HeadlessBassist

The Dimension was a serious contender. Its lack of sales was saddening, as in HH Elite spec it was a serious MusicMan crusher. I owned and played one for eight years until it sadly had to be sacrificed as a trade-in towards my KingBass Mk-II. I have a feeling it will be back at some point, as it was one of those hyper useful Swiss Army Knife basses.

Agreed. The Ultra II model's use of the top side truss rod adjuster and rear truss rod skunk stripe smacks of production streamlining/cost cutting. The Elite was a definite quality high point. Mine is sublime and one of the best Jazzes I've played. (It's up against some stiff competition in my own collection as well!) I played one of the early Ultras when it was newly launched and the setup from factory was utterly unplayable.

We both drove a huge way out of our way yesterday evening and met on the M4 for a very good sale/trade. Highly recommended!

Rounds if you're predominantly playing live.. Jazz Flats for if you're in the studio.

Yes, it's rounds. Sounds like he's got the tone control about 50% down. Nice sounding 70's/early 80s natural Ash Precision too. It's not a bass he's documented in his videos - probably one belonging to the studio or someone else.

Looks like it was intonated by dragging it through a field behind a tractor.

Yes. The Vintera II Mustang is very vintage P-bass like. My American Performer Mustang does a huge P-bass sound (or a Jazz on steroids sound if you want!) But the regular Player series P&J Mustang sounds exactly like a Precision. That's why I got shot of it, LOL!

I've had a look through some of the iPlayer videos and I'm definitely feeling my 55 years. Very few bands/acts I've ever heard of and lasted a max of five minutes with any of the videos. I am officially old. Did notice that the bass player in Wet Leg was using a JMJ Mustang 😎, sadly with a pick and a terrible sound though. 😢 Feel free to lambast me for being old, gittish and utterly out of touch, LOL!

This. Exactly. It may be seen by some as badge snobbery, but who cares?

Agreed - the AVRI/American Vintage/American Original/American Vintage II line instruments can be sublime. You still have to try before you buy, but these instruments are always very faithful to the period they are copied from. The nitro finishes in particular make a huge difference to the sound/character of the bass, and they always have that 'just right' feeling to them.

You really have to treat the various mass produced Fenders the same way per model/series, in that you really need to try before you buy. You can usually find one diamond in a batch of 10-20. I've owned a lot over the years, and currently have a 2018 American Original Jazz, 2012 FSR Limited Edition Hand Stained Jazz & a 2016 American Elite Jazz, with a couple of Mex/USA Mustangs as well. Generally speaking, the current higher end Mexican ranges (Vintera II & Player II Modified) are very good. They really seem to have bumped up quality a lot at the Enchilada plant. The American Standard/Professional series seems to go in two steps per series - the 2008s were great, whereas the updated 2012s with the custom shop pickups were a bit meh. The 2016 American Pros were great and the later Pro II less so. They seem to have a habit of making something great that appeals to the pros and then dumbing it down a bit to appeal to more players. (Obviously they're there to sell as many instruments as possible!) In my own personal opinion, the peak for the 'Deluxe/Elite/Ultra' line was between the 2010 Deluxe (with N3 pickups) and the 2016 Elite. The Ultra models produced since are showing signs of production cost cutting, with a return to the cheaper neck construction with the skunk stripe at the back and top loaded truss rod. You'll have to ask someone else about the Custom Shop offerings. I have no experience. So yes, I do believe that you do benefit from the higher up ranges, but they are getting very expensive now and musicians' earnings aren't keeping up.

I have the Thomastik Jazz Flats on my Vintera II Mustang. They have less tension than others listed and they do have a very characterful sound.

That looks very nice! Congrats 😊 Played a couple of these over the years - hated the vintage one, but quite liked the modern 2010’s model. Enjoy!

After getting my Competition Burgundy Vintera II back from the workshop on Friday (it was suffering from a lot of hum and turned out to have an earth wire missing from factory), I suddenly found this morning that I have a 'Tale of Two Mustangs' on show.

Lovely Conklin you've scored there - you'll be able to iron your shirts on the fingerboard in between string changes!

Congrats Neepheid. Looks really nice. Is that the through neck/set neck model?

You may lose a little of the richness and tone with a refinish. Personally, I'd leave it as is if you love the sound of it. But if you really do want to refinish it, I'd definitely go Nitro Cellulose.

Interesting points both, but I agree with EJWW's Music Man point. Personally, I like consistency. I want the same sound every time I plug in. Yes, I often turn the tone control down by 50% when I solo the bridge pickup of my Jazzes or American Performer Mustang, but you can tell where you are in that case, by the angle the white line is pointing on the control.

Agreed re your Stingray, EJWW. The lack of a centre detent on the controls means you can never get the same sound twice. I had the same problem with a piezo Stingray, and even moreso with an ACG Recurve with a Parametric EQ. It was utterly baffling and I could never get a consistent sound that I liked again. Also, different preamp makers choose different frequencies. If you know Status basses well, you know that the frequencies are very well chosen, as you can run the treble and bass full on and it brings the instrument to life with no harshness or boominess. Fenders tend to be a little harsher, so I go more carefully and just boost a little. I did have one of the Mayones Jabba Jazzes for a while and it was quite a nice setup as standard. Again, you needed to be quite measured with how much boost you added. A lot also depends on what kind of music you're playing. In the live shows I do, I often need a lot of subtlety and control for certain numbers, so I can palm mute with no booms and play gently and with great tactility at times, so a passive bass is ideal.

I run both passive and active basses, and I have to say, even after thirty-five years of playing active basses, setting up passive basses has taught me how to eq my sound into an amplifier a lot more. So that's where I start - I set 'my' sound on the amplifier, then adjust the gain between passive and active instruments. On an active bass like my Elite Jazz, I'll only add a smidge of boost above centre on the treble and bass on the preamp, leaving the mids centered. You really only need to play with preamp mids if the mids are missing from your sound. If you've ever played on a Sire bass, the sound is almost too 'scooped', so the cure is to boost the mids just a touch and do the opposite with the mids frequency. Very small adjustments can make a significant difference to your sound. Remember, adding mids can make it easier for you to hear yourself, but the more mids you add, the harsher it sounds to the audience. And as Jolltax mentioned, it's all academic anyway, because once you've added two singers, two acoustic guitars, a digital piano, an electric guitar and drums, your sound is buried anyway, so it really doesn't matter! Also, ask even the most experienced pro performer in your band/show about your sound who's not a bass player and you'll always get the answer, "it sounds like a bass."

Yes, whether I'm carrying a couple of grands worth of Fender Jazz or a now irreplaceable Status, I always use them, no matter what the venue. Otherwise there would be no point owning them. As much as I'd like to save some of them for 'best', they're working tools at the end of the day. I do, however never let them out of my sight at some venues.

I recently created a large playlist of Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers and Cory Wong tracks. Liking the 'this American life' feel. Also, curiously liking Khruangbin for their light, easy listening (I'm obviously getting old!) ambient feel.