OutToPlayJazz

Excellent, Andy. Let us know what you think... I'm thinking of one of these as a backup Jazz, being as the white one was so good.

Heh! Nice one. Yes, I find some sets too bright as well. The DR Sunbeams for me are all brightness and nothing else. On my "wooden" basses (as opposed to graphite!) I tend to find I prefer the mix of extra bottom end tone & brightness I get from DR MM FatBeams or Rotosound Swingbass. I put a set of Elixirs on my 75 RI Jazz last weekend and didn't like them at first. Same complaint. All top end and loss of bottom end, but now I've been playing them for a week they seem to sound a lot better. I'd go for some FatBeams. Best strings I've used in a long time.

I personally like a bright, zingy sound, but if it's a dull dub sound you're after, try some flatwounds.

Sounds like most of the newer multi-effects units would do what you need. I've got the Line 6 XT Live & it's pretty easy to program different effects onto each patch, so you can have a standard amp sound on the patch and then use the stomp, modify & reverb/delay stomps to modify the sound. The only downside I find to the unit is that it sometimes boosts the volume when you change between patches. Still haven't got to the bottom of that one, but it's a very good unit. There's a new one out now, isn't there?

[quote name='Kendo' post='648483' date='Nov 8 2009, 01:04 AM']Hi, sorry dont understand, why is a headless better than a headed? cheers[/quote] *Smiles* I didn't say that the headless basses were better, just that most Status players prefer them. The only real plus point to the headless design is that the balance point is right at the end of the upper horn, but there's not much weight or balance difference between headed or headless, as the neck assembly is so light compared to wooden equivalents. Is that any clearer?

Heh! Yes, it does sound like your sort of settings would suit a Status down to the ground. Plenty come up on the for sale forum, as they don't suit everyone. Your full budget would get you a headed Series 2 or S2-Classic with the right bass, or perhaps an Eclipse/Energy. They're all good. Best of luck with it. If I see any knocking around, I'll let you know. Rich.

What do you really like the sound of? At the end of the day, you're going to hear twenty or thirty different opinions based on personal preference. Obviously I'm going to say look for £700 worth of used Status or Jazz bass, but with most good basses you're going to be able to get different sounds by playing in different locations of the strings. For instance, a great solo sound from a back pickup (if you have two!), a good mix from the mid point in between pickups, a Precision thump if you just use a front pickup, or a smoother more upright type sound by playing over the edge of the fingerboard. Perhaps you need to think in terms of the merits of all the basses you like? Here're some of my thoughts on the merits and sound of various basses... Precision - The classic rock bass. Simple & thuddy. More expensive versions can sound more hifi, but at the end of the day, a simple bruiser and great with it. Gets a little lost in a live mix, but that's what it was always meant to do. Make bass lines blend in. The necks are chunky and made to last. Jazz - Great for soloists, great for basic lines, great for slap & other techniques. Perhaps the Jazz was the first "do anything" bass? Lovely thin necks and very fast players. The Jazz also has that individual "honk" to it which is very appealing. MusicMan - Snarly, higher frequency sound. Great for slap & fast funk playing. Relative position of neck versus body means that Rays are really comfortable to play. Very good sound for cutting through the "mix" live. Some say the Ray is a on trick pony, but I think there's more to it than that. Warwick - Get a twin humbucker Warwick and you're laughing! Great basses (eg. Corvette or Streamer $$) with huge punch. Great build quality & growly, woody sound. Obviously, with all these basses, there are going to be some better than others, as they are all mass produced. There will also be many other options out there for your money, such as used JayDees, used Status, used Sandbergs, used Laklands, etc, etc. Spend some time with some in a store and see what sounds and feels right to you. I've probably said a load of things here that you already know, but I hope some of it will be helpful Rich.

The Jazz bass came out around 1960 as the "deluxe" model over the Precision. It's just a name, although a lot of jazz musicians use them. They're great for all styles, from jazz to rock to funk, etc, etc. It's the do anything bass, really.

What are the white pickups in the Squier? Are they just new covers or have the pickups been upgraded?

Heh! 'Tis quite true, Graham. Anything at the cheaper end of the market is offered around pupils before I trade or sell it. I actually sat down and figured out the numbers last night & I've done very well all in all... Current collection is worth around £12k (excluding the cellos and double basses!) They only cost me £9.3k. Overall on all of the deals I've done I've made something like £1990 with a loss of £1370. So I'm a used Stingray in profit at the moment, LOL! Not bad in almost four years of deals/trading.

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='648515' date='Nov 8 2009, 02:52 AM']I might nip down to see if I can blag some cheap bits later today (sunday!). If you are there, you won't miss me, I will be wearing my favourite tight lederhosen, white terry towelling socks and open toed sandals, surrounded by legions of adoring ladies..![/quote] Ah, Brother - I thought I'd seen you around somewhere before! Kylie & Danni were asking for your phone number and not Beedster's...?

The interesting thing is that my pupils always have a good choice of reasonably priced, well set up basses to choose from, LOL!

Congratulations on your engagement, Chris! And make sure you hang onto your future wife - She's a diamond! What a lovely and thoughtful gift. You realise you have to keep that one forever now! Rich.

Yes, there are still S2's made with heads as well. Most Status (I said most!) devotees prefer the headless basses on average. They balance perfectly and the playability is perfect.

Look at one of the Status S2's on the for sale forum. They'll do any style, great sounding, great to play & they always cut through the mix like a scythe. Oh, and they hold their value, too. But I was bound to say that, wasn't I?

BB3000S, that's stunning! One day...

Sorry to hear that, Andy I had real trouble sourcing any baddass II's - I wanted one for my 75 RI - So I've ended up getting a much more reasonably priced Gotoh 201 for mine. Seems to have the same effect. Massive sustain & much more clarity across the spectrum. Rich.

Well after lots of research and chatting to people, the Nordstrands seem to win hands down. I'm personally going for either the NJ4SE/SV hum cancelling split coil units. The main reason for the hum cancelling is that as with all single coil basses, this is really noisy for 60 cycle hum & earthing crackles. Especially with the wiring in my house! My eyes were first opened to Nordstrands when I played Higgie's Stingray with a Nordy pickup in it. The pickup was crystal clear, powerful & punchy over every frequency & just sounded fantastic. The more outlandish plan was to go for Nordy Big Singles and get it routed out for the bigger units, but there's no changing it back from that for a future owner, so I'm keeping to the more traditionally styled jazz units for this bass. Never know in the future, though... Rich.

[quote name='funkypenguin' post='648335' date='Nov 7 2009, 08:08 PM']good lord mate, you really have been through alot of gear!!! the myrtlewood S2 really is gorgeous does it have the walnut tone block i seem to remember you waxing lyrical about? you still considering getting a replacement for your TRB6?[/quote] Hi mate, yes the Myrtlewood S2 does have the tone block It's one of the best sounding S2's I've heard. Quite polite compared to the maple topped ones I've played, but still has all of the Status sounds you want it to have. In short it's an amazing bass. I looked at a Status 6 recently on approval, but I still haven't found anything to replace the Yamaha with. That's a long term project, or another Yamaha! Rich.

I bought a lovely unmarked 2007 CIJ 75 RI Jazz the other week & it's turned into a bit of a project. It came to me with no scratch guard, so I added a genuine Fender one as a temporary measure... Next, I decided it would look good with pearloid white instead... And today a Gotoh 201 bridge arrived in the post, so that's gone on & I've done a full intonation check/neck shim on the micro tilt screw to adapt for the extra height of the new bridge. Next, pickups...