Paulhauser

Or just exchange the last two digits of your birth year (46 to 64) and you will have choices at least. Good hunting!

Here is my short review of mine

Mike, would a 5 string jazz with 18mm spacing be a solution? It's 0.5 mm more than the SR but in my experience it's not really that noticeable. Atelier Z produces really great high end basses with 18mm spacing on their 5 string M265 model. I have one and really love it.

My Spector NS-5XL and my Atelier Z M265 custom basses. I already had high expectations as they are top of the line instruments but what I got in both instances exceeded these expectations on a level I hadn't felt before. Past the obvious quality of these instruments they probably have that extra magic in them for me that I rarely felt before.

Of all the 5 string basses I've tried the Ibanez SR basses had the necks that seem to fit to your requirements (I don't have very big hands and long fingers either) There is one fanned fret Ibanez SR in the classfieds (not mine), it has the same neck dimensions as normal SR 5strings. If you don't have an issue with fanned frets - and you shouldn't as they are really nothing to get used to- that is a lot of bass for 500GBP. And bet it sounds killer down there.

It is 40mm so I think it is in between. Great neck by the way. Not too chunky, not too skinny. I like it a lot.

You should sell the Jazz as that seems to be the least used / attached to. But you have such a great selection that it is a pity to sell any of it. Have you looked into covering that £800-ish you'd get for the jazz in other ways? Like selling other bass related stuff or such?

The frets look straight so even if there is a curve to them it isn't really noticeable visually.

Thanks! Never had a solid color red bass before, but the color was one of the selling point for me (wouldn't have wanted a generic sunburst P, no issue with the SB at all, but wanted someting else)

After many years of not even wanting one and somewhat disliking its sound, lately I have decied that I'm getting old enough to own a P bass (ok, I know, I know 🙂 ) So this FGN Neo Classic P came around and I bought it without hesitation. FGN is the house brand of the Japaneese Fujigen factory that produced many Fender MIJ /CIJ basses and also do the MIJ Prestige line for Ibanez amogst others. I've had 2 FGN jazzes before and they left a very good impression in terms of build quality and overall feel and this one did not disappoint either. FGN basses are of great value, if they had a decent European distribution they'd be a lot more known I think. I bought it used from Denmark and the courier company actually lost this within their system for a week. Fortunately it was found and delivered in the end. Shipping cost was paid back as a reimbursement though, so it was all good in the end 🙂 The bass: nothing extraordinary to write home about, 'just' a great P bass with great attention to detail, flawless finish, nice feel and in a very cool color (would love to have a white pearl pickguard though) Alder/rosewood, the sound is surprisingly strong and lively (D'Addario Chromes are on it) Neck is somewhere between a jazz and a P, very comfortable for me. The bass has a circle fret system with slightly curved frets (see last pic) Its not really noticeable but it's there FWIW. As I use exclusively 5 string Spector basses for the gigs I do I bought this bass primarily for having a good P for noodling on and the occasional need to play a P with flats on it 🙂 So this is covered now and I'm more than happy as this bass sounds a lot more than I've expected and handles really well. Now the pics:

There is one for sale. As for the OP " but dont mount the back on the side of the body!" Do you mean the jack placement? I'm sure that is like this because it's how Anthony Jackson wanted it to be.

I’m a Spector player so maybe biased but this is actually true, I have yet to see a Spector of any price point failing to deliver. This topic is a great read by the way! 😂

That is a great video, love that white M265 By the way, how does the Atelier DAL5 with the chambered alder body compares to the M265 in terms of sound and feel?

Hi Pierre, thanks for your insights. I was looking at your page www.bassfreaks.net for some info on Ateliers and its a great thing that you carry them. I'm very impressed by this bass so far and would be glad if they had a greater European presence.

Thank you! This one is 4.33 kgs and balances really well. I was aware of Atelier Z's reputation of being heavy but that must have been a thing of the past to a certain extent as most of their basses I was considering buying were under 4,5 kgs. I happen to like 18mm, this was actually one of the features I was looking for in my 'perfect' 5 string jazz.

Yes, these Jerry Barnes models are killer. It has all the things I like in a '70 jazz and some more. Knowing now from experience how good Atelier Z basses are if I was on the market for a 4 string jazz, these would be high on my list (and the chambered Atelier DAL models, too)

Seems like Atelier Z basses are a bit rare occurence on this forum so I thought about writing a bit about my recent purchase Having owned quite a few Japaneese basses over the years, mainly ones from the Fujigen factory like Yamaha TRB, Ibanez Prestiges, FGN basses, Fenders but others like a Sadowsky Metro as well, I have long been an admirer of the quality of the craftmanship that is put into these instruments over there. There is a bunch of smaller 'boutique' workshops like Atelier, Sugi, Devise that produce basses of the highst quality and standards - with prices to match. I've been long eyeing Atelier basses as I like their take on the classic Fender jazz design and they seem to carry everything that I like in these modern 'superjazz' basses. There are so many brands to choose from if one is heading into this direction and the options are almost endless, but I wanted to have something which is a bit unique here in Europe and wanted to know the next level of CIJ basses. So after months of checking out Ikebe's website (one of Japans biggest instrument store) this bass came up, I had the funds, the stars aligned and I made the purchase and imported this home. This was my second time dealing with Ikebe and I have to say they are top notch in customer service. It was a seamless transaction. Anyway, on to the most important thing. The bass is a Atelier Z M265 custom model. The M265 is basically their '70 5 string jazz bass. Ash body, one piece maple neck/board with block inlays and binding. they use in-house Atelier pickups and a selection of 2 band preamps. Hadware is a high mass Atelier bridge and Gotoh tuners. This custom M265 is a bit different, most notably in that it has a 3 band EQ (Bartonlini) and abalone inlays plus a brown red burst finish (which is more like amber in real life, the pics show this a bit more red that actually is) It is quite light and is a joy to play, the neck is really comfortable. It balances really well, that was one of my concerns as I was not able to try and see. I especially like the clean pickguard, it lets the grain shine through. The sound is a bit of a tipical '70 ash/maple, quite clean, sweet deeps with great highs and the slap is like Miller, only I don't have the chops.... It can get gritty if I dig in and it reacts very well to the different dinamics. The mid cut/boost is a nice addition, can't remember every having a jazz with a mid control but certainly helps at certain situations with the slightly scooped ash/maple sound. I bougth this bass untried and without ever trying an Atelier bass but it delivered on its promise big time. These above are my initial observations and for the time being I am very happy and a bit relieved as this distance purchase turned out great. Of course just like with other basses only time will tell how we are going to be in the long run. And now the pics (taken by Ikebe)

I really liked my FGN Neo Classic jazzes.

I'd be extremly cautious to sell a bass that has been owned for so long and fits so well. As said above, try as many basses as you can. Or, if finances permit, keep the Wal and set aside a grand or two and go through a couple of used basses one after another. If you buy and sell wisely it may no cost you much in losses but lets you have a lot deeper experience with a number of basses than a casual music store visit can reveal. If you choose to stay with the Wal after all, this above is merely a cash flow question (if, again, finances permit) If you find another holy grail in the process, you can sell the Wal and free up funds in the end.

As said above, there are many variables other than the wood and it is hard to predict how much and what contributions the wood would bring to the end result. I'd personally choose alder with a fancy top FYI, Roger Sadowsky has a great article about his experiences with the main tonewoods and their combinations. https://www.sadowsky.com/wood-and-sound-in-amplified-guitars-and-basses/