martthebass

1. A mint condition JV 57 Precision - one of the first to arrive in the UK (big Fender, low JV serial). px'd against a 82 US Jazz. K**b 2. 1990 Stingray 4 2EQ. To buy a Sterling.............why? 3. 2002 Stingray 5. Probably the only 5er I've ever liked. Sold to fund my Streamline, still miss it, sniff. 4. Beat up 1996 MIM Jazz - did about 300 gigs with it, sold it to buy a Warwick.............hey Ho.

I've had a couple of Lakky Skylines, a BG (Modded) and a DJ5. I bought both 2nd hand (tho the DJ5 was unused) and got them significantly lower priced than 'shop'. TBH, they both felt reasonably made and sounded well, but there is no way that I would've paid the shop price - they were IMHO not in the same league (build and finish wise) as MM or Sandberg which could be had at those prices. Weight wise I've found the Skylines very inconsistent. Both of mine were pretty heavy (especially the BG - 10lb) but I've noticed some nice light examples (a particularly fine JO4 in Electro was less than 8lbs and sounded very nice).

For looks, Maple. For playing, Rosewood For Stability, Graphite For Fretless, Ebony On that basis there's room for all if you can own a few basses....

I don't have a problem with my current Ray4 but have had the problem in the past (particularly on a Sterling 4 I once had). The pup on mine is set 4mm higher on the G side than the E, I think that is the main reason for the decent balance - worth a try?

A couple of weeks back I was at one of the local Jams and took my new (to me) Ray 30th for a bit of a tryout. After our 'stint' the next guy up asked to have a go on my bass, I just pointed to the house bass (a respectable fairly new Squier Jazz CV) and indicated that was a free-for. He did a bit of an 'harumpf' and comment about he lent out his gear and how he was super careful etc but I let it pass with a smile. 2 minutes into his band's set he was flailing around so much that he managed to un hook the bass with it falling to the floor and picking up a sizeable bit of damage. I didn't feel the need to say anything......

There's a G&L (US build) L2000 with the Jazz profile neck sitting in Electro Doncaster at the moment for a shade over £700. It's trans amber and very light for a G&L, maybe only a shade over 8lbs. It could do with a bit of a clean but I didn't notice any dings/scratches of significance (and I'm pretty anal that way). Might be worth a look.

[quote name='alanbass1' post='751428' date='Feb 19 2010, 10:26 PM']Been thinking about this and of course you do. How could you think of not needing one....go ouyt a get one immediately![/quote] Sound advice, however after due consideration I feel I want to live out the remainder of my days with my danglies still attached. Also after consideration I decided to tell the vocalist to stick to singing. The 2 guitarists and the drummer are cool with the Ray in the mix as it is and on some of the 'softer' numbers I agreed to try the Perception fretless to see if it added anything to the general sound.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='751248' date='Feb 19 2010, 06:51 PM']Status Streamline.......[/quote] +1, Mine can do pretty much anything I want it to, except look like a conventional bass (that's what the Ray's for) on the occasion when that might be needed. If that isnt a problem for yer, get a Streamline. In my bass line up basses come and go.................this one aint going anywhere (unless it's to fund a Streamline 5 at some point)

I've only had 3 bands for the last few years and I'm pretty restrained on the 'knobs' usually just a bit of mid tweaking and maybe a roll off the high.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Don't think I'll go down the flats route tho - hate them on fretted basses, I agree with Rich on this one. I'll try a bit more fiddling with the 2 end knobs on the LM in the meantime. I'll also keep an eye out for a jazz type trade for my 30th.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='747834' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:41 PM'][Rant] Mart! No! No! No! [u][b]Do not under any circumstances[/b][/u] let some t**t of a singer, or for that matter, anyone [period] dictate to you about your sound. You have some of the lovliest basses both in looks and sound & your rig is top notch, too. As far as the singist goes (for singer, read failed musician) just ignore him! I'll bet he comes from the school of thought that says, "bass should be felt and not heard." Cock! [/Rant][/quote] Rich, do you mind if I print this out and pin it to the front of my cab (124 Font - Arial BOLD)?

[quote name='Beedster' post='747837' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:44 PM']A less in your face Stingray is called a Precision[/quote] Love em Chris, unfortunately drummers have destroyed my hearing to the point where I can't hear them anymore

[quote name='4000' post='747814' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:19 PM']Re-eq. Use the tone controls. Whatever. You should be able to get a less in-your-face sound from the Ray. Bernard Edwards used one and he wasn't exactly in-your-face (just sublime ). My mate Stu swears by his and he doesn't use that typical Ray sound and plays 70s stuff.[/quote] Done lots of fiddling.........any suggestions? Would like to dial out top end without the bass getting excessive. I think the singer was referring to being able to 'hear' notes more than feel them (no accounting for taste), I do tend to play a little 'clicky' when I dig in but I like a low action (spoiled by the Status!).

[quote name='bubinga5' post='747801' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:08 PM']Have you tried the Status for the band..? The S4 sure does have some punch, but it depends on the fingers.... have you asked the other band members what they think... im a big Jazz fan and i think everyone should have one in there arsenal....Get a new Fender 2010 and im sure you and they will love it...[/quote] Hi A, hows it going? The Status does get a fair amount of use (in the trio I also play in) but for this band there's a 'need' to use something a bit more 'traditional' looking. The 30th is a bit smoother, more refined than the maple board standard Ray that it replaced but at the end of the day it's still an active single pup bass. I'm sure that a 2010 Jazz would suit (or a Lakky JO) but it would mean ousting the Ray - not an easy decision (as these don't come up everyday).

She'd probably agree with that if Basses were the same size as Shoes and she had a collection of 'Jimmys'.

[quote name='Moos3h' post='747766' date='Feb 16 2010, 09:45 PM']Grab yourself a Classic Vibe Jazz...cheap but powerful antidote to the illness you are suffering from![/quote] I'd love to add a 'cheapish' jazz to the collection but in order to keep the peace I agreed to a 3 bass max rule with 'her that must be obeyed' some years back

I've been here before. I've had 3 Fender jazzes over the last 20 years. A 1982 Fullerton was my first. I ended up getting gas for a Ray so it went after a couple of years. The second was a 1996 MIM that served as my main gigging bass for about 5 years (to spare the Ray the grot holes I was playing), I ended up pxing that against a Corvette for no other reason than boredom. The last Jazz was a 1999 US fretless that was pretty good but I convinced myself I wanted to go five string (I didn't as it happens) so off it went. So zoom forward to 2010. I thought my current 3 covered everything I needed, the Overwater is a pretty decent Fretless - much too good for a part timer like myself. The Status is just sublime, fits just about every situation sonically (and gravitationally) and the Stingray cuts through and works great in full on Rawk. So anyway, having got over the fact that this Ray weighs a few pounds more the other 2 basses (the OW is surprisingly light), I've started using it routinely for rehearsals with a new band. I thought the Ray would fit in nicely, the set was a mix of light rock (70's stuff mainly) and rock n roll so I was a bit surprised when the singer commented that my sound was a bit 'in your face'. I hate playing around too much with settings etc on stage so I'm thinking the core sound of the Ray might not be for the best here. So, does anyone have any suggestions considering the gear I currently have (in my sig) towards achieving band satisfaction or should I bite the bullet, sell the Ray and buy another Jazz type?

Badge. Can play it backwards, forwards, upside down etc, but at a gig if the drummer is even a nanosecond out coming into the break I turn to cr@p.

I had the G&L L2500 off ET above. It was a nicely constructed bass but ultimately I let it go because of: - didn't like the neck profile (a little thick thumb to finger) - too many tonal options for me - bit on the heavy side. On the plus side it did have a fantastic core sound. It was replaced with a SR5