gareth

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1348429696' post='1813566'] It would be a very interesting experiment to record a new American Standard Fender bass and compare it to a comparable vintage pre- CBS counterpart recorded under the exact same conditions and let people make up their minds. Maybe, considering the controversy this topic has generated, we could organise that. I have played both extensively, and the American Standards sounded very comparable to the vintage examples to me. This judgement isn't coloured by lack of means either ; I could ( and do) play any bass that I want, and I think the current American Standards are just fine. They sound like a Fender should , play well and have a refreshing abscence of dead spots, probably due in most part to the graphite reinforcement in the neck . Yes some vintage ones sound a bit different- quite often it is because the pickups are knackered and need rewinding, or binning and replacing due to the ravages of time- but whether they are better is a matter for conjecture. I have loved a few of the vintage Fenders that I have been lucky enough to play, but they were all ones that already belonged to someone who would never consider parting with them . A great many of the ones I have been offered by vintage guitar dealers have been a dissapointment, and maybe that is no coincidence. They made good and bad ones back then , too, and people want to hold on to the good ones, quite understandably so. The original JV Series Squiers are an interesting case in point, and a is model I know well because I bought one when they came out. It was my first really good bass, and is very close to my heart, but they were never worthy of the kind of kudos they enjoy nowadays. They were ( and still are ) very nice relatively inexpensive Japanese guitars, but nothing more than that . If they have a nostalgia and rarity value to them nowadays then good luck to them and those that own them , but they command a price grotesquely in excess of their worth as a tool for making music with. I had the Jazz Bass that I bought new for about two hundred quid and the Precision that I got secondhand for thirty quid ( yes, thirty quid). Nice basses, but nowhere near as good as a 2012 American Standard. [/quote] [quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1348428434' post='1813546'] '63 Jazz, there's plenty out there, but you'll need deep pockets. What spec is yours? (Colour/guard etc). [/quote] [quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1348430666' post='1813591'] Mine was 'customised' in 1978 after a hard life and the only original parts are the neck, hardware and electrics. The previous owner used to pour lighter fuel on it and set it on fire as part of his stage act, so the body and finger board were badly charred and had to be replaced. They were replaced with a maple Precision shaped body and maple board with new jumbo frets. It weighs 10.5 pounds and isn't particularly easy to play if you like fast runs, in fact it's a bit of a bitch and ugly with it. But it sounds and feels sublime, especially for old school soul, blues, funk and reggae. I'm sure the sound and feel come from the original parts - the neck and pick ups in particular, although the solid maple body may add to the depth of tone. I have toyed with the idea of having it restored to original condition, but it's risky and I don't want to chance losing the sound and feel of my favourite bass. I'm looking for something lighter weight (under 9 lbs) with the same tone and feel as my old bass and I have bought, sold and tried lots over the past few years, with nothing really doing it for me. I was planning on trying some custom shop and road worn models, but I've a feeling that only an old Fender will satisfy me. I'm not mad fussy about colour, but mine is black and I like the look of the custom colour black one in Bass Direct. One other thing about my old bass - there is never any fret buzz, despite my heavy touch and all new basses seem to buzz, no matter how high the action is. Dingus - you make a good point about the sound comparison in your post, but it's not the recorded sound that makes an old bass special. The same player recording the same bass part on different basses, with the same strings and set up will sound very similar, particularly in a band mix. The difference is how they feel and how that affects and inspires the player and everyone is different in this respect. Having said that, I would be very happy if a new American Standard Jazz felt and sounded like the pre CBS Jazzes I have played and I would buy it immediately. [/quote] hey guys what about doing the comparison test suggested above??????????????? see here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187579-enough-bullshit-vintage-vs-current-fenders/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187579-enough-bullshit-vintage-vs-current-fenders/[/url]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1348410158' post='1813251'] Fender basses were the highest quality instruments available in their day, bar none. Until Alembic came along in the late 60s / early seventies ( albeit with a radically different design concept) who could rival Fender basses for sound and playability ? A big part of the genius of Leo Fenders designs was that they were fantastic instruments without the need for the highly skilled and detailed craftmanship needed to produce traditional instruments such as violins or better quality acoustic guitars. I would have to disagree, however, that todays Fenders are neccesarily poor clones. I've played countless pre-CBS Fender basses and whilst some were very good basses ( and very beautiful objects), as a working instrument a well-chosen bass from the current Fender range could easily compete in terms of sound, and will almost certainly be superior in terms of playability and durability. If you want to collect antiques then be my guest, but if you want a bass to play then a new one ( providing you choose the right one ) arguably has more to offer, especially if you look at some of the great work the Fender Custom Shop is doing. I'm not saying this to be provocative or denigrate anybodies vintage collection - I think some of these basses are absolutely exquisite- but the simple fact is that Fender basses are fairly straightforward instruments, when all is said and done. [/quote] Dead right. When I got back in to playing some 10 years ago, a dealer friend of mind, offerred me a choice of several pre-cbs precisions and a fullerton vintage reissue precision. The fullerton was clearly the best playing, nicest looking bass there and at £500 was half the price of the others. One of the others would have been a better "investment" - cos the mystique/crap about old fenders has lead many people in to parting with £000's of pounds for what they think is the "holy grail" pre-cbs bass, chasing the prices up - more like "holy crap" You are right about modern fenders too Not only custom shop but even the humble MIM classic series I have now tried all these classic basses - 60's p and j and 70's j And they are all great basses, well made, reasonable weight and good value. Truly a range that in future years will be sought after - and goodness knows what they will be worth when they (after 30 years) become "vintage" and "investable" Stick some in the loft now guys

its a replacement bridge

the neck and tuners look legit to me so for £600 you get an original neck with tuners - probably worth about £400 - leaving £200 for the rest

its not a bargain non-original bridge, guard, pickups, routed for active probably worth about..........................£600 at most

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1348092052' post='1809333'] do you not think that the potential increase on a good preEB over the next 20 years might be more than an already high price in a satuated pre CBS Fender market? [/quote] be interested to know what the experts think about the above [quote name='Johnnysonic' timestamp='1348154372' post='1810122'] [/quote] [quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1348149394' post='1810033'] [/quote]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1348140747' post='1809826'] The comment is based on years of collecting specifically Fender Basses, and interaction, communication etc with fellow collectors. Everyone I know, or have come across, agree that black basses, are not desirable, compared with other finishes. Especially the matched headstock ones. They are a rare custom colour, no doubting that, which i said, just not desirable in basses, guitars are very different though, black strats are sought after, possibly down to a certain Mr Clapton? I even know collectors who only collect custom colours, and they dont have black ones, as they say they'd rather keep the money for a different one. There's a guy in the US who has been trying to sell a black '68 telecaster bass for years, no-one wants it, because it's odd, yes it's rare, but it's just not 'right'. I don't make these rules or trends, this is just how it is. Ask anyone, I'm pretty certain you'd get a similar response. Thats just the way it is. Simlar thing with Ricks, burgundyglo is probably the rarer of the standard range of colours, but not very desirable, an acquired taste if you like. For every person who loves it, there'll be 50 who don't, whereas a mapleglo or fireglo is the other way round. [/quote] i think he is right about black

these are great basses i am seeing them more and more being used by bands they not only look really cool, they sound cool too

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1347976791' post='1807503'] , Black, also a custom colour, is a bit of a no-no when it comes to old Fenders, and can be very difficult to shift, collectors generally won't touch one. [/quote] thanks for that - I have always wondered why old black fenders seem so unpopular and take ages to sell

[quote name='Emanew' timestamp='1347984403' post='1807686'] Cool ! There are even 5 : - THE 62 JB fretless aka Bass of Doom - His 60 JB fretted, famous for starring in "Portrait of Tracy" and Joni Mitchell period. For me, "Portrait of Tracy" and "Continuum" are among the most poetic compositions in Modern Jazz and even in Modern Music. There is only ONE JACO whatever the piece of wood he was playing. I am becoming too lyrical let's come back to instruments... [/quote] and none of them will make you sound like jaco jaco could have got his "sound" from a de-fretted affinity series squire jazz

sold my G&L L2000 fretless to sean very nice bloke to deal with and good transactions

[quote name='Emanew' timestamp='1347831579' post='1805658'] Hi gareth, Thanks for sharing. Actually, there is a difference between Tribute and Artist. The Jazz bass Tribute is done by the custom shop. It has a relic look. So it is 1 - JB Jaco Pastorius [u]Artist signature.[/u] It has a "Jaco" on the neck plate. It has [u]not[/u] a relic look. 2 - JB Jaco Pastorius [u]Tribute [/u]made by the Custom Shop. It has a [u]relic look[/u] 3 - JB Jaco Pastorius Artist Series Custom Shop Tribute limited 100. It was in 1991 (the James Jamerson Precision Tribute was made at the same time). The basses this year [u]had not[/u] a relic look. Both fretted and fretless were made in 100. there is a tribute text written on the neck plate and a 100 limited serial number. 1 1 - JB Jaco Pastorius [u]Artist signature.[/u] "Jaco" neck plate. [u]not[/u] reliced. 2 - JB Jaco Pastorius [u]Tribute [/u]made by the Custom Shop. relic look 3 - JB Jaco Pastorius Artist Series Custom Shop Tribute limited 100 only in 1991. [/quote] thanks for explaining that so to confirm that I had 1 1 - JB Jaco Pastorius [u][u]Artist signature.[/u][/u] "Jaco" neck plate. [u][u]not[/u][/u] reliced as i said above it was an unremarkable bass as others have said if you are looking for a fretless i would look elsewhere just by having one of these - its not gonna make you sound like jaco as ever its all in the hands

i thought they were the same bass as far as I know there are three jaco basses:- 1. tribute/artist 2. custom shop 3. limited run custom shop made same time as the james jamerson basses I have experience of tribute/artist and i found it to be ok - nothing more really