retroman

OK, here goes with my first review! Recently popped into the dangerous place, that is Electro Music Services in Doncaster. Having heard all the good reports lately of the Squier basses, I thought why not give one of their Jazzes a go? I have to admit, I was impressed enough to buy it! I played it back to back against a Tokai Jazz sound, and through an Ashdown Combo. I played a mixture of finger style, or with a pick. I don't do slap!! I didn't do a back to back with a USA Jazz, as I wanted a "cheapie" for use in our rehearsal room. Fit and Finish. Really impressed. the Metallic Red finish has a lovely shine too it, and you have to look very hard to fault it. The wood grain shows through VERY slightly. The neck pocket is tighter than a gnats chuff. The rosewood fretboard, and frets are nicely finished. The neck itself is lovely and smooth, with a satin finish, and the truss rod was very well set up, making the bass easy to play straight away. The edges of the finger board are very slightly rounded off as well, so the edges don't feel "sharp", like some other budget basses. 9/10 Playability. The bass was very well set up, and very easy to play from the start. Once I had the bass at home, I carried out a few little tweaks to suite my own playing style, but they were very minor. The intonation with the factory set up was spot on for the A,D, and G, but very slightly out on the E. The bass holds its tuning really well, and after playing for 2 hours straight, had only gone so slightly flat, it was only the tuner that gave the game away. Access to the upper frets is maybe a little restricted, but this is no different to any other Jazz, be it Mex, or USA. The bridge saddles were nicely set height wise, so there were no nasty grub screws protuding to rip the side of your hand open when playing with a pick. This bass also has great sustain for it's price tage 9/10 Hardware. The bridge is the usual piece of Fender bent tin, and the chrome plating is of a nice standard. The chrome on the switch plate is also well finished, and the pots feel of reasonable quality. The neck plate is also nicely chromed, and engraved. The only slight failing for me, is the tuners. Again, nicely chromed, but they do feel quite cheap in operation, with a slightly gritty feel, and a very slight tendancy to stick when fine tuning. I have seen worse on other basses at this price though 7/10 Sounds. This Jazz has the familiar two volume, and master tone, that we are all familiar with. This bass sounds just like a Jazz should, and it is possible to get a wide variety of tones. It has even managed to produce some serious low end, using the neck pick up, and the tone rolled right off, then using the bridge pickup, with the tone full on, it becomes very bright. Very easy to get a pleasing tone quickly. The pickups are nice and quiet, and free of any nasty buzzing. Being critical, I have found that the E, and G strings are VERY slightly louder than the A, and the D, but some of this maybe down to my playing style, although I haven't had this problem with any of my other basses 8/10 Conclusion. This bass punches well above the £200 I paid for it. To be honest, I really cannot see why the USA Jazz is worth a £1000 extra! I think at some point in the future, I will be fitting some better tuners, and if you so wished, fitting some top notch pickups, and maybe a J-retro style preamp would turn this into a real USA Fender killer. I had recently had a quick sniff at a USA Jazz, and although the fittings on the USA model were of higher quality, the Squier I have bought is in some areas a better built bass. The USA model I tried had a small gap between the scratch plate, and the control plate, and you could see the routing, and the wiring through it! Somebody on this Forum recently posted a comment along the lines of "I don't know how much longer Fender can allow Squier to keep making basses of this level". I have to admit, I have drawn the same conclusion.

How about a Dusty Hill bass?? That 50's P/Tele thing he is using on the "Live In Texas" DVD is way cool - Hotrod pinstriping, upside down headstock. I love Dusty's playing, and tone. Very underated player, IMHO

Incubus, give me first dibs if you ever decide to part with that beasty :brow: I bet Ric never put Lemmy's rather unique truss rod cover on the signature bass.........If you look very carefully, it actually says "Rickenbastard"

That's an awful lot of money for a Ricky, and just look at it....Someones put the headstock on upside down!!!!

You're right, those frets are HUGE!! Never seen that bass before. liking the position markers

Yeah, I suppose it could have had a new fretboard, if one of the truss rods broke or something. I'm not normally a fan of maple boards, but it looks sweet on a maple glo Ric The bass in question does look a bit of a mongrel Don't get me started on the limited edition Lemmy bass. very drool worthy, just a shame it wasn't quite an exact replica. For the money it was, it should have been Still GASSING badly for one though!

Hi Chaps, bit of a head scratcher this one? Just been watching an old Motorhead video, and Lemmy is playing a Ric 4001, Maple Glo, bound body, but a maple fret board with dot markers. I love old Ric's, and I have never seen that combo before! I thought that if you had dot markers, it meant you had a 4001S with unbound body, but still had a rosewood board, and it was the 4001 deluxe models that came bound, but with the sail fin inlays and a rosewood board? Just wondered if anyone can shed some light on said beasty

[quote name='JHBASS' post='635470' date='Oct 24 2009, 06:15 PM']I would actually recommend the Squier Precision Bass Special. Its got Split P pickups, and a single Jazz style pick up. Also has a Jazz neck, so amazing easy to play. Great sound as well.....and amazingly cheap! Shes my workhorse, been used nearly everyday for 2 years, and still is as good as the first time! Cheers.[/quote] +1. I have one that's loaded with SD 1/4 pounders, and it kicks butt! Not too heavy either, and I like the Jazz neck. Must have had it about ten years now, and it still looks as good as the day I bought it. It's very well built, and superb value for money

In no particular order........ Fender '75 reissue Jazz Rickenbacker 4004LK Warwick Buzzard Warwick Starfire semi Lakland Decade Don't think I will ever be lucky enough to own the 4004LK though.......I think there was only 60 of them ever built, and is probably the only bass I would trade my 4001 for

I'm a very recent convert into the world of Stingray's, and I must admit, I'm loving it :wub: It took a little bit of getting used to, as I am used to Ric's, and Gibson's. The one I coughed up for is the 30th Anniversary model, with the Mahogany body, and the gloss neck. The build quality is superb. Everything oozes quality. The 3 band EQ on mine delivers anything from ear splitting sizzling highs, right down to serious low end bass. If I was to be seriously critical, the frets weren't quite perfect on mine, but I do run with a seriously low action, so most people probably wouldn't have even noticed. It's quite a weighty beast too, but that maybe down to the body?? Big thumbs up from me, anyway

[quote name='Doctor J' post='634139' date='Oct 23 2009, 08:36 AM']Had a similar request with a band we were supporting, I had to ask myself "What kind of bass player 'forgets' to bring his bass to a gig?" and the only answer I could conjure up was "A sh*t one".[/quote] IMHO, that hit the nail squarely on the head

I like to keep things simple I tend to just plug my bass straight into my SVT CL, set the volume on the bass full, set the tone control about half way, and then fine tune the levels using the amp. I tend to favour passive basses, and a vintage tone, with plenty of trouser flapping low end. I've just ventured into the world of the active bass, and got a Stingray. Got that on flats, with the treble flat, and full boost on the mid and bass pots. Sounds amazing on my practice rig, although haven't tried it through the SVT yet. Top quality gear, and keeping it simple pays dividends for me

Me 3 I'm still a relative newby to this site, but it's great, and I have learned a lot from it. It's great to know that if I am not sure about something, I can log on, fire the question, and normally have a few responses in an hour or so Only met one BC'er so far, Mr LushUK, and what a great chap Looking forward to meeting more of you in the future, maybe at a bass bash?? I'm not the greatest player in the world, but I can sure lay down some solid bass lines Oh, and a big thumbs up to the mods, who I have noticed run this large site very efficiently. Top marks chaps

+1 for him replacing the bass, and keeping the old one..... OK, so he has made a token effort to get the bass repaired, but it is no where near in the condition that you leant it to him in. IMHO, it's just not good enough, some friend he is......... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I done that to someone. And to me, it doesn't matter if the bass is worth £500, or £5000. It's still someones pride and joy, and it's now damaged. It is his moral duty to do the best he can by you as you are his friend, and you were kind enough to lend him the bass in the first place. All my gear is a strictly no lending out zone, with no exceptions. I haven't paid out huge amounts of money just to lend it to someone who can't afford it, if you see what I mean

There was a review on those recently in one of the bass mags I have to admit, I think they look ace! But I am swayed by retro looking gear They are available in either passive, or active.

+1000 for flats!!! I am a very recent convert to the world of flatwounds, but I'm now sold on it. They made a huge difference to my Ric, and the Stingray still has plenty of bite, and attack with them on too. SOOOO.........Here's a thought, I wonder what a set of short scale flats would sound like on my EB2! :brow:

You guys are bringing back some memories for me I know Mersea well. Got stranded there once as the tide came in! I also know Brightlingsea very well too. I went to school there, The Colne High School. The chippy down by "The Hard" is excellent. Quite often go for a walk down there when we are visiting the inlaws. Mrs Retroman originates from Thorrington. Nice sleepy little village. I grew up in the village of Great Bentley, half way between Clacton and Colchester. It was a good place to grow up, having the huge village green, and being totally surrounded by fields. I now live in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and I love it here.

Nice One Colchester is my home town too. I was born is Colchester, and raised in a village on the outskirts

Well, I haven't seen one of these in the flesh yet, but seen the adverts in the magazines........ All I can say is, I've seen 70's wall paper that's more tasteful!!