OutToPlayJazz

I played another one of those PM "Supreme" models the other week. That Candy Cola Jazz 5 may have to go on hold...

Congrats! Lovely looking bass you have there

Blimey, Lawrence! That's amazing!!! All I can say is that if you ever decide to part with that one, you know where to come first... Wow!

[quote name='gafbass02' post='634125' date='Oct 23 2009, 07:23 AM']How dare you ?!!??!!! Mm's are perfect in every conceivable way. I'm telling BP on you!! It's not them, it's you that's looking at them wrong. You commie ray hater!! ;-) ahem. Sorry about that, I couldn't resist. I'm sure those in the know will know lol.[/quote] Heh! Not a problem - To clarify, the quality on the last couple of new EBMM basses I played was not up to scratch. The necks weren't properly sanded and felt rough and unfinished & the output was sorely lacking. Also, overall sound was hardly sparkling. But that's just two basses in a shop. Previous Stingrays I've played have been lovely straight out of the box. It's that old mass produced variant again!

I've had a few Jazzes in the past 3-4 years, so I can tell you a bit about them... 1. MIM Jazz V - Lovely looking bass, great to play & almost nailed the Marcus Tone, but as others have said, woefully inadequate pickups. Very poor output. 2. Squier Vintage Modified 70's Jazz - Very nicely made Indonesian bass (from the Cort factory) with a great sound but not great hardware. 3. Geddy Lee CIJ Jazz - Lovely sounding bass, curiously "middy" sound but as soon as I put thinner strings on it, the shaved down neck would change shape on a weekly basis and infuriatingly needed truss-rod adjustment almost as frequently. 4. American S1 series (last of run) Jazz - This was a lovely Jazz. The last of run models had the rolled fingerboard edges, Hipshot tuners and much better quality than basses produced even a year beforehand. Great sound & increased richness in the tone from the through body stringing. 5. Marcus Miller CIJ Jazz - Lovely bass when played passive or through an external preamp. The Fender pre is shockingly harsh and nasty. Oh, and the immense quality of the MM signature comes at a price. It weighs more than the average super-tanker! 6. '09 American Standard - These new models are astounding. They combine an almost modern crispness with the classic Jazz sound we all love. Quality and finish is top notch (if you find a good one) & it always feels like something special to own. They got it right. 7. Squier Classic Vibe 60's Jazz - These new Chinese instruments are a revelation. The quality seems to be highly consistent & they actually play and sound just like you want a Jazz bass to. It produces that classic Jazz sound we all have in our heads. Bargain of the year! Obviously, these are just my observations on the Jazzes I've owned in recent years. As others will always say, there are diamonds and dogs in all the ranges and if you find the perfect American Standard bass in terms of quality and the right feel for you, yes they're definitely worth the extra money. Rich.

Yes, all of the TRB's & TRB-II's are 18mm. Very comfortable to play.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='633931' date='Oct 22 2009, 10:24 PM'] But seriously, thanks for the warm fuzzies.[/quote] Looks like the orchestral tour I took to Belgium in the summer! Seriously, yes there are some great people here. Hats off to some true ladies and gents.

Loving that American Vintage reissue. The one GreeneKing has was the only Precision I've ever played that made me go "Wow!" Definitely on my list of must haves...

I usually run the amp at one overall setting and then eq on the bass from there. A lot of it depends on the particular bass. The Status preamps run at a very different frequency to the others, so you can usually get the best sound from maximum treble and bass, with the mid position switch to the flat setting. With the Sadowsky preamp, I usually use 50 percent of both treble and bass. That seems to give the nicest overall sound. The treble control (and pickup positioning) on the Ray is a lot more sensitive, so usually I'm only a gnat's whisker above flat on that one, but again, mids flat and bass boosted to max. Basically, I like a scooped sound with plenty of richness from the bass frequency & plenty of treble for sparkling highs. Usual amp settings are input/gain at 25%, bass at about 60%, treble at 75%, mids all flat in the middle & output volume at 50%. The amp settings may sound odd, but with a powerful preamp on the bass, half of the job is already done. Also, making sure you're using a lot less input gain than output volume seems to give a much sweeter sound overall. Rich, aka. The eq hooligan!

I think a lot of us want that one special instrument that's both personal to us and unique. I've done two custom orders in the past and ended up selling both of them, as they ended up being not exactly what I wanted. Not the fault of the luthier, just that bit of doubt in my mind. So I guess I try to live by the "try before you buy" mantra. Yes, I have a couple of unique custom instruments now, but they were either bought as stock basses (in the case of two of the Status basses) or as mint used instruments (in the case of the other Status instruments and my ACG.) In certain cases, off the peg instruments are great. I wouldn't change my Am.Std Jazz for the world. It's literally the best Jazz I've ever played by a long margin and that includes some excellent Sadowskys as well. So custom instruments can be wonderful, personal things, but be prepared for a little shaded disappointment if you don't quite gel with what you ordered. Rich.

[quote name='martthebass' post='632754' date='Oct 21 2009, 08:11 PM']We'll have to do a comparison when you're in the area with your Ray 34 Rich. I'll have to get up to Electro and try one out. I was never a fan of the Subs - purely cosmetic of course but if these are up to G&L Tribby standard.......[/quote] Yes, we'll do that for definite! Yes, the quality is amazing and now I've got it set up how I like it, it's even more impressive. [quote]Musicman20 Posted Today, 08:05 PM I have to say if it sounds like a MM, thats brilliant. As much as I steer clear usually from onboard active/preamps as im a passive guy normally, the MM Stingray EQ is so bloody good. Powerful, easy, and reliable. Hope you are still enjoying it[/quote] Yes, it nails the Stingray sound completely. What more can I say? Only doing a direct like for like comparison will show how close they really are

[quote name='Jigster' post='632699' date='Oct 21 2009, 07:22 PM']yeah I was re-reading about the sterling it says its electronics are 'hot rodded' - do u know what that actually means and does reg stingray have the same?[/quote] I'm not sure. I recall Ed Friedland saying that they were the same MM preamp, identical to the American series basses for the Sterling by MM basses. It sounds just like a Ray with all the snarling top end you expect and now I've got the new DR fatbeam strings on it's immense. Obviously it's never going to have the power of a Status or Sadowsky preamp, but it sounds really nice all the same.

Thanks for the info, DJ. However they do it all, the quality is easily up to Lakland Skyline/G&L Tribute standard. Huge differential in pricing on these as well. Looked on Thomann last night & they want over £800 for the same bass! Glad I paid significantly under 5! Update: I've now set it up on 40-100 DR Fatbeams. Lovely bendability now with massive bottom end shove as well as the usual top end sparkle. These are rapidly becoming my favourite strings for headed basses.

Not really... I'd imagine playing a tone down that standard 45-105's would sound just fine. I've put the DR's on now. Sounds immense at the bottom end now as well!

I would hope so at that price as well! Sounds like you found a really good MM there. The last couple of new ones I played were half finished dogs, but I recently played Higgie's Ray and really liked it. For now, Ray-wise, I'm happy with the 34. Putting the Marcus Miller fatbeam 40-100's on it this evening. We'll see how it plays then...

I know what you mean with the Streamline, mate. It's one of those instruments where it's very hard to find something that feels or plays better. Mine's going nowhere! I'm in the same place as you are with the Overwater. In my case, it's the ACG. It's a lovely bass to play & the crftsmanship is astounding, but I haven't found a sound I'm totally happy with yet. So the jury's still out on this one, too.

Heh! It's my profession, so if I stopped playing & teaching, I'd be sat at home all day earning no money. Unfortunately, not an option! Oh for a quiet life...

Congrats both to Peter (GreeneKing) & Gaz. Two lovely basses you have there. Is the top of the Empathy 5 what they call "Burr Madrone" or something like that, Peter? I'm always going to be a sucker for a maple topped S2 - One of my pupils has a 5-string and the sound is just immense! Glad you're enjoying this one, Gaz! Rich

Nice to see both the Streamline and that lovely ruby red MusicMan have stayed around, Mart. How're you getting along with the Overwater? Rich.

[quote]I'll say it too. The Squier Classic Vibe Jazz. Flat out stunning for the money. £250 is what I paid. Great build, fretwork, strings, and tone. Shielded too. Pickups seem absolutely great to me, others have installed replacements. They sound like single coils, what more do you want? Bit of set-up when you buy it and you're done. Ready to gig! It's not as ergonomically pleasing as my Lakland DJ4 (has better upper fret access), and the DJ4 has 21 frets, which is what I'm used to. But still, for the cash, you're hitting pro sound easily. I'll whisper it quietly - the Squier sounds better than my DJ4 to me. The DJ4 sounds a bit too 'bright' for me at the moment, not enough in the way of the mids I like. Perfect for Marcus Miller lovers though, I think. But of late my 'tone centre' has drifted to loving 60's alder/rosewood Jazzes, so not surprising, really. Maybe my ears are changing as time goes on... Pete[/quote] + infinity. Have a look at my review of the CV Jazz, comparing it to my 09 American Standard. There just isn't an £800 difference in quality!

I think that's the point of nitro finishes. You have to accept that lumps of it will in time drop off it as you play. There are some pictures of Highway One instruments on TalkBass where they've literally worn away in a couple of years.