Black Coffee

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1357635461' post='1925551']
Fender are selling by the container load and ford are in massive financial trouble having to sell off their best bits just to stay afloat!
[/quote]

Yep, but they did manage to finally build a car that I wouldn't have to park at the top of a hill each night to have a fighting chance of getting to start each morning by pushing it down the other side. Shame they bankrupt themselves doing it.

Fender will have an aisle in Tesco and Asda soon ; somewhere between the deli counter and the deoderant. . . !!!!

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1357596210' post='1925228']

Find a bass [i]you [/i]like and forget names and image.
[/quote]

Excelllent advice.

If i was a director in Fender i would be reading this thread with one of two reactions.
1. This is a wake up call and our name is no longer fit to be on our products because the basses are so hit and miss and the sales staff dont help. We gotta geta grip of this and maintain our integrity . For the sake of the legacy of the man whose name is on the headstock. If leo was here would this be happening..?

2. Ha ha ha ha. People, kids, the dogs in the street will buy our bass no matter what. Because we are fender. Not because it is a good bass every time.

At the risk of starting something. Henry ford invented the car and they went through a time when the only thing they were good for was pushing downhill to start on a wet winter morning. Now they have got their act together because the competition get better evry day and after my fiesta mk2 misery i wud consider one again. I owned a fender usa p from 1994 and only sold it recently to upgrade out of need. Having spent some time shopping recently id say the same spec usa p bass aint as good.
Hit and miss is the norm . Try before u buy. Never buy a fender u havnt playd. Sound familiar?

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1357422155' post='1922558']
lol two different views there
[/quote]

Im lost now and cant find my way home.
LoL
Will read up on it and try it. Cheap bass to try it on so dont matter if it a goes south.
Thanks guys.

At the risk of sounding rude..... can this be deflowered if you wanted to buy it....?

My previous encounter with a jazz was a Fender custom shop with the 18v electronics and noiseless pickups.
It was an incredible instrument and if it wasn't for my compulsion to keep changing gear and play as many different basses as I can in as short a space of time as possible it would still be here. There wasn't anything you couldn't so with it as far as I was concerned.
You may be able to pick up a 2nd hand version within your budget and it would be a considerable investment. I am currently looking to acquire a fender usa 4 str jazz but my current budget probably will mean that I will have to wait and save more or earn more points with the pursestring holder.

If a person had an old cheap 4 string bass that they didnt mind got wrecked and they wanted to try to defret it.
What tools would they need and how would they do it ?

I remember reading about Jaco Pastorius defretting a J and creating the bass of doom but is it as simple as it sounded ????

In addition to that, while they are at it they might want to remove the black painted finish to leave the wood bare. Whats the best way forward for this ?

What texture is the green finish. Solid colour?

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1357400347' post='1922112']
I had 2 (first was returned for a finishing flaw). They are Jazz bass in appearance but that's where it ended. A very clear sounding bass like other Overwaters but I struggled to get a nice warm fat time from it. It sounded very neutral whereas I think for me I need an instrument to have a bit more character in sound. That said, the build and overall quality was very good.
[/quote]

I was kinda afraid of someone sayin this. I think im spoilt by the sound im used to from my dingwall and the options available pazzive and active. Thanks to all for your replies. Im gonna be patient and wait for a full usa jazz at a price i can afford. I know i wont get one for 400 so i will wait.

Has anyone played the Overwater contemporary jazz 4 string ?
I played briefly one of the classic OW/TWood jazzes and it was bland but if anyone has any input on the contemporay active version I'd appreciate it.
There are quite a few of these contemporary j basses from overwater for sale at the minute in various places online and as Im looking for a 4 stringer jazz is it too good to be true at that price or is it post Christmas mass realisation of a cheap bass with a 'pricey bass' tag being moved on. Any lower level bass recently Ive bought I have always regretted it and end up moving it on again quickly and buying the dearer one anyway.

I am setting a budget (based on domestic management reccomendations) around £400 to try to pick up the best 4 string jazz deal I can and currently I could buy one of these contemporary J's for just short of £350

Just dont wana regret it.

Help.

Any pics?
Seems a lot of these being offloaded for sale at the minute.
Are they as good as they look?

Does it play as good as it looks.
Or was it GAS not fulfilled....

Pictures ??

Where are you based ?

Is the MM jazz sold ?

Anybody played the modern player tele bass ???

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1357315403' post='1920906']
A good mexican (if you find one) can be as good as an american.

[/quote]

I've got the MIM 50s P with the anodized pick guard and it's a gem.

I had read a part of a thread a while ago which said that the USA was certainly different but not always better. The first owner of a bass tends to determine on how it will play in and if it is abused it will bear the scars so secondhand is good financially but can be troublesome. It's pretty clear Im not getting a hall pass from the vatcontroller to spend in the £1,000 region so budget will dictate the buy.

I am looking to buy a 4 string bass and I have spent a bit of time browsing and looking at the Fender J and have decided it is were I want to go.
I owned a Fender custom shop Jazz version a few years ago and since parting company I have been pining for another J. This time I can't afford the custom shop one so a lesser model is on the cards and given the quality of second hand basses I can't justify a new one.

I don't want to go Mexican this time as I have a Mexican P. But is there a huge difference in a standard USA J and a higher spec USA J ?

In second hand terms there's not much difference in price if you are prepared to be patient, but is it worth waiting for or will any USA J do.

Anyone any thoughts on this or is the 'deluxe' tag a gimmick.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1357306789' post='1920685']
This post puts it in a nutshell for me . Alembics are not for everybody , but they are truly unique instruments anfd their overall quality and the integrity of the company as a whole is beyond question . No other bass sounds like an Alembic .
[/quote]

Quite a nutshell. And so right.

They are not for everybody - I can't afford one.

££££££

Hi
Is the neck on this as chunky as the neck on the tribute?
Lovely colour this.

The Garland and the Jupiter are appealing.
In a strange way I think Ive seen the Stealth before. Did the 'Disneyland after dark' bassist play something like this ?

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1357190052' post='1918863']
In 2012 I bought a used Alembic series bass from a seller in the USA and had it shipped to the Alembic workshop by the seller so that I could collect it. get a factory tour and get to their annual California meet. They are completely dedicated to delivering top quality in building their instruments from choice of raw materials through construction to setup and after sales service.
For the Series basses, Ron Wickersham, can spend many days in his lab on one bass tirelessly swapping and matching the pickups to an individual bass and calibrating the electronics and noise cancellation so that when the bass leaves the factory everything is as perfect as it can be for that bass. There are no third party builders for them and no labour workshop somewhere else making the lower priced models, they all are made by the craftsmen at the workshop.

My particular bass was made in 2003 and when the bass got to the factory, Alembic were not happy with the way the plating had tarnished in that period of time, so they made a complete new set of hardware, bridge, sustain block, tailpiece and adjustable nut for the bass and replated, all under warranty. All that and I wasn't even the original owner of the bass!!!. How many bass makers would give that level of service for a bass of that age. I doubt many would do that. I'm very impressed with them in every respect from sound to build quality. I'm not a fan of many of their body shapes but the one I have suits me.


[/quote]

This reads quite impressive.

I don't mean to be controversial and start a whole sequence of this and that, but why did it tarnish in the first place in only 9 years to a degree where they (Alembic) were unhappy with it ?
Would someone who lives in the European area be fit to get the same level of attention under warranty I wonder.....

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1357081411' post='1917392']






I think you are right.
Maybe I am being a little hard on myself , and I should have not sold "that" bass.
I bet there are a few BC members that feel the same way.
[/quote]

Ive owned 3 mm stingray 5s and moved em on to try different basses. Combination of not havin the money to be able to get away from one out one in policy and grass looks (or sounds) greener over there. I wud say i regretted parting with each one as they were all good. Ive just maybe learnt not to beat myself up over it cuz i cant afford everything i want so move around on gear a bit. They are kinda like a benchmark of a sort. Id buy another and put a match to the GAS.
Im struggling at the minute over a four string buy. GAS never really in check.

[quote name='Mog' timestamp='1357025800' post='1916438']


Seriously though, you've raised an interesting point,
What if bassist X auditioned for a gig with band Y who are highly regarded within a certain genre, say Brit Pop. After the auditioning process the band realises that bassist X is the most suitable in terms of technique and attitude and offer him the slot.

However bassist X is endorsed by company Z and is obliged contractually to play their basses. The basses company Z produce are not what would normally be used by a Brit Pop band and Band Y tell Bassist X that he must use another company's product. Obviously Bassist X would have to explain to Band Y that he cannot use another bass.

Does band Y allow bassist X to use the bass from company Z therefore employing the most suitable person for the job (musically at least) or do they move on to another bassist who is willing to play whatever is required aesthetically but is a weaker musician technically?


Getting a bit off topic;
IMO the only reason why image has such a strong influence on musical genres is because people are too willing to go along with the trends and therefore become just another indie bassist with a stingray or a punk bassist with a precision or a prog bassist with boutique 6 string or whatever cliche you may care to add.
[/quote]

Hard to disagree with this.

[quote name='MrTaff' timestamp='1356993236' post='1916240']


No insecurities here, I play 4, 5 & 6's, whatever the gig needs
Im glad ur happy. Again, dont replace words please.



you just implied it,

You will read what you want from it.



that's hardly just asking not to give grief is it? who says they can't play a 5 string?
If they cant play it because they have been told not to, walk away and be comfortable.

[/quote]

Regardless of anything there will always be stigma.

You haven't misread it. It's an oxymoron and was meant that way.

The pistols achieved notoriety by playing the game long before the public knew there was a game to play and the public were duped. They made money, fame and all the stuff that came with it and musically were.......... mmmmmm I will stop here for fear of bearing the wrath of those who either loath or hate them. I have my own opinion and I am comfortable with it.

I still wouldn't have told Sid his bass had to go.