mcnach

[quote name='Absolute Beginner' timestamp='1390151978' post='2341991'] I have to say though, I do really like the look of the Natural finish (On the VM) with the black inlays on the neck, or am I concerning myself more with the look of the bass rather than it's playability.....?! [/quote] well, looks etc are also important factors, we're only human! Look, I just bought a J&D Jazz bass (as mentioned above) that I don't need, and although I don't doubt it'll be useable, I don't expect it to be a terribly wonderful bass (come on, £119 delivered, new )... but I bought it because of the colour (I have been wanting a surf green Jazz for ages) and that it had a maple fingerboard (which I prefer, especially on darker stages)... so, that was purely looks The CV series Jazz is a noticeably better instrument. It just feels... it's hard to explain, it feels "quality". It may "only be a Squier", but if it had a Fender label you would not be surprised... it's a serious instrument. The VM series is great fun and it's well made, but by comparison it does feel a bit "cheap". However, like I said, it's a very nice bass... so if that's the look you want, why not? The best would be that you go to a shop where they have both, and see what you feel about them, in person.

[quote name='PTB' timestamp='1390119410' post='2341537'] Great stuff, really enjoyable. I hope 2014 is even better for you & the band. [/quote] Thank you! 2014 is starting well, gig calendar filling up nicely... we'll be recording our second album too, which I'm really looking forward to!

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1390140438' post='2341809'] I got mine last friday....i'll post a review soon...in the meantime....yes its very pretty bass indeed and plays great....hot and bright pups...very piano like but good range of tones [/quote] go on go on go on go on go on... review! clips! pictures! (nah, I'm not excited one bit ) I have a gig on Friday, and I might just take it with me (should be with me by Wednesday or so, I suppose) if I like it enough and I find someone who would take pictures (because it's soooo pretty )

[quote name='Absolute Beginner' timestamp='1390149753' post='2341958'] Thanks. Are the Classic Vibe range bass guitars lighter than the Vintage Modified range does anyone know ? [/quote] They're all variable, but in general I'd say yes, although not by much.

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1390130666' post='2341693'] Sigh…word of warning, folks. I am in the middle of a MASSIVE HASSLE to fix someone else's mistake. The Ebay Customs thing is what is turning this from a simple thing to solve to a major problem. I bought a pair of jeans from the US and paid for customs and duties through Ebay. This means that the seller is given an address in the US to which to send stuff and this central place takes care of relabelling and shipping. I then receive an email from the seller stating that she has accidentally sent me a vase. How one would muddle up the two boxes is beyond me, but there you go. I call Ebay to see what to do. If I collect the vase, how will I get the customs fees refunded to me, how will I get the return postage refunded etc etc. Ebay initially tried to tell me that they will not "shoulder the costs of the import fees" and tried to fob me off. It looks like I am going to be screwed here. They expect me to pick up this vase, relabel it and send it back. Upon receipt, I will then be refunded at least what the seller took off me. Whether I will get the customs charges refunded is a mystery. I would try and choose standard p&p and take care of the import fees yourselves if I were you, at least until Ebay trains its staff to deal with problems arising from this new thing! [/quote] expect the worst. my recent experiences showed me that eBay will do their utmost to discourage you and waste your time, in the hope that you give up and go away (without your money). In my case it worked, I could not be bothered pursuing it and chose to move on, £17 poorer.

How about the Classic Vibe series of Squier? The CV series. They are nicer than the VM series, they feel like quality instruments those. A CV series Jazz, which comes in white with tortoiseshell style pickguard, is a seriously good bass. It's a bit more than your budget, new, at about £365. But it's a good step upwards from the VM series, and if you want to buy used it'll be well within your budget. This would be my choice: retro sound, quality and price.

... and here is yours truly handing over the baton to bassist lewis on Thursday 16th

[quote name='theyellowcar' timestamp='1390074155' post='2341234'] Oosh. That looks ace. Still toying with the idea of getting the Surf Green Jazz. [/quote] I got the surf green Jazz (edit: I mean I ordered one, this very afternoon) That's how I found the one above. Surf green and maple fingerboard. £119 delivered. If it's a dog I'll just hang it on the wall and look at it

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1390065971' post='2341130'] i sympathise GAS was the reason for mine...nut height spot on at .5mm at 1st fret, saddles good too but trussrod wound out for transport...i set mine last night and still ok. one thing the pups are very hot and for slap i removed most of the spring foam under the neck pup....and found the routing is as it should be so you could use without pick guard....whats not to like?!? [/quote] clean routing on the neck pickup too??????? I would ask you to post pictures, but we're probably hijacking the original thread too much already Thanks for posting about the J&D 'though!

Signed too. What a ridiculous situation. I hope the council realises their error are remove the notice. If not, I'm moving next to Heathrow and demand they divert the planes elsewhere because they're too noisy

[quote name='obbm' timestamp='1390059537' post='2341037'] 1210L and 1212L are the same size. [/quote] eh? really? ooh, must look at this more closely then, thanks!

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1390037799' post='2340690'] A venue where I gig regularly has the bass amp going through a really nice Ampeg Classic Series SVT 410he. They started off pairing it with an Ampeg PF- 500, which broke, the replacement was an Ashdown Mag 300 which also broke, and now they've hired an ancient Peavey firebass 700 with a broken input (you have to use the effects return thereby bypassing the preamp completely). The amazing thing is, whatever amp they use, the sound out of that cab is always great! The 410he cabs are not cheap.They typically sell for around £700. Which leads me to the conclusion that you're much better off spending your cash on the best cab you can afford and economising on the amplifier rather than the other way around. I wonder if there's any other Basschattters out there who have had a similar experience of playing a cheap and cheerful amp through a high end cab and getting a great sound? [/quote] I know the venue well (says while whistling ) The first time I played there they actually had the Ashdown Mag300. Then that one disappeared and the Ampeg came in. Then the Ashdown came back again... but it did not work when I got there. Playing without a monitor was not fun... I was told it was fixed the week after when I played there again, but during the first set it cut out a few times (out on the FOH it was ok)... so during the break I got my RH450 out of my car and used that ever since (well, since last summer I tend to bring my Markbass combo). I saw the Peavey when I last played there, on Thursday, but I did not use it. And you're right, I could always get a cool sound out of that cab. I use my combo now merely because placing it on top it's closer to my ears and it allows me to play at lower volumes, which seems to help our onstage sound. Our guitarists are also more sound conscious than they were even a year ago, and they themselves turn down onstage too, which is helping all of us hear ourselves better (we're a 7-piece, so if we don't restrain ourselves a bit it can get pretty chaotic). The amp onstage, on most of the gigs I play, is merely used as a monitor... from that point of view as long as I can hear myself, the sound is not so important to me if I get a decent sound out there (I mean, I love to have a nice sound, but in some kind of gigs, you just know onstage sound is going to be suboptimal, and I don't worry anymore). A nice amp is useful there. The thing is that it does not need to be a hugely expensive one to have a good DI sound (I normally DI in those situations)... and then I'm in the hands of the sound engineer and what he's able to concoct within the limitations of the equipment and the room's acoustics. When the amp is there to provide all bass, without PA support, then a good sounding rig is important... and like you, I think that speakers are the top priority. I think a decent amp through great cabs will sound great, but a great amp through merely decent speakers, will just sound decent.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1390058589' post='2341016'] The East pre amp is interesting - apparently (so I've heard) based on his 76 Ray. The interesting thing here is that the 2 band EQ was developed and there were several upgrades (using software terminology) over the years until 1979 - the 1979 version has been used to date. But based on what I've heard, what people are buying is the early version of the Ray pre amp with a mid sweep control. You pays your money and takes your choice I guess!! [/quote] I have a 2002 Stingray that was 2EQ. I ended up getting the 3-band John East one. The 2EQ section of it is *very* similar to the original on my bass (presumably based on a 79 design?), but I felt the John East was less brittle on the highs, and the bottom end a bit more... "focused", I'd say. Either way, I liked it better. Now, I am not sure whether this is the true difference between the 76 and 79 designs, or just John East's take on it... but whatever it is, I like it better.

Ah, so I wasn't blind Thank you for the replies, folks! I've seen that 1212, but it's a bit larger than what I was aiming for. Pity, for the price is good too!

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1389964373' post='2340022'] IME the Wal sound is mainly from the pickups. I've played passive Wals that still sound like Wals; listen to Leigh Gorman. His Wal Pro is passive. [/quote] and the same thing goes for Stingrays. The preamp allows you to get a variety of tones... the sound of a passive Stingray (as in simply bypassing the preamp) is still unmistakeably Stingray, and is just one of the many tones you can get from the preamp.

[quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1389914681' post='2339619'] Passive vs active isn't black and white. It's a voltage signal. It's amplified somewhere. Onboard or outboard the signal ceases to be passive at some point. [/quote] indeed, it makes me chuckle sometimes when I hear these "organic bassy goodness vs active modern" arguments, as the passive fundamentalists appear to speak as though they did not use any other electronics in their signal path, not even an amplifier!

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1389990739' post='2340422'] Why not just get one of these? but if you have to change basses, put all the Jazz numbers together and the Precision numbers together. [/quote] Not always practical, if -say- a guitarist needs also two different guitars and the setlist has to take to into account. Sometimes certain songs are split to allow the singer to rest after a particular taxing one on his voice, etc.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1389945442' post='2339727'] OK I'm a lucky guy with the luxury of choice. I have two 'good' basses that I'm really comfortable with. A Highway 1 Jazz and an American Deluxe Precision. I had no intention of being a Fender man, if you'd asked me three years ago I'd have said you get better quality £ for £ almost anywhere else, but these two came up cheap, I couldn't resist and they both play and sound great. I'm happy with the basses but my question is what to do live? There's little doubt in my mind that the P-bass sits better in the mix for most of our songs (Indie covers mainly) For a few songs the depth of the Jazz works better. At home the Jazz sounds so much better, to my taste anyway. I take both to gigs, just in case. I take spares of everything critical, even PA speakers. So, should I start swapping basses? I hate it when the guitards swap instruments, particularly when one puts down the acoustic to pick up an electric whilst the the other swaps to pick up their acoustic. How important is having the right tone compared with continuity? [/quote] If you swap, have the other bass on a stand and tuned. It takes under a minute to step on the tuner (mute), unplug, swap, plug again... make sure that your band knows at what point you'll swap, so that it is teh moment the singer speaks about something, and/or the band does something other than stand there quietly watching you. Essentially, do the same as when a guitarist breaks a string Providing you're not swappint for EVERY song, it should not be a problem. If you're not able to do it fast and/or it seems to break the flow too much, then don't do it. But it can be done. Practice it during rehearsals.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1390056782' post='2340983'] wow, where did you get the J&D from? surf green and maple fingerboard? I do not need another Jazz but that combination is HOT!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote] nevermind... dv247... I just went and ordered one! I have no cure!

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1390052598' post='2340905'] Cant go wrong with a vmj.....lovely thin necks too with narrow rear to back dimension as well..i prefer my vmj to my cmj. as an aside ive just bought a surf green j&d 1975 vintage jazz new for £119 delivered....very impressed thus far....nice build with very hot pups indeed. [/quote] wow, where did you get the J&D from? surf green and maple fingerboard? I do not need another Jazz but that combination is HOT!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw a link to a beautiful surf green Jazz with maple fingerboard and blocks for £119... that I don't really need but that's a combination that sends tingles down my spine and I... cannot... resist... However, searching for those, I came across another J&D bass that looks pretty cool and is designed for a Stingray vibe, soundwise... I thought some of you might enjoy looking at this too: [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/jandd-yc-200-4-string-bass-guitar-black--200785"]http://www.dv247.com...r-black--200785[/url] very pleased the don't do this with maple fingerboard are these J&D any good? How do they compare, say, against a Squier VM Jazz?

[quote name='Absolute Beginner' timestamp='1390028950' post='2340619'] Hi all. Your thoughts on the above as a bass for a relative novice.....? I've seen one at my local music store recently and fallen in love with it. I really look the like of the Natural finish in particular (The store didn't have this finish available though). It seems very reasonably priced at £250. Have any of you got one and can recommend it....? Thanks very much. [/quote] It's a pretty good bass. I had one for a while that I simply let go because I had three other Jazz basses: a Fender 75RI that was very very sweet and a bass I was after for a while, a Squier that was red and therefore had to stay , and a black one by Vintage that was my first real bass and I already sold only to buy a couple of years later due to sentimental value to me... A drummer friend of mine wanted to get into bass asd asked me whether I'd sell one of mine, and the VM Jazz seemed idea. She loved it at first sight, and it sounds great. I still play it from time to time when I go to see her and we end up jamming (she has an electronic kit in the house, so it's easy), and I just love the bass. Mine was one of the first ones with "Duncan Designed" pickups. I hear they have changed but I have no idea whether the new ones are better, worse or the same. I'd probably go for a used one, partly because you save money and if you later found that you prefer something else (when I started I went through many basses until I figured out what I really liked) you can sell it without loss... and partly to be able to buy one of the ones I owned, as I knew those were pretty good. Having said that, it's probably just me being a bit paranoid, I bet the newer ones are still great, or better. Great basses.