OutToPlayJazz

[font="Tahoma"]There have been so many threads about the Classic Vibe jazz now that I decided to do a straight comparison with my 09 American Standard Jazz to see how it shaped up... Firstly, I'm going to make a very bold statement. [/font] [i][b][font="Tahoma"]The Classic Vibe Jazz is probably the most consistently high quality product to come out of the Fender corporation for years...[/font][/b][/i] [font="Tahoma"]Here're the two basses. My American Standard Jazz at full RRP would cost not far off £1200 new. The Squier Classic Vibe at full retail at the moment is around £370. What I was most interested to find out was where the extra £800 goes on an American Standard.[/font] [font="Tahoma"]The Am.Std body is made from the usual Alder with a thinner undercoat in order to let more of the vibration through, apparently. The upside is that you can see the grain of the wood through some of the finishes. The CV is made from cheaper basswood (and is none less resonant for it!) and is painted/glossed with a poly finish. Bridges are both new "high mass" designs. The new Fender unit is a little smaller (in the vintage style), has the ceramic saddle parts & of course caters for through body stringing. The larger CV bridge is adorned with hard-wearing looking brass saddles & seems to work very well in execution, with equally great sustain & tuning stability. Both basses' necks are maple, the Am.Std's being flawlessly finished in a satin lacquer with a gentle ageing tint & the CV's being further tinted and gloss finished. I for one don't mind glossed necks at all. All of my Status basses have glossed graphite necks & my ACG is also glossed. In a way this finish always makes a bass feel more expensive. Grains in the maple are visible on both instruments & the Fender's glossed maple fingerboard is especially fetching. The Fender sports the usual medium-jumbo frets, while the CV has much narrower vintage frets. Both fretting jobs are of suitably high quality.[/font] [font="Tahoma"]The only other real difference is in the tuners. The Fender's are the new lightened Hipshot tuners (apparently 30% lighter than their predecessors on the S1 model) and have a real quality feel to the chrome finishing. The Squier tuners also have upgraded chrome and feel suitably expensive, but obviously not quite in the same quality league. [/font] [font="Tahoma"]Neck pocket fit on the Fender is excellent & the Squier even keeps up in this respect, too. This is what constantly impresses with the Squier. It just doesn't feel like a cheap bass. [/font] [font="Tahoma"]Sound-wise, the Fender has all the typical Jazz "growl" you're ever going to want. The same goes for the Squier. It has that classic Jazz sound that some seem to search for endlessly in other instruments. Both are silent and hum free & both have an excellent "scopped" style sound with plenty of bright and low to go around. If I'm to get really clinical, the American Jazz (in the case of these two particular instruments) is a little smoother and sophisticated sounding, but that could be down to the 40-100 DR Fatbeams it's running on at the moment. The Squier is on 40-100 Rotosounds for the time being and sounds huge, bright & punchy. Both instruments sound amazing through the Sadowsky preamp as well. Instant "super-jazz" results from both. So at the end of the day we all know that some of the materials on the American instrument are going to be superior, but the whole point of this exercise is to show that the Squier CV Jazz feels and sounds so good & by no means does it feel £800 cheaper than it's US cousin. Just goes to show how much goes on the American workers' healthcare plans and pensions If you haven't played one of these yet, make sure you do. The powers that be at Corona aren't going to let this young upstart be this good for too long. Perhaps in twenty-thirty years we'll all be talking of these instruments in the same breath as the much fabled JV model Squiers of the early 80's. Incidentally, the Squier CV Jazz bass in the pictures here is the fifth example I've tried around the country. The quality control on these Chinese instruments is very, very good and consistently even across different batches. So perhaps my earlier quote at the top of this post is quite apt... [/font]

I've always preferred hard cases as well, for as well as the protection offered, your bass always comes back out of the case in tune, just as you left it. I do have one very good gigbag. It's almost semi rigid & only £25-30 retail usually. Made by Boston. [url="http://www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk/p-444-boston-bass-guitar-gig-bag-deluxe-soft-bass-guitar-case-with-25mm-padding.aspx?CAWELAID=346246008"]http://www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk/p-444-bo...ELAID=346246008[/url]

Heh! Nice one You win on that one, Si!

[quote name='Musicman20' post='621807' date='Oct 9 2009, 05:01 PM']WOW!!!!![/quote] I know! I opened the page & said to myself, "It's a 62 Reissue Stack-Knob - Must resist! Must resist!" Having played Peter's American Vintage P, I know how good these are now. Proof indeed that a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing!

[quote name='OldGit' post='621126' date='Oct 8 2009, 10:54 PM']Looks like this used to in 1959.. switch included [/quote] Apart from the fact that they didn't make jazz basses in 1959. The first jazzes came out in 1960.

[quote name='wesfinn' post='621748' date='Oct 9 2009, 03:50 PM']yeah it was relic'd that way.....Tho im starting to wonder how much finish will be left in 20 years seeing as its getting about 25 hours play a week! haha[/quote] Heh! I have an image of you in my mind 20 years from now struggling to play a worn through stick that used to be a precision...

I've got the digitech jamman & it's really easy to use, very sturdy & hours and hours of fun layering your playing on top of itself over and over. Just the ticket

Must've corroded on it's way across the pond. I'd send it back. For that money I'd want new and shiny perfection!

So by "white with red tort guard", you mean you were playing a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass? Or have I totally lost the thinly-veiled plot? Edit: Okay, I've just spotted the subtitle, LOL! Yes, they are amazing basses for the money. I'm still thinking of getting one. I've said several times on here that I visited Alex at the Gallery in Camden a few weeks ago & the CV Squier Jazz sounded and played a lot better than all the Sadowskys I tried. Go figure!

Ah my two favourites in your collection - The AV Precision & that lovely Spector ltd edition. Fantastic basses, Peter. How's the Euro panning out?

Very very nice. Gawd only knows how much it's worth now, complete with the original case & strings, etc...

For if anyone's interested in Andy's stunning Eclipse Ltd 5, there are pics of it on page 6 of this thread, post #104...

Sounds like a good time had by all, mate! I quite liked Higgie's JV as well. I understand why people rate them now. But Peter's (Greeneking's) American Vintage model (the expensive one with the covers) is something else. It's the first Precision I've ever played that I wanted to own there and then!

Hey Brother Nick! Yes, I find the 54 chunky and almost oblong in profile, but strangely good to play. Not like a regular style Precision necks which usually give me hand ache with my double bass-based left hand technique. I like the funeral pyre idea. I can actually see you writing that into your will as well, LOL!

[quote name='simon1964' post='618005' date='Oct 5 2009, 09:55 PM']That ACG is stunning! What are the top and fingerboard woods?[/quote] The top is santos rosewood, followed by a 5mm zebrano accent & the back is American black walnut. The neck is a 7-piece, consisting of mac ebony, bublinga, maple and wenge. The fingerboard is acrylic impregnated zebrano. [quote]That's a nice ACG. Does it have the asymmetrical neck? I love the neck on my 6.[/quote] Yes, it feels very ergonomically correct, even though it's technically lop sided, LOL!

Not sure, Graham... But I think it roughly translates as, "I hereby bequeath all my basses to you, Brother!"

No, the Jazzes were all American Standards. The differences were weight, sound quality, neck feel, neck finish & overall finish. Some still come through with serious glitches in the finish, such as two inch square rough patches where the gloss lacquer has somehow been missed... But as I said in other posts, hand pick yourself a good one & they're fantastic.

Thanks guys - I'm very very impressed with the ACG so far. It's not only stunning to look at, but sounds fantastic & highly ergonomic to play. Peter, that American Vintage Precision has my name on it, you know that...?! Nick, you were right on the 54 P. It's very very good for the money. Played through the Sadowsky pre it's just pure bass shove. Hearts will stop on the front row - MWHAHAHA!!!

The thinner than standard neck on the Geddy may cause some issues. I had one a while back & lovely though it was, as soon as I put on thinner strings, the neck was all over the place. I don't know if it's the extra thinness combined with the lack of the graphite support rods, but it seemed to literally change with the weather. I was resetting the relief almost weekly to keep it in check. Also, the Geddy uses the vintage US pickups, so you get a lot of hum when not touching the strings, whereas the new US ones are virtually silent in this respect. So from personal experience I'd definitely go for the new American Standard. It's the best bass Fender has made in a very long time.

ACG Harlot R-Type 5-string - The quality of this bass is just amazing & the range of tones available from the filter preamp just astounding! Fender 09 American Standard Jazz - This was about the tenth new Jazz I tried and it fitted perfectly. Usually played through a Sadowsky outboard preamp. G&L L2000 Tribute - Picked this up from GreeneKing yesterday. In as-new condition. A real MM killer! Squier Classic Vibe 50's Precision - Basically a nice lake placid blue 54 P copy. Again, through the Sadowsky preamp this sounds huge!

Went up to Cumbria to pick up a G&L bass from Peter yesterday. Peter is highly accommodating & not only provided tea, but a play on all of his lovely collection. Peter is a gentleman of the first order & obviously looks after his equipment with exquisite care and attention. Buy with confidence! Rich.

Top of my jazz list is the current Fender American Standard. There's nothing not to like about these. The playability and the sound have never been better. Next comes the Squier Classic Vibe model. Add an outboard or onboard Sadowsky preamp to either of these and you've got the ultimate combination of super jazz punch or classic passive jazz honk. The Lakland JO & DJ series are very good as well. The latter producing one of the nicest classic jazz sounds around. Sadowskys are lovely basses, but they don't really sound like a classic jazz. Much more modern and hifi sounding. And for me, the Am.Std just pips them on quality feel if you hand pick yourself a good one.