Linus27

oh bugger. Been getting the urge to look at Jaguar basses as they look a bit different and retro but been avoiding them. Now this turns up. BUGGER. If they don't do white then I'm safe

Thanks for all the help. Looks like its going to be a waiting game then. If a CIJ one turns up then great, I'll go for it. If not and I have enough for a US model then I'll go for that. Thanks for the help.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='853013' date='May 31 2010, 09:43 PM']Having owned an American Standard Precision, I'd say it's a lovely bass (if you like Precisions), but the 62AV model I had with the nitro cellulose finish was something else. Pure tone machine. Wait for one of those to come up. What happened to the fretless, Michael? [/quote] Hey Rich, I'm going to stick with my Squire for now and go for a Precision instead. If a CIJ 62 RI fretless in the Jaco colours turns up then great, it can replace my Squire but until then, I'll stick with the Squire which is awsome as it is.

I had pretty much made up my mind to try and get a Fender Japan 70RI Precision in olympic white. However, today I read some really good comments by fellow basschatters (Clarky and Old Horse Murphy) regarding the MIA standard Precision and wondering what others have thought about them. Better to go Japanese or save some more and go American? The good thing about the MIA model is its available now where as the Japanese model would only be available when someone sells one on here. Cheers for any advice.

I would say my top 5 are, 1. ESP 400 Series Jazz with Bartolini pickups from 1989. This bass taught me to play and has done hundreds of gigs, been on TV, radio, front covers of magazines and knows me better than I know myself. 2. Fender MIA Precision 1977. One of the first expensive basses I bought. Ended up doing a lot of gigs with this and recording an album. Sadly sold around 10 years ago. 3. Ernie Ball Stingray 2EQ 2008. Bought this from Tom on here and its a cracking bass. I have owned 2 Stingrays previously to this which were both 3EQ and I was never quite happy with them despite loving them. This one is just perfect. Very light and sounds incredible. 4. Warwick Corvette Standard 2009 - I always wanted a Warwick but never really had any experience of them. After listening to a lot of Stuart Zender, I decided to take the plunge and to be honest, I am blown away by this bass. Its one of the last German made Corvettes and sound is unreal. OK, its a £600 bass but for that sort of money, it kicks butt and why its in my top 5. 5. Squire VMJ Fretless. For the money, it punches way above its weight. Its sounds great, plays great and is a superb fretless. It really can't be faulted.

Great thread Rich. Like you, I grew up with 80's bass players and despite them being a big influence on me, tonally, they have never really played a part on my sound apart from always wanting to have that Precision tone that U2 and Inxs had in the mid 80's. I actually only achieved this tone once I got a 77 Precision about 10 years ago. Saying that, when it comes to EQ and tone, I like everything flat and if it sounds crap then I am screwed. Those 11 band Eq's that all amps had back in the day were a nightmare. Even 6 EQ's were a nightmare. So simple is best for me. I would go as far as saying that thanks to Old Horse Murphy, I actually have an amazing amp and cab. He got me into Aguilar cabs and I also bought his GB Shuttle 6 from him. Paired they are the best sounding rig I have had. He did all the work and thankfully I benifited from his experience. As for my tone, I guess the best way to descibe it is balanced. Enough bottom end so its full but not boomy and enough top end for it to add clarity and have a bit of attack. I don't really do mids What this normally means is everything on the amp is flat. Then on my Jazz, both pickups are on full and the tone is dialled on full. A Precision is the same, everything is on full. If playing with a pick and its a bit too twangy, then I turn the tone down a bit to balance the bass and treble. The bottom line is, run everything flat and maybe with a bit of tone fiddling, get a nice even balanced sound and lets the natural sound of the bass come through rather than boost certain frequencies. My ideal amp would have an on/off button, 1 x input, 1 x mute, 1 x line in for tuner, 1 x volume and 1 x tone. Then a whole array of blue LED's. I love blue LED's As for flats, yeah, not a big fane of them. I miss the top end. The sound is too bass heavy. I have just taken flats off my fretless and put rounds on and it sounds 1000 x better.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='851882' date='May 30 2010, 03:56 PM']Maybe not for much longer ;-)[/quote] You are joking right? Now whats taking your interest ?

[quote name='Marvin' post='851281' date='May 29 2010, 05:48 PM']You're going to have to give us the heads up when that's released, looks the dogs do da's. I'm not sure Mrs Marvin will enjoy it though [/quote] Yes, please keep us posted, it looks great this documentry.

[quote name='Johnston' post='851290' date='May 29 2010, 06:07 PM']Four glaring omissions I think are Steve Harris, Gordon Sumner, John Deacon and Jack Bruce.[/quote] One of the biggest bands in the world, U2 and Adam in not in that list, yet Alex from Blur is. Crazy. How Gordon never made the list is unbelievable. Oh and Stuart Zender, he's quite a famous bass player and that chap called Pino is quite good I hear.

[quote name='51m0n' post='849220' date='May 27 2010, 10:18 AM']Dont lump Sleeper in with Kenickie though, The It Girl is a fantastic album, do yourselves a favour and have another listen [/quote] Yeah leave Sleeper alone. I loved them big time. Met them on Brighton pier and they were very charming.

[quote name='guybrush threepwood' post='851345' date='May 29 2010, 06:49 PM']Fantastic to know it's back with the family. Can't wait until Felix Pastorius gets his hands on it![/quote] I'll be honest, I don't know much about the Pastorius family and Felix in particular. Is he any good as a bassist? I imagine for him, its going to be an amazing experience to play it. Goot on Rob in sorting this out.

[quote name='M-Bass-M' post='850543' date='May 28 2010, 06:56 PM']You know what, I did see that Warwick and was very tempted! As you say, it looks like a great price, but I think for me it's the wrong time. I'm pretty sure that there's a Squire VMJ fretless at my local music shop, and possibly a Vintage, so I may see if I can try them out with a view to seeing whether a budget fretless cuts it for me personally. I have to admit that there seems to be something special about a Ray fretless - I think I've officially fallen in love with [url="http://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=4111"]this[/url]! Bit out of my price range, but if a second hand one came available... While we're on the subject of fretless, my experience is that there seem to be more 5-string than 4-string fretless basses. Why the love for the fretless low B string? Also, what views do people have on fretboard woods? My preconception is that rosewood is better than either Maple or Graphite, on account of it having a warmer tone. Finally, many of you have recommended Jazz style basses - be they Fender, Vintage, or otherwise. Now I can't help but think that the Jazz suffers from the Jaco effect, and that other style basses are equally suited (if not more) to fretless. For those of you who have played both Jazz and non-Jazz fretless basses, what are your thoughts? Does the Jazz win out?[/quote] I have a Squire Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz (the one that looks like Jaco's) and it is stunning. I went to buy a fretted bass and saw it and it caught my eye. After playing all the fretted basses I was interested in, I had a go on the Squire for a bit of fun. It was beautiful and sounded stunning. Next few weeks, I came home to find my wife had bought it for me. She said I just seemed so happy and natural playing it. It truely is a great instrument that punches way over its weight. For me, the next step up from a Squire Fretless would be a nice CIJ Fender 62RI Jazz. You can get one of these for around £400 and they are superb basses. If you are unsure about fretless, then go for the Squire. Its a cracking bass and sits really nicely next to my Stingrays, MIA Fenders and Warwick.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='850382' date='May 28 2010, 03:26 PM']I think we're seeing a pattern forming here. [/quote] I know what it is. They all have a Ray34. Am I right, am I right, did I spot the pattern? What do I win?

[quote name='~tl' post='849821' date='May 27 2010, 09:23 PM']Depends if you want a matching headstock shape and neck profile. If not, an aftermarket Fender style neck might fit (Warmoth, etc) though you'll have to check the measurements. If you want something identical, your best bet would be to speak to a luthier in the UK who should be able to copy the current neck. Jon Shuker might be a good first bet, though I'm not sure if he still does necks to order (he has in the past, I guess it will depend on his workload).[/quote] I tried a Fender neck but I'm afraid it does not fit the pocket I would prefer also a matching headstock and profile or as close as. Where did you find out my ESP is 21 fret. That was a bit of quick investigation work. Even I did not know that

Continuing on my search for a fretless, I know that my ESP Jazz, which is the best sounding Jazz I have heard, would sound amazing fretless. However, I really don't want to get it de-fretted as its super rare and has sentimental value to me. So, is it possible to have someone make me a neck, exactly the same as my ESP but lined fretless? That way, I can swap necks back and forth between the original ESP fretted neck and the newly made fretless neck. Any place that can do this?

[quote name='M-Bass-M' post='849786' date='May 27 2010, 08:55 PM']Like many here, I love the sound of a fretless. I had one years ago, but was nowhere good enough to play it properly and so soon got rid. Years later, I'm up for the challenge again, combined with a good old dose of GAS. The "cheap" option would be to have my MIA Jazz defretted at the local luthier. However, this doesn't address any of my GAS, so the other option is to get rid of the Jazz and buy a true fretless. Generally speaking then, who would opt to have the Jazz defretted, and who would ditch the Jazz and buy a fretless? If the latter, then which fretless would you go for and why? If I were to go for a fretless, then I guess my budget would be around £800 or so. Thanks in advance! Mark[/quote] I am in the same boat as you but with out the budget. The two basses that are jumping out at me for fretless are either a Fender Jazz or a Stingray. With your budget, you could easily afford one of those. In fact I know of a very stunning mint Trans Orange fretless Fender Jazz with S1 switching that might be available.

My very old band, The River Thieves playing Brixton Academy in 1992 when I was very much younger and with long hair My last band, Inter in 1997 playing a gig at Uxbridge Uni which was also part of a TV show presented by Gary Crowley, thus the proper TV production. We got signed on the back of this gig Bad hair, bad glasses and a Blue Peter jumper I'm afraid. I guess it was fashion back then

[quote name='~tl' post='849343' date='May 27 2010, 12:37 PM']There are other companies who make aftermarket bodies/necks (WD, Allparts, etc), but I've not come across any that have the range of options that Warmoth do. Most seem to only offer bodies in alder/ash with maple/rosewood fingerboards.[/quote] Ok, thanks. After adding up all the bits, its going to be quite expensive but I guess thats its going to be very unique and very good

[quote name='~tl' post='849236' date='May 27 2010, 10:35 AM']Since you're thinking about replacing all the hardware (and neck), why not just go for broke and get a [i]proper[/i] walnut body (rather than alder, stained to look like walnut). This has already been suggested, but Warmoth do them: [url="http://www.warmoth.com:80/Showcase/ShowcaseItem.aspx?i=B1771&Body=2"]http://www.warmoth.com:80/Showcase/Showcas...1771&Body=2[/url] You will have to pay shipping and import duty on top of that price, but it shouldn't work out TOO expensive. [b]Edit:[/b] You could also get a neck from them: [url="http://www.warmoth.com:80/Showcase/ShowcaseNeck.aspx?i=bn2249&Body=1"]http://www.warmoth.com:80/Showcase/Showcas...2249&Body=1[/url] [b]Edit (again):[/b] Warmoth will even veneer the headstock with walnut for $45 extra, which will get it looking like the original! [url="http://www.warmoth.com:80/Bass/Necks/BassPegHeadVeneer.aspx"]http://www.warmoth.com:80/Bass/Necks/BassPegHeadVeneer.aspx[/url][/quote] This could be an interesting project and quite fun. At least it would be my own personel fretless. Is Warmoth the only company that do this sort of thing or are there others?