. I'm currently on a P/J with Fralin's for the 'best of both' but wouldn't mind another Jazz for balance All natural with maple and white blocks would have to be the one - a Lakland ACDJ4 would be the ticket [/quote] The thought crossed my mind...

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1400067515' post='2450358'] Personally, and I think I've already said this one in this thread, I think the fit and finish on the cabs has come a long way since previous generations, and frankly no-one in the audience gives a rats ass if it looks good up close because they can't tell. Again personally, I think my current rig looks the dogs dangly doodles and sounds even better. My band all agree 100%, plus they love the light weight JTUK, I think the old Compact was certainly never going to be a cab you could like based on what I have gleaned about your sonic goals, howveer I really do think a BB" or Super Compact may surprise you so try one one day if you can. Preferably at a gig, with your bass and amp because, as you will be the first to admit, your last experience seems to have been a bit duff because of the bass and amp as well as the cab... [/quote] Agreed about the old Compact vs BB2. The Compact is a good cab, in my opinion, but if it weren't as light/compact as it is, I would not have kept it. The BB2, however, is another matter entirely. As for the finish... it could certainly be better. I think they look good, but those metal corners are oversized for the thin walls BF uses. As a result, there's a sharp edge in all the front corners. It's a small detail, but you've got to bear it in mind: it can catch and snag fabric, or a wandering finger. Easy to avoid, but I'm surprised those corners haven't been replaced for something that fits better. I have other small criticisms, but in the end, it works for me and I made my choice with eyes open. Does anybody know if the finish has changed in any way -composition or application- between Gen2 and Gen3 cabs? I'm talking about the black stuff. I've had the Gen2 Compact since last summer, and the Gen3 BB2 for maybe 2 months now. The Compact has travelled more, yet there is only a tiny mark on it. The BB2 already has three noticeable chips. They are easily touched up, but I have not really mistreated it, and in two of them you can see the underlying wood, as if the finish were more easily flaked off upon impact or something. Just curious.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1400061309' post='2450262'] I'd avoid tapping polepieces up or down too. It's safe enough on pickups wound on plastic bobbins, but I think most MM pickups use fibre flatwork with the coil wound straight on to the poles (I'm not a MM player, so correct me if I'm wrong here). While you might be lucky and get away with it, you could easily break a turn on the inside of the coil and kill the pickup. [/quote] Could be, I don't know. I know many tried successfully (check out threads about Stingray weak G syndrome ) but I would be a bit worried to try. Lifting the cover a bit using a thin insert seems like a simpler and harmless method for the OP's problem. As for the weak G, it does not exist, just ask at the EBMM forum

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1400059940' post='2450241'] If we manage to arrange going for a beer sometime I should bring my wife, you make me look great [/quote] It's my mediterranean good looks. You sure you want to do that?

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1400044478' post='2450102'] So, did you buy it then? I have a very nice Jazz in natural, maple........... nah not really. [/quote]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1400053838' post='2450157'] If you decide you don't like the EMGs after all, I'll buy them from you! My old Geddy Lee had EMGs in it and I loved its tone. My new(er) one has the original Fender US vintages in and I'm not so keen on the sound... Fickle buggers ain't we? [/quote] I'll keep that in mind. But yesterday was a revelation. Once I got over the "hmm, it does not sound like a typical Jazz" and let myself enjoy the "this sounds pretty good regardless", I started to really like it. Like I said, I need to wait until the strings are "tamed", I hate the initial extra brightness, once they settle, we will see. It's not like I don't have other Jazz basses for a "traditional" sound

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1400010246' post='2449930'] Why not? Just rounding off the edge won't even take off a 1mm slant. The fact that MM does it to their own polepieces now says enough. It's not going to remove so much material as to reduce the strength of the magnetic field. The cardboard will work too though [/quote] oh, not saying it would not work, just that it seemed much more complex than other methods. Filing a magnet also will get you lots of fine magnetic dust that's going to be really hard to remove. If you wanted to, you could tap the polepieces down a bit, preserving the profile. That will also be a solution, and less messy. A lot of people do that trying to get a more even response between strings although I have never tried myself.

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1399980460' post='2449512'] Nice bass. Personally (what else?!) I like EMGs on a Jazz. Actually, I like EMGs on most anything -they're excellent pickiups - articulate, clear, full range and noise free. I once had one of the early AVRI Jazzes from the Fullerton era and I only managed two gigs with it before the electronics were replaced by an EMG setup. It was the noise and buzzing which got to me. I suspect that if you're used to it, it's less of an issue but it still bugs me. So I vote for keeping the EMGs. That means you could sell me your DiMarzios for my Aria rescue project here - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/234069-1977-aria-rescue/"]http://basschat.co.u...77-aria-rescue/[/url] Enjoy the new bass! Cheers Ed [/quote] Well, the EMGs may be growing on me! I had a rehearsal tonight and it was pretty loose, lots of time to mess about, and mess about I did. As the initial zing of the strings starts to fade, the resulting sound is much more to my liking. Not as Jazzy, but... it's a good sound. And I love how silent they are... Hmmm. Will I convert in the end?

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1400000948' post='2449793'] Nice work. How many jazzes is that now?? [/quote] Sssssh!

It's a perfect candidate for a John East U-Retro... which is what I am going to do with my GB74, incidentally.

[quote name='wal4string' timestamp='1399581454' post='2445681'] Cheers guys for your thoughts and suggestions. The brain storming has given me the answer. Took off the strings, removed the pickup cover and packed the inside with some strips of rubber cut to fit in the corners, whole job took less than half an hour. Gig tomorrow night will prove if 100% effective. You maybe interested to know that I posted the same question on the Ernie Ball Musicman Forum. An idiot tried to tell me to change my technique, and that he had never heard the problem before. I explained that I had been playing both semi-pro and pro for over 40 years and that even if my technique was bad it's a bit late to change. He even suggested I tried a pick. All this kind advice without a word about if my proposed idea could work. [/quote] that's the EBMM forum for you... any modification to an EBMM instrument is to be avoided at all costs, and in some cases you could be declared a traitor and a reward offered for your head, watch out!

[quote name='Bolo' timestamp='1399564910' post='2445424'] Could you take a file and smooth off the edges of the polepieces? [/quote] don't! a bit of cardboard inside the cover will do the trick, as suggested.

Hmmm, it looks like Strings & Things do sell parts now, like preamps... but not pickups, as far as I can tell. [url="http://www.ernieball.co.uk/c/music-man-spares?pp=8&pg=6"]http://www.ernieball.co.uk/c/music-man-spares?pp=8&pg=6[/url]

The thing is that, in the end, somebody's hatred for BF (whether from experience or just joining a mob) does not stop me from enjoying what I like about the ones I have [1], just like other people hate Stingrays etc etc. So it's a two way thing. I know there are attackers that get a bit ridiculous (I'm missing a particular one from this thread, guess who it is? ) but also over-reactions from BF-philes. It's just a speaker cab! When I search for comments on gear, I do like to read both positive and negatives, in fact the negatives tend to be more informative. I see where JTUK is coming from, and I think it's a good thing. It's the incessant chiming in of some other BF-phobes that get tiring, but at the same time if the BF-philes don't bit their bait, they would not make quite as much noise. So it's a bit of a two-way thing. [1] I'd side with the BF-phile camp, even if I don't love one of the two cabs I have (the other one I do love, lots). I like what BF is doing, and I'm very happy overall.

Earlier today I unscrewed the battery compartment, and pushed the bent metal contacts that act as springs in, to push better against the battery (they were nearly flat!). Took two minutes. The battery makes better contact now and it seems it's done the trick. I hope the OP's is the same.

Hello, my name is mcnach and I am a bassholic. I've been without a bass purchase for all of 6 days. But this time it's a little more special. When it comes to looks, I am a big fan of natural bodies (ash, in particular), and maple fingerboards. When it comes to Jazz basses, I quite like them pickguard-less. A couple of years ago I bought a CIJ Fender Jazz 75RI in this forum. It has white binding and white pearloid blocks as markers, which I vastly prefer over black... and I wish there were no binding at all, but there you go. It was a very nice bass. It had Nordstrands on and it sounded immense. The grain was not as pretty as in other examples I have seen, so I actually prefer this one with a pickguard on, but it was a great bass. Then the neck pickup died. I got a replacement, and I have a J-Retro for it, mounted on a black plate... but I have not even installed it yet. Busy life, laziness, and having other Jazz basses in working condition just meant I've been putting it off. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I saw a more recent (2009, by the looks of the paperwork) 75RI style bass, MIJ... This one with black binding and blocks (pity), but I don't let that affect me too much... the bass looked beautiful in every way, and it had the 70s pickup spacing that I remember liking quite a bit when I tried one before. The other bass, CIJ, had a standard 60s spacing. And it was reasonably local. So I thought about it, slept on it, thought about it some more, contacted the seller... and last Monday, bank holiday, I went to meet him and the bass at his band's rehearsal place. He also had a Barefaced BB2 cab, so I brought mine along and we tried both together. Here's the beast with the seller ('Me And My Bass'). Or should it be the other way around? and this is yours truly with a pose that I don't really know where it came from... And below are a few more pics of the bass, compared to the older one: The bass was initially strung with flats (Black Diamond, I believe?) and they were nice, but I like the zing of rounds, so I put some Ernie Ball ones, Nickel 45-65-80-100. The bass is just lovely to play, but I'm not sure about the EMGs. I want to wait until the strings have a bit more "funk" in them before deciding what to do. It sounds very "clean" and clear. Almost too much, and I know it's not all down to the new strings. It's hard to explain... However, they do sound good live. The bridge pickup alone sounds huge, I just roll down the tone a tiny bit, and it's a lovely fat funk tone. The neck pickup sounds really good too, and very even across strings. With Jazz neck pickups I often find them a bit wild, but this one is very "civilised". However, it lacks the Jazz character and I am missing that. Hmmm... not sure, we will see. I also enjoy how quiet they are... Hmmm. I played my first gig with the bass on Friday and it's a venue where I usually get a bit of hum, but none at all this time. I'll give it a couple of weeks for the strings to lose the extra zing and then maybe start experimenting with other pickups. I have a few sets of Jazz pickups in my drawer, US Fender, DiMarzio Model J, the Nordstrands from the other Fender Jazz... I like a traditional look on these basses, so probably the Fender or Nordstrands will be the ones. The Nordstrands are humbuckers too. They did not exactly sound like a traditional Jazz, but they kept a lot of the vibe while sounding bigger and fatter in a way I really like. Ah, what a crap review this is... Yeah, I still don't know what this bass is really like! It plays really nice, and looks great, so I think it's just a matter of getting the right pickups in. The 70s vs 60s spacing... well, it is hard to say. I remember noticing a difference that I really liked, years ago. Now, not sure. But the EMG is such a different pickup, that I am not sure I can compare them to the other Jazz basses I own. With both pickups on, the characteristic nasal tone is there, but not the way I remember it (with standard single coil passive pickups)... I also remember finding the bridge pickup soloed a bit thin for my taste, which this one isn't... but that's probably down to the EMGs. The Nordstrands (NJ4SE) are pretty hefty sounding, while sounding "Jazzy", so they may be a good choice. Or maybe even the Model Js, if I find chrome colour polepieces, that's very "70s"... Also, I intended to keep this bass passive... but I have a J-Retro with "Jazz-looking" knobs on a lovely Korean Squier, and I may just cannibalise it. Ah, so many choices!!! Not going to be a boring summer, this one