SlapbassSteve

Looks very similar to my Hondo II, though the bridge pup is further forward on yours...

Cheers folks, hadn't thought about the size issue! Will wait for the bridge pickup I've already ordered to come through and see about routing the cavity- hopefully I'll just need to shave a few mm here and there... Does anyone know the differences between the different fender pickups though? If the 75 bridge on order won't go in the squier without extreme routing I might just stick it in my mim jazz- luckily it's a post 2002 model with different sized pups!

Hi all, I've had my 2008 Standard Squier Jazz from new, it was my first bass costing over the £50 mark and it got me through my grade 8 in just under a year so I'm rather attached to it. Just recently I dug it out and used it instead of my Fender Mex Jazz w/badass and decided I actually much preferred it! Slimmer neck and much better 'feel' for want of a better word. Only thing is the stock pickups are shocking, they have a really tinny sounding output with emphasis on the extreme highs and very little midrange. After an afternoon playing with different heights, I've decided to get a new set of pickups in it and use as my standard gigging bass from now on. I've just had a Fender 75 reissue bridge pup off eBay(saw it going cheap so impulsively bid) and am looking to get a Fender pup in neck position to keep things relative, either a Mexican, American, 60's reissue or 75 reissue. -Is there any massive difference between the four, and what are their defining characteristics? Should I just get a 75 so both are the same or would it sound better/have a better range of sounds with two different Fender pickups installed? Apologies in advance if something similar has already been covered...

Conversely, certain basses (Warwick springs to mind) seem to depreciate like it's going out of fashion. They're going for next to nothing on ebay at the moment considering the build quality and price new. You occasionally get opportunists, but generally things go for what people are willing to pay- supply and demand. Don't like a price? Don't buy/bid. Next one'll be cheaper as a result. That said it actually scares me how much Deep Impacts go for, I'd never spend more on a pedal then I did on the bass I'll be playing through it.

There was an odd little independent music shop near me last year, specialised in the cheaper end of vintage stuff(early bullet squiers, eko, egmond, dano etc) and repairs. Always struck me as strange going in there and getting a distinct impression the owner didn't actually want to sell anything, none of the guitars had prices on and the only acoustic guitar strings he had in stock were in completely unusable gauges. Always strange walking into a music shop and feeling like you're intruding somehow! Oddly, one of the better places for both prices and service(depending what gear they have in/who's working/who priced it) is the London Road branch of CashConverters in Liverpool. Had some absolute bargain guitars and basses from there and the staff are always welcoming and more then helpful, if not always 100% sure what they're selling.

WHY?

I don't know a massive amount about the impedance side of things, but I'll hazard a guess it dictates what you use it for- if you're screaming your head off into a high output mic, you'd need to have it turned right down to avoid feedback..? From my experience it's a total mystery to me as to how the SM58 is -or ever was- the industry standard. Horrible muddy things with an rather 'vague' sounding midrange. Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica, AKG and Sennheiser make some great alternatives in the same price bracket, and if you don't mind paying a little more the difference is astonishing. You can often get a better deal on them second hand too as everyone else seems to be busy chasing 58's. Might just be personal taste but I generally like things as clear as physically possible in the mix, and PG58, 58 and 58 Beta don't really do it for me.

If it's a rattling sound that's the problem, check the grub screws in the saddles aren't loose- had a problem with that on a squier jazz before and was driving me nuts...

Cheers for the replies folks! Sounds like my best bet is a Behringer/Sadowsky/Sansamp outboard of some description - Looks a tad more expensive for the better ones but it'd be good to be able to use it with some of my other basses too and not just the jazz. Probably less temptation to fiddle during a set and just have a consistent sound too!

Hi all, Saw my old bass teacher yesterday and he recommended I install a preamp of some sort in my MiM '02 Fender Jazz. I've been really happy with the tone from it, but would be interested in upgrading the electronics so I can boost top/bottom as required. I've heard Artec do some good budget ones(particularly the SE2-A), is there anything similar that's any good or is that my best bet? Preferably where I can keep the three knobs original style rather then chrome, and really ideally where I don't have to start removing precious weight by routing the cavity. Any thoughts? Cheers!

Would be a nice bass for about £100, dodgy neck and all. £400 though?

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1340206440' post='1701060'] Most manufacturers will aim for a company sound and design synergy, like Ampeg, Fender, Trace, Ashdown, GK Markbass etc. It makes selling their products easier and, if they do it properly, will guarantee years of repeat sales. I can't define amp sounds. As I've just found out in an amp sale, one persons "best amp ever" is another’s "sell at all costs". [/quote] +1 -agreed. Was a loyal Ashdown user for years, but after trying a mate's Markbass was knocked over at how mid-biased and 'warm' Ashdowns seem to sound and decided to get rid at all costs. Ended up loosing quite a bit selling 'em too. Much prefer Markbass, the tone seems a lot subtler and sounds more like 'the bass' then 'the bass through an ashdown'

I'm not endorsed but it's something I'd love to look into- how does one go about getting an endorsement?

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1339701254' post='1693083'] The Duncan Design pups that are fitted to VMJ's are pretty good and do come up on ebay quite regularly. My daughters set went for about £2 [/quote] +1 on the VMJ DD's, thought they sounded boss when I had one. Real shame those only went for £2, they punch far above their weight! Failing those I think you can get a pair of Fender Originals for around the £65 mark, especially if you don't mind importing from america. They're used in the Geddy Lee signature, so while I've not tried them yet I should imagine they'd have it dialled in pretty good

I've had this problem before, standard mex bridges have bigger string holes then most other basses for some reason. I find a hearty piece of wire poked through all four ballends sorts it out, though a washer would do the trick.

He is a fantastic player, I've been listening a lot to his It Is What It Is album lately... admittedly mostly for the epic slap/piccolo sections but it ain't particularly common for a player to be that good on 'both kinds' of bass.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1339794827' post='1694654'] Mostly just 15 year old kids who think just because they have learned how to play their favourite Mark King song using just their fingers, it means they are the best bass player who has ever lived and everyone who uses a bit of plastic must therefore be inferior. Do you think any of these dickheads have ever tried using a pick for any length of time? Maybe if they did, they would realise that it actually does wear out your hand, trying to play fast and accurately on just one string. Picks aren't just for pussies or failed guitarists. I use a pick maybe about 75% of the time. I try to let the music dictate what I play, rather than just because that's what my favourite fret-****** does... /rant. [/quote] Haha, that was me when I started! There was a time I'd watch someone playing live and judge them if they didn't slap at all, because of course if couldn't don't see someone do an epic slapbass solo in the middle of a set of 90's rock covers they therefore must've been incapable of doing so and therefore must be inferior...oh dear. Grown up a tad since then(or so I like to think), and am now in a covers band using fingers, plectrum, occasional cheeky bit of slap and also in a couple of places a reggae/Marcus Miller-style thumb/palm mute technique over the course of a set. It's all a means to an end and depends what you're doing and the degree of genre authenticity(knew degree level music would come in handy at some point!) you want to bring to the party! I also think recording technology has developed to such an extent now that it makes more of a difference then ever before how sound is produced, as the tone and attack aren't lost under a tonne of analogue hiss, so it's important to find your own sound, if a pick does that best then so be it. ...However a bass is considerably easier to play the last chorus of Dakota on behind your head with fingers, I tend to drop my pick just before!

Very tempted by one of these at the mo, I p/exed a strat for a 5W Epiphone valve junior a few weeks back, through a Marshall 2x12 it somehow shakes the floor. Be very interested to see what 25W of Orange tone can do...

As much as I love playing electric, I've recently noticed it's possible to make money busking/hosting open mic nights and such... my poor electroacoustic has no idea how many shocking cover attempts are going to hit it on the streets of Liverpool while I'm off uni for summer.