HeadlessBassist

I've never had a Lakland, but that is a lovely piece of Lakland/Dan Lakin history. How long have you had it?

Especially if you buy those Pino Palladino strings - y'know, the ones sprinkled with Welsh Fairy Dust and Unicorn Tears.

Problem sovled - the Jazz was sounding 'thin' and lacking definition more than anything, probably due to the £8 set of Warwick Red Label 40-100 strings I initially threw on it. It's now got a new set of Elixir 40-95s and it's got all of its proper fullness and rich tone back. Much better! Beware cheap string sets... 🤦‍♂️ Also, after a large amount of trawling on here and TalkBass, I've found that the V-Mod II's are a little lower on output, due to a slight overwind to make them a little less lively than the original V-Mod set.

Wasn't it always thus? When you buy the expensive stuff like Fender USA products you're paying for admittedly better quality materials, but at the end of the day, you're paying for the FMIC workers' mortgages, finance payments on their F150 pickup trucks and crazily expensive health insurance & pensions, not to mention fattening the pockets of the company shareholders.

Hi Freddie, as luck would have it, I’ve still got your old Elite and I picked up an as new condition American Professional 2 in a trade over the last few days. In short, they’re very similar thickness from fingers to thumb, and maybe the Pro II feels marginally wider, but it’s mainly down to the Elite’s compound radius that makes it feel a fraction more rounded and that little touch sleeker. The Pro II neck is very nice to play on, and doesn’t slow me down at all compared to the Elite.

It was interesting to compare it to my American Original Jazz - the Original's Pure Vintage 64's are meant to be overwound, so you'd generally expect a lot less output compared to the modern basses, but the Original is much more present and punchy.

Agreed. I always loved the original V-Mod pickups in my previous American Professional V.1 Precision with their mix of Alnico 2 & 5 magnets. I'm thinking of dropping in to get my Tech to test them on Monday to see if anything is actually wrong with it. It's a barely used bass that was bought new by a guitarist and never really played much or taken outside his house, so I'm assuming it's got no gremlins as such.

Now then... (sorry, came over all Yorkshire there for a moment!) I picked up a mint condition 2023 Fender American Professional II Jazz in a trade yesterday. After setting it up (especially with my regular pickup heights), the output seems a little on the low side. Nice sounding bass overall and buttery to play, but I was wondering whether anyone else has had this issue of the V-Mod II pickups being a bit on the quiet side..? And yes, the mint scratch guard is going to be replaced by a vintage tort one.

Surplus gear is a subject ripe for future discussion. (Says he that just got an mint American Professional II Jazz in a trade...)

So I recently re-entered the world of the Precision with the purchase of one of the new American Professional Classics. I currently have the following amplification… TC Electronic RH750 in TC 2x10 enclosure + 2 single TC 1x12 cabs. MarkBass 2x10 combo with 1x12” extension cab. Backup TC Electronic BQ250 head unit. Usually the RH750 stays at home - even with its built in trolley, 28kgs is a lot to haul around, despite the full rig sounding great, and having the on-board compressor which makes the Precision sound fantastic. The MarkBass system sounds fantastic for my more modern-sounding instruments, like Status & GB, or my Jazz Elite, but for the passive Jazzes and Precision it just sounds too artificial and highly processed, despite the best efforts of the ‘Vintage’ filter. So during the Xmas holidays, I spotted an Ampeg Venture V3 on offer in the sales with £200 off RRP, so I did the usual research and found it made a sound I might like. It arrived earlier this week, and it is very good indeed. Rather than ploughing yet more money into Ampeg’s highly expensive cabs, I’ve jury-rigged a dual 12” system with the extension cabs from both of my main rigs, and oh my, does it sound good with the Precision!

Congrats Mikey. I had an identical TRB-6 II, probably the one you lost track of. It was a great bass, and the only 6-er I’ve ever got on with. Hope you enjoy the new one.

“So you think there’s a market for basses that look like snot, then?” - Lord Edmund BassAdder.

The Vester Chow Mein was infinitely better, IMO.

The Jazz Bass' natural scooped sound [with everything dimed] often needs a little help - if you set your bass & treble on the amp to about 2 o'clock, that always helps. Also, passive Jazz pickups sound best when set closer to the strings. (6-7mm for neck pickup & 3-4mm for bridge pickup.) I'll be interested to hear your findings if you do end up swapping the pickups.

Ditto. I had a spalted maple topped one brand new from Andertons a few years ago and similarly, couldn't get along with the neck. Too thick fingers-thumb for me. But lovely basses. Congrats, Rexel.

That's a great looking bass, Delbert. Hopefully it has that P-punch that fills out the sound which we all enjoy. I know I'm enjoying coming back to the Precision for the first time in about 7 years with the American Professional Classic. What happened with the Warmouth-Status Jazz? How did it fail on the gig?

I'd also look at the Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups. I've bought a couple of sets now and they're excellent.

Well I've resurrected my old Precision preset on the RH750 and that little bit of added shove from the on-board compressor gives the Precision a very convincing punch. Initial thoughts have been confirmed, the American Professional Classic is a fantastic sounding P. I've also ordered (January sales are very "DANGER WILL ROBINSON!") the small 300W Ampeg Venture head unit for some Ampeg 'clank'. Never had an Ampeg of any kind before, so should be interesting with my MarkBass or TC 12" cabs. (Or have I opened myself to yet more shopping of the Ampeg Cab variety?!)

Is your bridge actually falling, or slipping slightly? That can be due to the feet of the bridge not being 'fitted' properly - this is usually fixed by taping a piece of sandpaper to the front and physically running the bridge feet up and down it, so that the feet are matched to the curvature of the front plate. Traditionally, the bridge should be angled very slightly, so the top of the bridge is slightly 'pulling' away from the tuners. You may have to adjust it several times during initial tuning when re-stringing, as it will naturally move as the tension increases.

Fender have definitely been streamlining their production in recent years, especially in terms of necks - All of the mainstream necks from Squiers to Fender Ultra II now have skunk stripes on the back and top end truss rod access, and nearly all now have a 9.5" radius. Gone are the days of 2016-20 where you paid more for a better quality neck with a recessed MM-style truss-rod adjustment wheel in an Elite series bass. Although, my new American Professional Classic Precision has a very nice neck, it is still of the skunk-stripe variety, which used to be reserved for the cheaper Mexican models. It must be an easier and cheaper process to put the truss rods in from the back, then plugging the hole instead of inserting the rod from the top side before the fingerboard is glued and clamped on.