CameronJ

Alas, not unless I want to pay top dollar for a custom shop USA model

Their website isn’t up to date. That 55-60 is no longer for sale. There’s also a number of other basses which are either incorrectly showing as still in stock, or in stock and not on the site! Much to my dismay.

To be honest I’ve become enamoured with a Lakland 55-60 at GuitarGuitar but the colour - ice blue metallic - is absolutely not my thing. So in theory I’m just waiting on a more favourable colour combo as the bass does everything else I want. Still, I wouldn’t mind a Yamaha option, given that I know how well made they are. I repeat: would you complain about a Yamaha J bass?

Exactly my suggestion.

I guess if it’s screwed in well enough. I’ve never tried one so commented purely on seeing it in photos.

Also, this coming from a man who owns a number of basses surely in double figures by now?

Dingwall do indeed make a J-type, though it costs at least £3k new and ~£2k used. Sandberg make J-types but they’re almost all active (in an ideal world I’d prefer passive) and, sadly, I’m not a fan of the new body shapes. MTD USA falls into a similar boat to my Dingwall argument re: price and MTD Kingston do make J-types (known as the Saratoga) which I’ve considered and not ruled out despite being active, because the Saratoga preamp is arguably even more convenient than the Yamaha preamp. Still, would you complain if Yamaha made a J??

Technically, yes, but as we all know it would be a terrible decision from a physics point of view!

Hmm. That’s actually not a terrible idea!

I meant a somewhat more up to date option though. Preferably in a 5 string config as well! Basically the feel of the 73x/P3x in a jazz bass.

All very true. Very many “Super Jazzes” on the market with comparatively fewer “Super Precisions”. I guess the BB and TRB ranges have historically done well for Yamaha and with their recent acquisitions of Line 6 and Ampeg there’s enough to keep them busy as a company overall.

Perhaps. Though I don’t think there’d be a huge amount of R&D involved - they’ve already developed J pickups for the BB series. They have a very well-liked preamp system already in production and make nice passive circuits too. At most, they’d need a new body shape and a slight alteration to the existing bridge J pup to be more suitable for the neck position. Light work for a company with the resources Yamaha has. But maybe with the likes of Sire on the scene producing great value-for-money jazzes on such a large scale, Yamaha would rather stick with their own niche. Obviously Sire do the P7 which is arguably a direct competitor to the BB734/5s but at a lower price point and with very different looks. If Sire did a P9 (P version of their V9 Jazz) then Yamaha might be in more serious danger in terms of price-point competition.

Ok so I think it’s safe to say that Yamaha have their Ps and P/Js nailed, but does anyone know why they haven’t produced a J-type bass in so long? I mean purely in pickup config, not physical design. I’d certainly buy one! Especially at Yamaha price points and build quality. Edit: the BBNE2 doesn’t count

So true. Someone in the Squier design department is really earning their keep

I clocked that as well! Reminds me very much of a Yamaha BB1024X, with the chromed control plate, black guard on white body etc. Pretty bloody cool.

It’s worth noting that there are a load of new 2.8 presets (including some bass-specific ones) which, unless you follow the procedure for rebuilding the preset list, won’t show up after the update. By default, you’ll still have the default 2.7 preset list (minus your own user presets) until you perform the preset rebuild procedure.

Ah, yes. The body shape, along with the racing stripe feels pretty Mustangish. Plus look at where the bridge is mounted compared to the other two basses next to it on display. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head here @Pea Turgh

My thoughts exactly. If Gibson had led with this rather than that absurd video, they would have avoided the entire guitar community cringing whilst actually earning a bit of respect. Let’s not forget, though, that they’re still carrying out legal action behind the scenes aren’t they? So it’s not all sunshine and roses, positive as this latest development seems.

Liking the look of these as well:

Hmm, that is curious. Not quite sure if it’s a spacing thing or a size thing - hard to tell for sure. I’d suggest, economically speaking, that it wouldn’t make a great deal of sense to make an entirely new pickup housing just for this range of Squiers. But who knows with Fender!

The best way to try it out before taking the plunge then, is to force yourself to play directly over your existing pickups, using them as a kind of mini ramp. Does the pickup housing get in the way of your pick/fingers in a negative way? Does it feel annoying or restrictive? If so then the ramp may not be for you. This is easier if your bass has humbuckers/soapbars as you’ll have a bit more margin for error in terms of playing position. With Jazz single coils you’ll have to stay more rigidly in the same plucking position for the test to work.

My first 5 string bass had a ramp. It was an Ibanez BTB33 and I really liked having the ramp. A few disclaimers though - if you play with a pick or like to dig in a lot, you may find the ramp to be in the way. Also, as has been said, it’s not a magical fix for poor technique. Nor is it a necessary component for developing good technique. To be honest, it’s just a matter of personal preference. You may find that not being able to dig in too far helps your ability to play faster or play more consistently. You may find it limits your dynamic expressivity. The only way to know if it’ll be useful to you is to try it out yourself.