Chiliwailer

...all in the name of science and experimenting...

Oh, definitely addicted to loving flats. I have Chromes on my P Bass, EB Cobalts on my Jazz and LaBella on my Spirit headless. I like them all, but Chromes will be tried on the Jazz at the weekend, looking forward to it. Big fan of TI’s, and would love to try LaBella white nylon... guess I need 2 new basses?

Actually Chris, I'm fairly certain it's a shade under 4kg! Thing is, though I've bonded with it more than any Jazz I previously owned, I'm sure there are better Jazz's out there. I was genuinely shocked at how it stood up to the Lull, I mainly bought it for the feel whilst thinking that the tone would be good enough for my needs, the Lull was a GAS attack I was pleased to leave behind. Fender is marmite, you either love them or go on a forum and get out that pent up anger!

Interestingly, I’ve had 3 Lull’s and liked them all, but they never had the heft of my Fenders, they were more polite versions of the Fenders I’ve owned. I took my 2015 USA Std Jazz to Bass Direct last year to compare to the Lull Jazz they still have, with a view to buy it, but the Std smashed it for tone. Not saying it’d smash all Lull’s, just saying.

Why didn't they release a fan fret, graphite neck, headless, MIDI equipped & self tuning P Bass? I'm a Fender fan - I empathise that there isn't much to be done to a well established range, mass market design wise. With the guitar market crashing, second hand sales ever growing, I can't see why they shouldn't mix up the specs to lure people, who can afford it, into buying new versions. I like some new bits, dislikes others, such is life. I'm with Discreet on this one.

(Zoom in to see the differences)

Great attitude mate, it's the bass itself that matters for sure The control panel screws were different back in the day, not sure exactly when they were phased out to be the same as the pickguard screws but it won't be hard to find out if you google some old basses. Yours might even be ok? For example the gorgeous 64 Jazz in the for sale section on this site or the 65 Jazz here http://andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=1276

There’s a good chance it’s an innocent mistake on the sellers part, if they are not a dealer. Not everyone knows, or thinks to check, around lacquer issues and how to look for the signs. Seller may just have been ignorant to it themselves. Or not of course. Are the Gallery sure it wasn’t a headstock refinish as well? Therefore a new decal applied and the back of the neck sprayed to match the lacquer? Many custom colour Jazzes had matching heads, so it’s fairly common. It may well be that hasn’t happened, but it’s worth a mention and closer look at the logo. At least the price you paid is in the right ballpark, the refin is nice and the fingerboard looks stunning. If it sounds and feels as good as it looks then I doubt you’ll be too bothered soon. I used to have a 64 Jazz that had a body and head refin, it was still a joy to own until it became part of the deposit for my flat!

I’m not sure if I believe in the perfect Jazz Bass, (or any bass) I’ve played too many Jazzes that are great in very different ways. Though having owned very nice pre CBS and Custom Shop Jazzes in the past it’s nice to say that the one I’ve bonded with the most is my current 2015 USA Std, it’s far from perfect, but it’s my most played bass these days. Its good that you’re not ruling out a vintage, of what you can afford, a good bass is a good bass after all. Refinish a battered 51? Crikey! Having previously owned vintage basses with reliced ‘mojo’, it started to feel odd to me having a bass with someone else’s wear, these days I like near mint vintage or nothing. Never thought I’d say that years ago. I own my current 66 P Bass because I like the history more than anything else, it is an excellent sounding bass and a joy to play. Yet a decent modern bass would be just as fine for me too, but while I can it’s nice to own a part of the Fender history that I’m so fond of.

I sold a case to Drew in a perfectly smooth sale. Cheers Drew.

Oh dear... the tone pot has already started to die. Luckily I’ve plans to change that anyway and am still enjoying it.

Yeah, my intonation is way off too, up the dusty end it sounds just like me on a fretless! Hopefully later next week I can get down to modding and adjusting. Definitely good value, I agree, which was a pleasant surprise as I felt like it was a gamble. It’s a keeper, it’s just too useful and portable for it not to be.

Mine arrived today, I’m chuffed with it. It’s suprisingly ‘solid’ for something that isn’t really there. After a few minutes of getting used to it the playability felt good, the neck reminds me of the Hohner Jack I had when I was 15, that was a long time ago but @dlloyd did say they are made in the same factory as the B2A. The build quality seems good. The set up is poor, a truss rod adjustment will get it playing, but it’ll need the saddles sorted too for height and intonation. Probably pickup height as well. I’ll get down to all that once I’ve found some DBE flatwounds for it, it looks like it needs half a litre of lemon oil too. Im looking forward to putting in the TBX and pan pot next week, with a CTS volume for good measure, it’s not a bad sounding bass for what it is but any boost will do I reckon. Fun bass, that’s for sure

Cheers @machinehead, all sounds good and I'll be in touch after Xmas

Not sure if you're the moding type Lozz, but I'll post how the TBX install goes, I ordered one yesterday. Would be nice to get as much oomph as possible out of it, I reckon that'll be a cheap easy mod.

I'm quite envious, being a big fan of the basses and the man himself. Nice Xmas present, bet you haven't had this many butterflies before Xmas since you were a kid?!

Thank you Frank, that’s a blinding offer and much appreciated, after Xmas sounds like a good plan. I’ll send you postage costs and make a gift on your behalf to your favoured charity. @kodiakblair did that for me once and I thought it was a great gesture Cheers

Very cool, will look forward to seeing it completed.

That’s good to read, particularly about the LaBella as I read elsewhere that they wouldn’t fit, great news, cheers.

Agreed, but bizarrely It’s def hitting my ‘guilty pleasure” spot!

Thanks for all of the replies, very helpful. I've just bought a new Steinberger Spirit, (the Argos collection via eBay is a huge help) I fancied a new one anyway and also having some fun tinkering around with the set up and tone - I read that CTS pots help open up the tone, so I may as well add a pan pot and Fender TBX pot while I'm there - I'll have my tools ready Frank, and may commission a strap extension from you one day if you're willing I'll probably add some Picato flats, but will keep in mind the GHS shout out in case I like it with rounds, cheers lefty. I know what you mean about the PJ Paul, my fear is that my P & J Basses will be a benchmark too high for it to reach! Getting it on Thursday, not expecting much to be honest, but an NBD is an NBD

I’m looking at getting a Steinberger Spirit XT-2 for when I’m working away from home. Anyone had one? I’m finding mixed reviews, though to be honest I wouldn’t exactly expect much anyway from such a thing! I expect the Hohner B2A would be better quality, but there’s none local to me s/hand, and these days I’m more partial to a new bass over old...unless it’s a 60’s P Bass Any thoughts welcome, I may be pulling the trigger tomorrow morning...

Indeed... I’m kevin, and so is my wife. As for the real Kevin, I’ve known him over 10 years, and though I’ve never had any work done on my bass by him, he’s a lovely fella.