OutToPlayJazz

[quote name='bubinga5' post='714459' date='Jan 15 2010, 11:30 PM']they sell the basses they should set them up and make sure they are in tip top condition....I bought a bass on line from a shop....and a bass company renowned for bad QC and i learned my lesson...you really need to try basses as there is so many variables... in the future i know if i buy new, to play the bass... or buy second hand and get it from BC'ers who will give you an honest low down about the bass..[/quote] A big +1 to all of that. I've only ordered a couple of instruments on spec and luckily they've always been good ones, apart from the MIM Jazz V that rusted from condensation. I always try before I buy and pick very carefully. My Am.Std. Jazz was literally the tenth one I'd tried. It took that many to find the right one not only for me, but that met my exacting quality standards. Thankfully, I've no such gripes with Status. Every single bass passes through Rob Green's hands before it exits the building. If only all companies could be as good.

I went back to one of my private schools today for the first time since early December & a pupil had received an MIM Jazz for Xmas. The serial number puts it at a 2002 model, but I'd never seen the colour before - A more grey version of lake placid blue. After a bit of research I found out it was called Blue Agave. Anyone else had a bass in this colour?

That's an odd range for Thomann to be selling... They're hugely expensive. Must be Fender Custom Shop stuff.

The basic ones are a good set of strings (like DR's), a better bridge (Gotoh 201 is the cheaper option, but many go BadAss II), then you're onto the more expensive items like replacement pickups & tuners. The sky's the limit with any Jazz bass. You can spend and spend until you only have the Squier body and neck left. It's up to you

Yes, definitely thinking about one of these fives for later on in the year. I particularly like the pale blue/brown tort with the white pickup. There's just something about that one!

You'll find this partcularly with single coil basses. It'll be either a case of bad earthing on the instrument (check the control cavity and pickup cavity for foil shielding or shielding paint.) You can usually cure most of it via extra shielding or some manufacturers like Nordstrand make classic style pickups with hum cancelling but these replacements can be on the expensive side. The other part of the cause can be 60 cycle hum in the electrics in your house. My house is very old, so I definitely suffer cycle hum. Watch out for venues with dimmer switches as well. They play havoc with pickups!

At a rough guess, with the addition of the lovely birdseye glossed neck/fingerboard, more than a standard one. But we may be surprised...

[quote name='Buzz' post='711989' date='Jan 13 2010, 10:08 PM']As I'm not fond of the scratchplate on the normal SR5, I think these are an improvement. Do the B and G look really close to the edges of the neck or is it just me?[/quote] They always are on Ray 5's. Still very playable, though.

Yes, of course, being as it's based on the traditional classic Ray, all the MM purists will be saying, "But it's not a real Ray 5!" Oh, and there's a Custom Classic series Sterling as well - Now with 2 band eq in the same finishes as the above 5-string Rays.

As if the new classic series of Stingrays wasn't enough, have a look at these new 5-stringers... And they have glossed necks - Yay!

Warwick and Spector 5-strings usually have narrower spacing, as do Ibanez and earlier Status S2's/Empathys. All of these are usually between 15 & 16mm. Your Fender is about 18mm, which is standard for most 5's.

Quite true. At the end of the day, the old BPOT is fine and fit for purpose. I've had a couple of Jazzes with BadAss II bridges and added a Gotoh 201 to another. The biggest change I saw with the Gotoh was added tuning stability & not particularly more sustain, but more clarity throughout the tonal spectrum. It did make a difference. Again, there's nothing wrong with the standard bridge and the replacements just seem to add a little icing on the cake at the end of the day. I've also had two Jazzes with through body stringing. That does make a bigger difference, gaining you a lot more bottom end sustain, with the whole body effectively becoming the bridge.