Misdee

Does that mean I won't be able to read it for free in WH Smiths?😯

Hi Mike, I've never played one of Bernie's basses but I know enough about them to appreciate the quality is top-notch and with a sound to match. I've heard you playing yours and the sound is up there with the best. It's just that they're not a brand that appeals to me. I couldn't give you a rational reason why but I've just never fancied one. Buying more basses for me at this stage in my life is more about wish-fulfilment than addressing any practical needs. I've been playing the bass since I was twelve years old and I've always gravitated towards the best instruments. I love playing the bass, but I'm not ashamed to say I love the gear, too. I've got some nice basses, and I'm going to get some more when I see something I like. I've realised recently that, not only am I not getting any younger, I am actually getting old. Maybe that's why I'm looking at the basses from my youth and thinking about what I might enjoy revisiting, or finally getting my hands on. Which brings me back around to JayDee. I remember back in the mid-1980's when Level 42 and Mark King were at the zenith of their success and the demand for JayDee basses was at it's peak. If I understand correctly, to try satisfy demand John Diggins had to set up a kind of production line with a few apprentices and helpers to keep up with the orders flooding in. Where I lived there were two shops with Jaydee basses in stock. Across the UK there were retailers with Jaydee basses in stock you could cash and carry. Availability was plentiful. However, I think John would admit that, with hindsight, quality control suffered as a result and a lot of Jaydee basses from that era are not as well-made as they should have been. When I got my custom JayDee a bit later on John told me that time had been a bit of a nightmare and he was very glad to be back to building basses mainly himself as a smaller concern. The point of all this is that it's a double edged sword when it comes to hand built boutique basses. We all want bespoke quality, but to get that level of craftsmanship it takes time and you're probably going to have to wait. You can't have it both ways. If it's handmade then it needs to be made by skilled hands, not just anybody. That means very limited supply of labour. I'm not trying to condone shoddy business practises, if and when they occur, but John's sons will be well aware of the pitfalls that came from lowering quality control to increase production. Maybe they've made a rod for their own back to some extent by insisting that the basses they put out are of a consistently high quality. Hence the wait times and pushed back delivery dates.

I'd be very interested to hear the spec, but I'm a fussy fella when it comes to basses. I expect you are the same. Is your bas the big-bodied Series 1? If so you'll be able to sell it for over-the-odds to a Mark King aficionado who doesn't want to wait. If I was you I'd use the opportunity to get full compensation for being pissed about. I want a GA24 with Saturn inlays ect, but not LED's, probably in a burst finish.

I've been listening to some Jaydee basses on YouTube and I'd almost forgotten what a gutsy sound they've got. It's quite rare for the characteristic sound of a boutique bass to be so aggressive. They're strident, but in a good way. I remember there was a review of a JayDee bass in Guitar Player Magazine back in the mid -to-late 1980's, when they first had a distribution deal in the States. What was interesting about it was that the reviewer was Rick Turner, chief designer of the Alembic bass. He was extremely complimentary of the JayDee, despite it being reminiscent in it's design to his Alembics, and what struck him the most was how the Supernatural had a distinct "ping" of overtones and harmonics in the sound like hardly any basses other than an Alembic can produce. I'm thinking about basses like Jaydees ect at the moment because I'm looking to buy a modern-sounding bass, and when I say modern I mean what was modern between about 1980 and 1990. I've got plenty of Leo Fender-derived basses, I want something more hi-tech and hifi. And I don't mean something with fanned frets that people play math rock on. Problem is Status are gone, Wal might as well not be trading the waiting list is so long, and it sounds like the same can be said for JayDee. That great triumvirate of British bass builders are effectively out of contention. I don't really want to fork out for an Alembic, but that's the only other bass that's the kind of thing I'm after. Even basses like Fodera are a bit too woody and organic sounding for the stereotypical kind of tones I'm after.

Thanks for all the great suggestions everybody. For someone as out-of-touch as me it really is invaluable. I just want something faff-free to practise with when I can't access my preamp and pedals that I plug into my pc via an interface as my main rig at home. I really know very little about with the digital side of music technology and how it applies to bass. This is the first time I've heard anything about NAM profiles ect, but I think it could be really useful to learn more. I'm doing some investigating this afternoon, but the Sonicake Pocketmaster is so cheap I'm very tempted to give it a go.

I sent the Katana Go back to Amazon, I'm afraid. Thanks anyway, though.

Thanks. That Sonicake looks a prospect, especially if it's £50. Very similar to my old Pandora PX4 in many ways, but with Bluetooth aux in. Are the bass amp models any good, and is it easy to navigate for a luddite like me? I'll investigate the Valeton as well.

I've looked at the NUX but I think I'd have the same problem as I had with the Boss Katana Go, i.e it's in the way and not easy to adjust when I plug it into a bass that's a bottom-loader.

Sounds like I've had a lucky escape, because we're it not for people sharing experiences on Basschat I would have probably placed an order myself. If the quality is still what you expect from a Jaydee, their prices are incredibly reasonable. Of all the basses I've owned, the quality of the woodworking on my custom MK was easily the most impressive. Their proprietary hardware is the business, too. Such a shame it looks like I can't have another.

I've had a quite a few custom builds over the years, and I've learnt to take prospective delivery dates with a pinch of salt. To still be waiting two years after being told it's nearly ready (if I have understood correctly) is a bit much, though. By coincidence, I was looking at the JayDee website last night for the first time in ages and it says the current wait time is sixteen months months. If it was actually sixteen months or thereabouts I'd place an order right away. However, after reading what Kevin has gone through though and other people's travails, I can do without that kind of stress in my life. There's plenty of other nice basses to buy that might arrive before my family have put me in a care home and spent my savings on scratch cards and extra strong cider. My contact with Jaydee back in the old days was always with John himself, and he was a lovely man who took great pride in his work. The bass he made for me was a flawless masterpiece and I should never have sold it. I can't understand why Jaydee would tell someone the bass is nearly finished when It isn't. They're just making problems for themselves and risking getting doorstepped by Esther Rantzen or whoever is the modern equivalent. A few weeks or months delay, okay, things can happen, but years? It's hard to believe that someone making a guitar can't differentiate between those timeframes for completing the job.

Lined, with a polyester coating like on a Pedulla, so it can withstand the abrasion of roundwound strings. It's a light one, too. Weighs about 8 pounds. Lakland CEO John Pirrucello sorted it out for me.

That's really interesting about how MK set his active EQ. If be very interested to try those settings out on a JayDee. I usually only make small additions or subtractions with any active bass. I wish I'd never sold my custom JayDee MK mk3. It had a graphite-reinforced neck with maple laminates replacing the usual walnut and vice versa. It had a unique profile to it as well. John Diggins himself made it, and it was an amazing piece of craftsmanship all-round. I sold it for sbout £600 in the summer of 1992 because JayDee basses had "gone out of fashion"(!) Why I should have been bothered by that I can't quite remember.

I think those Lakland/Hanson LH3 pickups are better than the Bartolini set they replaced. They're a bit more aggressive with more bite and attack. Bass Player Magazine liked them, too: I've got a 44-02 Deluxe fretless with them on and it's a fabulous bass. So many classic fretless tones available with that pickup system. If you're only going to have one fretless bass it a very versatile choice.

I remember reading that review when it came out! I bought my first four string Stingray a few months later.

I used to like the way MK wasn't afraid to change his tone from track to track on the studio albums back in the '80's. Like on that song Micro Kid on Standing In The Light it sounds like he's cranked the mid and treble controls on his JayDee. This Croydon gig sounds not dissimilar to that tone: